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Elmer's English 304 Magazine by Elmer G. Wiens As individuals mature from infants to adults, they fabricate a personal narrative, a chronicle that accounts and explains their decisions and actions that establish their identities. How people use language in these narratives influences how they determine their identities and their lives. Feminist writers explore the links between language and identity, particularly gender identity, believing that women are affected adversely by language since the rules of language and the meaning of words are made by men. Daphne Marlatt's feminist novel, Anna Historic, details how female characters struggle with language in relating their personal narratives. This paper argues that the theory of language of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his followers reveals how feminist discourses can rid language of male prerogatives and transfigure language. Freudian psychoanalytic theories maintain the importance of the Oedipal conflict in establishing gender identity, using the meta-narrative that an individual must identify with one sex and desire the other. Freud's theories have been remarkably durable in the face of an onslaught of criticism and scientific evidence purporting to refute his science of human behaviour. In Judith Butler: Gender Trouble, Mary Klages comments on how feminist writers challenge Freudian conjectures of the determinants of gender identity, and question the very existence of a core gender identity. In feminists' analysis, gender is a performance based on personal narratives, not a biological characteristic like brown eyes. Moreover, feminists maintain that Freudian narratives explaining human conduct exclude women, since the language used to create a person's identity originates in the patriarchy. Patriarchal language tends to present women as objects without agency. Language embedded in male sexuality conditions women to accept the role of an object, maintaining the status quo. In response, feminist writers explore the way women express gender and sexuality, by telling stories centered on women's bodies. In Religion, Truth, and Language-Games, Patrick Sherry investigates the Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein's theories of language and applies them to religious discourse. In his later work, Wittgenstein rejects his earlier notions that words must correspond to objects or "particular mental activities" (3). Instead, Wittgenstein maintains that words are items embedded in a system of rules that govern their use, much like the moves of chess pieces which are determined by the rules of chess. Wittgenstein calls the contexts along with the rules that govern the use of words "language games." Each context or form of life, like religion, politics, or sexual relations, provides its own language game with its own set of rules. For example, the word "love" used in religion to describe God's love for mankind has a different meaning from the word used to describe the feelings between a man and a woman (153). As Sherry points out, God's love, in some religions, is unconditional and everlasting, while human love can be temporary, or even a "fraudulent invention" according to some authors (128). In the way Sherry explores the "issues of religious language, ways of life, truth and understanding … in light of Wittgenstein's philosophy" (vii), Wittgenstein's theory of language games can also be applied to feminist discourses of identity, gender and sexuality. In A Wittgenstein Dictionary, Hans-Johann Glock explains Wittgenstein's language-game analogy by observing, "language is a rule-guided activity." The rules of language — grammar — determine "what is correct or makes sense, and thereby define the game/language." A word's meaning "is not an object it stands for, but is determined by the rules governing its operation" (193). Furthermore, a proposition or statement by a person makes sense only in its context, like the suitable chess moves available to a player depend on "the position of the board" (194). Another person's intelligible responses to the proposition compare to the possible countermoves by the opposing chess player. Taking the chess analogy further, a person must play many games of chess to understand how a rook, a bishop, and a pawn can be used to mate the opposing king in a given situation or board position. To play competitive chess, a person must study opening theory, strategy, tactics, and endgame theory, and play hundreds of games using these theories, strategies, and tactics. In the same way, people must participate actively in language games, and even reinvent their rules when the old games become intolerable. The resulting new language games can determine our thoughts and behaviour, and the form our lives take. Martha Cutter observes in Language that feminist writers claim language affects men and women inequitably. Identity depends on language. Feminist writers claim that since men determine the denotations and connotations of words and their use in language, men also determine identities. Unless men and women have congruent interests, by delimiting human identities men obtain an unfair advantage over women. When men monopolize the determination of language, sexual identities "serve the interests of men" and oppress women. Freudian psychologists champion the importance of the phallus as a dominant symbol in language and in the determination of sexual identity. If Freudian analysis is accurate, women — lacking a penis — "remain marginal to both culture and language." Consequently, feminist writers want to rid language of its phallocentric symbols and discourses; they want language to include women (229-230). By negotiating the use of language, feminist writers negotiate how people determine their identities, obtaining equal status for men and women in society, giving people control of their lives independent of their sex. In the "Social Construction of Gender, Class, Race, and Ethnicity," Gerda Lerner states that language under the patriarchal order gives us the "binary sexual categories" of male and female, and the "binary distinction between heterosexuals and homosexuals" (5986). These groupings limit what society accepts as normal behaviour, marginalizing people who fall outside these criteria. In contrast to these rigid divisions, Sharon Astyk, in Lesbianism, cites feminist writers who claim gender is a continuum by defining lesbianism to include all women who "identify with the love of women" (232). With this broad definition, feminists refute Freud's narrative that a person must either identify with a sex or desire it, since a continuum permits a person to identify with a sex and also desire it. Astyk believes that the idea of gender as a continuum allows women into language. She draws from Luce Irigaray to state that "female desire for the feminine" provides "the door into a feminine language" (233). Psychological narratives should not proscribe an individual's desire by defining what that desire can be. Gender as a continuum can accommodate many definitions of desire and many lifestyles based on individual sexual desire. Feminists want people to accept women's identities based on their own definitions of desire. By way of writing, feminists impress women's subjective identity onto readers, making that identity objective and acceptable to readers. By writing about such feminine subjects as menstruation, giving birth, breastfeeding, and caring for infants and the dying, women invest in their value of one another. In their approach to storytelling, feminists redefine and unshackle language from masculine symbolism, liberating women from patriarchal culture. The phallus was not always the dominant symbol of language, religion, and culture. In some ancient civilizations like Hindu India, female genitalia played a more important role than male genitalia. Contemporary feminist playwrights and writers, like Eve Ensler, Stephanie Demetrakopoulos, and Marlatt, reinsert women's bodies into human consciousness using language based on women's knowledge. In Ensler's play, The Vagina Monologues, women discuss their vaginas in a sequence of short monologues. Such frank public discourses rid language of taboo "female private body parts" producing new games and expanding existing language games wherein women can share fantasies and experiences. In Listening to Our Bodies, Demetrakopoulos questions the relevance of the Oedipal complex to both sexes, and looks to the novels of writers such as Margaret Laurence and Colette for evidence of the way women mature. She believes women's egos develop differently from men's egos. For example, because daughters can become surrogate mothers to their fathers, the Oedipal conflict between daughters and mothers is less threatening to daughters than the Oedipal conflict between sons and fathers. As a result, girls' egos remain connected to others, while boys' egos separate from self and others. The differences in male and female egos "manifest in later stages of life," when many women rethink their identities and take up new lives, often resuming interrupted careers, reconnecting to larger communities than their families (4-6). By voicing their experiences in short stories, novels, and plays, women empower themselves. They assert agency, and re-enter language, blocking and subverting the infinite regression of repression imposed by the patriarchy. In Ana Historic, Daphne Marlatt writes of a middle-aged woman, who reconnects with her body and reassesses her gender identity. She uses many different language games to describe Annie Anderson's transition from the middle-aged wife of a university professor to Annie Torrent, writer and lesbian. As examples, Marlatt uses formal language and punctuation in the historical language game where Annie narrates the activities of the nineteenth century Ana Richards (14). She uses imagined, disruptive flashback conversation in the mother-daughter language game between Ana and Ina (60). She employs lower-case letters for words like "I" and for the first word in a sentence, and idiosyncratic grammar using many sentence fragments like "the sheer jubilation" in the Annie as narrator-reader language game (83). Marlatt indirectly comments on these differences in language games when Ana writes in her journal that women "among themselves" do not "speak as they do in a mixed situation." In situations with men, women's discourse is "only an element of response" (106) to men's discourse, not an element of women's agency and initiative. Using Wittgenstein's terminology, women engage in different language games in different situations. Marlatt's story of women struggling with language in a patriarchal society raises many questions, partly because the novel adopts a non-linear time sequence, and partly because she avoids offering solutions to the dilemma of women's identities. Annie, who wants to write instead of working as her husband's research assistant, is "irritated because she cannot explain herself." Because her writing is "cut loose from history," it will be deemed scribbling by people like her husband Richard (81). Ana, who wants "what womanhood must content itself without" (72), also "cannot find the words to explain herself," since she "literally cannot speak" (105). Although Annie and Ana are aware of their feelings, they cannot express their feelings or desires because they cannot participate in a relevant language game. As the novel progresses, one discovers that both Ana and Annie question their sexual identities, but have no language to investigate and answer their doubts. While people tend to accept other's sexual identity and lifestyle, many people have difficulty in understanding why someone like Annie switches her sexual identity in mid-life. Such a change is bound to be traumatic for friends, spouse, children, and other family members. Ostensibly, Marlatt's character Annie was heterosexual before Zoe introduced Annie to alternative sexualities. How will Richard, Annie's husband, Angie, their fifteen-year old daughter, and Mickey, their young son, react to Annie's change of sexual identity? Richard could be a secure person, and yet still react sharply to this event. Will Angie doubt her sexual identity? Did Annie submerge her bona fide sexuality because society expects women to conform to stereotypical modes of behaviour? Annie's mother, Ina, required psychiatric treatment for her attacks of paranoia and hysteria (88). Is Annie just overreacting to the possibility of being replaced in Richard's life by one of his graduate students (59,147)? Does Annie leave her family and move in with Zoe? Or does she just have sex with her? What strategies does Marlatt employ to induce the reader to identify with Annie, and to accept her decisions as rational? Reading Marlatt's novel, my list of unanswered questions continues to grow in length. Is Marlatt's writing difficult for me to understand because patriarchal modes of discourse have conditioned my thinking? Whenever I return to Ana Historic searching for answers, Marlatt's text thrusts more questions into my mind, undermining my understanding of her characters and narrative. Marlatt partially answers some of these questions by inviting one to play an author-reader language game. As Marlatt manipulates the aesthetic distance between her readers and characters, they must commit emotionally to understand her difficult text. On the one hand, when the adolescent Annie feels restricted by acceptable girl play, Marlatt writes, "it wasn't tom, or boy, it wasn't hoyden, minx, baggage, but what lay below names" (13). On the other hand, when Ana frets about the way men look at her as she walks into Gastown, she writes, "But a cold nod never failed to establish distance and they move on" (95). Annie's difficult stream of consciousness distances them; Ana's pulls them close. Moreover, Marlatt differentiates Ana's self-consciously proper, nineteenth century journal entries from Annie's unruly stream of conscious monologues. Ana, fearing what people are saying about her, writes "because they understand me to be a Widow, the men think me most eager for their company" (31). In Annie and Zoe's coffeehouse tête-à-tête, Annie fantasizes, erotically, of their hands "in suspense besides these cups" of cappuccino, with "wreaths around the rim," and on "the corners of our lips, the faint taste of chocolate" (91). However, before Annie and Zoe consummate their romance, Annie has to learn the language game of lesbians. Shortly after the black leather jacketed Zoe first meets Annie in the city archives, and picks her up, Zoe begins Annie's initiation with the line "i distrust women who smile too much." Annie responds meekly, almost submissively, with "do i smile too much?" (58). Knowledge requires language and language is public. Only when Zoe, sexually empowered and aware, confronts Annie does Annie acknowledge her sexual desires and learn to value her body in a different way. In Marlatt's novel, Annie researches the life of Ana Richards, a pioneer resident of Vancouver and a schoolteacher. As she writes about Ana, Annie simultaneously shares her disillusionment with her marriage to Richard, and her relationship with her mother while growing up. Annie, feeling estranged from her own body, recalls how as juveniles "our bodies were ours as far as we knew and we knew what we liked" (19). She fears becoming like Ina, with a "body that defeats the self. the body, not even your body. split off, schizophrenic, suffering hysteric malfunction" (89). Her concern with her middle-aged body compels her to write. Can she repossess her legitimate sexual identity by writing? Her marriage to Richard — she was his student and pregnant with Angie — relegated her career to research assistant, and her identity to mother and wife — just like her mother. Angie, now fifteen years old, cannot understand her mother's desire to write, believing Annie enjoys contributing to Richard's book, and submerging her career in Richard's. For whom is Annie living? Annie's mother sacrificed her life for her husband and their three daughters. Annie's relationship with Zoe, a potential mother substitute, influences Annie to reassess her aspirations, desires, and way of living. Annie no longer desires Richard. Richard and Annie barely endure sleeping together, "the defensive lie our lying together is" (59). Neither Annie nor Richard craves lovemaking; their sexual language game is at an impasse. Whoever makes the first move in their sexual language game "risks rejection" (59). When one player starts with "you don't really want to, do you," the other player responds with "i do, it's you who doesn't" (60). When Richard touches Annie, he does so "gingerly and mainly because he feels he ought to" (147). Neither of them will admit that their marriage is a sham. Richard, who disparaged Annie's writing aspirations, acknowledges he can "train one of my grad students to replace" Annie as his research assistant, implying that he can also replace her as his sexual assistant (147). Losing the patriarchal sex language game, the terrified Annie is left "tugging at the cord that binds," not wanting to be left out of "the book, the marriage, history" (147). Annie's carefully constructed identity as a dutiful wife and mother collapses, like the "collapsing bridges" of her dreams (78). Whereas feminists may be correct in questioning the existence of a core gender identity, a person's sense of self is still important. Is Annie's identity frail because of her parents? When the pubescent Annie tries on the role of mother to her father, Ina sarcastically calls her "the Perfect Little Mother" trying hard to replace her (49). When Annie wants to shave her legs and wear a bra like the other girls at school, Ina objects, relenting only to give Annie one of her old bras. Ina taught Annie "pride on the inside and on the outside — shame" (61). Ina passes her hatred of her body on to her daughter. Annie's femininity — her feminine identity — becomes an act, a performance just as some feminists claim. Marlatt chronicles Annie's awareness of her body, her consciousness entrenched in the patriarchy, conditioned on the approval of males — on how males look at her. When Annie's body slims into a woman's shape, she self-consciously checks to see if her father has noticed her as the other woman in the house (50). Girls, trained to "solicit the look," become objects, not subjects (56), their value in teenage society based on their bodies (82). In reassessing her sexuality, Annie recalls qualms she had about her gender identity. When she and her girlfriend Donna go to Princess Pool to suntan and flaunt their bodies at the boys, Annie looks at Donna, noticing "the soft rise of her breasts under her suit," "the gold blur of hair on her arms," and "her eyes that laughed into mine as she leaned forward, her breasts swinging with her" (82). Annie prefers the act of looking, to being looked at. Annie also recalls walking in the woods with Donna, and coming to a fork in the road. Along one branch was a trail blocked by a car, with two women making love. Annie is struck by the daring of the women and "the leafy tunnel they had chosen, the silence of the dripping woods and, under glass as under water, two mouths meeting each other." At this point Annie broods over the phrase "a fork in the road implies a choice" (107). Recognizing that gender is a continuum, should Annie accept her sexual desires? Annie's pregnancy and marriage to Richard while still a university student constrains her sexual identity to that of a married woman. She projects her discontent into her writings about Ana Richard, supplementing the few details of Ana's life that appear in the civic archives of Vancouver, imagining a life for Ana that fuses with Annie's own dealings with family and friends. What was Ana's sex life like as the widow schoolteacher, living in the "little three-room cottage back of Hastings Mill Schoolhouse" (29)? Was she serious about giving up teaching, taking rooms in Gastown, and supporting herself by giving piano lessons? Annie imagines Ana witnessing her friend Jeannie Alexander give birth to the first white child in Hastings Sawmill, a birth she describes in discerning detail. Ana, wanting to see what childbirth is like — the ancient rite of the singular act of creation — watches the "massive syllable of slippery flesh slide out the open mouth," a boy (126). Did Ana marry Ben Springer of Moodyville and raise children as the civic records state because she shared Jeannie's experience? In The Sex Which Is Not One, Luce Irigaray takes issue with Freud's contentions that before a girl can develop into a normal woman her "desire to obtain the penis from the father" must be "replaced by the desire to have a child," and that "the woman's happiness is complete only if the newborn child is a boy" (41). Marlatt is ambiguous on this key principle of the Oedipal complex. On the one hand, although Annie and Richard have a son, Annie apparently leaves her home and family. On the other hand, Ana marries Ben Springer, of whom she disparagingly says, "He is not my match, let me assure you" (119). Rather, Marlatt follows Irigaray's suggestion of jamming Freud's "theoretical machinery" and "suspending its pretensions to the production" of truth and meaning (78). Freud's theories, based on men's experiences of desire, do not need refuting, since the desire of women does not "speak the same language of men" (25). Refuting Freud's theory will give rise to yet another psychological theory based in the patriarchy. Furthermore, a woman is neither object nor subject in the language game of women (78). Women are equal with men, and different from men. Astyk, Sharon. "Lesbianism." Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory. Ed. Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace. New York: Garland, 1997. 232-234. Cutter, Martha J. "Language." Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory. Ed. Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace. New York: Garland, 1997. 229-230. Demetrakopoulos, Stephanie. Listening to Our Bodies: The Rebirth of Feminine Wisdom. Boston: Beacon, 1983. Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. New York: Villard, 1998. Glock, Hans-Hohann. A Wittgenstein Dictionary. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996. Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which Is Not One. Trans. Catherine Porter. Ithaca: Cornell UP,1985. Klages, Mary. English 2012: Judith Butler: Gender Trouble. University of Colorado. 5 Mar 2003. http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages/butler.html. Lerner, Gerda. "Social Construction of Gender, Class, Race, and Ethnicity." International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Eds. Neil Smelser and Paul Baltes. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2001. 5984-5989. Marlatt, Daphne. Ana Historic. Toronto: Anansi, 1988. Sherry, Patrick. Religion, Truth, and Language-Games. New York: Harper, 1977.

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There have been several requests for some ideas for classroom activities. This page is dedicated to addressing some of these issues in the hopes that teachers will find new ways to integrate Internet use into classroom activities. Not only that, but hopefully kids will also have lots of fun learning about frogs AND playing on the Internet! Things You will Find Here: Don't Forget to SEND ME YOUR CLASSROOM IDEAS! - Cool stuff for learning at Frogland has some of the teacher-preferred areas of this site outlined. - Activities and Teaching Programs - has some neat ideas and lesson outlines right here such as the Rainforest Study, Personal Usage of Water Study, the Rate Your Family Conservation Study, and Attitude Slip - Links to More Cool Ideas for Teaching Programs: - Here you'll find all kinds of lesson ideas. If you have some ideas of your own posted, please send them to me. Biology/Science Studies has all kinds of Biology and Life Science study lesson ideas. Life Cycle class ideas are popular and there are even several Online Anatomy Classes are available for those who wish to spare a few frogs. Environmental Studies such as lessons in recycling, litter, global warming and more. There are some great craft ideas here! There is also a whole section of Online Population Decline/Deformed Frogs Resources available. - Links to more Links If you couldn't find something you were looking for here, these are some great starting points for more ideas. - Frogs In Your Classroom If a live frog is an option for your classroom look to this section for links and info. Cool stuff for learning at Frogland: Weird Frog Facts (All Ages) Here kids can learn some strange but true facts about Frogs And Toads. There are several little demonstrations that can be played out here as well. In addition, this section can be used as a jumpboard for classroom discussions. Frog Fables and Frog Myths (All Ages) Read some classic Fables that use frogs as characters to tell stories that have a few lessons for humans too, and take a look at some myths about frogs. Create a cartoon or multi-panel comic strip or comic book showing how a particular frog uses an adaptation or how a frog egg develops into a frog. - Life Stages Draw and describe each stage of a frog's metamorphosis. - Begin with the "parents" amplexus, - then the egg with the developing embryo, - the tadpole or pollywog larvae (three stages), - and finally the frog. - Why should frogs be studied? Kids can discuss what sorts of reasons scientists might have for interest in some of the strange brooding behaviors (Gastric Brooding Frog), cold and heat adaptations (Cold Weather Frogs), and other protective adaptations. - Why is having frogs in our environment important? Kids can discuss environmental impacts on their lives using the frog as an example of what happens when our environment is at risk. These could be used as a great lead-in for a classroom creative exercise, for example: Myths are made-up stories that tell how things came to be as they are. Work with a partner to write and illustrate a myth that explains how a frog or toad first developed one of its adaptations. (Example: "How the frog got its sticky tongue") Or, you could write a play, make costumes, and perform your myth. Or how about a puppet show? Save Our Frogs (All Ages) This is where kids can learn about some threats to frogs (and the rest of us), see some endangered species, and read about what they can do to help. This section lends itself to a variety of possiblke activities your class can try. Kids can discuss what sorts of things they can do for helping take care of their environment. There are some examples listed in the "What YOU Can Do to Help" section. - Environmental discussions. Try some classroom activities regarding the environment. Some examples are listed below. Activities and Teaching Programs: This program is adaptable for all levels and class sizes. The goal is to learn about the importance of the rain forests. Organized into small teams, students read, research, write, revise and edit articles for their own Rain Forest newsletter. Article topics include: geography plants animals and products, especially medicines. Using a computer and teachers as chief editors, the newsletter is outlined, printed and sold. Students use the proceeds to purchase acres of rain forest (an example is the Rainforest Action Network's Protect-an-Acre program (PAA) listed in the What You Can Do To Help page), preserving it for the future. Personal Usage of Water Study Students monitor their personal water usage for a twenty four hour period. Students use this information to assess their personal impact on the local community. The following is a list of approximate figures that can be used to help students determine how much water they use. Please remember there is a great variance in appliances in households and may not be accurate for everyone. You might want to ask the students to try to determine alternative ways to measure how much water they use. - Instruct students to keep track of the ways they use water directly for a twenty four hour period. (That is flushing the toilet, drinking, cooking, showering, etc..) You can also provide your students with a table for them to record their information. - After the students have collected their information, have them do the following analysis: Personal Total for twenty four hours (gallons or liters) Class Total for twenty four hours (gallons or liters) Average gallons or liters used per person in the class in 24 hours Total gallons or liters used by the class in a week, month, year - Following the calculations and analysis, discuss with the students ways that they might be able to cut their water usage down. Ask the students if they feel they have an impact on the environment. Flushing a Toilet: 4-6 gallons Shower: 5 to 15 gallons per minute Filling a bathtub: 25-35 gallons Clothes washer: 25-30 gallons per load Dishwasher: 15 gallons per load Running Faucet: 2 to 5 gallons per minute - Students graph data and calculations. - Discuss adaptations plants and animals make in their use of water. - Students keep track of their entire households use of water. - Students start a school water conservation program. Rate Your Family Conservation Study Students assess how environmentally aware their family is by a point system. Goal is to heighten awareness of environmental impact. Students collect data on a point system. (points below are from a suggested example, an additional part of this could be for students to come up with an appropriate rating system.) How did your family score???? - If you recycle newspaper, used computer paper, and some junk mail, add 10 pts. - If you picked up litter in the past week, add 5 pts. If you littered in any way. Subtract 20 pts. - If you planted one or more trees in the past year, add 10 pts. - If you drove your car (or had someone drive you) to destination fewer that two blocks away in the last week, subtract 20 pts. - If you have taken your children to a natural setting, such as the woods, a stream or a mountain trail in the last month, add 10 pts. - If you recycle aluminum cans and aluminum foil, add 10 pts. - If you burn or bag your leaves or grass clippings, subtract 10 pts. If you compost, mulch, or leave you leaves or grass alone to decompose, add 5 pts. - If you have a compost pile, add 10 pts. - If you have a family vegetable garden, add 5 pts. - If you have forgotten to turn off a light, television, or radio in an empty room today, subtract 10 pts. - If you have purchased a product packaged in a foam container in the past week (that includes food from some fast food restaurants), subtract 5 pts. - If you use both sides of a piece of paper before throwing it away, add 5 pts. - If you recycle glass and plastic, add 10 pts. - If you have volunteered your time for an environmental cause in the past year (such as paper drive, trash pick-up, etc.), add 10 pts. 90 points or above: Indeed you are a friendly family of the 80 to 89 points: You are a concerned family and doing OK. 70 to 79 points: Your family needs to make a plan and try Below 69: Your family is contributing to the problem. Here's a neat idea from Spencer Deal: 5th grade teacher at Mesa Grande Elementary, Hesperia, CA (firstname.lastname@example.org) It's a great way to patch differences and use frogs! First you'll need a fun picture of a frog (How about the "Frog Eating Cricket" in the Doodle page?) for this project. - Get a photo or black line of a comical frog to put on the 3" x 3" piece of paper. - The slip reads "Frogs are lucky, they get to eat what bugs - At school the kids put what bothers them on the paper. - At the end of class, use the slip of paper to mend feelings etc. Froggin Around the world Here's a fun idea! Gather a bag or box with the following: 1 stuffed frog, 1 disposable camera, and a list of instructions. Get the kids to send the frog out around the US, if not the world! Folks that get the frog should 1.) write a postcard and send it to the classroom, and 2.) take a photo with the stuffed frog, and send it on to the next lucky person to do the same. A couple of years ago, a 3rd grade class sent me such a package and it seemed like a neat way to get kids to learn about folks from other parts of the country. The instructions asked for me to write to the kids and send it forward...(and to be sure that the last person with the stuffed frog would send it back, along with the camera, to the classroom before classes ended) ANIMAL WRITES LEAGUE : Smoochy the Frog Avatar This appears to be a webpage about one such traveling frog and his adventures in el paso with this 3rd grade classroom. Links to More Cool Ideas for Teaching Programs: FrogWeb.gov has a great selectionof Educational Resources and ideas for classroom fun! Junior Detective Headquarters is a great site put together right here in Oregon at the Oregon Coast Aquarium which hosts this a section dedicated to activities teachers and parents can do with their kids. Specifically geared towards dissapearing frogs! Our Friend - The Frog: A Webquest for Year 2 by Denise O'MaraWebquest for a Year 2 IT class in first term who are studying frogs with their class teacher. The children's skills at this level are limited, especially reading skills, but they are able to use a browser and print a webpage. The webquest format is used to teach the children how to retrieve information & record it, as well as revise some of their computer skills from Year 1. Cool School Froggy Projects (The Leaping Pad) List of Links to classes who did frog projects at school and posted the results on the web! The Water Cycle For Kids Here's a bunch of lesson plans and ideas on water cycle studies. VIRTUAL CREATURES This is an NSF funded research and development project. Their interdisciplinary team is exploring the educational potential of a new way of seeing living creatures and interacting with them. The foundation of this new way of seeing is a high resolution computerized three-dimensional visualization of an actual organism in its entirety, inside and out. They plan to create a library of virtual creatures designed for teaching. Students will be able to explore, visualize, touch, and change these creatures in ways that are impossible with real laboratory animals. Visit the site to see the virtual frog that they have begun to create. Biological Rhythms (Grades 3-12) People have biological rhythms...what about other creatures? Many schools have classroom pets - a rat, hamster, fish or frog. If your class has a pet, study its behavior to see if you can determine any cycling patterns. Make a Frog Sandwich Janet Bowersox. Nathan Hale High School, Seattle, WA. Type of Entry: individual project/lesson. Type of Activity: hands-on, modeling, group/cooperative learning (spontaneous or structured), dissection preview lesson. Target Audience: Life Science, Biology, Special needs - ESL, Special Education. For the students who ask, "Do we get to dissect in Biology?" or those who ask "Do we have to dissect in Biology?", the Frog Sandwich lets students choose how they will learn some comparative anatomy. Required of students: Each student assembles a paper Frog Sandwich over a one week time period. They exchange frogs to check, correct, and "sign off" on each other's work. After completing the dissection of preserved frogs, students take a station lab practical exam. They are allowed to use their frog sandwich on the exam as an identification guide and they submit their Frog Sandwich as part of their exam. Graphing Toad/Frog Respiration Laura Jensen. Yuma High School, Yuma, AZ. Type of Activity: Hands-on, Simulation, Inquiry lab, Authentic assessment, group/cooperative learning. Target Audience: Life Science, Biology, Advanced Biology/AP Biology, Anatomy, Physiology. This activity helps the students answer: Purpose of a control. The importance of care toward the experimental animal. The method of graphing the results. Required of students: Ability to accurately measure length, mass, temperature. They must be previously exposed to the importance of observations. Life Cycle Classes Frogs: A Thematic Unit Plan Grade level: 2. The overall purpose of this interdisciplinary, thematic unit of study is to help young children learn more about the metamorphosis and development of an amphibian species as they become involved in a number of interdisciplinary lessons and activities over a three or four week period. The lessons and activities of the unit are specifically designed to help the children to develop related concepts as they gain an appreciation of ways frogs help our environment. The children will also have experiences in caring for animals, and they will have opportunities to express themselves through creative work in art, nusic, and movement activities. Frog Metamorphosis: A Change For the Better Objective: to introduce students to the concept of metamorphosis as practiced by frogs. Students color the life stages of the frog, cut out each stage and fold to make a complete animal. Suggestions for coloring are provided on the sheet. The fold will give the various life stages a three-dimensional look. Students use the completed cutouts to make a mobile to display the frog's life cycle. Move the Desks! the pond's coming! Students become involved in learning about pond components, food chains, and the water cycle as they help construct the pond from a child's swimming pool. ANIMAL LIFE CYCLES his is a unit in the LIFE SCIENCES. By doing these activities, students will learn that all living things are born, grow and change; consume water and food, and die. This process is commonly known as the LIFE CYCLE. Hands-on experiences as well as creative writing, art-related and cognitive activities are used to demonstrate the beauty and complexity of the transitions all of life must go through. Appropriate for grades 3-8. Online Anatomy Classes Craft Exchange Crafts can be a great way to recycle computer and household waste while having fun and making something useful. This page features craft projects of all sorts, many of which incorporate recycling items in creating new ones. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Make Shrinky-Dinks from Recycling Materials! This is part of a really cool website called The Thinking Fountain where various ideas are collected. look here to find all kinds of neat projects! Candid Camera Activity (Grades K-3) language arts, art, photography. CONCEPT: Why is litter a problem? What can we do about it? OBJECTIVE: Students will appreciate the negative effects litter has on their community. Discover Composting Organisms Activity - (Grades K-3) science. CONCEPT: What makes composting work? OBJECTIVE: To expose students to some of the organisms that carry out decomposition. Let's Get Organized Activity - (Grades K-3) social studies, technology, home economics. CONCEPT: What needs to be done to organize a collection system for recyclables? OBJECTIVE: To teach organizational skills and involve youth in the planning of their school and home recycling project (if children participate they will have a vested interest in the program's success). To design a set-up for recyclables. Ozone Action! K-5 Introduction - (Grade 5) Constructing new scientific knowledge. Introduction: In this activity, students will be asked a series of questions to see what they know about air - some possible answers are provided. (These questions will take about 20-30 minutes.) Teachers can then choose from the accompanying series of activities (1-4) to help students check their assumptions about air. (Each activity will take about 15 minutes.) Online Population Decline/Deformed Frogs Resources Links to more Links, but good ones. Environmental Education Links EE-Link The Environmental Education on the Internet (EE-Link) is maintained by the National Consortium for Environmental Education and Training. This is a great resource for students, teachers and professionals that support K-12 environmental education, such as media specialists, inservice providers, nature center staff and curriculum developers. AskEric LessonPlan - dozens of lesson ideas categorized by grade level in Earth studies. Frogs In Your Classroom Not Just Fish: A How To Guide - This "Teacher's Tidbits" explores interesting ideas for being a bit more creative in the classroom than a simple fishbowl. Notes from a Homeschooling Dad - Jeff Kelety writes an amusing article "Of Ponds and Tadpoles". Links to sites where you can get frog kits - An easy solution: one stop to get everything you need to raise a frog in the classroom. Note: be sure to read about the type of frog BEFORE buying! Raising a specific breed - another option is to get a specific type of frog based on some research in the species caresheets. Finding a specific type of frog for your classroom may involve everything from calling around local pet stores or knowing the local wildlife. There are also some frog breeders that have websites online that can be used as resources. When choosing a frog it is important to keep in mind the same things as when choosing any pet. Please see notes on the page: Your First Frog! Do you have a classroom success story, innovative idea, or anything that other educators might be interested in that has to do with Frogs? Please send me feedback! Click here to send me electronic mail. Back to FROGLAND. Please note: except for the silly graduate frog at the top, I did not draw anything that appears on the teachers corner page. All other images on this page are from public clip-art archives.

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A family is a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups, typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relationships including adoption. There are a number of variations in the basic family structure. The nuclear family consists of husband and wife and their children, while the extended family includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Other family patterns include polygamous (usually patriarchal) and single-parent families (usually headed by a female). Throughout history, families have been central to human society; a key indicator of a society's well-being is the health of its families. For this reason, as stated in Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "The [family is the] natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." The family is the basic social unit for the expression of love between man and woman and the creation and raising of children. The family tames the wilder impulses of men to the responsibilities of fatherhood, enables young women to blossom as mothers, and cultivates morality in children. Moral virtues, empathy, and good human relationships are learned in the family. All religions recognize the importance of the family and have moral teachings that support it. Some religions regard the family as an institution created by God for people to perfect themselves, become like God and experience oneness with God. The family is universally formed to protect and nurture children. Although the term "dysfunctional" has often been applied to the family in modern times, in fact, the vast majorities of families produce viable, peaceable, and productive citizens. Children in average families outperform children in institutional settings according to numerous developmental measures, most importantly impulse control and pro-social behavior. The three- or four-generation extended family, including grandparents in addition to parents and children, provides a rich network for human relationships and great support for the raising of children and continuation of the lineage. Fostering the human need for love and intimacy is an important purpose of the family. The family is generally viewed as a haven from the world, supplying "intimacy, love and trust where individuals may escape the competition of dehumanizing forces in modern society." The family protects individuals from the rough and tumble of the industrialized world. The family is where warmth, tenderness, and understanding can be expected from a loving mother and protection from the world can be expected from the father. These purposes have declined as income levels allow for economic security independent of family support and as individuals enjoy increased civil rights and opportunities to pursue happiness outside the family setting. Nevertheless, the family remains irreplaceable as the primary locus of love and personal fulfillment. Martin Luther termed the family "the school of love." It is in the family that people can realize love in all its dimensions: children's love for parents, love among siblings, conjugal love, and parental love. As people's hearts are cultivated through their family relationships, they can find fulfillment in their lives beyond what they could attain as unattached individuals. The family is also the primary school of virtue, where children learn manners, obedience to their parents, helpfulness to their siblings, care for their younger siblings, and so on. More lessons are learned in the school of marriage and still more in the school of parenthood. Anthropologist James Q. Wilson has called the family "a continuing locus of moral instruction…we learn to cope with the people of the world because we learn to cope with members of our family." The family provides the socialization and character education required of good citizens, who practice these same virtues in the larger contexts of society. However, family life can also magnify people's shortcomings. Family dysfunction can cause such emotional damage that people will risk everything to escape their families. Some lose confidence in family life and choose the option of remaining single. Indeed, there has never been an ideal human family. Christianity explains that this ideal—represented by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden—was lost at the Fall of Man. Marxism holds that the family is a structure of human domination. Nevertheless, utopian attempts to replace the family with collective social structures, viz the Kibbutz, have not had long-term success. For better or worse, human beings seem to be programmed to live in families. Research indicates that most Americans (71 percent) still idealize the traditional family even as they grow more accepting of divorce (78 percent), cohabitation (49 percent), and single-parent families. Margaret Mead, based on her anthropological research, affirmed the centrality of the family in human society: As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period where this was not so. We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it.… Again and again, in spite of proposals for change and actual experiments, human societies have reaffirmed their dependence on the family as the basic unit of human living—the family of father, mother and children. The family is the primary means through which most people cultivate their character and learn about love. The family of origin is the context for a child's lessons about love and virtue, as he or she relates to parents and siblings. The challenges of marriage and parenting bring further lessons. Precisely because of this crucial role in character development, family dysfunction is the origin of some of the deepest emotional and psychological scars. Experiences of childhood sexual abuse, parents' divorce, and so forth lead to serious problems later in life. The family structure provides the basic context for human development, as its members take on successive roles as children, siblings, spouses, parents, and grandparents. As educator Gabriel Moran put it, "The family teaches by its form." These different roles in the family describe a developmental sequence, the later roles building upon the earlier ones. Each role provides opportunities to develop a particular type of love, and carries with it specific norms and duties. The heart of a son or daughter develops from that of a very young child and matures through a lifetime—from the toddler who clings trustingly to his or her parents’ hand to the adult child who nurses his or her elderly parents in their last years of life. Yet the essence of the child's love for parents remains the same: a heart of attachment, veneration, appreciation, and love that deepens and becomes more conscious and responsible over time. In the East, a child’s devotion toward his or her parents is called filial piety and is considered the root of all goodness and morality. Confucius taught that responsiveness to one’s parents is the root or fountainhead of rén (仁), empathy for human beings in general. Attachment theory says that children form "inner working models" for all future relationships from the interactions they have with their first caretakers—usually their mothers. Empathy is learned from following and imitating the expressions and levels of emotions expressed by mothers as they play with their child, soothe their child, and respond to the infant's needs. The first developmental "crisis" of trust versus mistrust, as Erik Erikson put it, is resolved positively by a parent's caring responses to her child. This crisis can also have a negative outcome—leading to a lifetime of mistrust—when parents fail to care adequately, either because they are preoccupied with their own personal issues or are just plain self-centered. As the child grows, he or she internalizes the parents' values. Out of love for them and desire for their approval, the child learns obedience, self-control, cleanliness, diligence in doing schoolwork, and respectful behavior towards people and property. The child's developing attitude towards his or her parents will profoundly influence later attitudes toward authority figures in society, and also, for believers, the mental image of God. Studies of altruism following World War II showed that there was but one common factor among the people in Europe who risked themselves to save Jews from Nazi horrors: each rescuer had a warm, strong bond with one or more parent. Conversely, children who are neglected or abandoned by their parents suffer from general moral impairment. Studies of children who were raised for the early years of their lives in institutions found them to be inordinately cruel to one another and to animals and severely lacking in impulse control, especially of aggressive impulses. They were often "unable in later years to bind themselves to other people, to love deeply." In average families there is ambivalence in the love between a child and his or her parents, especially as it develops into the adolescent years. Children are quick to pick up on any hypocrisy in their parents. Hence, there is need for parents to be exemplary in loving their children and demonstrating in their own lives the ideals that they would wish to pass on to them. Child's love reaches a new stage of maturity when he or she becomes an adult. New comprehension and sympathy for the parents may come as the son or daughter becomes a spouse, a breadwinner, a parent, a middle-aged caretaker of others, and a responsible community member. The child recognizes his or her debt to the parents and begins to repay it with gratitude. Mature children's love may also involve taking up the parents' unfinished tasks and unrealized dreams, desiring to make the parents proud of them and leave them a legacy. The dynamic of a family changes when a sibling arrives on the scene. The older child in a family is challenged to shed layers of self-centeredness to respond to and keep the approbation of the most significant others—the parents. His areas of self-love are further impinged upon by the presence of another on the scene. He must learn many of the most important lessons of sibling’s love—to share, to give, and to forgive. These lessons will be of major importance in later life, especially in marriage. Parents can help an older child become more other-centered in the early days of having a sibling by including the older child in the baby’s care, thus activating altruism and its rewards in the child’s heart. Benjamin Spock explains, “One of the ways in which a young child tries to get over the pain of having a younger rival is to act as if he himself were no longer a child, competing in the same league as the baby, but as if he were a third parent." By encouraging the older child in this, "the parents can help a child to actually transform resentful feelings into cooperativeness and genuine altruism." The natural inequalities and differences between siblings—of age, ability, and positions in a family—can be sources of friction or contexts for growth. The older sibling has had a head start on garnering the attention of the parents and has greater command of things in the home. Now he or she must learn to give a portion of these advantages to the younger one. A younger sibling, on the other hand, is born sharing. He or she necessarily becomes other-focused in order to form an affiliation with the more powerful older sibling(s). Siblings must learn to cope with disputes over the use of possessions, taking turns, physical and verbal aggression, and other moral issues. Parents have a central role in ameliorating sibling rivalries by affirming each child’s value in a manner consistent with the naturally unequal positions of elder and younger. Yet, it may be challenging for parents to show equal regard for siblings of widely differing abilities or moral qualities. In cultures that practice primogeniture, codifying the distinction between elder and younger siblings into the norms of family life, the eldest son receives more privileges, but he is also expected to bear greater responsibility for the family's welfare. Younger children are expected to show deference to their elder siblings, but they can expect guidance, care, and leadership from them. When there is a fight between elder and younger, the father will scold the younger, "Respect your elders!" but then in private he will punish the elder sibling, whom he holds most responsible for the incident. A certain amount of sibling rivalry is to be expected, but whether it is channeled into constructive competition or destructive jealousy depends on how they are raised by their parents. When parents are negligent, a festering sibling rivalry can even result in fratricide, as in the Bible's story of Cain and Abel. Another biblical story, the parable of the Prodigal Son, contains a moment of parental intervention to diffuse a sibling rivalry when the father affirms his equal love for both sons, the faithful and the prodigal (Luke 15:25–32). Sibling relationships are training for living in a world of diversity. Though born of the same parents, siblings often differ from one another widely in temperament, personality, tastes, preferences, talents, and even political leanings. Living amidst a large or extended family provides training in tolerance, charity, and acceptance of differences. It helps ingrain the lesson that although people differ, they are fundamentally related and may still treat one another with respect, appreciation, and love based on their common bonds. Marriage encourages and requires a high degree of other-centered love. No relationship prior to marriage has the same potential for human oneness, and thus no other relationship entails the same demands for surrender of the self. In this way, marriage promotes true love, which is to live for the sake of others. The passion of romantic love in the early years of marriage is meant to foster the habit of self-surrender and care for one's spouse. Yet few marriages survive for long on passion alone. Commitment and effort by each partner are required to make a marriage last. Marital expert Judith Wallerstein said, “A marriage that commands loyalty…requires each partner to relinquish self-centeredness.” Catholic psychologist Marshall Fightlin asserts that it is the daily task of a husband to “mortify” the impulses to act like a single man and to concern himself with his other—his wife. Thus, marriage requires renunciation of all other romantic or sexual relationships in favor of the spouse; it also means renunciation of many aspects of one’s own habits and attitudes that interfere with a life shared with someone who is physically, emotionally, and mentally "other"—a member of the opposite sex. Paradoxically, renunciation of the self in favor of the other enriches and enhances the self. Joy and excitement are increased. Theologian Karl Barth taught, “It is always in relationship to their opposite that man and woman are what they are in themselves.” It stands to reason that virtue or good character is the bedrock of a happy marriage. This finding is backed up by research. According to Wallerstein, "Happiness in marriage meant feeling respected and cherished…based on integrity. A partner was admired and loved for his or her honesty, compassion, generosity of spirit, decency, loyalty to the family, and fairness…. The value these couples place on the partner’s moral qualities…helps explain why many divorcing people speak so vehemently of losing respect for their former partners." Marital therapist Blaine Fowers says, "As I have observed many different couples, I have become convinced that strong marriages are built on the virtues or character strengths of the spouses. In other words, the best way to have a good marriage is to be a good person." Religious teachings hold that marriage also brings a couple closer to God. The rabbis taught that the union of a man and a woman into one person or one flesh is the only full representation of the image of God. Karl Barth discerned a theology of marriage in the Trinity: God exists in a community of three persons, so a solitary, isolated human being without a counterpart is necessarily incomplete. Many religious teachings advise couples to put God at the center of their marriage, to provide them the strength to persevere through the vicissitudes of life together. At times when one's spouse may seem like one’s worst enemy, faith can provide couples with the emotional resources to be patient and forgiving, and to continue steadfast throughout the years. Parenthood makes sacrifice an ordinary part of life. A father takes an extra job to afford a house with a yard or save up for his child's college education; a mother who formerly spent hours on makeup and stylish dresses sits happily with tousled hair and a stained shirt while her toddlers clamber around a messy house. Parents sacrifice their interests, plans, and dreams to attend to their children's needs. As one child psychologist said, "If it is to be done well, childrearing requires, more than most activities of life, a good deal of de-centering from one’s own needs and perspectives." Being a good parent requires patience and forbearance, as when answering their child's 50th question in a row while trying to prepare dinner. It requires firmness and fortitude, as when their defiant 15-year-old demands to know why he or she is not allowed to stay out late when all of his or her friends are doing it. The responsibility of caring for children bring out latent moral qualities in parents, presenting "opportunities to love when I would rather be alone, to be gentle when I would rather be efficient, and to surrender when I would rather be in control." The experience spurs on the parents' growth in heart. Becoming a parent is a life-altering transition. Being totally accountable for the welfare of one's children gives parents a different outlook on life. Eldridge Cleaver, a former Black Panther who was trained as a communist in the former Soviet Union, experienced such a transformation when his daughter was born. Surely, he thought, this beautiful child, and the love he felt for her, were not products of economic forces. It reawakened Cleaver's belief in God. Parenthood likewise affects attitudes on social issues, which now must take into account how those matters will affect the lives of the next generation. One survey found that the most marked differences of attitudes on cultural issues are between those who have children and those who do not. These differences transcend economic, political, racial, and other demographic factors. Good parenting requires harmony between husband and wife. A harmonious partnership allows the parents to integrate the complementary dimensions of parental love—the warm supportiveness of a mother's love and the firm and challenging qualities of a father's love. Research has shown that a balanced approach to parental authority pairs high levels of compassion and care with an equally high degree of firmness. Psychologist Diane Baumrind calls this “authoritative parenting.” She found that children of authoritative parents are the most well adjusted and well behaved. Parental love is a definition of unconditional love. Parents give and give and forget what they have given, compelled by their love to give more. Parental love is fraught with risk, for there is always the possibility of loss. Fathers and mothers cannot anticipate how their children will turn out—as children have free will. In spite of it all, parents' continual caring is the surest lifeline for even the most incorrigible child. Grandparents are an invaluable source of rootedness for a child. Children who have relationships with their grandparents are more trusting, calmer, and quieter than those who do not. Grandparents are the link to all that has gone before and they give a sense of continuity and reassurance. Grandparents help children to know what life was like long before they were born—where they have come from and the kind of people they have sprung from. They are the family's link to the chain of history. Grandparents can provide a safe haven when their children and grandchildren are experiencing turbulence in their relationships. Certain of who they are, grandparents stand for verities of the human experience that go beyond current fashions. The heart of grandparents has an innate need to give from their lifetime storehouse of knowledge and experience to nurture and enrich the younger generations. Erik Erikson and his colleagues have characterized the primary challenge in old age as one of "integrity versus despair," with the possibility of culminating in a profound awareness or higher sense of self. By giving to their grandchildren, they can experience their personhood as that which "transcends time-bound identities." Those who do not have grandchildren will often seek surrogates for the same reason. By sharing their stories, insights, and values with the young generation, grandparents receive affirmation and comfort that their legacy will live on. Despite controversies over what the "family" is, there is considerable evidence about what the consequences of family life are for individuals. Men and women who are in their first marriages, on average, enjoy significantly higher levels of physical and mental health than those who are either single, divorced, or living together. Social scientist James Q. Wilson explains: Married people are happier than unmarried ones of the same age, not only in the United States, but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made. And there seems to be good reasons for that happiness. People who are married not only have higher incomes and enjoy greater emotional support, they tend to be healthier. Married people live longer than unmarried ones, not only in the United States but abroad. Married people, whether men or women, enjoy higher levels of sexual pleasure and fulfillment than do single people. Among the various life spheres Americans report as being sources of a "great deal of satisfaction," studies consistently show family life as the most important. Three-fourths of Americans interviewed claimed that family life was their most important value, in surveys by Yankelovich between 1973 and 1981. All things being equal, children with married parents consistently do better in every measure of well-being than their peers who have single, cohabiting, divorced, or step-parents. Being raised by a father and mother is a stronger indicator of well-being than race, economic, or educational status, or neighborhood. According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, a child advocacy organization, "Most researchers now agree…studies support the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by their two married biological parents." Evidence points out that: Marriage and family life have been shown in numerous studies to have a variety of health benefits for both adults and children: In traditional societies, the family was the primary economic unit. This persists for rural families, where every family member has a role in agricultural production. This role has diminished in modern industrialized societies; nevertheless it persists. Among immigrant families, the mom-and-pop business offers economies of labor. The contemporary trend towards dual-earner households, necessitated by the decline in real wages in the United States, reinforces the importance of the family for wealth creation. Married people are wealthier than their unmarried peers. They earn more money and are more likely to invest some of what they earn. They make more reliable employees, and so get promoted to better positions. Strong families have long been grounded in religious values, for religion provides many buttresses to strengthen family bonds. In his letter to the Ephesians (5:25), Saint Paul likened the virtues of love in a Christian marriage to the love of Christ for the church. It is, first and foremost, a giving love, a sacrificial love that resembles the love of Jesus. Christian marital love has been characterized as “a love that seeks to give way to the other whenever possible.” Thus religion, by cultivating character virtues such as steadfastness, responsibility, and modesty, and by promoting the ethics of sacrifice, humility, and charity, provides valuable support for family members as they seek to maintain lasting love amidst the demands of family life. The family's efficacy for personal growth is such that some religious traditions equate honorable and loving relationships in the family with a template for a person’s right relationship with God. In the Talmud, for instance, it is written, "When a man honors his father and mother, God says, 'I regard it as though I had dwelt among them and they had honored me'" (Kiddushin 30b). Confucius said, “Surely proper behavior toward parents and elder brothers is the trunk of goodness” (Analects 1.2). Jesus encouraged his disciples to relate to God as a loving father, calling him "Abba." Furthermore, traditional religious teachings lift up the expectation that marriage should last a lifetime. They decry divorce as a moral failure. "I hate divorce," declares God through the prophet Malachi (2:16). When Muhammad was asked about divorce, he said it was "the lawful thing that God hates most" (Hadith of Abu Dawud). When Jesus was asked about divorce, he said that God only allowed it because of people’s hardness of heart, and that it was not His way "from the beginning," adding "What God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:5–8). Religions likewise condemn sex outside the context of marriage and family, teaching that it violates the sanctity of marriage and creates difficult entanglements of soul and spirit that can interfere with a person's eventual marriage. These normative teachings provide both resources and sanctions that predispose traditional believers to maintain and make the best of even a difficult marriage. Not surprisingly, religion and family tend to go hand in hand. A 2004 survey by the National Marriage Project (Rutgers University) found that married men are more religiously active than unmarried men. Nearly half of married men say that they go to religious services several times a month, versus less than a quarter of unmarried men. Compared to unmarried men, married men are also significantly more likely (75 percent versus 59 percent) to agree that "children should be raised in a religion." Also, unmarried men who attend religious services several times per month or more are more disposed to marry. Nevertheless, it is not the case that religious belief is the main factor in maintaining strong families. Believing does not always translate into the morality of daily life. Religious affiliation ranks fourth among the factors that reduce the risk of divorce, as shown in the following U.S. statistics (the norm without any of these factors is a 50 percent divorce rate): |Annual income over $50,000 (vs. under $25,000)||-30%| |Having a baby seven months or more after marriage (vs. before marriage)||-24%| |Marrying over 25 years of age (vs. under 18)||-24%| |Own family of origin intact (vs. divorced parents)||-14%| |Religious affiliation (vs. none)||-14%| |Some college (vs. high-school dropout)||-13%| Studies in the psychology of religion suggest that how one practices religion, or "what kind of religion," is more significant for the quality of family relationships than how strongly one believes in a religion, or "how much religion." Participants with rigid, literalistic or guilt-driven approaches to religion reported an increased emphasis on control, difficulties in communication, and lower levels of marital satisfaction. In contrast, participants who identified with and maintained an open approach to religious sentiment and tended to promote independence in their children, were more likely to have affectionate and warm relationships with their children, and experience increased marital satisfaction. While religious faith leads some people to be less accepting of alternative family patterns, it can also promote compassion for people struggling in less than ideal family situations. In every faith, God offers forgiveness to sinners, especially those who sincerely wish to mend past mistakes. There is recognition that the ideal of the God-centered family runs up against the corruption of the human heart due to the Fall of Man, which caused widespread difficulties between men and women, parents and children ever since. Almost all the families in the Bible seem to be dysfunctional to one degree or another, and the protagonist is sometimes challenged to overcome a festering family problem—Jacob and Joseph are two notable examples. Therefore, the centering of marriage upon God and striving to practice true love—divine love—within marriage can be viewed as a redemptive act that opens the way to divine healing and personal growth. For believers who practice a life of faith, marriage and family can be a blessing, a restorative relationship to heal the most primal of human wounds and open the way to future hope. According to sociology and anthropology, the primary function of the family is to reproduce society, biologically and socially. For children, the family plays a major role in their socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family's purpose is to produce and socialize children within a culture. However, producing children is not the only function of the family. In societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. In modern societies, marriage entails particular rights and privilege that encourage the formation of new families even when there is no intention of having children. The structure of families can be classified into four major types: consanguineal, conjugal, patrifocal, and matrifocal. (Note: these are ideal types. In all societies there are acceptable deviations from the norm, owing either to incidental circumstances such as the death of a family member, infertility, or personal preferences.) French sociologists Frédéric Le Play (1806-1882) and Emmanuel Todd have studied the connection between family type and social values. Le Play developed a four-fold typology of the family, each which inculcated a certain set of values. These values are passed on as each generation unconsciously absorbs the values of their parents. Todd added some additional types and went on to demonstrate that a country's adoption of a particular political ideology—liberal democracy or communism or fascism—correlated with its family system; and he even hypothesized "the ideological system is everywhere the intellectual embodiment of family structure." Thus, a people's love of liberty or acceptance of authority is determined by the relationship between fathers and sons in the family. If a grown child continues to live with his parents after marriage, forming a vertical relationship within the extended family, such a family is regarded as 'authoritarian'. Within the family and within the society respect for authority has a high premium. On the other hand if a grown child leaves his family, marries and sets up an independent household, this family model is regarded as 'liberal' as it, and the society composed of such families, puts a high premium on individual independence. Furthermore, the relationship between brothers inculcates the ideal of equality or acceptance of inequality as the natural order of things. If inheritance is by custom the equal division of the parent's property among the sons, they form egalitarian relationships. If the inheritance is by custom weighted towards the eldest son, so that brothers naturally accept the inequality among them, the values of the society include an acceptance of inequality. Todd found a surprising correspondence between Le Play's typology of family structures with the country or region's dominant social and political values and institutions: These findings from anthropology seem to support the view that the family is the foundation of society and its values. Todd theorized that social and political arrangements such as are found in liberal democracies or in socialist states are, "a transposition into social relations of the fundamental values which govern elementary human relations" in the family. Today, many people tend to idealize the two-parent nuclear family as the ideal family structure. The man typically is responsible for income and support, the woman for home and family matters. Social conservatives often express concern over a purported decay of the family and see this as a sign of the crumbling of contemporary society. They look with alarm at the dramatic increase in households headed by single mothers and by same-sex couples. Yet anthropologists point out that these are merely variations on family types that have existed in other societies. Even when people bypass the traditional configuration of father, mother, and their biological children, they tend to follow its patterns anyway, showing the fundamental need they feel for its structure. Couples live together and raise children, even children from previous relationships. Same-sex couples assume masculine and feminine roles and demand legal recognition of their unions; many seek to adopt children. Homeless children tend to congregate in gangs that serve as surrogate families. On the other hand, as families universally are built around the marriage bond and the responsibilities for raising children, there would seem to be some rationality to giving preference to the two-parent nuclear family—particularly over family structures headed by only one parent. As James Q. Wilson has stated: In virtually every society in which historians or anthropologists have inquired, one finds people living together on the basis of kinship ties and having responsibility for raising children. The kinship ties invariably imply restrictions on who has sexual access to whom; the child-care responsibilities invariably imply both economic and non-economic obligations. And in virtually every society, the family is defined by marriage; that is, by a publicly announced contract that makes legitimate the sexual union of a man and a woman. In other words, while single-parent and matrifocal families form a recognizable type, they are not the first choice where there is the possibility of forming stable two-parent families. However, where men are not strongly bound to the family unit, i.e., where a culture does not support lasting marriage or where economic hardships cause men to be apart from their wives for long periods of time, this family type becomes prevalent. By the same token, societies where patrifocal families are the norm are vulnerable to movements for women's rights and human rights that attack marriage arrangements that do not give wives equal status with their husbands. This may lead, in the long run, to the decline of polygamy. In many cultures, the need to be self-supporting is hard to meet, particularly where rents and property values are very high, and the foundation of a new household can be an obstacle to nuclear family formation. In these cases, extended families form. People remain single and live with their parents for a long period of time. Generally, the trend to shift from extended to nuclear family structures has been supported by increasing mobility and modernization. Still, some argue that the extended family, or at least the three-generational family including grandparents, provides a broader and deeper foundation for raising children as well as support for the new parents. In particular, the role of grandparents has been recognized as an important aspect of the family dynamic. Having experienced the challenges of creating a family themselves, they offer wisdom and encouragement to the young parents and become a reassuring presence in the lives of their grandchildren. Abraham Maslow described the love of grandparents as "the purest love for the being of the other." The emotional pull of these intergenerational encounters remains strong even for those who have split off to form nuclear families. Individuals who leave the village and their extended families for the economic benefits of life in the city may feel a sense of isolation and a longing for the thick relationships and warm love of the extended family of their origin. This suggests that, economic issues aside, people are happiest living in extended families, or in nuclear families that treasure close bonds with their kinfolk. A strong nuclear or extended family provides a haven of love and intimacy. It offers maximum opportunities for personal growth through its matrix of relationships—with spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings, and children. A strong family provides a social support network that its members are able to rely on in times of stress. The rise of single-parent households due to the absence of husbands represents reversion to a different family structure, one that is prone to isolation and provides weaker social support. The two-parent family is important in the development of children and beneficial to their mental and emotional health. A strong conjugal bond between the parents provides the child security and a model for conjugal love to which he or she can aspire. The father's steady and responsible provision for the family provides a positive male role model for boys and a model of an ideal husband for young girls. Thus from an early age, children gain a positive sense of self-worth, sexual identity, and confidence about their future. Divorce or the chronic absence of one parent teaches the opposite lesson: that life is insecure, that the child is not lovable, that the child cannot hope for a successful marriage, that men are irresponsible and unsuitable as marriage partners, and so on. Statistically, children of single-parent families have a higher incidence of criminality, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and depression. The extended family provides a superior alternative to the nuclear family in many cultures, expanding the family dynamic intergenerationally. Grandparents offer a unique form of support to the family, both to the parents and to the children. When a newly married couple moves far away from their parents, establishing their own nuclear family, isolation from their extended family may prove stressful. Families in which three generations interact in close harmony provide the greatest support for successfully raising children, connecting them to their family traditions and giving value to their lineage. 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Bagpipes in Peacetime by Greg Dawson Allen The clann (children) A patriarchal system has existed in the highlands and borders for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Under the social organisation of the clann chief each member or tenant had his or her own position, role and status. Those attending to the chief and his family included a harper (or clarsach player as in the Gaelic) and a bard or poet, then latterly, with the introduction of the bag-pipes to Scotland around the 15th century, a clann piper. Stories abound of notable bards who composed intricate verse in honour of victory in battle, at times of bereavement and in general praise of significant events, or, of reverence and gratitude to the chief. The bardic verse rallying men and women to battle is much older than that of the role of the piper. Tyrtaeus, the Lacedomian (680 BC) was the composer of five books of war verse. Tacitus, the Roman scribe, describes, albeit with some flattery to his father-in-law, Agricola’s achievements including Calgacus’s speech to his Pictish warriors before the decisive battle of Mons Graupious (allegedly fought at the foothills of Bennachie in 55 AD) as well as one notable poem celebrating the work of Arminius, an heroic figure famous for his struggles for freedom. (LOGAN P222) The piper and his bagpipes followed on from the harper and bard. The hills and glens were appropriate for an instrument meant to be played in the great outdoors. Playing the bagpipes indoors was, more or less, a lowland and English custom. The fierce sound of the Piob Mhor takes on a natural sound as it joins in with the sounds of the wind and the river. Even when, during social occasions, the piper played the dance or entertainment was held out of doors. (MANSON P82/83) As with the bard and harper, the piper held prominence beside the clann chief and often son followed in father’s footsteps and position. The MacCrimmons were perhaps the best known of the distinguished piping families. In all seven generations of pipers and seven years of personal tuition was required for bestowing the true title of Hereditary Piper. (MANSON P257) The MacCrimmons were the pipers to the family of MacLeod of Dunvegan in the Island of Skye. The progenitor of the MacCrimmons was said to be of Italian descent from Cremona in Italy, with the unlikely name of Donald, who arrived in Scotland and settled in Glenelg on the west coast on the opposite side of the Minch from Skye. Supposedly his son, Iain Odhar became the first of his line of the great MacCrimmon pipers to MacLeod of Macleod. Other heredity pipers include the MacKays of Gairloch and Raasay, the Rankins (Clann Raing) in Mull, who were descended from Clann MacLean of Duart and went on to become pipers to the MacLeans of Coll after the former lost lands in the early 18th century. The list also includes the MacIntyres of Rannoch, the Cummings of Badenoch and Strathspey, who were official pipers for that clann until the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in 1746, and the MacArthurs, pipers to the MacDonald of the Isles. The MacCrimmons and the MacArthurs were said to have been the finest pipers and exponents of the piobaireachd and history relates great rivalry between the families for supremacy. Both the MacCrimmons and the MacArthurs had colleges for piping students; the former on the farm of Boreraig, eight miles south west of Dunvegan Castle on Skye, the latter at Ulva near Mull. For the MacCrimmon pupils seven years study was necessary in their apprenticeship. The pupils had a solitary designated area of open space in which to practice the scales and tunes on the chanter, the Small Pipes and Piob Mhor before being allowed to perform for their Master Tutor. The college at Ulva had four rooms; one for cattle, one for guests to stay, one for practice and one specifically for the use of students. In both cases the countryside was preferred for practice as was, and still is, deemed correct for the Piob Mhor. (MANSON 272-274) Incidentally, the bards too had to devote much time and effort to their learning. Bardic studies in Ireland lasted twelve years before being given the title of “Bard”, and learning comprised of committing to memory sixty thousand verses which they had to be able to recite on the command of the chief. The notion that clann society was ignorant and backward could not be further from the truth. (LOGAN 223) Piobaireachd or Pibroch, as Sir Walter Scott phonetically introduced the word into his text, means "pipe playing", but it is the Ceol Mor – the Great Music, the classical repertoire of the bagpipes and is separated from the Ceol Beag (Little Music) of the reels, strathspeys and marches. There are three further distinctions, which categorise the composition of the piobaireachd: Joseph MacDonald in his “Compleat Theory Of The Scots Highland Bagpipe” published in 1803 gives a variation on the terminology "Invented and taught by the first Masters of this instrument in the Islands of Sky and Mull". Poirst Tinali (Port Tionail): A gathering of the Highland Clans Cumhe (Cumha): A lament Failte: A salutation. Connections with the types of music played on the bagpipes can also be made with the cruit (harp). The god Dagda played "The three things whereby cruit-players are distinguished". Sleep-strain: Music to induce sleep Smile-strain: Music to bring laughter Wail-strain: Music to shed tears. In piping music the three definitions can be interpreted as lullaby, dance tune and lament. Piping teachers of the 15th century wrote no music. Instead, their students learned to hear and translate the music to their instruments by ear alone, becoming instinctive to the tuning, tunes and intricacies of the piece. Music was taught in the musical and oral tradition, and although a pupil may have a particular skill with the pipes, if he could not learn to play by ear and retain the tunes, then he had little future as a piper. Teaching was in three parts, all of which took place in the open air: At first the students were taught and asked to repeat the ‘words’ known as the Canntaireachd, spoken in syllables. The second stage saw the students fingering the tunes on the chanter as heard from the Canntaireachd. The third stage was to ease the tune from the chanter by blowing. The last, and ultimate challenge, was to play on the full set of pipes – the Piob Mhor. Individual teachers had their own method and style of teaching. The MacCrimmon’s Canntaireachd was written down in 1828 by Captain Neil MacLeod of Gesto, containing twenty Piobaireachd. A proficient player of the bagpipes can sight read the Canntaireachd and immediately transpose the ‘urlar’ ( ground or theme) to music. The vowels represent notes and the consonants finger movements or grips that ornament them. (PURSER) In combining the versatility of the intricate varieties of grace notes and vibrating capable on the bagpipes, the piper can use the nine notes available and play a tunes from the Canntaireachd containing more than sixty syllables. An example from Captain Neil MacLeod of Gesto as taken from John MacCrimmon, piper to the old Laird of MacLeod and his grandson, the late General MacLeod of MacLeod is as follows; COGHIEGH NHA SHIE – WAR OR PEACE (The True Gathering Of The Clans) I hodroho, hodroho, haninin hiechin, hodroha, hodroho, hodroho hachin, hiodroho, hodroho, haninin hiechin, hodroha, hodroha, hodroha, hodroha, hodroha, hodroho, hodroho hachin, hiodroho, hodroho, haninin hiechin, hodroha, hodroho, hodroho, hodroha, haninun, haninun, haninun, haninun. Ist. Var. I hodroho, hodroho, haninin, hodroho, hodroha, hodroho, hodroho, hodroha. . . . And so forth for another six blocks with instructions for ‘Doubling’ and ‘2nd, 3rd and 4th Variations’ with a final “Crouluigh Mach” or “Finishing Measure” which could be compared with an ‘Envoy’ which finalises a Sonnet in poetry; hiodratatateriri, hodratatateriri, hiendatatateriri, hodratatateriri, hadratatateriri, hadratatateri, hodratatateriri, hadratatateriri, And so on. Canntaireachd remained in the oral tradition of song and music for the past two centuries, but a tutor published in 1803 attempted to set the difficult and often carefully guarded methods of piping in print. Sir John Murray MacGregor, Chief of clann MacGregor and Auditor General of Bengal found the ‘Treatise’ written “In the course of a tedious voyage to India” in Bengal. The writer was Joseph MacDonald, an officer in the service of The India Company. It was compiled over three years, between 1760 and 1763 by MacDonald, the third son of the eleven children of the Reverend Murdo MacDonald, minister in the parish of Durness in north west Sutherland. (DONALDSON 2) "The Compleat Theory Of The Scots Highland Bagpipe" was published in 1803, posthumously by Patrick MacDonald, brother of Joseph, as MacDonald died in Calcutta of a malignant fever at the young age of twenty four. He would never see his work in print. (MACDONALD. HIGHLAND VOCAL AIRS PREFACE). Joseph MacDonald was born on 26th February 1739 and music featured largely in his childhood, being able to lead the psalmody in the church of Durness by the age of eight years. As well as the pipes, Joseph could play the fiddle, flute, and oboe, and was gifted in learning; he could speak and write French, Latin and Gaelic. Through his father’s far-reaching contacts, the fifteen-year-old Joseph was sent to study at the grammar school in Haddington in East Lothian. He kept up his musical tuition, studying under the classical Italian violinist and composer, Nicolo Pasquali. It is for the bag-pipes, however, that Joseph MacDonald is remembered. ‘The Compleat Theory Of The Scots Highland Bagpipe’ has become a fitting legacy for the young MacDonald, this being the first publication of its type and so specific was it that it is of a standard other exponents in the same field strive for today. There was very little MacDonald left out in his manuscript, the title page listing the contents: "A Compleat Theory of the Scots Highland Bagpipe" Containing All the Shakes, Introductions, Graces, & Cuttings which are peculiar to this Instrument. Reduc’d to Order & Method: fully explain’d & noted at Large in 58 Tables & Examples. The Piper in peace time The Piper in peace time, whether attached to the clann system or not, had an important role in day to day society. At celebrations, such as anniversaries and weddings, the piper had a privileged position. In the 19th century the piper piped in the morning of the wedding and followed the bride and groom as they separately led processions of their relatives and friend around the houses. The joining of the couple in marriage heralded a united march through the neighbourhood. The title of ‘piper’ eventually gave way to other occupations and in the much sought after skills of his music his daily trade was set aside to provide the entertainment. "I am a jolly miller I come o’ the millers o’ And if you do not know me My name is Willy Spro, I play upon the bagpipes Wi’ mickle mirth and glee And I care for nobody, no, not I And nobody cares for me" The piper was also present at the more sombre occasions of funerals. A lament on the pipes accompanied the coronach, a mournful recitation of cries in remembrance of the dead, immediately after the death. (MANSON 152) The coronach gradually faded into obscurity but the presence of the piper continued, particularly in Aberdeenshire. The death of a clann chief in the highlands brought the whole population of the area to the graveside. The death of a chief in Skye was recorded as having a procession of two miles in length with six men walking abreast. Apparently seven pipers were in attendance and played the lament, each placed along the route from the house to the cemetery; "Upwards of three hundred gallons of whisky was provided for the occasion, with every other necessary refreshment." (MANSON 153) A parody of the last Will and testament of Andrew Kennedy by William Dunbar, "Testament Of Mr Andro Kennedy", describes custom pertaining to customs of the Carrick district of Ayrshire and is representative of Wills of the 15th century; it follows a strict format, firstly commending the soul to the Lord God in Heaven, secondly, makes provision for the deceased’s request for the burial, thirdly, dispenses goods and chattels to friends and relatives, and lastly, outlines plans for the funeral: "I will na preistis for me sing, Dies illa, dies ire, Na yit na bellis for me ring Sicut semper solet fieri, Bot a bag pipe to play a spryng Et unum ail wosp ante me In stayd of baneris for to bring Quatuor lagenas cervisie, Within the graif to set sic thing In modum crucis juxta me, To fle the fendis than hardely sing De terra plasmasti me." Dunbar, "Maister", as he was known was present in the court of King James IV but little is known of him other than his poetic works and regular accounts of salary paid to him by the Royal Treasury. He is believed to have died just prior to 1515. The piper was, and still is, a lifter of the burden of dreary toil, and brought a respite from the physical and mental drudgery of hard labour. In 1786 squads of workers, linking communities together, with passable stone based roads each had a piper to help ease the tedious, heavy lifting. Likewise, the launching of a boat across single beaches was aided by the piper setting a rhythm to which the men could co-ordinate their efforts as one. The reapers during harvest welcomed the steady pipe music to assist in the swing of their scythes, and, in the celebrations of the “Meal an’ Ale” when the harvest was in, the piper was an honoured guest, to take the farm workers’ minds off the bleak winter ahead. Many of the Scottish travelling people are exponents of the bagpipes and incorporate the music of the pipes in their style of singing the “Muckle Sangs” or big ballads. Here they are overlapping one tradition with another – that of storytelling and music, and presenting the whole in accented story/song, sung with true feeling and realism. The kirk session, the great defenders of Scottish morality, served to document local social issues and it is from these sources that the piper can be identified as the “Deil’s” provider of music and dancing; "A winnock bunker in the east, There sat Auld Nick in shape o’ beast; A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large, To gi’e them music was his charge; He screw’d the pipes and gart them skirl, Till roof and rafters a’ did dirl." Robert Burns, when writing “Tam O’ Shanter”, conjured up the spirit of the presbytery’s opinion on the bagpipes and their use for providing music for dancing. Probably most elders of the Kirk session didn’t oppose the use of pipes, preferring the “skirl” of the pipes to the chant of the psalms. The bagpipe in the late 18th century and early 19th century was as common place in the western highlands as the fiddle was in the bothys and houses in the east. However, neither were exclusive to any one place and, where entertainment was to be had, music, in all its forms was called upon. Puirt a beul (mouth-music), diddling and cantering, all consisting of nonsensical verses, but which kept a time without the elaboration of balladry words, were engaged in creating a jovial atmosphere. (CANNON 105) The Small Pipes were more commonly used indoors for dances but neither the players of the latter or the Piob Mhor were refused at any social event. The most frequently performed dances of both east and west were the Reels (ruidhle), Jigs and Strathspeys. The Reel, usually a combination of a three person dance, using a figure of eight configuration, is said to be the oldest and of Norse origin. In a piper’s repertoire the Reel is played in Alla Breva time, 2/2, with two beats to the bar. Jigs are composed in 6/8 time and are fast in tempo. The tradition of the Jig is more upheld in Ireland where it is also a solo step-dance. Piping tutors in Scotland, printed in the 19th century, on average, contained around twenty Jigs within a hundred tunes, but the decline in the Jig saw, in 1900, only five Jigs per one hundred tunes. Strathspeys are more associated with the fiddle but equally have their place in pipe music. A distinctive style of Reel, the Strathspey had prominence in Aberdeenshire and in districts around, also in Deeside, Moray and Buchan. The Strathspey Reel uses extreme “pointing”, dotted rhythms played as if double dotted with a reverse accent made (as in fiddles playing) with the bow. The Strathspey for the pipes are mainly arranged from the original fiddle tunes. (CANNON 110-112) One of the best known tunes for both pipers and fiddlers, to which the Rev. John Skinner of Longside in Aberdeenshire in the 18th century added words, is “Tullochgorum”, described by Robert Burns as , “The best Scotch song ever Scotland saw.” "What needs there be sae great a fraise Wi’ dringing, dull, Italian lays; I wadnae gie our ain strathspeys For half a hunder score o’ them; They’re dowf and dowie at the best, Dowf and dowie, dowf and dowie, Dowf and dowie at the best, Wi’ a’ their variorum; They’re dowf and dowie at the best, Their allegros an’ a’ the rest, They canna please a Scottish taste Compared with Tullochgorum." The piper in Scottish society from the Highlands to the Borders is an accepted and welcome figure. His, and her position is set upon a solid foundation of fact and folklore and a staunch musical and bardic tradition, which, can be said, has occurred, historically speaking, in recent times. Yet, to try and untwine one tradition from the other would be impossible as one is inextricably bound in the other and therefore inseparable.

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Preromanticism refers to the period in European literature that occurred between the Augustan age and the era of Romanticism, covering the years from approximately the middle of the eighteenth century to the early 1790s. In this period rigid notions about style and the absolute authority of religion and science began to yield to an emphasis on personal thoughts and feelings, often triggered by observation of nature. The search for meaning led within, to the probing of the mind and a focus on the inner self, and to an individual, personal interpretation of the world. While controversy has abounded in many aspects of discussion of Preromanticism, there are some areas of general agreement, including subject matter. The scholar Bertrand H. Bronson has offered a list of favorite topics of the Preromantics: "Country Pleasures, Times of the Day, Seasons of the Year; Abstractions—Fancy, Solitude, Sleep, Death—inviting description, evoking feeling, tempting the moral comment." Bronson also quotes Josephine Miles's example of an ideal poetic sentence for the time, a construction she based on statistical count and analysis of the works of the Preromantic poets: "Rise, fair day, before the eyes and soul of man." Bronson points out the use of the invocatory form of the verb and "the tendency to apostrophize and implore" as characteristic of the period. The Preromantics also highly stressed the idea of originality in writing. Many poets of this period felt restricted by the precedents established by classic works of the past and the prevalent attitude that the greatest literature had already been written. Walter Jackson Bate has argued that it was because of having to face the question "What is there left to write?" that the Preromantics so emphasized the ideals of originality and sincerity. No one championed these ideals more than Edward Young, who extolled subjectivity in his Conjectures on Original Composition (1759), urging that poets look within for originality and not attempt to copy the ancients. Nature served an important role in realizing these goals; for example, in James Thomson's nature poetry, the poet experiences the world primarily through his senses and eventually comes to realize his part in it. According to Margaret Sherwood, Thomson's work represents "a new self-consciousness in regard to nature…. Here is beauty, no longer an abstract conception of fitness of organism to its use, but a joy, brought home through the senses, which stir feeling and mild reflection." Some scholars have gone so far as to state that the concept of the self was "invented" shortly after the middle of the eighteenth century, and that before that people thought of themselves mainly according to their set roles in society rather than as individuals. According to John O. Lyons, this self "first was treated as the whole organic complex of the perceiving being in sympathetic relation to the world around it. Such a concept of the self was expressed in the concern with the passions, the minute perception of human motive, and the reality of nature, for it assumed the efficacy of inductive science." Yet the emphasis on self did not create self-centeredness to the detriment of others. To the contrary, the Preromantics believed that the person who sought self-knowledge would became more sympathetic to the suffering of others. Feelings were emphasized to such an extent that man began to relate to nature and animals on a different level than in previous times, to actually feel akin to them and sympathize with them. In the immensely popular "novels of sensibility" there was great emphasis on sentiment and sympathy, with plot being little more than a means of setting up a context for these feelings. Howard Mumford Jones has described the standard themes in novels of sensibility as "undeserved poverty, divine benevolence, or virtue in distress." He has enumerated some of the plot devices of this genre as "the orphan of mysterious but noble parentage, attempts at seduction or rape, imprisonment in jail or convent," forced exile, and many others, often shared with Gothic horror novels. Interest in the uniqueness of individuals also extended into respect for folk culture, and an area that gained great attention was the collection and preservation of folk songs. Robert Burns, for example, devoted much of his later life to transcribing and editing old Scottish airs. The Preromantic period also saw an unprecedented demand for histories and biographies; personal details that would previously have been thought outside the proper scope of literature were now deemed acceptable. The use of the term Preromanticism has been adamantly debated by scholars. Some prefer to call the period the age of sensibility, others the post-Augustan era, while others deny that it should be considered a separate period at all, viewing it as simply occurring late in the Augustan era. Bronson and other critics have pointed out the problems in defining the terms Augustan and Romantic, and therefore the difficulties in attempting to define either "post-Augustan" or "Preromantic." Even though Augustan and Romantic are theoretically opposites, in practice, "post-Augustan" and "Preromantic" are often used interchangeably. In arguing against the term Preromantic, Northrop Frye has written: "Not only did the 'pre-romantics' not know that the Romantic movement was going to succeed them, but there has probably never been a case on record of a poet's having regarded a later poet's work as the fulfillment of his own." Many scholars have pointed out, however, that the terms Romantic and Romanticism were not used by the writers in question themselves, but are of later origin, and the same is true of the term Preromanticism. A lively debate continues regarding Preromanticism, as does critical interest in the writers and works associated with the period.] Margaret Sherwood (essay date 1934) SOURCE: "Some Phases of Development of Thought in the World of Letters in the Eighteenth Century," in Undercurrents of Influence in English Romantic Poetry, AMS Press, 1971, pp. 28-113. [In the following excerpt from a work originally published in 1934, Sherwood describes how eighteenth-century authors reacted against prevailing religious and scientific notions through a new emphasis on subjectivism.] The great flowering of poetry in the so-called romantic period of the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries in England was not a sudden portent; growth was swift, but not sudden. More and more the student turns back to the eighteenth century to study origins, trace influences, search out undercurrents of thought, that he may better understand that rich, complex, modern product. Throughout a great part of this century groping for fuller life is revealed in the form and in the content of the poetry that is written; wandering in that world of letters of the mid-eighteenth century is like wandering in the forest when spring draws near, when one hears a faint murmur and rustle of life, everywhere an air of expectancy, of awaiting. As the century goes on there is increasingly a reaching out for fuller existence, a release of human nature from the bonds of convention, a slow liberation of emotion, imagination, and the deeper powers of the human mind. Such conditions prevail only when great ideas are stirring beneath the surface, waiting to emerge. Today our thought and our imaginative insight are dominated by evolutionary conceptions; our tendency is to interpret all aspects of man's life in terms of growth and development; to think of the past as indissolubly bound up with the present; we are constantly questioning, in every department of thinking, how things came to be. Our literature, our scholarship, our philosophy, our psychology reflect these habits of mind. It is of singular interest to turn back to a period when these ideas did not prevail, to try to trace, in the minds of a few thinkers, incipient stages of these tendencies, to follow the deepening life of the thought of man as his very vocabulary changes from abstract rationalistic terms to terms of growth; fascinating to question whether the tendency which developed into the historical method in the humanities, into the evolutionary conception in science, may not have manifested itself in minor forms, in subtler ways; to question literature here and there to see in how far it reveals the slow changing of the very texture of man's thought, as a consciousness of process, of life opening out endlessly, replaces the desire for abstract finalities of judgment. Back of all the varied apprehensions of growth, of life in things, lies the ground idea of our modern thought, of the oneness of the universe, which finds its spiritual counterpart in the idea of the close interrelatedness of all human lives, society as one; as the idea of physical development, evolution, finds its counterpart in the idea of spiritual evolution. In searching for glimmerings of these ideas in the period to which we turn, no claim is made that the writers in question were the first to suggest them. This is a dangerous assertion to make in regard to any idea, and especially in regard to evolutionary ideas, which go back to the very dawn of man's thought, in Greece. In the early eighteenth century certain reactionary tendencies begin to appear against the prevailing modes of thought of the preceding century. We of the complex present have difficulty in finding our way back into the simplicity and objectivity of seventeenth century thought, in its dominant trend. One knew where one was in that period; law was law, and conformity was expected of the right-minded citizen. The dogmas of church and of state had the authority of long tradition; science was establishing its creed of unquestionable law throughout the physical universe; kings were upon their thrones, the critics upon theirs, and absolute power in carrying out decrees was as evident in the world of literature as in the political world. It was not, outwardly, a world of perplexity, of mystery; all was clear and above-board. Whatever your private reserves, your duty was not to thread your way through intricate mazes of speculation in regard to the ultimate realities, or in regard to matters of right and wrong. Reason was adequate to reach the truth of things; duty was conformity, at least of one's outer or official self, to an objective standard; one gave official consent to creeds established by law. Wandering back to that world of hard, definite mountain outlines and unshaded plains, we should feel as lost in it as did Sir Thomas Browne, with that questioning mind: "I love to lose myself in a mystery; to pursue my reason to an O Altitudo!" …" Where there is an obscurity too deep for our reason, 'tis good to sit down with a description, periphrasis, or adumbration." His distinctive figure, standing in the market-place at Norwich, with a look of whimsical thoughtfulness upon his face, might well symbolize that human instinct that will not down, that is forever alert in periods of dogmatic certainties as in others, searching beyond the found. He was not alone in that seventeenth century in pursuing thought to an O Altitudo! but he and his like were not the dominant voices. The seventeenth century had its mystics; the outcast philosopher Spinoza had achieved that which would compel future generations to think more deeply; the thought of Plato and of Plotinus was creeping in through the influential Cambridge group, to become more and more potent in the minds of certain thinkers in later days,—the subtlest and the most pervasive influence helping bring about the romantic movement in literature and in philosophy. But the dominant note was the note of outer authority. Periods of over-assurance are weather breeders; too clear a sky is a sure token of mysteriously dispersed clouds that gather quickly, and over-confident assertion is the mother of doubt. The coming of new moods, new mental attitudes, new inquiries that meant, in time, the breaking of the certainties, was but natural sequence; submerged currents of thought and feeling began to emerge; men reached out to new ways of conceiving and interpreting life; questioning of every kind of authority went hand in hand with search for deeper truth than any formula, political, scientific, philosophic had yet found. The slow approach of revolution in every department of thought ended, toward the close of the eighteenth century in a period that was revolution indeed. Contemplation of that outer world of illimitable spaces and certain movements that had been gloriously revealed by seventeenth century science was not enough; men became increasingly conscious of realities that the laws of physics did not reach. Reason was supreme, but, in the skepticism of Hume, reason began to doubt itself, inquiring into the nature of the instrument by which these outer facts were known. The trend of speculative thought turned from without to within. In philosophy came a curiosity and desire to probe the nature of the mind, a movement that, toward the end of the century, in the philosophy of Kant, transferred the seat of authority from outer law to the human mind itself. The drift of interest in the world of letters was from objective to subjective; many were filled with longing to explore their own inner experience and that of others, to make conquest of the world within. From that standard of impersonality in the pseudo-classic canon of literature, that endeavor to present, in rendering human experience, only the typical, that which is true of all men, men passed to a belief in the profound significance of the personal reaction to life, the interpretation of the world as individually possessed; passed, too, from a conception of a law of form, imposed from without, to a conception of individual shaping power, working, imaginatively, from within. In science itself came a movement that, toward the end of the century, brought, not abandonment of the idea of universal law, but discovery that man must dig more deeply into the hidden nature of things to find reality of law; and the static conceptions of the seventeenth century began to give way to a tentative conception of the dynamic, of law at work within the universe, in incessant activity and change, the beginning of the modern idea of evolution. Dogmatic theology trembled, as it trembles still, at the thought of God, changing from that of a power, sitting apart in a long seventh day of rest, to that of a power still mysteriously working within. Yet seventeenth century philosophy, seventeenth century science alike had their own awe-inspiring sublimities, which stimulated the minds and imaginations of men in ways which we have only partially divined. The vast oneness of all that is was a dominant seventeenth century affirmation; in metaphysics as in science, philosopher and scientist were groping toward the infinite along different trails. Spinoza in his Ethic (1677), affirmed the one absolutely infinite substance, God, as the only existence; while the scientific discoveries, the Copernican-Galilean revelation of the vastness of the universe, and of the laws that govern it, stretched the mind of man toward the infinite of the world of matter. To Galileo's proved vision of a vast system, one in its working, in which earth was only an atom, no longer the center of the universe, was added knowledge more significant still. Men's thought was different after Newton discovered the law of gravitation and, in his Principia (1687), revealed the interdependence of all that is, body answering body by virtue of an inner bond, reaching from inmost center to inmost center, known in its working but not in its ultimate nature, every atom affecting every other atom. No more important idea was ever launched; it deeply influenced thought, and not scientific thought alone. Swiftly on the trail of the scientists' "what" followed, as usual, the speculation and affirmation of those who must know "why." Contemplation of the working of the laws of the universe revealed to certain thinkers that the old conception of God, inherited from the Hebrew people, was not great enough for the God manifest in the laws ruling through infinite space. These laws had been clearly demonstrated; the Deists, holding their reason adequate to solve all problems, imagined that they could demonstrate as clearly the God who made the law. Working back to the creator from the created, they claimed that no further revelation of him was necessary than that made manifest in his works. Out of questions regarding the nature of the universe, ruled, in both scientific and in theological thought, by power from outside, developed fierce debate. There was consternation in theological circles over the newly-discovered truths of science; in England the Deist controversy made up an important part of the thought of the late seventeenth and the early eighteenth centuries, centering in the question of a God revealed through nature, versus a God revealed through Scripture; natural law versus supernatural happenings. Hard blows were given and received; and, as in "battles long ago," "much slaughter was of people on both parties"; "and either smote other in middes of their shields." "Then they stood together and gave many sad strokes on divers places of their bodies, and the blood brast out on many sides and places." The theologians were rather the victors, but, as is usual in the irony of life, their victory was loss; in grasping the weapons of their opponents, in over-rationalizing the religion they were defending, they went far toward deadening the very springs of faith in the Church they served. Out of the perplexity and turmoil of these troubled times emerged thought and feeling which were to have vast consequences in the literature of a later period…. Bertrand H. Bronson (lecture date 1971) SOURCE: "The Retreat from Reason," in Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture, edited by Harold E. Pagliaro, The Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1972, pp. 225-38. [In the following essay, originally delivered as a lecture in 1971, Bronson examines the eighteenth-century attack on reason as it led up to Preromanticism.] Lest I stumble, and because the time is short, I will state at once the propositions I would try to illustrate in what follows. As generalities, they are unlikely to excite disagreement, and the interest must lie in the fluctuations of thought and feeling that differentiate those generations, chronologically viewed. 1. At the opening of the eighteenth century there is a weakening of conviction of the importance of man's personal relation to God the Father. 2. There is a depersonalizing of external nature, from the cooperative universal Mother to universal, unalterable physical laws. 3. There is a shrinkage of assurance of the potency of man's rational powers, no longer seen as "infinite in faculty," yet a keener sense of reliance on them. As the century passes its meridian, values are gradually rescaled and redefined, roughly as follows: 4. Nature in a "state of nature" is preferred to nature domesticated. 5. Irregularity enforces a lawless appeal that surpasses rational ordering. 6. Sudden irrational conversion and conviction of salvation by faith returns to religion. 7. Emotional assurance tends to supplant the appeal to reason as expressed in logical trains of thought. It may be laid down as an axiom, as Dr. Johnson would say, that everything had already begun before we realized. In the context of the moment, this truth if pursued would take me back straightway into the seventeenth century, where I have no wish to go, further than to acknowledge that the beginnings are there, Pyrrhonism and all. About 1700 there was an unusually pervasive sense of the opening of a century as a true beginning: almost the birth of a "brave new world." The shadows and superstitions of the past were being dispersed by Newton's universal light, swept away like ghosts: 'Tis well an Old Age is out, And time to begin a New.1 As Newton had disclosed the laws of celestial mechanics, Locke had found a key to the inner world, which could open the mechanics of the mind—or a clue, a method, if not a key. The new revelations, fortunately, did not require the sacrifice of cherished beliefs. Locke and Newton were devout. God was still Creator and Lord of all, and the natural universe bore witness to His power and glory: "The works of Nature everywhere sufficiently evidence a Deity," declared Locke. "The spangled heavens proclaim their great Original," sang Addison. But now the old ideal system of orders, each hierarchically ascending, and bound together in mutual cooperative obedience to divine command, needed reformulation in less spiritual terms—the political order in Britain having already been reconstituted by the simple stroke of an ax. The new world-view still assumed a Divine Author, but shifted the focus of attention, in Tuveson's phrase, from why to how He did it. The prevailing optimism of the age rested in the conviction that the physical universe was based on natural laws which could be discovered—gradually—by man, and understood as being fixed, regular, unalterable procedures; not beyond the capacity of human mentality to grasp as principles, though too vast to be comprehended as a whole, and too complicated to be known except piecemeal; but not supernatural, not outside or alien to intellectual process as we know it. Underlying this confidence is faith—faith in the Creator, faith in the stability of Nature, and faith in rationality as humanly conceived. The supreme expression of this confidence is paragraph IX of the first Epistle of Pope's Essay on Man, beginning: All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. Because of its very lack of philosophical originality, Pope's statement is a paradigm of its century's characteristic attitude toward the Cosmos; it was so widely accepted as to be translated into twenty languages, and into some of them many times. Catholics, Protestants, and deists could join in adopting it, punctuating or footnoting to suit themselves. But when God said, "Let Newton be!" a part of His meaning perhaps was, "If undisturbed, he will look after things so competently that I can afford to relax." If, in other words, the physical universe was so perfectly organized as Newton had made manifest, it needed no divine tinkering to keep it going—had needed, did, and would need none. This thought, of course, had far-reaching implications that could be chilling. How could man know that he was an object of any concern or interest to a God so impalpable and aloof? It was easy to believe in a divine original, a causa causons; but revelation might be essential to convince us any longer of our own importance. On the other hand, the deist position was a great simplifier, liberating those who embraced it from a load of worrying theological dogma. The climate of optimism, an inherited feeling-tone common to the age, and not directly subverted by the new world-view, remained emotionally operative. If there was a slackening in man's communion with a personal God as the Age of Enlightenment began, two concomitants—and perhaps, partly, consequences—were: (1) the elevation of Nature as a surrogate for a present, immanent Deity; and (2) a closer scrutiny of the thinking process. Descartes had failed to break out of the octopus-like stranglehold of seventeenth-century Pyrrhonism to any objective truth ("I thought, then perhaps I was," in Pierre-Daniel Huet's wicked paraphrase of 1689). But Locke had begun to collect the evidence of what seems normally to be going on in our minds, and this appeared to be a hopeful method and a stimulating exercise. Perhaps God had, after all, provided us with the necessary tools for acquiring knowledge suited to existence on this "isthmus of a middle state." Following the hopeful track, Shaftesbury, Locke's too-bright pupil, discovered that man is naturally virtuous, sociable, beauty-loving. And why not? For proof, one need only consult one's uncorrupted responses to the positives and negatives of experience, and find where one's instinctive preferences lie. For Shaftesbury, to cultivate and possess the social affections completely is, in his words, "to live according to Nature, and the Dictates and Rules of supreme Wisdom. This is Morality, Justice, Piety, and natural Religion." It is only necessary, for everyone's good, to restrain the "selfaffections." Shaftesbury, Basil Willey declares, is the typical English moralist of the "Enlightenment"; and Hume notices that he first occasions the distinction between two theories of morals, "that which derives them from Reason, and that which derives them from 'an immediate feeling and finer internal sense.'" Already, then, in the century's first decade, the breeze is setting toward "immediate, undefmable perception" as a more dependable criterion than reason, in moral discriminations as in questions of art. This tendency picks up strength from the academic authority and respectability of Hutcheson, who systematized Shaftesbury's elegant rhapsodizing. Sorley has neatly summarized his work in a sentence: "Hutcheson maintained the disinterestedness of benevolence; he assimilated moral and aesthetic judgments; he elaborated the doctrine of the moral sense…; and he identified virtue with universal benevolence: in the tendency towards general happiness he found the standard of goodness."2 To make the emotions a basis of ethics is something like inverting Pope's dictum to read, "Passion the card, while Reason trims the sail." To accept it, one must have faith in natural instincts, must believe in the morality of Nature, and that human nature, as servant of that divinity, is most moral when likest to her. Shaftesbury's impassioned invocation exemplifies the faith: "O Glorious Naturel supremely Fair, and soveraignly Good! All-loving, and All-lovely, All-divine! … Ï mighty Nature! Wise Substitute of Providence! impower'd Creatress! … Thee I invoke, and Thee alone adore."3 The date of this outburst is 1709. It could be part of the youthful Goethe's pantheistic hymn "Ganymed" ("Wie im Morgenglanze Du rings mich angliihst, Friihling, Geliebter!"), the pitch of exaltation is so close. How wholeheartedly Thomson would have endorsed this natural morality I must leave to Professor Cohen to determine. The Seasons is descriptive rather than prescriptive; but in general, Nature and God are not indistinguishable in Thomson, however harmonious; and I suspect that he would not have subscribed to the ethics of cultural primitivism. Nevertheless, the doctrine of the moral sense, as taught by Shaftesbury and Hutcheson, was potent, both at home and abroad. It suited an age of sensibility, and increasingly as the century wore on. Anyone who has leafed through the amazing compilation of Margaret Fitzgerald, First Follow Nature, and the equally surprising survey by Lois Whitney of primitivistic popular fiction must realize how inescapable the sympathetic theme of rural felicity soon became.4 In contrast, Johnson placed the Golden Age firmly in pre-lapsarian days. His suspicions of hypothetical subsequent golden ages in conditions of pastoral life were confirmed by sociological enquiry in the Highlands and Western Islands, of which he gave a remarkably fair-minded and dispassionate report. Apart from human hardships and deprivations, his reaction to wild Nature deserves to be recalled in this connection: Regions mountainous and wild, thinly inhabited, and little cultivated, make a great part of the earth, and he that has never seen them, must live unacquainted with much of the face of nature, and with one of the great scenes of human existence…; the imaginations excited by the view of unknown and untravelled wilderness are not such as arise in the artificial solitude of parks and gardens, a flattering notion of self-sufficiency, a placid indulgence of voluntary delusions, a secure expansion of the fancy, or a cool concentration of the mental powers. The phantoms which haunt a desert are want, and misery, and danger; the evils of dereliction rush upon the thoughts; man is made unwillingly acquainted with his own weakness, and meditation shews him only how little he can sustain, and how little he can perform.5 Very different was the purely aesthetic response of Gray to untouched natural grandeur. Extremely different were the sentiments and operations on Nature of the landscape gardeners of the age, whether Pope, or Shenstone, or Jago, or Capability Brown, or Repton. Pope had said, But treat the Goddess like a modest fair, Nor over-dress, nor leave her wholly bare; Let not each beauty ev'ry where be spy'd, Where half the skill is decently to hide.6 In fact, for such as these nature was something of a commodity to be altered at will and exploited to suit man's immediate taste and enjoyment. The point of view was not, any more than Johnson's, indicative of union with Nature. Rather, it was basically utilitarian, and exclusive of objectionable society. Only that part of external Nature was required that could serve as the club-house grounds. There were members privileged to use the grounds for health and pleasure, and others who worked on them for a livelihood, furthering thereby the aesthetic enjoyment of the members. It is clear that the aesthetic tastes of the members were changing rapidly as the century proceeded. There was a growing appetite for more challenging, more esoteric, excitements than domesticated nature could supply. A clear preference was developing for the irregular—even the disorderly and wild. A. R. Humphreys makes a startling generalization in his admirable little book on Shenstone: "The attack on geometry is perhaps the most significant fact of eighteenth-century aesthetics."7 Certainly, the statement could be amply illustrated in the arts of gardening, architecture, and interior decoration. As the decades pass, we can observe everywhere a relinquishing of mathematical rule, exact equations, right lines; and everywhere a liberation of fancy. There is nothing serpentine—or even symmetrical—about a subterranean grotto: "Would not this, Dr. Johnson, make a pretty, cool place in summer?" "Madam, I think it would—for a toad." Crudely put, the movement is from reason to imagination, from rational to whimsical. Simultaneously, the temperature gradually rises, the pitch of excitement increases—more often to hot tears than to laughter. The signs of a will to escape from common daylight are everywhere. Into the Past, through Gothicizing (Strawberry Hill, Abbotsford, Fonthill Abbey) and bogus ruins in landscaping (Sanderson Miller,... (The entire section is 10458 words.) Bertrand H. Bronson (essay date 1953) SOURCE: "The Pre-Romantic or Post-Augustan Mode," in ELH: A Journal of English Literary History, Vol. 20, No. 1, March, 1953, pp. 15-28. [In the following excerpt Bronson details why no individual post-Augustan poet adequately exemplifies the Preromantic period.] The topic that confronts us is one that carries doubt in its very face. "Pray," asks Christian, "who are your Kindred, if a man may be so bold?" "Almost the whole Town," answers By-ends; "and in particular, my Lord Turnabout, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-spech…. Also Mr. Smooth-man, Mr. Facing-bothways, Mr. Any-thing; and the Parson of our... (The entire section is 7968 words.) Walter Jackson Bate (essay date 1946) SOURCE: "The Growth of Individualism: The Premise of the Association of Ideas," in From Classic to Romantic: Premises of Taste in Eighteenth-Century England, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1946, pp. 129-59. [In the following excerpt from his highly influential work From Classic to Romantic, Bate describes how a new emphasis on feelings led poets to experiment with sympathy, synaesthesia, suggestiveness, and sublimity.] "Poetry," said Wordsworth, "is the history, or science, of the feelings"; for it is the "heart" which seeks "the light of truth." A rather general reliance on feeling as a... (The entire section is 20632 words.) Christopher Fox (essay date 1988) SOURCE: "Some Problems of Perspective," in Locke and the Scriblerians: Identity and Consciousness in Early-Eighteenth-Century Britain, University of California Press, 1988, pp. 7-26. [In the following excerpt Fox examines changing views regarding personal identity and consciousness during the late eighteenth century.] You deny that we have any Consciousness at all, that we continue the same individual Being at differ-ent times. If so; it can be to no great Purpose for us to dispute about any Thing; For, before you receive my Reply, you may happen possibly to be entirely changed... (The entire section is 8424 words.) Arthos, John. The Language of Natural Description in Eighteenth-Century Poetry. 1949. Reprint. New York: Octagon Books, 1970, 463 p. Discusses the influence of natural science on eighteenth-century descriptive poetry, tracing the ways various poets shaped and transcended the conventional terminology of scientific description. Bogel, Fredric V. Literature and Insubstantiality in Later Eighteenth-Century England. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984, 226 p. Discusses many of the Preromantic writers in the context of the literature of sensibility. (The entire section is 553 words.)

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Tools for Educators A short article on the value of technology in education If you find this material useful, you may also want to check out several of our print publications -- Click on Success: A Practical Guide to Technology Planning and Lesson Plan Design and Planning into Practice: Resources for planning, implementing, and integrating instructional technology. Both contain considerably more detailed information on the topics covered in The Value of Technology In Education At this late date in the 20th Century, educators are well-used to hearing about the promise that technology brings for "revolutionizing" the way teachers teach and students learn. To even the casual observer, this promise would seem to flow from an ever-growing awareness on the part of the general public to the integration of technology into daily life. The popular media deluges us with images of telecommunications-related change in the way that we live and communicate - from ordering groceries on-line to sending faxes from the beach - while ever-so-subtly integrating the now-ubiquitous WorldWideWeb address into advertisements everywhere. On an even more basic level, few of us would expect handwritten, or even typed, correspondence from a "professional" business or company. We simply expect that communications will be produced electronically. In short, technology tools, and the resources available through the use of these tools are indeed seamlessly integrated into our daily life. 65 percent of all U.S. schools are connected in some fashion to the Internet (QED, 1997). Virtually every school has at least one computer, and on the average in 1996, there is one in-school computer for every 10 students in the country (QED, 1997). Outside of schools, one-third of all U.S. households have a personal computer, with that many more planning to buy one within the next year. (Microsoft, 1996) Of course, these statistics mean nothing if teachers are not using computers and other available technology in ways that support improved teaching and learning. Research, as well as practical experience tells us that indeed, many teachers do not have the basic skills, training, or time to effectively use technology to positively impact their students. How does technology impact education? While it is possible to use technology to support traditionally passive, didactic, instructional methods, most researchers see technology's greatest promise in the way in which it serves to engage students in an active learning environment. When placed in the hands of a student who is charged with solving meaningful, real-world problems, the computer becomes a powerful tool for gathering, manipulating, synthesizing, presenting information. Simply put, technology supports a constructivist view of education. (Collins, 1991 and NCREL, 1995) Viewing the concepts of constructivst education and engaged learning in the context of school structure, it can be seen that technology has a powerful role in facilitating, and in some cases inspiring, the restructuring of education. (Shiengold, 1991) Still, we have heard all of this before. District and state educational technology plans continuously point out the value of technology as a tool for reform. State curriculum frameworks refer to technology tools as they indicate the content objectives these tools are supposed to support. Technology manufacturers tout the value their products have in the classroom. But when it comes right down to it, how does a teacher take a simple tool - such as a word processor - and make this technology educational ? We can rather easily understand how a content-rich piece of technology - such as a laserdisc or a multimedia CD-ROM encyclopedia - can be used for instruction, but how does a tool with no inherent content get used in a way that positively impacts student learning? Given the prevalence of these relatively simple technology tools - the word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation manager - teachers need to have some guidance in making these tools educational. Applications such as word processors, database management systems, and spreadsheets can be used by students in exactly the same way that they are used in the "real" world of work. Students can choose to use these tools to organize, analyze, and present information. The information the students process comes from their grappling with particular tasks and problems. By encouraging students to use real world tools in their problem solving, the tasks themselves become more authentic and thus more engaging. Proponents of engaged learning argues that engaged learners are more effective learners. Another way in which technology tools create greater student engagement is that they strongly support a constructivist approach to education. By using a technology such as the Internet or a CD-ROM encyclopedia, a student can explore and navigate through a wide body of information and discover facts, principles, and concepts as they go. This type of exploration is largely self-directed, thereby allowing each student to assimilate information and construct meaning in a way that is personally relevant. Furthermore, when used to present information - such as through the use of a spreadsheet or presentation manager - the student must learn how to manipulate and organize information in such as way as to convey the meaning that s/he has constructed. Again, this is not only highly engaging, but also replicates the real world tasks that the student will face outside of school. Students easily make this connection between "authentic" tasks and the real world, and this often results in their taking greater pride and ownership in their work when that work involves the use of technology.(Means, Finally, technology supports a multiplicity of cognitive styles and learning behaviors. Students who are not sufficiently engaged with text-based information may become fully engaged with audio or visual information. Technology can be used to translate virtually any content into another media, and therefore makes content accessible to all students. The wonder of content-neutral, applications, technology is that it can be applied to so many different learning environments, virtually content areas, and the same program can be suitable for a wide range of grade levels. The following pages provide some highlights as to how individual applications can be beneficially integrated into the classroom. - Internet Usage in Public Schools, Quality Education Data, 1997 - The Connected Learning Community: A New Vision for Technology in Education, Microsoft - The Role of Computer Technology in Restructuring Schools, Collins, Allan; Phi Delta Kappan; September, 1991 - Plugging In: Choosing and using educational technology, North Central Regional Educational - Restructuring for Learning With Technology: The Potential for Synergy, Sheingold, Karen; Phi Delta Kappan; September, 1991 - The Link Between Technology and Authentic Learning, Means, Barbara, Olson, K; Educational Leadership, April, 1994 Return to the top of this page e.g., Microsoft Excel, AppleWorks A spreadsheet is a program which organizes "cells" of numerical data into tables of rows and columns much as one would find in an accounting ledger. Through the use of equations (written in a simple programming language unique to the particular spreadsheet program in use) the spreadsheet program is able to perform basic mathematical functions across the rows and columns. For example, it is possible to total a column of numbers, divide that total by cells within the column, and report the resulting average elsewhere on the spreadsheet. Most spreadsheet programs provide a capacity for graphing data. Graphs can range from simple X-Y line graphs to more complex three-dimensional representations. Spreadsheets are excellent tools for students to collect and analyze data and thus work well in curriculum units that call for students to deal with both interdisciplinary content and process/information analysis tasks. Students can design spreadsheet layouts, collect the data to fill in the various rows an columns, and then write equations to analyze the data they have collected. In this way, a spreadsheet becomes a vehicle for learning about and representing both simple and more complex relationships between numbers and pieces of information. While the use of spreadsheets is very common in mathematics and science curricula, they can be used any place where data collection and analysis is required. Many teachers use spreadsheets in social studies curricula where students might collect numerical information and organize it chronologically. Projects on genealogy and immigration make particular use of spreadsheets. - Provides a highly integrated use of mathematics in a wide range of subjects. Anything that can be counted and categorized can be placed into a spreadsheet whereupon mathematical operations can be performed amongst the categories. - The structure of a spreadsheet encourages students to think of information in terms of domains and sets - Allows students to see the relationships between ordered sets of information - Most spreadsheet programs easily produce graphs and charts as another (visual) way of analyzing and reporting quantitative information. - A middle school mathematics teacher in Oregon uses spreadsheets, graphing software, and Hypercard as tools for students to investigate the relationship between observations and data. Margaret Niess's students in Corvallis, OR measure and record the volume of water stored in different bottles when those bottles are filled to different heights. Clearly, bottles of different shapes will hold different amounts of water at different filling heights. When this data is graphed, students then compare the curves of different graphs with the bottles they represent. The goal here is for students to develop a sense of the relationship between physical shapes and their one-dimensional data representations. Further understanding of these relationships is demonstrated by having students predict the appearance of a graph based solely upon examination of the physical bottle. Students also write descriptions of their predictions. In these written passages, students must set out hypothesis and develop written proofs. Finally, students use a Hypercard stack which takes them through a series of other data/observation/prediction/proof exercises. For example, students can predict relationships between a person's height and shoe size, or that between study time and test grades. In all of these cases, the technology is a tool that aids in the development of process skills related to mathematics and scientific reasoning. Margaret L. Ness, Analyzing and Interpreting Graphs in the Middle Grades - Bottles and Beyond in The Computing Teacher; December/January, 1994-5; pgs. 27 - 29. - Elementary students in Grahamstown, South Africa used databases and spreadsheets as research tools in an interdisciplinary history, science, and mathematics project. This project involved collecting birth and death date data from gravestones in local cemeteries. After collecting and analyzing their data, the students created a number of hypothesis from their observations - such as "women live longer than men" - and then were able to support their hypothesis by organizing and presenting their data in graphs, tables, etc. Examination of their data also led many students to hypothesize as to the causes of varying mortality rates between centuries, sexes, and amongst children. The questions raised through this data examination gave rise to other research projects, not all of which made direct use of technology or data-based research. The Grahamstown teachers who organized this project felt that the gravestone data project offered many advantages over a more traditional (e.g., library based) research project. These advantages included development of technology skills such as keyboarding, computer graphing, and spreadsheet manipulation; student exposure to primary sources of data; development of higher order thinking that linked statistics and history; and the integration of mathematics into social studies and other "real world" explorations. James R.M. Paul and Colette Kaiser, Do Women Live Longer Than Men? Investigating Graveyard Data With Computers in Learning and Leading with Technology; May, 1996; pgs. 13 - 15 - Microsoft has an excellent curriculum guide which explains how its popular Excel program can be used for simple classroom projects. Out of the Classroom with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Corporation, - Oregon State University's Project Connect is a math and science initiative designed to help K-12 teachers incorporate technology into a wide vareity of math, science, and integrated curriculum activities. Check their WorldWideWeb site for a number a lesson plans and other activites which make use of spreadsheets. In particular, see the lesson entitled What Tops Us? A lesson in gathering data by Oregon elementrary school teacher - For more information about the Cruncher, a spreadsheet program for young students, see the Davidson and Associates - For more information about ClarisWorks, an integrated software package which contains a strong spreadsheet program, see the Claris Corporation's WWW page. This site also contains a number of software templates for use with the ClarisWorks Return to the top of this page Database Management Programs e.g., Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro Databases work much like spreadsheets, although they are often used where textual information is more important than numerical data. A database management program is used to create, organize, and manipulate information in databases. Databases are primarily used for creating "records" of collected information. Most database management programs allow for some degree of numerical analysis of the collected information (e.g., counting, grouping, sorting by rank order, Databases are often used in interdisciplinary curriculum units. They become a vehicle for information collection and organization. The manipulation of information within a database calls for mathematics and critical thinking skills. These skills are further enhanced when a student designs a database using a database management program. - The act of creating databases - using a database management program - encourages students to understand categories of information, and the relationship between - A database gives structure to otherwise disparate information. When a student adds records to a database, s/he must understand enough about any given piece of information (e.g., a book or a movie) so that s/he can complete a number of descriptors about that piece of information (e.g., the title, date of creation, - Creating a database requires that a student sufficiently investigates a subject such that s/he can create an adequate number of descriptive fields of information relating to that information. - Creating a database is a productive exercise in terms of learning how to search or use a pre-created database. - Databases can be created to catalog virtually any type of information, in particular, qualitative (versus quantitative) information. - High school language arts students in Jeannine St. Pierre Hirtle's Houston, TX classroom collaborate on a research project which evaluates children's literature. St. Pierre Hirtle's students work with second graders in a local school to gather information about these children's interests and abilities. Then, they worked with each other and elementary school librarians to gather book examples, and to create templates which analyzed the basic elements and structure of children's books. Using the information they gathered, the high school students ultimately produced over 60 original children's books for the second grade students. St. Pierre Hirtle's students used a variety of technology tools in their work. Tools such as wordprocessors, spreadsheets, databases, presentation managers, scanners, and desktop publishing packages assisted in data gathering, presentation, and book production. Jeannine St. Pierre Hirtle, Constructing a Collaborative Classroom (parts 1 and 2) in Learning and Leading with Technology; April, 1996 pgs. 19 - 21 and May, 1996 pgs. 27 - 30. - FileMaker Pro is a database management program produced by Claris. See their WWW site for information on this program, software templates, and teacher reviews of the program. Return to the top of this page Word Processing Programs e.g., Microsoft Word, ClarisWorks Most teachers are familiar with word processing programs in that the teacher likely uses such a program to create lesson plans, student/parent communications, and personal correspondence. Students make use of word processors in similar ways. Certainly, research papers, projects, and other written communications can be accomplished with the use of a word processor. Aside from simply making student work appear "neater", word processors have pedagogical importance in that they have been found to encourage students to write more and to more easily edit and revise their work. In this way, they are powerful tools in developing writing, critical thinking, and research skills. Further, word processors as a technology-based tool, encourage and motivate certain students who have difficulty with the manual task of handwriting. Finally, many students take greater pride in work that has been produced with a word processor. This motivates these students to continue writing and performing the other learning tasks associated with their writing. Word processors are not just used within Language Arts curricula. Students may word process work related to any subject area. Also, word processed work often becomes the basis for importing data into databases, spreadsheets, and presentation programs. In this way, the word processor is often the cornerstone application within integrated application suites such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, or ClarisWorks. - Word processors encourage students to edit and revise their work to a much greater extent that is often the case with pencil-and-paper writing. Thus, word processors are key tools when teaching the writing process. - Word processors produce "neater" end products thereby increasing student pride in their work. - Word processing and the use of a computer keyboard is a key - virtually mandatory - basic skill for most post-school jobs and careers. Virtually all jobs require some familiarity with a keyboard. - Some students who have difficulty with the manual task of writing (e.g., motor deficiencies, dyslexia, etc.) find it easier to use a word processor to write than to use pencil and paper. - Word processors are about putting words on paper (or increasingly, into some sort of electronic format). Thus, they can be used anywhere where writing is required. - A good summary of the use of word processors by young children is provided by Ithel Jones in his article on the effect of word processors on composition amongst second-grade children. Aside from showing that the technology generally encourages students to produce higher quality writing, Jones' article offers a summary of the basic research into the value of word processors in writing Ithel Jones, The Effect of a Word Processor on the Written Composition of Second-Grade Pupils, in Computers in the Schools, vol. 11(2), 1994, pgs. 43 - 54 - In an broad survey of current classroom practice, researchers from the University of Arizona discuss and overview the ways that multimedia, telecommunications, and writing/editing applications (e.g., word processors) can support the processes of reading education. Examples of classroom use are included for each category. For multimedia, the researchers discuss schools where students and teachers create multimedia activities and presentations to illustrate research projects and create films/videos/etc. Telecommunications examples include using electronic mail to conduct surveys and gather information for student research projects. Often, the results of these projects can be formatted for multimedia presentation on the WWW. Writing and editing tools in fact support both multimedia and telecommunications as well as functioning as stand-alone resources (e.g., word processing standard "written" reports). Writing and editing using the computer is a standard part of the process of creating multimedia presentations or formatting information that is to be telecommunicated. In assessing the impact of these technologies on reading and writing processes, the researchers came to few conclusions except to note that if there is to be any impact, the technologies must be fully integrated with the "regular" or existing curriculum. They noted that technology seems to have differing impact on students of different abilities - e.g., word processors seem to have some impact on improving the creative writing skills of "average" students where as there is little observed impact on "advanced" students. Nevertheless, more data on impact is bound to be obtained as more and more schools integrate technology tools as an aid to basic skills development. Jay Blanchard, Judy Lewis, and James Crossman, Technology in Middle School Reading Education: Opportunities to Transform the Classroom in Computers in the Schools; vol. 11(3), 1995; pgs. 79 - 91 - Apple Computer has an excellent WWW site containing a wide variety of lesson plans that demonstrate the value of technology in integrated instruction. Their Newswriting Through History lesson demonstrates the use of word processors and (if available) multimedia authoring tools to create student "newspapers" from different points in history. This lesson may be Return to the top of this page e.g., Microsoft Powerpoint, Hyperstudio Presentation tools allow students and teachers to take text, numerical data, graphs, sounds, and visual images and organize this information into "multimedia" presentations. While it is possible to use multiple media (e.g., sounds and images) within a presentation, it is also possible to create a text-only presentation. It is important to remember that although most presentation tools allow for the creation of very sophisticated products, the degree of sophistication and complexity is very much under the control of the author. Virtually any student project can result in a presentation. Presentations can be made before an entire class or be designed for individual viewing. Multimedia presentation tools can be integrated into any lesson or unit that would otherwise result in a "paper and paste" project product. While a presentation tool such as Powerpoint is simply software, this software usually requires the use of particular hardware to acquire digital images/sound and to display the resulting multimedia presentations. Nevertheless, much of the material that makes its way into most presentations results from other software applications such as word processors and spreadsheets (which create tables and - Presentation managers encourage students to think in a structured way about the information that they are presenting. Different types of managers require or encourage different structures - e.g., PowerPoint is very linear whereas HyperStudio encourages non-linear, multilayered, connections. - Students must think critically about what information they choose to place into a presentation. The act of assembling the presentation using the software encourages reflection and critical thought. - Presentation managers are designed to display information to a large number of individuals. Therefore, the student successfully using a presentation manager must think about the information that s/he is presenting as something which much appeal to an audience that extends beyond oneself and the teacher. - Presentation managers allow students to mix textual, visual, and audio information in the same presentation. This encourages multiple modes of expression. - The act of creating a multimedia presentation is extraordinarily engaging for many students. Thus, the use of presentation managers very much encourages - High School sophomores in Deer Park, TX use HyperStudio to create presentations for their research in world literature from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Working with partners, students conducted a semester of library research on integrated curricular topics related to their particular interests (e.g., Renaissance town life or medieval medicine). They then used the second semester to create presentations on their research using the Hyperstudio application. Each team of students were given specific requirements for their presentations that specified how much text, video, graphics, etc. there were to include in the final presentation. Students were required to flow chart their presentations and this demanded that they make the cognitive connections between the various points of their presentation/research. The writing and revising of text that went into presentations was first accomplished in the school's computer writing lab, and later modified as necessary within Hyperstudio. Final presentations were evaluated by the teacher as well as by student peers (through group presentation). This project shows one way in which a technology tool can be used to enhance rather traditional library research skills. Furthermore, the use of hypermedia tool lead to the development of technology skills and perhaps greater development of information synthesis skills through the assembly of research information in a connected, flowing, presentation. Karen Milton and Pattie Spradley, A Renaissance of the Renaissance - Using Hyperstudio for Research Projects in Learning and Leading with Technology; March, 1996; pgs. 20 - 22. - The publisher of HyperStudio, has an excellent WWW site which contains sample student projects and several curriculum and "how-to" guides for using their product. - Microsoft has an excellent curriculum guide which explains how PowerPoint can be used to create student and teacher presentations. In and Out of the Classroom with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Corporation. - The May, 1997 issue of Learning and Leading with Technology has a large section on presentation managers and their use in the K-12 classroom. Check out this issue for a number of tips and pointers using Microsoft PowerPoint. Return to the top of this page The Internet is one of the most exciting new technology "tools" available to teachers and much is written about the instructional benefits of using this resource. In its broadest sense, the Internet is telecommunications. A vast network of networks, the Internet allows students and teachers to reach out to a world of information that can be accessed, analyzed, and brought into research and other projects. Further, the Internet provides students with the capability of becoming information providers. Whether through sending electronic mail or by publishing WorldWideWeb pages, students can place their knowledge and work before the interconnected users of the Internet. Some describe the Internet as a vast "library." This analogy is only partially correct. Like a library, the Internet contains many pieces of information. This information is held on WorldWideWeb servers (i.e., webpages) and by individuals with which anyone with electronic mail can communicate. But unlike a library, the Internet has no particular order to the information it contains. Anything and everything, published by anyone who has computer access to the 'net, can be found on the Internet. Thus, the Internet is really more of an electronic "town square" than an organized library. This presents challenges and problems for the students using the Internet. In this wide-open information universe, critical thinking and research skills must become much more refined than when using a closed information universe such as a traditional library or even a CD-ROM encyclopedia. Many teachers believe that the critical thinking skills that grow out of successful Internet use are the major educational benefit of the Internet. The networked world of the Internet provides a wonderful ground for student collaboration. Students can electronically "meet" with individuals connected anywhere else on the Internet. This means that students researching a particular subject can communicate with adult researchers, access primary information sources, and gain in-depth content area learning experiences. Students can share cultural experiences with peers located around the globe. Students can share their work with anyone by publishing it on the WorldWideWeb. Indeed, the availability of the Internet means that "school" is no longer defined by four walls and a particular geographically-bounded community. The Internet brings the world to teachers and students. - Students have access to a truly astronomical amount of information including original research and primary sources. This challenges the student's research, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. - Students can publish their work before a global audience of peers thereby adding perceptions of importance to their work and increasing pride in ones - Students can communicate with peers and individuals around the planet thereby increasing cultural understanding. - On the Internet, students can electronically collaborate with other students around the globe to solve problems and create information and knowledge. The Internet is a huge arena for collaborative learning. - Second grade students in Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Spain use the I*EARN (International Educational and Resource Network) e-mail network to communicate with students in Central America. Through I*EARN, the US and Spanish students learn of the impoverished conditions in Nicaraguan villages outside of Managua. Groups of US and Spanish students organize within their schools to raise money for the Nicaraguan villages. Teachers in these schools begin to integrate information on Nicaragua and Central America into their curricula by asking students to write essays on Central America, its environment, economy, politics, etc., and to share these essays via e-mail with children in Nicaragua. Peter Copen, Connecting Classrooms Through Telecommunications in Educational Leadership; October, 1995; pgs. 44 - 47 - Students at Century High School in Santa Ana, CA participate in interdisciplinary projects which match teams of students with community non-profit groups requiring assistance. The "Prophets" project asks students to select social or environmental topics to study. Then, students are matched to community groups which focus on those chosen topics. This matching takes place on a community-access WWW server operated by Access Sacramento (a local community services provider). Since the students in this project are located at a considerable distance from the community groups (all of which are in the Sacramento area), technology is used to facilitate interaction and discussion. Students use Internet-based videoconferencing and WWW resources to communicate with their community groups and cooperatively solve problems related to their topics. The community groups serve as on-line mentors and "experts" for the students. Students participate in "authentic" real-world tasks which provide them with useful career skills in technology, environmental, and scientific fields. One of the major outcomes of the Prophets project is that students help the non-profit groups design WWW presences. Most importantly, students feel connected to the real-world and its problems through their "hands on" work in solving some of Thomas March and Jessica Puma, A Telecommunications-Infused Community Action Project in T.H.E. Journal; vol. 24(5); December, 1996; pgs. 66 - 70. - IBM has developed a WWW site that contains a number of grade and subject specific curriculum materials and on-line lessons. Well developed, documented, and researched resources are compiled into "Internet Activities" for teachers to integrate into their classroom work. - North Carolina teacher Caroline McCullen helped organize MidLink Magazine a cooperative effort amongst middle school students around the globe. MidLink Magazine is a project which uses the WorldWideWeb (WWW) to regularly publish student work. The magazine "issues" are sometimes generally about the participant schools, and sometimes focus on particular themes such as holidays around the world. Schools participating in the project each have their own in-school MidLink project where a team of students collaborate on tasks such as writing, editing, electronically posting materials, communicating with other MidLink schools, etc. Students at all schools use a variety of technology tools such as word processors, HTML editors, graphics programs, and e-mail. Schools with their own WWW servers are linked to the main MidLink site, whereas schools which are not as fully on the Internet send their materials to another MidLink school site for posting on the net. Caroline McCullen, World Wide Web in the Classroom: The Quintessential Collaboration in Learning and Leading with Technology; November, 1995; pgs. 7 - 10 - One of the best on-line resources for K-12 teachers and administrators isKathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. This site is a comprehensive subject guide for virtually all K-12 curricula. Kathy has scoured the Internet to find lesson plans, original sources, on-line collaborative projects, and other Internet-based resources. Further, this site has a number of links to search engines and other Internet tools. Finally, Kathy has authored several presentations which are designed to show teachers how to use the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning. These presentations are available on her site. In short, Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is an excellent "first stop" for any teacher use of the Internet. Return to the top of this page on this site that has been produced by Sun Associates is Copyright 1997 - 2013 Sun Associates and is available for individual, one-time, use by educators. Duplication is prohibited without permission. All other material is the property of its authors and Sun Associates makes no warranty for its use or accuracy. Last updated, January 8, 2001

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Before its discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1493, the island was called Karukera ("island of beautiful waters") by the Caribs. Identification. Columbus named the island after the Spanish sanctuary Santa Maria de Guadalupe de Estremadura. Location and Geography. Guadeloupe is an archipelago of eight inhabited islands in the Lesser Antilles, between the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. The two principal islands, Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, are separated by a channel, the Rivière Salée. The capital, Basse-Terre, is on the western wing; the commercial center, Pointe-á-Pitre, is on the eastern wing. The other islands, known as "dependencies," are Marie-Galante, la Désirade, Petite-Terre (uninhabited), and the archipelago Les Saintes, along with Saint Barthélemy and the northern half of Saint Martin to the north. The total area is 660 square miles (1,705 square kilometers). Grande-Terre, essentially limestone, consists of plateaus, plains, and hills ( mornes ). Basse-Terre is volcanic with high mountains and a tropical rain forest. The climate is humid and tropical with a dry season from January to May and a wet season from June to December. Demography. The total population in 1997 was estimated to be 428,044 with a density of 650 inhabitants per square mile (251 per square kilometer) and a growth rate of 1.5 percent annually. Until recently, population growth was steady because of high levels of fertility and declining mortality as a result of better hygiene and medicine. The youth of the population and high unemployment situation spurred government attempts to control the population through subsidized family-planning programs and a policy of emigration in the period 1961–1981. The majority of the population is of African descent, with a substantial East Indian minority and smaller groups of Syro-Lebanese and white Creoles ( blancs-pays ). In the outlying island dependencies there are distinctive white populations in La Désirade and Saint-Barthélemy and light-skinned inhabitants in Les Saintes. Linguistic Affiliation. French is the official language of administration and education, but Guadeloupeans speak a French-lexified Creole that dates back to the time of colonization and slavery. In the 1970s and 1980s, Creole became a critical symbol in the nationalist claim for independence from France. Today all social strata recognize the value of Creole in cultural revitalization. Other languages play symbolic roles for ethnic minorities. Syro-Lebanese residents frequently listen to Arabic-language radio stations, and songs and prayers in Tamil have survived in Hindu religious ceremonies. Symbolism. Creole, drum music, food specialties, and the celebration of carnival operate alongside symbols of the French hegemonic presence such as the tricolor flag and the French national anthem. Emergence of the Nation. In the pre-Columbian period, Arawaks and later Caribs moved to the region from coastal South America. European exploration led to conquest, to colonization, to the eradication of the indigenous population, to the introduction of sugarcane cultivation, and a plantation economy that was dependent on African slave labor. Under French colonial domination since 1635, with brief periods of English occupation, Guadeloupe was shaped by French politics. The first abolition of slavery (1794–1802) and the almost total elimination of the white plantocracy during During the twentieth century, the local population of color sought to redress political, social, and economic inequalities. With the passage of the Assimilationist Law on 19 March 1946, Guadeloupe became an overseas department of France. This process ushered in wide-scale transplantation of French administrative and political superstructures and educational and social security systems. Integration with France precipitated a decline in both export and subsistence agriculture, a growth in the service sector, a rise in unemployment, massive emigration, and increasing tensions between Guadeloupeans and metropolitan French. In 1974, Guadeloupe was designated a region, ushering in a policy of decentralization. National Identity. The revolutionary hero Louis Delgrès, who committed suicide in 1802 rather than be subjugated to the restoration of slavery, is credited with starting the formation of a national consciousness. The first independence movements had their origins in Antillean student organizations in France and the decolonization movement after World War II. The Groupe d'Organisation Nationale de la Guadeloupe was formed in the mid-1960s; in the early 1970s the independentist party—the Union pour la Libération de la Guadeloupe—was founded, and in 1981 the Mouvement Populaire pour une Guadeloupe Indépendante was created. Nationalist activity has focused on political demonstrations, trade-union strikes, electoral abstention, and affirmations of cultural difference. The marginal support nationalists enjoyed in the 1980s has eroded with decentralization. Ethnic Relations. Relations between the black majority and the East Indian minority are basically devoid of tension. Politics and culture remain arenas of debate as a result of increased French integration and the growing presence of the European Union. Colonialism created different levels of culture, architecture, and the use of space. A unique architectural style was created in rural areas: the colonial villa with a majestic gallery, verandahs, and jalousied windows for ventilation and the vernacular dwelling ( case créole ) of two or three rooms with a kitchen, yard, and garden. These wooden huts have been supplanted by hurricane-resistant cement houses of one or two stories. The traditional dichotomy between rural and urban landscapes has become less visible as cities and industrial zones expand and suburbs are created. Urban architecture has evolved over time from French military, ecclesiastical, and colonial administrative architecture in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries to public works in the 1930s, postwar construction such as low-income public housing, and a modern style influenced by local architects who are adapting contemporary construction principles to a tropical environment. Food in Daily Life. Food reveals Amerindian, African, East Indian, and French cultural influences. Traditional foods include manioc flour, root crops, breadfruit, avocado, green bananas, peas and beans, okra, curried meats, salted codfish, fish, and tropical fruits. Creole cooking uses hot peppers and spices but has been influenced by French cooking and imported foodstuffs. Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Special dishes for ceremonial occasions include pork, blood sausage, pigeon peas, rum punches (Christmas), salted codfish, crab calalou, rice (Easter and Pentecost), cakes and chaudeau (marriages, baptisms, First Communions), and curried goat on banana leaves (Indian ceremonies). Basic Economy. Agriculture has declined significantly as a percentage of the gross domestic product. Commerce and services now represent 77.9 percent of the total economy. Agricultural productivity is constrained by natural calamities, by the absence of crop diversification, and by rural and agricultural exodus. The primary sector (agriculture and fishing) employs less than 8 percent of the active working population. Land Tenure and Property. In 1996, 30 percent of the total land area was under cultivation, with sugarcane and bananas the main crops. While the majority of farms registered in 1989 were small, large farms comprise one-quarter of the total cultivated land. Most of the farms registered in 1989 were small. Agricultural land is owned individually or jointly, sharecropped, or rented, and the number of farmers and the amount of land under cultivation have declined consistently. Small farmers produce for the local market, and many people in the countryside maintain small gardens or fruit trees. Commercial Activities. The weakness of the productive apparatus has caused a serious trade imbalance. In 1997, exports were only 7.4 percent of imports; this has been compensated by the transfer of public funds from France. Imports and exports circulate primarily within the French national territory, with the European union being a secondary partner. Guadeloupe exports principally agricultural products and processed food; most manufactured goods, equipment, and the majority of foodstuffs are imported. Major Industries. Industrial production remains weak, essentially represented by small enterprises. The manufacturing sector involves primarily food processing and energy. Close to half of industrial production originates in building and public works. Division of Labor. In 1997, the workforce consisted of 125,900 employed and 52,700 unemployed persons. Jobs are increasingly concentrated in the civil service sector. A major problem is youth unemployment, with persons aged fifteen to twenty-nine accounting for 43 percent of the unemployed. Classes and Castes. Social differentiation is based on education, professional orientation, culture, and wealth. Income differentials have been aggravated by inflated civil service salaries that allow greater consumption of imported and luxury goods. Symbols of Social Stratification. Status markers are linked to consumption patterns and include cars, the type and size of house, leisure activities such as travel abroad and sports, clothing style, and language. Government. Political authority resides in a prefect appointed by the French president, and two subprefects. The Minister for the Overseas Departments and Territories is attached to the French Ministry of the Interior. There are forty-three cantons (electoral divisions) from which legislative leaders of the two local assemblies are elected by direct universal suffrage. The Regional Council is the most important local assembly, and the influence of the General Council, or departmental assembly, has declined. Each commune has an elected mayor and a municipal council. Two senators and four deputies serve in the French National Assembly. Leadership and Political Officials. Political parties are distinguished chiefly by their stands on national and social issues. Party orientation follows three main currents: anti-assimilationist/regionalist, autonomist, and independentist. Several parties are formally linked to traditional right-wing parties in France; others are local formations, while the far-left parties are Trotskyist. The anti-assimilationist left is split between a center left committed to autonomy and a far left committed to independence and "socialism." The debate on island status issue is focused on whether to merge the two assemblies into a single local assembly. In December 1999, the presidents of the Regional Councils of Guadeloupe, Martiniques, and French Guiana united in support of autonomy. Personality is important in politics, where patron-client and kin ties play key roles. Social Problems and Control. Guadeloupe is subject to French law and is part of the French judicial system. There are municipal and national police as well as gendarmeries in each commune. In the past, crimes were limited to domestic or local disputes and frequently were handled out of court. Vandalism, burglary, and drug trafficking have become more common as a result of increased economic Military Activity. The French army maintains a presence, and there is a national guard. The French government funds a comprehensive social security program that includes a minimum wage, pensions, family allocations, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and health insurance. A variety of organizations operate in the villages, towns, and cities with a focus on sports, culture, carnival, social clubs, and labor unions. Division of Labor by Gender. In the last few decades, the replacement of agriculture by a state-subsidized economy has been accompanied by a change in women's occupations. While women have entered the workforce in greater numbers, unemployment has disproportionately affected women and youth. With the collapse of the productive sector, most women work in administration, education, health, services, and commercial activities. Women's access to employment lags behind that of men, and women are more likely to be underemployed, to be compensated less, and to hold fewer managerial positions. The Relative Status of Women and Men. Gender, along with race and class, operates as an important index of status. Although women frequently are heads of households, they have little power outside the home. Continued male domination is manifested by weak political representation of women and their marginalization in the workforce. Feminism and women's reproductive rights have only recently gained a foothold with the formation of women's associations. Domestic Unit. Family organization and the domestic unit are strongly influenced by socioeconomic Inheritance. Inheritance follows French law, which distinguishes between legitimate children with full rights of inheritance, recognized children who are disadvantaged in inheritance if there are legitimate heirs, and "natural" children born of unmarried parents with no rights of inheritance from the father. Kin Groups. Within the extended family, relations of blood and marriage create a wide circuit of social contacts, including grandparents, godparents (through baptism), cousins, aunts and uncles, half siblings, and neighbors. Infant Care. From the moment of birth an infant is showered with attention and care by family members and extended kin. Frequently an older sibling, a grandmother, or another adult in the family is actively involved in the care of an infant, particularly if the mother works or is a single parent. Baptism occurs within the first few months after birth. Child Rearing and Education. Child rearing varies with the type of family, the persons in the family, the relationships in the household, the socioeconomic class, and the social milieu. Children participate actively and very early in family life and have responsibilities that vary with age and gender. Being obedient, helpful, polite, and well dressed is valued, and strict discipline frequently is enforced with punishment. School is compulsory from ages two to sixteen. Education is highly valued as a means of social mobility. However, the school system is marked by high failure rates, repeating classes, and students who are below grade level. Higher Education. The Université des Antilles-Guyane operates a campus in Guadeloupe. Many Antilleans undertake university education in France, which is considered prestigious. Guadeloupeans are known for hospitality, with an emphasis on food, drink, music, and dancing. Casual conversations often are conducted in Creole. People greet each other by kissing or by shaking hands. The style of life favors multiple social contacts, and interaction is filled with conviviality and humor—with bantering and flirtation between the sexes. Traditional values emphasize "reputation" for men and "respect" for women. Religious Beliefs. The Catholic Church is the dominant organized religion, with its own doctrine, rites, social organization, history, and calendar. Since World War II, Protestant sects such as Evangelists, Adventists, and Baptists have competed with the Catholic Church for congregations. Although the cosmology, myths, and theological systems from Africa did not survive, African magico-religious practices and superstitions are prevalent. Many people still believe in the forces of good and evil, spirits and supernatural creatures with powers. Hindu religious rituals are being reactivated Religious Practitioners. In the Catholic Church, metropolitan priests generally outnumber Antillean. Liberation theology is practiced by local priests, but most priests are conservative. Parishioners also frequent the services of quimboiseurs (sorcerers) for counsel in affairs of the heart and problems in social relations and in times of sickness. Marabouts (sorcerers from Francophone Africa) are active in urban areas. Rituals and Holy Places. Each village, town, and city has its own church and cemetery where the dead are remembered on All Saints' Day (1 November). There is a Hindu temple in Capesterre Belle-Eau and smaller temples in the countryside. Death and the Afterlife. Funeral wakes are customary, and the deceased is celebrated with drumming, riddles, storytelling, and rum. Among East Indians, a funeral generally is followed by forty days of fasting. Modern Western medical practices coexist with traditional healing methods and the use of medicinal plants. Popular discourse on the body and illness includes notions of "hot" and "cold." While people acknowledge that illness can be attributed to natural causes, there is also a belief in the supernatural causation of illnesses and unhappiness. Whereas in the past, people often used personal and family remedies, visited the local healer if there were no results, and only then resorted to the pharmacy, dispensary, or hospital, today people rely more on Western remedies. Each town or village observes its own annual fête patronale. Islandwide celebrations include French national holidays such as Labor Day (1 May), Bastille Day (14 July), and New Year's Day (1 January) as well as the local celebration of Carnival (linked to the religious calendar) and the anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery (27 May). Artists and writers often receive support from the French state. There is a private school of music, and music pervades the culture. Local record labels promote Antillean bands. With the renewed interest in Creole, traditional oral culture is being revived; there are annual poetry competitions in French and Creole. A regional literature has developed that is receiving recognition overseas. At the Université des Antilles-Guyane campus in Guadeloupe, natural and biological sciences are taught along with juridical sciences and law. A number of research centers focus on Caribbean studies. Abenon, Lucien-René. Petite histoire de la Guadeloupe, 1992. "Antilles." Temps Modernes, vols. 441-442, April–May 1983. Bastien, Daniel, and Maurice Lemoine, eds. "Antilles: Espoirs et déchirements de l'âme créole." Autrement, vol. 41, October 1989. Bebel-Gisler, Dany. La langue créole force jugulée, 1976. Benoit, Catherine. Corps, jardins, memoires: Anthropologie du corps et de l'espace á la Guadelupe, 2000. Berthelot, Jack, and Martine Gaumé. Kaz antiyé jan moun ka rété/Caribbean Popular Dwelling/L'habitat populaire aux Antilles, 1982. Burton, Richard D. E., and Fred Reno, eds. French and West Indian: Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana Today, 1995. Centre d'Etudes de Géographie Tropicale du CNRS. Atlas des Départements Français d'Outre-Mer: III La Guadeloupe, 1988. Dictionnaire encyclopédique des Antilles et de la Guyane, edited by Jack Corzani, 6 vols., 1992. Encyclopédie antillaise, 6 vols., 1971–1973. INSEE. "Guadeloupe: Une année en demi-teinte." Antiane Eco, 41, June 1999. ——. Tableaux Economiques Régionaux de la Guadeloupe, 1997, 1998. Lasserre, Guy. La Guadeloupe: Etude géographique, 1961. Leiris, Michel. Contacts de civilisations en Martinique et en Guadeloupe, 1955. L'Historial Antillais, 6 vols., 1981. Schnepel, Ellen. Language, Politics and the Creole Movement in Guadeloupe, French West Indies, forthcoming. Singaravélou. Les Indiens de la Guadeloupe, 1976. —E LLEN M. S CHNEPEL

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has written on this subject). It also helps us become accustomed to express beautifully, either orally or in writing, ideas and sentiments which are accurate and personal. The goal of the English class is not to form scholars or specialists, but to acquire some mastery of our own tongue. As a consequence, spelling and grammar do not come first in teaching English. They have to be understood as tools, never disconnected from the expression of ideas. Language is an instrument to communicate thought. 1. READING ALOUD TO Language is primarily spoken. This is why the teaching of language, as an art imitating nature, must use the spoken or phonetic form of words as the primary means for teaching reading. Reading aloud should be the first way of testing reading comprehension, of making the learner familiar with the role of punctuation marks, or engaging the learner in the full emotional experience that literature ought to yield, or providing an appreciation for the cadenced and hence ordered character of all works of the mind. One can teach a pupil to put a period at the end of a sentence by first identifying the end of a sentence as a place where one drops Not only should the students read aloud, but the teacher should also read to the class. This can be done at the end of the day. The children always look forward to a good story. It is also an excellent way to train them to thoughtful listening. Once, Father Finn, SJ, was given a difficult class. He found that the best way to obtain discipline was to read them a story as a reward for good Reading aloud can be an excellent homework assignment as well. Parents and other siblings can easily listen for five minutes a day. This is an excellent way to show children that reading is important to the family, too. Mother Stuart used to give a reading class to her teachers. She wrote that such a class gives: - "Some understanding of the importance of reading well aloud, and of what is important in it. - Courage to admit to our hearers that we have some feeling of sympathy with what we are reading (a thing some appear to feel bound in honor to keep as a dark secret). - Some realization of the effects of good reading in developing things that have their springs very deep: self-control, patience, consideration for others, active thought for them, positively and negatively. We have to remember that we read for them, not for ourselves, and so must not put too much of our personal idiosyncrasies into our reading lest it may jar on them. It teaches the necessity of consideration for our author and our audience and forgetfulness of ourselves." As Dr. Otto Willman2 says, reading aloud is a: "valuable asset of instruction and a capital of which the teacher should make the most profitable use. The teacher, who can do justice to a story, approaches in power the rhapsodist. The pupils will not only listen to her, but will hang breathlessly upon her every word as upon a rhapsodist’s. In this way the teacher will not only win their interest, but infuse into their soul sympathy with what is great and noble, and enthusiastic devotion to high 2. THE ROLE OF Grammar is the study of a language, spoken or written. First, of the elements which constitute this language: this is morphology. Secondly, of the functions and relations which link the elements to one another Grammar could be called a descriptive knowledge. What is the object of this description? The elements of the language and their arrangements, therefore the structure of the language, its constructions, the diagrams, the models in which human thought is expressed, since language is the body of the thought. The study of grammar, while indispensable, is secondary in the study of any language, beginning with our own. Before all else, through the contact with great works of literature, the goals of the English class are to root us in a tradition, and to make us discern the true nature of man. It is also to teach us how to express ourselves. Besides, even to express ourselves correctly, the study of grammar does not suffice in itself; it is an auxiliary, and nothing more. Reading great writers teaches us more on this level, owing to a prolonged and frequent contact with beautiful language. As a consequence, we should seldom if ever isolate the study of grammar from the study of a text. It is very important to connect this technical study of the language to the expression of thought, since grammar is but an However, we must be careful never to do grammatical exercises taken from a poem. A poem is a work of art; but in dissecting it into subjects, direct objects, adverbs, prepositions, etc…. one destroys it. It is a destruction of the music of the words, and an annihilation of its transcendence, that is, what it tells us beyond words. As G.K. Chesterton says: "Pleasure in the beautiful is a sacred thing; if a child feels that there is an indescribable witchery in the wedding of two words he feels it alone, as he feels his vanities and his dreams, in places where he cannot be badgered or overlooked or philosophically educated. The act of insisting upon his analyzing the holy thing, I think, without the smallest doubt or the smallest desire to exaggerate, is as insolent as asking him to dissect his favorite kitten or account for his preference for his mother." 3. THE STUDY OF The Dominican teaching sisters have made the following remarks about the important subject. It does not seem good to have the student memorize lists of words isolated from a text, for the sole benefit of enriching a collection of completely disincarnate vocabulary. Of course, it is necessary to learn spelling, but we should never dissociate this study from a text, where words are included in a sentence and the sentence in a text. When we understand the text well, it helps to understand the words used to express the thought. The "context" is indispensable to the true understanding of the word. It will also help to memorize the spelling of a word. When this word is seen in the context of a beautiful sentence, this beautiful sentence has a better chance to strike our mind, and thus to inscribe itself more deeply in our memory, rather than if it is in the middle of a list of dry and disconnected words, without soul or life. To study our language does not mean to dissect it into a multiplicity of material elements, separated from one another. Such a study, far from leading to a better comprehension of the language, presents the danger of reducing it to something merely material, whereas its fundamental role is to convey thought. Language allows a mind to communicate with another mind. It is a matter of spiritual communication, which needs words, and yet transcends words. This is especially true in the case of poetry, or with knowledge in the supernatural domain of the Faith and of revealed Truth. 4. DICTATION, IN GENERAL Dictation is very useful in teaching correct writing. The children work from models of beautiful writing. They see and study correct spelling and punctuation and are able to enjoy excellent writing of various styles. Laura Berquist3, the renowned educator, has analyzed well this topic, which is of great importance for a In a prepared dictation, the teacher goes through the passage with the child, line by line, noting and giving a reason for every capital, comma, semicolon, colon, period, question mark, exclamation mark, and quotation mark. Difficult spellings are gone over as well. The teacher then dictates the passage to the child, who writes it from the dictation. This way the student gives concentrated attention to the mechanics of writing in a situation where he is writing material that has been put together because it goes together, as opposed to material artificially put together to try to highlight examples of writing mechanics. In an unprepared dictation, the teacher reads an entire passage that the child has not studied beforehand (although it could be a text from his reader that he has seen before). As soon as the student finishes the first set of words, the teacher reads the rest of the sentence, waits for the student to write it and then moves on to the next set of words. The dictation doesn’t take long this way, but it does provide a model of good writing and practice in spelling and punctuation. In summary, the unprepared dictation is administered as follows: Teacher reads whole selection. Students repeat what was said. Teacher reads selection again in little sections as students write. Teacher repeats whole selection one last time as student reads work and corrects it, if necessary. Another form of dictation is called auto-dictation. The child has to write a text from memory. A good example of this might be a poem or a song that has been Value of Dictation Dictation is useful to cultivate attention and to teach spelling in an interesting way, not mechanical but integrated into the study of literature. It should be done on a daily basis in the elementary school (frequency should be dependent on grade level). 5. THE IMPORTANCE OF The reading of beautiful texts is irreplaceable for culture. To explain a text is to unfold it or to open it, respecting its contents and communicating with the true values it contains. This nourishes our students. We should treat literary work as literary work, as work belonging first to art, presenting first a vision of beauty. We have to allow ourselves to be enchanted, captivated by the work, without forgetting to keep our head and reason. Because a literary work is not a philosophical thesis, it speaks to our intelligence through our sensibility, which it can rouse, touch or make vibrate. But we cannot read it only from the purely esthetic point of view, which is impossible, because there are moral values involved necessarily. Thus we have to be attentive to the values of Christian life. For in every literary work of any grandeur, the question of the conception of man is involved. Creators of characters, speakers of words, inventors of harmonies, makers of situations, the great writers are all of that. Without that, they would not be great writers. Teaching the classics in the English speaking world presents however one problem. Dr. John Senior4 has expressed it well: "The upshot of the difficulty is that the heart, indeed, the very delicate viscera, the physical constitution and emotional dispositions as well as the imaginations, of children will be formed by authors who are off the Catholic center and some very far off; and yet, not to read them is not to develop these essential aptitudes and We should be careful not to exaggerate the difficulty. "The worst failure in English classical literature is indirect, that is its omissions —the conspicuous absence of Our Blessed Mother and the Blessed Sacrament and, following from the loss of these principal mysteries, all the rich accidentals of Catholic life, the veneration of saints and relics, the use of medals, scapulars, holy water, Rosaries… These omissions must be compensated for by a rich, Catholic and especially Latin liturgical life." We think that we should not deprive our students from the treasures contained in Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Scott or Charles Dickens simply because these authors are not Catholic. "English literature has been done and can’t be done again, the best since Greece and Rome, full of beauty, good and truth —and Protestant. As the Children of Israel took Egyptian gold and silver vessels on the Exodus, so it is with us and classic books which, although Protestant, are doubly Catholic to a Catholic because he feels the pain of what they lack." In addition to such classics as Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe, children should become familiar with such authors as Fr. Francis Finn [available from ANGELUS PRESS] or Hilda Van Stockum. These Catholic writers (and several others like them) are able to form a Catholic mentality in our students and this is why they should be included in our literature lists (Br. Schuster's "The Role of Catholic Literature"). The reading of the authors from the past reveals to us the mystery of man and the context of a civilization which is past, allowing us to understand better the world in which we live. It would not be good to study only contemporary authors. Even to understand these authors and to grasp their impact, it is good to read them with reference to the great works of the past. But we need to see clearly that reading the authors of the past interests us insofar as their works bear a message which is still valid, inasmuch as they are expressing eternal values and thus they are in a way, authors of the present. 6. THE SUPERIORITY OF "LIVING BOOKS" OVER TEXTBOOKS School readers that contain excerpts of whole books have several drawbacks. The first one is taken from the human nature of the teacher. a As Fr. Drinkwater5 "School Readers, in essence and origin, are an attempt to make it possible for children to learn something without teachers, or without competent teachers; and they tend to create the conditions they presuppose. Thus, if I were a teacher teaching some subject by means of a School Reader, I should be under a constant temptation to say, ‘Get out your reading books’; and the end of it would be that the children would know only the book and not the subject." The second drawback is taken from the human nature of the student. There is no doubt that he will get more out of reading the complete story from beginning to end than out of reading a fragment of it. Well chosen books stimulate thought in a manner which cannot be attained through readers. A good book read by an entire class during a couple of months is always a great learning experience. As a teacher was saying, "After reading such a book, my students are always different (for the better)". The various themes contained in the story are discussed together. Often the students will remember having studied such a book several years ago whereas they will not remember the excerpts in an A third drawback is that the School Reader tends to create a positive distaste for books: "If it is all readable, any child of ordinary curiosity has read it all from cover to cover in the first week or two; and to return to it regularly during a whole term, or whole year, is neither work or play, but mere irredeemable boredom which soon induces on the one hand the habit of day-dreaming, and on the other, that hatred of everything in book form with which most pupils leave school." (Fr. Drinkwater) Does this mean that we should do away with English textbooks? No, especially since some readers (Faith and Freedom, National, Cardinal, De La Salle etc…) contain some good stories (that are for the most part well written) by which the children are able to be nourished. So we can use these textbooks in an intelligent manner, selecting the best excerpts for study in the classroom and using the rest as supplementary reading. A teacher who has several grades in one and the same classroom or several reading levels in one and the same grade will also find these readers helpful. But we should always use besides those readers several well-chosen classics to study as a class. These 3 or 4 books have to be adapted to the grade level of our students. There are several lists available to help teachers select the best books for their pupils. Great literature is the best way to form the minds of children, and this can only be done through reading living books and not just textbooks. In the choice of books, we will not only include classical literature but also some works by recent Catholic writers because of the special value of Catholic literature. Every teacher should read the wonderful essay on this subject by Brother George N. Schuster. 7. THE ART OF One of the best ways to stimulate thinking in the intellects of our students is through skillful questioning. As someone said, "The teacher’s fish-hook is the interrogation point, for with his questions he angles in the minds of his scholars for facts, conclusions, inferences and judgments —the results of all mental processes. …But to be most effective, questions must be well made." When the teacher does most of the talking, the minds of the students are apt to remain more or less inactive. Nothing wakes up the mind more quickly and thoroughly than a direct question. To put his pupils on the alert, to hold their attention, to arouse their curiosity, to fix truth in their memory and to apply it to their conscience, to keep them active instead of passive —for all these ends the teacher will find nothing more helpful than the practice of frequent questioning. Training the pupil to think is one of the chief objects of education; and in trying to answer questions the pupil is set thinking in order to supply the missing Since good questioning is so important for effective teaching, teachers will strive to acquire this intellectual craft. Mother Stuart told her teachers that "To acquire the art of questioning was to cultivate a habit of clear expression of thought. One questions as one talks. Good questioning, like good expositions, is the outcome of habits of clear thought and precise expression. Here, as elsewhere, general life-habits dominate school-work." Fr. Kirsch6 gives good advice in this matter. If the teacher asks a question he expects an answer, and it is evident therefore that the question should be so worded that an answer is possible. It is a waste of time to ask a pupil questions that he cannot be expected to answer either because he has never learned the matter, or because the subject is altogether beyond his capacity. A really good question requires some hard thinking on the part of the teacher as well as the pupil: on the part of the teacher, because she must seek to ascertain before questioning, what that pupil can be expected to know; on the part of the pupil, because he must set his mind working in order to find the The teacher must insist that the pupils answer what was asked for, and not something else that may pertain, perhaps only in a remote way, to the matter in hand. Nor should the teacher be satisfied with half an answer, or tolerate the practice of pupils who hide their ignorance by beating about the bush. If the pupil cannot answer, or gives a wrong answer, the teacher should try, in most cases, to lead him to discover the correct answer. If this is impossible or if it involves loss of time, then another pupil should be invited to give the answer, though the teacher must still make sure that the first pupil will get to know the matter. It is a point of special importance that the answer be given in a complete sentence. We all know from experience how much easier it is to give one word answers instead of a complete sentence. But consider what is missed, what valuable opportunities are lost for language training if the teacher is satisfied with single words or with half sentences. The teacher must furthermore demand grammatical correctness. What improvement shall we ever expect of our pupils if we allow them to use slang expressions or ungrammatical speech in the schoolroom? Let the teacher give much time and effort to the acquiring of the difficult art of questioning. Nothing impresses a visitor to a schoolroom more favorably than the teacher’s ability in this regard. The character and quality of classroom instruction can, with comparative accuracy, be discovered by a study of the character of the questioning. It is, indeed, a pleasure to visit a class where the pupils vie with one another in answering whatever question has been asked, for this rivalry is a visible proof of the alertness of the children and the teacher’s skill. But the best evidence of the teacher’s skill is her ability to let a few questions start the class in giving a connected treatment of a subject. It is a good rule to make one question go as far as possible, and for the teacher to come prepared with a number of pivotal questions. Strayer remarks: "A half dozen thoroughly good questions often make a recitation a most stimulating exercise, while the absence of this preparation on the part of a teacher not infrequently results in the ordinarily listless period which may actually be harmful to the child’s intellectual growth." 8. THE CASE AGAINST Cardinal Newman7 gives this definition of the instruction given in the elementary school: "a discipline in accuracy of mind". The great Cardinal then explains that the problem of modern students is the "haziness of intellectual vision" caused by "shrinking from the effort and labor of thinking." The consequence is that when they grow up, our students "will have no consistency, steadiness, or perseverance; they will not be able to make a telling speech, or to write a good letter, or to fling in debate a smart antagonist, unless so far as, now and then, mother-wit supplies a sudden capacity, which cannot be ordinarily counted on. They cannot state an argument or a question, or take a clear survey of a whole transaction, or give sensible and appropriate advice under difficulties, or do any of those things which inspire confidence and gain influence, which raise a man in life, and make him useful to his religion or his country." How can we develop the intellects of our students? We have to arm ourselves with patience. Rome was not built in a day, and buildings will not stand without foundations. If our students are to be taught well, they must be taught slowly, and step by step. A good teacher will not be afraid to spend time on a particular page if he sees that it is stimulating the minds of his pupils. Quality comes One of the problems of modern education is the abuse of workbooks. When used in a systematic way, they tend to lead the child to develop automatic reflexes so that he fills in the blanks without thinking. Very little true learning is accomplished. The exercises tend to be artificial, the sentences meaningless and personal effort is therefore not encouraged. In traditional education, the students were using a notebook in which they were writing dictations, compositions, diagramming etc… They were not just filling in the blanks but writing whole sentences and whole paragraphs. Penmanship was thereby greatly improved. Students were also proud of their notebooks. A workbook is thrown away after use whereas a beautifully kept notebook (poetry, history, religion) can be kept throughout life. The shortcomings of multiple-choice questions are evident enough: shaky knowledge is sufficient to recognize the answer, guessing yields rather good results, intelligent discrimination among the answers may enable one to find the correct solution even if one did not know it. It is therefore no true way of assessing a child’s solid knowledge. Oral questions are often the best way to really find out if the child has grasped a particular point. Does this mean that workbooks are never to be used in our classrooms? No, in fact they may be necessary in certain circumstances (several grades in the same classroom, etc…). Obviously, they should only be used with great moderation. Good teachers will much prefer oral exercises or using the blackboard and the notebook. Workbooks favor laziness of the mind since they do not require much intellectual effort. We do not want our students to fill out worksheets in a mechanical way, but to think accurately. 9. THE PLACE OF POETRY IN THE CURRICULUM We should foster in our students a love of the beautiful and true and a corresponding distaste for what is ugly and false. Children’s sense of beauty can be encouraged in various ways. The so-called fine arts include music, painting, literature etc. Attention to such things will aid in the kind of intellectual formation that is the object of a classical education because it will strengthen and inform the imagination, which must be developed in the right way to do its job well. Laura Berquist has stressed in her writings the importance of poetry for education (cf. also Dr. David Allen White's series on "T.S. Elliot: The Wasteland" Poetry is one of the forms of the beautiful that is relatively accessible to children. Children respond to patterns of sound and enjoy the rhythm of poetry, if they are introduced to it before someone tells them they shouldn’t like it. Poetry is naturally pleasant to the ordinary child, and pleasure is a sign teachers should never ignore. Mother Stuart, speaking of the cultivation of the love of the beautiful in children, explained that it tended to make them thoughtful, not childish, and awakened the true human element in them, making them grow up. "It has been suggested that beauty gives to children what suffering gives to older people —something completed, accomplished in the best sense." Children are very good at imitation because it is the way God intends them to learn. We need to keep this in mind for all areas of our children’s development, moral and intellectual. Children need models of right behavior and of excellence in all the scholastic areas that are appropriate for them to pursue. The right use and richness of language is an area that is most appropriate for the formation of children. For this reason they should be exposed to the best examples of the use of language that we can give them. Beautiful word patterns and sounds, the right choice of words, and methods of producing particular responses can be imitated by children who have had good models. Language development is significantly enriched by exposure to good poetry. Additionally, in all of the fine arts, one of the chief benefits of appreciation is seeing the world through the eyes of the artist. His gift of observation is given to the student when the work is studied. For this reason a painting can be better than a photograph in drawing the viewer’s attention to certain aspects of a particular scene, for example, the lighting or the composition of the figures. Similarly, poetry can be a better way to draw attention to certain truths or to make some facet of an experience stand out. Excellent poetry will both direct the student’s attention to these aspects of reality and model the best way to share Also, poetry appeals to the emotions, as does music, and like music, beautiful and rightly ordered poetry can habituate or train the soul to the right kind of internal movement. Familiarity with truly good poetry will encourage children to love the good, to hope for its victory, and to feel sad at its demise. The opposite habituation is very clear to see in children who watch or read stories in which the grotesque is taken for granted. They cease to be shocked by what is really disgusting. That is a great loss to Young children are good at memorization; they pick up jumping-rope rhymes and doggerel verses without effort. We should encourage this inclination and ability by having the children memorize fine poetry, among other things. This will strengthen the imagination and memory, as well as prepare the children for the subsequent stages of intellectual development. Since poetry draws attention to specific aspects of experience, regular exposure to poetry will reinforce children’s observational powers. Continued practice in memorization will stretch the faculty of imagination. Like any power of the soul, repeated use of the power will improve it. Children who memorize regularly find it easy to do, and a good memory is a real asset to the intellectual life. We should start by reading the poem to our students. If the poems are short and adapted to the grade level of the students, it seems possible to memorize one every week or at least every two weeks. Once the poem is learned, the child should enter it in a "Poetry Notebook", which could contain illustrations. The poem can be photocopied when the child is too young to write well (e.g., first grade). As the student gets older, he should write the poem in his notebook himself. Soon he will have his own personal anthology, full of poetry he knows and enjoys. 10. THE TEACHING OF Creative writing encourages personal thought, originality and imagination. It is good to acquire skill in expressing one’s own interior world on paper. It also helps to be able to describe persons, events or situations accurately. Good writing is possible only when the student really knows his subject. This is why composition themes should at least up to 6th grade be about familiar and concrete things: first his personal experience, e.g., how I spent last Sunday, what I saw on my way to school. What I did yesterday evening after my homework etc… Essays for children need to give clear boundaries and expectations. After the child has learned to write about his own doings he may be given subjects dealing with his family or neighbors, e.g., how my father planted a tree in the garden, how my mother baked a cake. Last, the teacher may move to more difficult subjects. e.g., what episode of Our Lord’s life was last Sunday’s gospel about, what my favorite book is and why. The classics the students read for literature offer plentiful material for composition work. These books stimulate their interests so it should be easy to find subjects which will arouse their enthusiasm and therefore bring out good writing. In 7th and 8th grade, students can be initiated to write a real "dissertation", e.g., what motivation such character had, how they judge his actions, what would have happened if he had acted differently etc. It is then that the teacher can form their judgment and help them have a Catholic perspective on life. One important point in teaching composition is this: if we really want our students to improve their writing skills, we need to correct their first draft so they can write a second draft with the benefit of our guidance. It is the only way for them to acquire the "craft" of writing. They are apprentices and the teacher is the master craftsman. He shows them how to do the work. The introduction should give a preview of what the composition is about, clearly indicating the topic and the student’s purpose in writing about it. The body must consist of paragraphs which are well articulated so that the current of thought flows smoothly throughout the whole composition. The conclusion is often a brief summary of the composition. The teacher should make helpful suggestions in correcting the first draft so that the second draft will incorporate them into their work. Mother Stuart told her teachers "that she would reserve to herself the pleasure of giving them a weekly class in English composition". They met in her room on Wednesday evenings, a subject was given to be developed in a paper of about five hundred words, and returned to her by five o’clock the following Tuesday. At the next meeting these papers were read aloud, and criticized first by them, then by her, and finally revised according to a scheme which she prepared each week. A short outline had to be written at the head of each essay, however brief. Sometimes entire paragraphs were remodeled by her and handed to them with their next paper. This continued for nine weeks. She was quite merciless in the criticism of certain faults, such as exaggeration, inaccurate statements, phrases that had no thought behind them, meaningless adjectives, and above all what she called "cheap writing" a superficial, easy manner of handling a subject without having "thought to a finish", as she said once, apologizing for giving an answer after very short notice. She always gave them the reasons for her rejection of a word, and substituted others with a note of interrogation, submitting them to their approval. Good writing, whether for teachers or for students, is an excellent tool for the formation of the mind. As a summary, here is a checklist for the principal who is evaluating one of his teachers: - Is the teacher effectively teaching grammar? - Have the students a good knowledge of the parts of - Are they proficient in the art of diagramming sentences? - What is the spelling level of the students? - Does the teacher make the effort of correcting the spelling mistakes of the students in their notebooks? - Is the study of spelling integrated into the different parts of the English program or is it disconnected (spelling - Are dictations done regularly? - Are they corrected with diligence? - Are the poor spellers getting extra help from the - Are the students led to appreciate good literature? - Is the teacher instilling a love of reading in his - Do the students have many good books to read at home? - Are readers (consisting of excerpts) the only books used in the classroom or is the teacher also using complete works - Are these books well chosen so as to nourish their - Does the teacher possess a good knowledge of these books so that he can share this knowledge with his students? - Does the teacher ask enough questions to his students? - Are these questions well prepared so as to lead the pupils to think? - Does he try to involve every student in the discussion or only the bright outgoing ones? - Is the teacher using workbooks in a way which defeats the purpose of education? - Are workbooks encouraging the teacher’s laziness so that he no longer teaches but merely corrects the - Is the teacher developing penmanship through the students’ writing whole paragraphs in their notebooks? - Are the students memorizing poems on a regular basis? - Are they able to recite them with expression? - Is the teacher explaining these poems to the pupils so that they may be led to enjoy them? - Are the students given a composition on a regular basis? - Are the subjects well chosen? - Is the teacher correcting the first draft so that the student can write a second draft with the benefit of his teacher’s observations so as to improve his writing skill?

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Book and Lesson Ideas for 5th Graders Check Out The Immigration Council’s Free Educational Resources and Innovative Programming: As a uniquely modeled educational resource center, the American Immigration Council ’s Community Education Center has a variety of innovative teaching resources, programs and student platforms to help people think critically and thoughtfully about immigration. Take advantage of these free online resources and educate yourself and others on this important topic: - Lesson Plans - Book Reviews One Day Lesson Plans (© 1994 NIE Curriculum Guide in The Montana Standard) This one day lesson explores the America as “melting pot” analogy of diversity. Students discuss his/her own cultural heritage as a springboard into a discussion about the modern immigrant experience. Teachers are asked to clip newspaper articles about recent immigrants so students can imagine what life is life for these new Americans. As a follow-up activity, teachers can arrange for a recent immigrant to speak to the class about what it is like to leave one country for another. (©1996 Indiana University - Center for Adolescent Studies) This short exercise helps students understand that fear of immigrants has existed throughout United States history and that our culture has survived and is enriched by each new wave of immigrants. Further extension activities include examining the cultural diversity within the U.S. and the contributions of each group and writing a relrect response paper on the activity. (© 2004 Independent Television Service (ITVS)) In this lesson on alienation, students listen to a poem read in a different language and then asked to write about how they felt during the reading. The poem is then read in English and students reflect on the personal emotions associated with being an outsider. Students will learn to empathize with new immigrants who encounter the isolation of living in a new land. One Week Lesson Plans (© 2008 American Immigration Council ) Students write special invitations to local immigrants and set a decorated place for said immigrant at a special banquet table. Students interviewed immigrants and then decorate cups, plates, bowls and placemats to reflect his/her culture. Students also write an expository essay honoring the immigrant's life. The project enables students to identify the reasons immigrants come to the U.S., hear about their journeys, research and write a narrative essays and most importantly, to appreciate and understand the immigrant experience. (© 2004 Independent Television Service (ITVS)) Through research and a list of notable immigrants, students will identify a myriad of contributions immigrants have made to the nation, reflect on the value of these contributions and assess how knowledge of immigrant contributions influences personal perspectives. America was founded by foreign-born immigrants, and it continues to benefit economically, politically, and socially from immigration. Recognizing what immigrants give to this country will help students more fully understand the virtues of diversity and multiculturalism. (© 1998-2008 National Geographic Society) This lesson will help students understand key concepts of human migration through the examination of maps and migration patterns. Students will research and document the impact of migration on a region's cultural landscape. They will examine migration patterns on a global and national scale as a class and then apply that understanding to telling a migration story about their own community. One Month Lesson Plans (© 2008 American Immigration Council ) The goal of Digital Natives=Digital Storytelling is to have students identify their own ancestry and understand the important role immigrants have in developing our nation. By using the latest technologies and literacy-based activities, students will become cognizant of what issues caused people to leave their former lives behind, the problems involved in adapting to a new world, the cultural richness they brought to this country and how these characteristics have endured time to enrich our lives. (© Amy Price, Teacherlink) Through Who Belongs Here? An American Story, students will discuss how immigrants may feel when leaving their homeland and arriving in another country. The book discusses how American citizens react to immigrants and how this land has benefitted from immigration through technological advances and diversity. Students might also explore what it means to be an American by reading about another’s immigration experience. (© 2004 Independent Television Service (ITVS)) First-person narratives about immigration experiences are enlightening—providing, personal and poignant insight into individual immigrant stories. In this lesson, students read oral histories, conduct interviews to gather first-hand stories about immigrant experiences and determine new immigrants' common experiences. How Tia Lola Came to Stay By Julia Alvarez. Dell Yearling Books, 2001. 160 pages. When Miguel's crazy Tia Lola comes to visit from the Dominican Republic, he instantly knows that his life is never going to be the same. As Miguel struggles with his parents' divorce and his recent move to rural Vermont from New York City, he is not sure that he needs the wacky presence of his unusual Spanish-speaking aunt added to the chaos in his life. However, he soon realizes that his flamboyant and colorful aunt is just what he needs to spice up his life and bring his family together. How Tia Lola Came to Stay is an uplifting and funny story that upper elementary students will enjoy. Through Julia Alvarez's beautiful descriptions of Tia Lola's exotic cooking, lively music, and vibrant storytelling the reader will be captivated and entertained while learning about Caribbean culture. Possible discussion themes include: family, divorce, tolerance, culture and immigration. This funny and smart book will make a great addition to any classroom library. Ashes of Roses Mary Jane Auch. Laurel-Leaf Books (Random House), 2002. 246 pages with author's note. Ashes of Roses begins with the Nolan family's arrival at Ellis Island. Rose Nolan, her parents, and two of her three siblings are permitted to enter the country, but her baby brother is refused entry for medical reasons. Rose's father and brother return to Ireland while Rose and the rest of her family stay in New York. The family tries to adjust to life in the United States, but eventually Mrs.Nolan returns to Ireland, leaving just Rose and her younger sister Maureen in New York. The rest of the novel tells the story of the girls' experiences living and working in New York. The novel brings in many historical elements, including the infamous fire at the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory, to tell a realistic story of working-class immigrant life in early twentieth-century New York. The reading level makes this book appropriate for middle-school students, while the interest-level makes it appropriate for high-school students as well. TESOL students may recognize parts of the story that are familiar even to modern-day immigrants and therefore this novel may also work well for high-level TESOL students. By Patricia Beatty. Harper Trophy, 1981. 192 pages. Following family tragedy in Mexico, Lupita and her brother, Salvador, illegally smuggle themselves into the United States, in order to find work supporting their mother and siblings. Lupita soon discovers that America is not necessarily the land of hope and opportunity that she had expected. Together, brother and sister face difficult labor, the challenge of a new language, and the looming presence of la migra- the immigration police. Although each day is trying, this spunky girl maintains the belief that manana- or tomorrow will be a better day. While Lupita Manana explores familiar immigration issues such as learning a new language and feeling like an outsider, it also does something different by addressing illegal immigration from the perspective of a young Mexican girl. This book could serve as a great prompt for classroom discussions and would make a good addition to any classroom library. The Journey That Saved Curious George By Louise Borden, illustrated by Allan Drummond. Houghton Mif?in Company, 2005. 80 pages. Louise Borden's fascinating account of the journey, the authors of Curious George made when the Nazis invaded France. H.A. Rey and his wife Margret, who were both Jewish, made their escape with the only means of transportation available to them, bicycles. Forced to travel light, the Reys packed a few belongings as well as the manuscripts of their books, including "The Adventures of Fi?", later to be renamed "Curious George". This manuscript was with them as their journey led them to the United States, which became their refuge and permanent home. This exciting author study is complemented by a combination of photographs of the Reys, illustrations from H.A. Rey's children's books, and original illustrations in the style of H. A. Rey by Allan Drummond. Dreaming Of America: An Ellis Island Story By Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ben F. Stalh. Troll Bridge Water Paperback, 2000. 32 pages. Teenage Annie Moore and her two younger brothers sail from Cobh, Ireland to be reunited with their parents who had immigrated to America three years earlier. Arriving in New York Harbor, Annie would be the first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island on January 1, 1892, her fifteenth birthday. To commemorate this event, matching statues of Annie and her brothers stand at the quay in Cobh Harbor and on Ellis Island. Dreaming of America is a fictionalized account of Annie's journey to America. Through Annie's story, Eve Bunting, an Irish immigrant herself, explores the hopes and fears of millions of others, who like Annie, made their homes here and helped shape our nation. Vivid illustrations and archival photographs will add to the young readers understanding of this time and events in our history. By Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Ed Young. Lee and Low, 2005. 40 pgs. Shanghai Messenger is a beautiful book of poetry written by Andrea Cheng and paired with the lovely illustrations of Ed Young. The poems and drawings work together harmoniously, as they tell the story of young Xiao Mei, who is half American and half Chinese and her experiences upon visiting family in Shanghai. Xiao Mei is excited and intrigued about visiting her Chinese family; however she is nervous about the meeting her strange relatives as well as dealing with cultural differences. Ultimately, she learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage through her many experiences in Shanghai, from traditional hair braids, to making wontons and even learning about Tai Chi. Upon returning to the United States, Xiao Mei isfilled with pride and appreciation for both her Chinese and American cultures. This is a fantastic book for children ages 9-12 years old, clearly readers will enjoy the book's lovely cadence as well as its thoughtful and heartfelt story and delicate drawings. Mai Ya's Long Journey By Sheila Cohen. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2004. 80 pages. This true story of a young Hmong girl and her family's journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to life in Madison, Wisconsin was written by the child's ESL teacher. Mai Ya Xiong, now 25 years old and her family's first college graduate, spent her first seven years trapped in Thailand after her parents narrowly escaped from Laos. Her father had fought against Communists in a secret army developed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Life in Wisconsin challenged the young immigrant girl to keep a balance between her Hmong culture and American ways. The biography includes a concise look at Hmong animist beliefs, traditions and customs that date back 5,000 years. Photographs of Mai Ya growing up illustrate her story and corroborate an already authentic account. Mai Ya Xiong exemplifies the "can-do" attitude Americans have come to revere in our immigrant stories. The book, complete with timelines, glossary, index, appendix and reading group guidelines, enables students to experience Mai Ya's contemporary journey in its historical context. Behind The Mountains (First Person Fiction Series) By Edwidge Danticat. Scholastic Inc., 2004. 192 pages. Living in rural Haiti, Celiane Esperance, her mother, and brother Moy anxiously await the cassettes Papa sends them from New York each month. Forced by economic circumstances to seek work in America, Papa has been gone for three years and the family anticipates joining him when the proper visas can be arranged. While visiting an aunt in Port-Au-Prince, Celiane and her mother are nearly killed by a bomb, leaving them more determined to join Papa. Just as there are always more mountains behind the mountains, however, the family finds that there are more challenges to face when they are reunited with Papa in New York. Celiane shares her feelings about her family and experiences through the diary she was awarded by her teacher in Haiti. Beautifully written by Edwidge Danticat, recognized by The New York Times as one of our best young writers, Behind The Mountains explores the themes of coming of age, family relationships, separation and reunification, as well as immigration and cultural identity. Behind The Mountains is one of the books in the Scholastic First Person Fiction series exploring the experiences of teenagers of various backgrounds who immigrate to America. The Journal of Otto Peltonen: A Finnish Immigrant By William Durbin. A Dear America Book, Scholastic, 2000. 170 pages. In 1905, fifteen year old Otto, his mother and two younger sisters, leave the grandparents behind in Finland to join with his father who's laboring in an iron ore mine in Hibbing, Minnesota. The poor family suffers through an excruciating voyage only to land in a squalid mining camp where Father faces mortal danger six days a week below ground. Otto eventually joins his dad in the mines as the family scrimps and saves to buy a farm. The harsh life, fueled by corruption and corporate callousness, gave rise to the organized labor movement that eventually unionized our mining industry. Author William Durbin, a high school English teacher in Hibbing, recreates the dismal world that many of the 250,000 Finnish immigrants faced a hundred years ago after escaping the Russian Army and trying to get a foothold in the American dream. By Marilyn Freeman. New York: iUniverse, Inc, 2003. 42 pages. The journey described in the book Pasquale's Journey is a familiar immigration story. The opening of the novel finds Pasquale and his family waiting at home in Italy for word from Pasquale's father who has traveled to the United States ahead of them. When Papa finally sends for the family, Mama must sell the family farm and prepare the family for the voyage. The long, difficult sea passage does not diminish the family's happiness upon arriving in the United States. Papa's gift to Pasquale at the very end of the story is an apt metaphor for the promise that awaits Pasquale, and other immigrants, in the United States. The reading level and content matter make this book an appropriate choice for intermediate-level (grades 3-4) elementary school students. The book is also well-suited for TESOL students at any level. The Stone Goddess By Minfong Ho. Scholastic Inc., 2005. 208 pages. Twelve-year-old Nakri and her family live comfortably and happily in Phnom Penh until their lives are forever altered by the civil war in Cambodia. Forced out of their homes by Khmer Rouge soldiers, the family flees to safety in the country home of their grandparents. Their security is shattered again when the father and three older siblings, including Nakri, are sent away to forced labor camps. After years of deprivation and loss, Nakri is reunited with members of her family, only to be forced to move again, first to refugee camps in Thailand and finally to a new life in America. Compassionately written, The Stone Goddess explores themes of family and culture, war and death, hope and renewal. The Stone Goddess is one of the books in the Scholastic First Person Fiction series exploring the experiences of teenagers of various backgrounds who immigrate to America. We Are Americans: Voices of the Immigrant Experience By Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. Scholastic Nonfiction, 2003. 192 pages. Grades 4 and up We Are Americans is a coffee table book for the classroom, presenting the history of American immigration chronologically, from the new theories of prehistoric immigration to the groups arriving in the present day. Using archival images, artifacts, data charts, and personal narratives, the book explores the factors responsible for immigration, the hopes of immigrants, the hardships of the journey, and adjustments to a new culture, as well as the contributions these new Americans made to our nation. While they learn about the groups and individuals from every culture and continent that formed our country, students will find connections to their own immigration history. This well researched and well produced book offers a detailed index and a further reading list, and is an excellent resource for a study of immigration. Living as a Refugee in America: Mohammed's Story By Helen Howard. World Almanac Library, 2006. 48 pages. Now in an American high school, Mohammed, 15, tells the story of how he fled the Taliban in Afghanistan and wandered through Iran and Turkey before coming to the U.S. with his mother, brother and sister. Living as a Refugee in America weaves Mohammed's story with facts about Afghanistan's recent history and discusses the plight of refugees driven by war and famine across the world. The moving first person narrative, printed in italics, features full-color, captioned photos of Mohammed, his family and friends. It also discusses issues such as discrimination, cultural barriers and maintaining dual identity. This non-fiction book contains a glossary of helpful vocabulary as well suggestions for how students can take action to help the displaced by providing an annotated list of international human rights organizations to contact. By Ann Jaramillo. Roaring Book Press, 2006. 144 pgs. The desperate story of Miguel and his younger sister Elena struggling to escape poverty in southern Mexico to join their parents in California is E.S.L. teacher Ann Jaramillo's first novel. Fear of starvation and a longing for family drives these two teenagers into the dark gauntlet of illegal immigration. Violence, corruption and narrow escapes keep the ordeal fast-paced and scary. The siblings survive the journey and face further disappointment through deportation. Compelling and suspenseful, the story exempli?es the plight of countless poor people looking for a better life across the border. While the media argues the big picture of illegal immigrants including jobs, employers, security, fences, mass round-ups and amnesty, Jaramillo looks at the issue from ground level through the eyes of two children with few options. It's a perilous adventure best saved for at least junior high school age students. Memories of Sun: Stories of Africa and America Edited by Jane Kurtz. Greenwillow Books, 2004. 243 pages. Grades 5 and up In Memories of Sun, we hear the stories of children who currently live in various parts of Africa, Americans living in or visiting Africa and Africans living in America. Divided into these three distinct sections, the stories express a variety of cultural experiences as well as the imprint these cultures have on the children who inhabit them both. Some stories are touching, some humorous and some heartbreaking. All are unforgettable. Jane Kurtz, a self described "third culture kid," was born in the U.S. but raised for most of her childhood in Ethiopia. In Memories of Sun, she has created an anthology of twelve stories and three poems that speak in the voices of children who share that duality of culture. The back of the book contains an informative section about the authors. Students will find much to learn and relate to once they read these powerful stories. Drita, My Homegirl By Jenny Lombard. Putnam Juvenile, 2006. 176 pages. Drita My Homegirl is the story of Drita, a Muslim Albanian refugee who has immigrated to New York City from war-torn Kosovo. Drita longs to make friends in school, but faces difficulty due to her limited English. Drita My Homegirl is narrated through alternating chapters told from the perspective of two fourth graders, Drita and Maxie. As their stories unfold, their unlikely friendship grows against the backdrop of both girls feeling a bit like outsiders. Drita is trying to deal with immigrating as well as her mother's depression, and at the same time she is also struggling to fit in at school. Maxie, on the other hand, appears to be a fun-loving comedian at school, but she too is struggling outside of school as she attempts to deal with the death of her mother. As these unlikely friends come together, the themes of family, friendship, and love resonate. Drita My Homegirl is appropriate for grades 3-5 and would be an excellent title read aloud that could be used to engage students in group discussions. Twist of Gold By Michael Morpurgo. Egmont Books, 2004. 304 pages. Two Irish children, hounded by starvation and plague, escape the potato famine, and leave behind three dead siblings as well as a dying mother to venture by sailing ship to America in search of their father. The kids find themselves working the streets of Boston before heading west across the continent via riverboat and wagon train to find their father and no-longer dying mother. (Wait. How'd she get well and go from Cork County to California?) Sean and Annie endure crooks, shipwreck, and getting stranded the desert; but they prevail. Besides the inexplicable use of apostrophes for quotation marks, the problem with this book is its loose connection to historical accuracy. It's a fast-paced fantasy adventure story that fails to capture a realistic portrayal of the American immigrant experience. The Irish Dresser By Cynthia Neale. White Mane Publishing Company, 2003. 100 pages. The Irish Dresser is fantastic historical fiction which tells the story of Ireland's Potato Famine that occurred between 1845 and 1850. Told from the perspective of thirteen year old Nora McCabe, the reader experiences her family's struggle to survive. Nora decides to escape by hiding in her family's dresser aboard the ship, fantasizing about food and a better life. The reader experiences the difficult journey experienced by over two million Irish through Nora's touching story. Surely, students will be engaged by the McCabe family's tragic and difficult voyage to America in search of food, as well as Nora's vivid and descriptive voice. The Irish Dresser is an exciting story about the reality of taking risks and facing the unknown. This title will make a fantastic read aloud and could be enjoyed by students in grades 2-6. Zayda Was A Cowboy By June Levitt Nislic. Jewish Publication Society, 2005. 74 pages. Nislick's book tells of her grandfather when he immigrated to America as part of the "Galveston Plan", an effort to bring Jewish immigrants to the western United States in the early 20th century. Framed as a story within a story, Zayda's unusual immigration story is told to his grandchildren when he comes to live with them. Zayda describes his life with his family before he is forced to run away to avoid conscription into the Czar's army which, as a Jew, would have led to cruel treatment, even death. After leaving his small Russian town, Zayda made his way to Bremen, Germany where he worked to earn the fare for a ticket to America. Landing in Galveston, Texas, Zayda, whose name was changed to Mike Benson, is greeted by a representative of the Jewish Immigrants Information Bureau, who helps him find a job as a ranch hand. As the story unfolds it describes Zayda's life on the ranch, learning to speak English (and Spanish, as many of the other ranch hands are Mexican), and working on a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas City where he settled and became part of the Jewish community. Dear Miss Breed By Joanne Oppenheim. Scholastic Non?ction, 2006. 288 pages. Grades 6 to adult In telling the story of Clara Breed, the children's librarian of the San Diego Public Library and her devotion to the Japanese American children, once her patrons, who were incarcerated in prison camps during World War II, Joanne Oppenheim reminds us not only of a shameful and pain-?lled chapter in American history, but also how as individuals we can often make a difference. The story of this remarkable woman and her relationship with her children is told through the letters the children wrote, testimony given to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in 1980-81, recent interviews and correspondence with the now adult children, as well as news accounts from the war period. Dear Miss Breed is an accessible account of World War II for children ages ten and up, and would be a wonderful guide to spark discussions with children about democracy, freedom, war and Nikkei history in America. Thoughtful parallels can be drawn between the events in Dear Miss Breed and events in our own times. By Pam Munoz Ryan. Scholastic, 2000. 288 pages. Set during the Great Depression, Esperanza Rising is a lovely story of self-acceptance in a foreign environment. As told through the perspective of young Esperanza, the book begins with the characters comfortably living luxurious rancho life in Mexico- that is until Esperanza's father is tragically killed. Following his death, Esperanza and her mother have no other choice but to immigrate to California in order to find work. Thus begins their journey of assimilation within a new country and social class. Having lived a privileged life, it is not easy for Esperanza to remake herself while adjusting to life as a migrant farm worker. Teachers will appreciate the book's connections between the cultural, economical and political issues of California during the 1930's. This fantastic coming of age story corresponds with a historical backdrop of strikes and the labor movement, government sweeps, and injustice. Pam Munoz Ryan's fascinating book is based upon her maternal grandmother's experience of immigrating to California from Mexico. Esperanza's struggles and her ability to rise above her difficulties will surely spark conversation within the classroom. This book is great for whole class reading and as a link to exploring historical connections. By Kashmira Sheth. Hyperion Books for Children, 2004. 192 pages. Inspired by the author's own experiences, Blue Jasmine tells the story of a teenager who immigrates from a small town in India to a large American city. Leaving behind the comfort of her loving extended family and friends, twelve year old Seema Trivedi moves to Iowa City when her father accepts a new job offer. There she learns not only a new culture and language, but also that in America, like India, one must look past the façade to discover the true value of people. While Blue Jasmine examines many familiar immigration issues such as fear of being the outsider, cultural duality, and difficulty of learning a new language, Kasmira Sheth's novel fills a void in children's literature by presenting this story from an Indian teenager's perspective. Since very little children's literature exists on the topic, this award winning book is a welcome addition to classroom libraries. Finding My Hat By John Son. Scholastic, 2003. 192 pages. An outstanding addition to Scholastic's excellent First Person Fiction series, Finding My Hat, tells the story of the Parks, a first generation Korean-American family, in the 1970s and 80s. Told in vignettes from the point of view the eldest child and only son, the story, traces Jin-Han's life from his first memories at the age of two to his mother's death when he is a teenager. Jin-Han and his family move from Chicago to Memphis to Houston as the family struggles to find a place for themselves in America and Jin-Han struggles to find his own identity, "his hat," from among his Korean traditions, his American attitudes, and his own special gifts. The vignettes are often hilarious, as when pre-school Jin-Han wets his pants, or pre-teen Jin-Han discovers girls, while the incident recalling Jin-Han's mother's tragic illness and death is poignant and moving. This engrossing novel captures the universal aspects of Jin-Han's coming of age, as well as, the experiences of an immigrant family adjusting to life in the United States. A valuable feature of the series is an afterword in which the writer describes his or her own experiences of immigrating to the United States. The reading level and subject matter make this book appropriate for seventh through ninth grade and TESOL students. It would work well as reading for social studies and English in studies of culture, immigration, point of view, character development, and style. By Shaun Tan. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. 128 pgs. In this wordless graphic novel, through magnificent illustrations, Tan captures the disorientation immigrants may feel toward their new surroundings. It depicts the journey of one man who seems both accepted and rejected by his new country. The only writing is in an invented alphabet, which motivates the viewer to feel confused just like the immigrants must feel when they encounter a strange new language and way of life. A feeling of tolerance and acceptance is presented throughout the story and transcends race and ethnicity. The youngest readers and the most sophisticated will find this book interesting. This book is an excellent conversation starter in any mainstream or ESL classroom. Flight to Freedom Ana Veciana-Suarez. Scholastic, 2002. 240 pages. Another wonderful addition to Scholastic's superb First Person Fiction series, Flight to Freedom, tells the story of the Garcia family who in 1967 flee from Cuba to Miami, Florida. The story is told through the diary entries of thirteen-year-old Yara Garcia. In Cuba Yara hates the compulsory youth work camps and the strict food rations. However, once Yara is in Miami, she misses the family left behind in Cuba, and she struggles with family tensions, a new language, and a new school. While Yara's father joins an anti-Castro group and insists that the family will soon be back in Cuba, Yara, her mother, and her sisters slowly adjust to their new life and opportunities in America. The story is absorbing, with believable characters and informative detail. An effective feature of the series is an afterword in which the writer describes his or her own experiences of immigrating to the United States. The reading level and subject matter make this book appropriate for seventh through ninth grade and TESOL students. It would work well as reading for social studies and English in studies of culture, immigration, point of view, character development, and style. Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy By Andrea Warren. Farrar, Straus & Girouox, 2004. 110 pages. At the end of the Vietnam War, an eight-year-old "Amerasian" boy named Long flees his country and finds a loving home with his adoptive family in Ohio. The author recounts the story of Long's life-from his birth and early childhood, shadowed by his father's abandonment and his mother's suicide, to boyhood in Saigon with his loving yet struggling grandmother who eventually makes the agonizing decision to put him up for adoption. Long, now age nine, becomes part of Operation Babylift, the US- coordinated effort that evacuated more than 2,000 children from Saigon in just three days in 1975. This photo-essay from Long's emotional point of view is interspersed with just the right amount of history. Escape is ideal for middle and upper grade classrooms studying various immigration themes including lost heritage, poverty, separation and family relations. Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan By Mary Williams, illustrated by Gregory Christie. Lee and Low Books, 2005. 40 pages. As the result of renewed fighting in Sudan in the mid 1980's, thirty thousand orphaned, homeless boys were forced to walk almost one thousand miles through eastern Africa in search of refuge. Based on true accounts as told to her by some of these Lost Boys, Mary Williams' story describes the experiences of eight-year-old Garang, as he seeks safety after his village is destroyed by war. Unable to find his family, Garang wanders down the road where he joins thousands of other boys, who like him, were spared because they were tending their family animals when the war came upon their villages. Organizing themselves into groups, the boys travel east to Ethiopia, hunting for food, caring for younger ones, and avoiding the soldiers along the way. After finding safety in an Ethiopian refugee camp, the boys are forced to flee again, this time to Kenya, when war erupts in Ethiopia. Eventually, some find safety in the United States. This inspirational story of courage and survival provides students a starting point for a deeper study of the effects of war on civilian populations, especially children. In her Author's Note and Afterword, Mary Williams describe her experiences with these children that inspired her to write their story and create a foundation to support their adjustment to life in America. The Orphan of Ellis Island By Elvira Woodruff. Scholastic, 1997. 174 pgs. A class field trip turns into the adventure of a lifetime when young Dominic Cantori, an orphan, visits Ellis Island. Uncomfortable with all of the discussion about ancestry during the field trip, Dominic wanders off from the group, falls asleep in a utility closet, and soon finds himself swept away to another time and place. This time travel trip takes Dominic to Italy in 1908 where he befriends three orphaned brothers. He discovers the harsh conditions that compelled people to leave their homes and seek refuge in the United States. Dominic joins the brothers as they leave Italy and he experiences first hand what it felt like to travel as a steerage passenger aboard a ship to America. Upon entering New York harbor he is elated to see the Statue of Liberty and soon discovers the challenges immigrants faced at Ellis Island. When Dominic returns to the present he has developed a deeper appreciation of the struggles of those long ago immigrants and welcomes the opportunity to be placed with a foster family that is eager to adopt a child like him. American Born Chinese By Gene Luen Yan. First Second, 2006. 233 pages. Grades 6 to 12 American Born Chinese is a graphic novel that cleverly takes readers through a journey that combines three storylines and three characters into one idea. The stories merge into a single narrative that looks at stereotype, immigration, and assimilation. The graphic novel interweaves Chinese mythology with the American Dream. Students are sure to enjoy the images and text through the quick moving stories. Teachers will find the book surprisingly useful as a springboard for discussions about discrimination, tolerance, stereotyping and immigration. We strive to enhance classroom learning by providing a wide variety of accessible and creative educational teaching resources. From Classroom to Community Learn about resources, events and information that helps you teach and learn about immigration

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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home| There is a need for adolescents to explore their values with their family and peers. Peer group pressure is an important influence. Therefore, teachers must set the stage for good communication. Exchanging ideas with each other, adolescents become aware of interpretations different from their own. They become sensitive to the feelings and thoughts of other people. Teenagers come from varied backgrounds both in knowledge and experience and in value and attitudes. Thus, it is wise to use several teaching techniques. Useful techniques include role playing, group interaction to a specific situation, values clarification, storytelling, interviewing, and debating. When factual information is to be presented or reviewed, sensory aids are most helpful and useful in learning as outlined in the work of Piaget.1 These skills that we all first used in sensing our environment include seeing, touching, listening, and speaking. Plastic or rubber models of male and female anatomies as well as a model to explain contraceptive devices would be a most useful teaching tool. The media can be utilized and very helpful. Television, movies, magazines, and music all relate to sexuality. The use of audio-visual appeals to most students and is an effective way to involve most of them. It can also be a way of introducing a topic that might be somewhat controversial. For the older adolescent, especially, an effective program of sexuality should be based on how and what teenagers want to learn. Students need to get directly involved in learning the truth about sex and sexuality. Students need to understand the physical and sexual drives, effect of peer pressure, parents roles, their feelings towards themselves and others and how to cope with adverse feelings. Above all in these times of great social freedom, they alone must be as best equipped as possible to make decisions that will be right for each one. To be effective, I think, sexual education should be based on an overall view of how each age group learns and reacts to the environment. Levels of cognitive abilities and decision making skills cannot be used at all grade levels. The important issue is to start the process at the earliest age possible. Young children can begin to acquire skills in gathering information by asking questions, observing and listening. By the time a student has reached high school years, most have reached a stage where they can master concepts and generalizations and consider a range of possibilities in a specific situation. In the appendix is a summary of the comparative developmental stages of cognitive stages of learning, moral development and how it evolves and allows for abstract thinking and reasoning, and the way one develops socially. This chart is not only useful for the teacher in planning more effective curricula but can be used as a guide for young parents as to what can realistically be expected from their child. The works of Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson and Freud can shed a lot of light on sexuality as a developmental process from birth to old age. According to Freud, the greatest period in our lives for receiving and reproducing impressions, occurs from birth to age seven or eight. He calls this the period of “infantile amnesia” and states that the very impressions we have forgotten have left the deepest traces on our mind and have a determining effect upon the whole of our later development.2 Is it too late, by adolescence, to overcome early life impressions which may be preventing or hindering young people from making decisions that will be right for them? We know that love is essential to human development. In order for infants to achieve healthy growth, they need being talked to and held. In order for the infants to attain intellectual growth, they need to be stimulated by their environment. It is the families that are responsible for early life impressions where some young people learn detachment from people and learn instead, attachment to things. Some adolescents claim they even feel like things—possessions of their parents,” to quote one seventeen year old. Some parents use negative aspects of love, helping to create a selfish youngster. Guidance is needed to help a youngster make a distinction between selfishness and self-esteem. That is the kind of self-love that is necessary before one can love someone else. That kind of love requires identifying and finding positive feedback so that one can like and accept oneself. According to Montague and Matson, “The family should be the principal locus in which to apply one’s love, for the only way in which children learn to love is by being loved.” “They also state that the school should be reperceived and reconstructed as an agency second only in importance to home—and sometimes superior to it—for the teaching of the science and art of love.” Or in the words of another great teacher of children, Henrich Pestalozzi, “without love, neither the physical nor the intellectual powers of the child will develop naturally.”3 Sexual guidance is a great challenge for any teacher. Belief in the value of honesty in sex education is the basic ingredient for establishing good communication. It is very important for the teacher to have a sincere interest and enthusiasm for the subject and an openness to continued learning. The teacher should try and make the classroom a community in which all the participants will learn and live together in security and harmony having respect for one another. Establishing a democratic classroom where the students participate making rules to benefit all. Have a suggestion box that gets looked at and answered periodically helps a great deal to let the student know you are concerned. Frequently discuss contemporary issues that involve moral decisions, trying to get each student to articulate his thoughts and his reasons. Have students represent their problems through drawing or role playing a life experience. In this way, the student can get feedback from the group and perhaps see the problem from a different perspective. Students today, especially our adolescents, no longer want an authority figure doing the thinking and deciding for them. There are times when they need facts so that they can make the distinction between myth and fact. The classroom experience cannot provide students with answers to the moral questions which will arise in their future. However, students may find in the classroom an appreciation of their self worth and of their sexuality. This appreciation is a foundation for healthy moral development. We should support and guide our students as they acquire the self-confidence and the self-discipline necessary for making wise decisions. - Overhead projector—useful to keep students focused on subject under examination - Slide projector - Tape recorder - 16 mm projector - Butcher paper, felt pens, tape and 3x5 cards - Models, charts, or felt board - 1. To help establish a sense of togetherness. - 2. To introduce students to one another. - 1. Teacher hands out 3x5 cards and instructs students to make a square in the center with four lines radiating from each corner. No names on cards. - 2. Teacher instructs students to write three one-word ideas that tell about themselves. On the fourth line, write something about themselves that they do not mind telling others about. - 3. Teacher collects cards, mixes them up, and hands each person a card. - 4. Have students try to find the owner of the card they have been given. When they find the person who matches the card, have them return it. - 5. When everyone has his/her own card, ask to have each one read their statement. - 1. What clue helped you find the person? - 2. Were there other ideas you could have put down? - 3. Did anyone’s statement surprise you? - 1. Student identifies what is meaningful to each one. - 2. Student will demonstrate that there are similarities and differences with other students. - 1. Copy Table 1 from overhead. (Below) - 2. List at least three things for each category. Desires are— Problems are— Happiness is— 1 1 3 - ____a. In Column 1, what are some of the goals you hope to accomplish? - ____b. In Column 2, what are some of your worries or fears? - ____c. In Column 3, what makes you feel great? - 1. Compile some of the data. - 2. Notice any similarities. - 3. If any of the problems or worries are concerned with the health of the body, the students could be shown ways of coping. - 4. See if students can think of any other concerns they might share. - 5. Have students take a similar survey of their parents’ attitudes and feelings. - 1. To make talking about sex easier. - 2. To help build group rapport. - 3. To find a universal term to understand doctors. - 1. Get into groups of five or six. - 2. Give each team a big block of butcher paper. - 3. Explanation to students: Sexual terms come in many forms: - ____a. Hospital language; very exact, and understood universally. - ____b. Kiddie language; sweet little words used to disguise and save being embarrassed. - ____c. Street talk; rough words that won’t be found in a medical book. - ____d. Vague words or phrases; like, having sex, etc. - 4. Get ready for brainstorming; think up as many words as possible when the teacher says a sexual word. Brainstorm with your group and write down all the synonyms your group can think of using any of the languages of sex. Have one person record. When the teacher says to stop, count up the words. The most words win for the group. (Give students two to three minutes to record.) The recorder of the winning group should read off the list. - 5. The list of words could include: Breast, Penis, Anus, Nocturnal emissions, Intercourse, Ovaries, Pregnancy, Testicles, Uterus, Menstruation, Vagina, and Clitoris. - 1. What is your feeling about reading the words aloud? - 2. Which words had more synonyms—those pertaining to the male or the female? - 3. What kind of language do adults use the most? - 4. Why do you think the sexual parts of our anatomy have more words? - 1. To find out what advantages or disadvantages there are to being a man or woman. - 2. To have students identify and recognize advantages of their own sex. - 1. Divide the group by sexes. - 2. Have the boys (each) write at least four advantages of being a female. Then write the disadvantages of being female. - 3. The girls should write the advantages and disadvantages of being a male. - 4. Have each group write about what bothers you most about the opposite sex. - 5. When completed, have the sexes exchange papers and make comments about each statement. Homework Assignment Write an essay on “What I Like and Dislike About Being ME.” Discuss later what can’t be changed. - 1. To examine recent changes in dating. - 2. To determine qualifications to be a good date. - 3. To initiate discussion of specific dating problems. - 1. Topic is best handled as a take home assignment. - 2. Filmstrip from Sunburst Communications, “Values for Dating,” helped to identify the peer group and personal values that encourage and discourage sex. - 1. Define the new morality. - 2. Does a double standard exist in your life? Explain. - 1. To examine the many meanings of the word love. - 2. To determine what love means to each student. - 1. Express love in poetry. - 1. Poetry turned out to be an excellent way to express the students’ feelings. - 2. With the author’s permission, the poems were put into pamphlet form. - 3. Show Part III: in filmstrip, “Values for Dating,” on love and friendship (15 minutes). Masturbation usually means self-stimulation of the sex organs, often referred to as “auto-eroticism.” Masturbation occurs in all age groups. In all probability, most everyone has masturbated at some time in their life. It has been noted in one survey, that genital play has occurred in more than half the infants under one year. It seems a very pleasurable act, for certainly no researcher has ever mentioned infants crying while masturbating. A more conscious auto-eroticism is sometimes started at around five years of age on. Usually, though, masturbation can be the release that helps young men during puberty preceding ejaculation. Unfortunately, masturbation is a topic that is one of the taboo subjects (like homosexuality and incest). Early Victorian attitudes still persist for many teenagers as well as for some adults. However, the work done by Kinsey, Masters and Johnson has shown that masturbation is a natural sexual experience and appears not to cause mental or physical problems, except perhaps from guilt feelings he/she has been made to feel from some myths and misconceptions that other generations have perpetuated. - 1. To give a few facts. - 2. To relieve anxiety caused by masturbation. - 3. To examine how attitudes have been affected by society, the media or peers. Adapted from: Burt Saxon and P. Kelman, Modern Human Sexuality, (Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1976). - 1. Pass out the following quiz: - ____T F 1. Masturbation can eventually cause feeble-mindedness. - ____T F 2. People are more understanding of masturbation than they used to be. - ____T F 3. Many who do masturbate feel guilty. - ____T F 4. Masturbation can cause acne and pimples. - ____T F 5. The problem with masturbating too much is that you won’t have a good adult sex life. - ____T F 6. When a person masturbates, it is always done alone. - ____T F 7. Masturbation is acceptable behavior if it doesn’t interfere with your normal personal relationships and become compulsive. - ____T F 8. People stop masturbating after they get married. - ____T F 9. Masturbation can weaken your body and mind. - ____T F 10. Masturbation can relieve tensions. - ____T F 11. Masturbation can cause homosexuality. - ____T F 12. Masturbation is part of our normal sex experience. 1. F; 2. T; 3. T; 4. F; 5. F; 6. F; 7. T; 8. F; 9. F; 10. T; 11. F; 12. T. No other sexuality question seems to be as controversial and emotionally packed as is abortion. The gamut of feelings runs between the right of the unborn to live to the woman’s right to choose whether she wants to end an unwanted pregnancy. There are several ways of having an abortion and they are relatively simple if done before the twelfth week of pregnancy. Later abortions are a more difficult procedure and carry greater risk. Frequent abortions could lead to serious consequences. To make valid decisions about abortion, it is necessary to get all the facts. There is a great deal of literature on the subject and various organizations ready to help. There are many questions to ask. What is meant by a live fetus? When is a fetus considered a person? What harm could come to the woman? How does the father feel about the situation? What happens if the mother gives birth to an unwanted child? - 1. Comparing options. - 2. Getting students to look at a problem. - 1. Have student write only Male or Female on paper. - 2. Put the following statements on the overhead or board: If a sixteen year old girl is pregnant, . . . - ____a. It is best for her to have an abortion if . . . - ____b. It is best for her to get married and have the baby when . . . - ____c. It is best for her to give the baby up for adoption when . . . - ____d. It is best for her to keep the baby and stay unwed when . . . - 1. Have students read off some of the answers. - 2. Are there any patterns of similarities or differences? - 1. “Teenage Father.” 30 minutes. Planned Parenthood, League of Connecticut Film focuses on the innermost thoughts and feelings of a seventeen year old boy who is involved in an unplanned pregnancy. - 2. “Young, Single and Pregnant.” Story of four teenagers and how they resolved their pregnancies—objective and non-judgemental. Guidance Associates, 757 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10017. - 1. This exercise helps students give reasons for their opinions. - 1. On the overhead are some of the statements that some people feel compelled to write. - 2. Think about what kind of a message you would like to write. - 3. Hand out the worksheet as printed in Michael Silver, Facing Issues of Life and Death (St. Louis, Mo.: Milliken Pub. Co., 1976). - 4. Student is to decide on his feelings and give his reasons based on medical, social, ethical and/or religious, or legal considerations. - 5. Student would write the best reason for supporting or opposing abortion. - 1. The above mentioned book in the Contemporary Values Series has other interesting situations for students to consider. Guilt and Shame Guilt is one of our most destructive emotions, and especially for adolescents who are only learning to cope with all the other stresses of life today. Guilt is experienced when you do something that goes contrary to the moral codes of the family or society or your own conscience. Some feeling of guilt can keep a check on our responsibilities to home, school, work, and the people we contact. The other side of the guilt coin can result in very serious outcomes if the guilt is undeserved. The adolescent might not only keep hidden his hostility but even consider destructive means of getting rid of his innermost feelings—forever. Where do feelings of guilt and shame have their source? According to Helen Block Lewis in her book, Psychic War in Men and Women, the human culture is passed on with the first social relationship between mother or caretaker and infant. It is in this close relationship where sex roles are established. Affectionate bonds are nourished or broken with this little bundle of a sexual, affectionate human being. When those bonds are broken, then trouble can begin. This is when little girls and boys first sense differences in mother’s attitude.4 It was most interesting, to me, to find that girls and boys are programmed to the differences that exist between them by the way in which the mothers handle their babies. It seems easier for mothers to cuddle their same sex babies. Little boys have to identify with a different sex caretaker and this appears to matter a great deal in sexual identification. When affectionate bonds are broken for little girls, they respond inwardly and feel a loss of love and therefore try to get back in good favor by trying to please. By two years of age, they have learned that being good, quiet and obedient gets the desired results most of the time. They also have learned their female subservient role somehow. Little boys learn, when bonds are broken, they can get their mother’s attention by loud, aggressive behavior. The older child carries aggression to hostility and gets back the dignity of his ego by downgrading someone. It is all too obvious how very dependent a child is on his/her parents to shape their future mental and physiological and sexual health. The father’s role is especially important in forming good opposite identification as well as being a good same sex model for the boy. However, the mother does seem to be the most vital link just by her earliest and most constant association with the infant. - 1. Do males feel superior? - 2. Do females consider the males are superior? - 1. Put the following questions on the overhead: - ____a. Which do you prefer, a male or female doctor? - ____b. Which sex are you? - ____c. Which do you prefer, a male or female nurse? - ____d. Which sex is better? Why? - 2. Get a class count. - 3. Categorize the answers. - 4. Any surprises in the answers? - 5. What conclusions could you make? - 1. Trying to find shame vs guilt reactions. - 1. If someone verbally hurts me I feel . . . - 2. When I have a bad report card I . . . - 3. Prostitution is caused by . . . - 4. The reason I hate to tell my parents I’ve done something wrong is . . . - 5. If I am caught in a lie I . . . - 6. I say “yes” when I want to say “no” when . . . - 7. If someone embarrasses me I . . . - 1. By sharing the answers, are there any similarities in the sentence fragments? - 2. Are there any surprises? - 1. When you are about to do something wrong, how do you know whether to do it or not? - 2. Can you think of any way to get rid of feelings of shame or guilt? The bibliography offers several sources to help guide the teacher who wants to help adolescents develop reasonable and healthy attitudes about their sexuality that will help them make the right decisions— for ultimately, they make their own choice. - 1. David Elkind, ed., Children and Adolescents: Interpretive Essays on Jean Piaget (New York: Oxford University Press, 1974). - 2. Sigmund Freud. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Standard Edition, Vol. 7. - 3. A. Montagu and F. Matson, The Human Connection. McGraw-Hill Book Co. - 4. H. B. Lewis, Psychic War in Men and Women (New York: NYU Press, 1976). Brown, Thos. E. A Guide for Christian Sex Education of Youth. New York: Association Press, 1968. Brown, Thos. E. “Sex Education and the Life of the Black Ghetto.” Pastoral Psychology, 1968, 19 (xeroxed and available). Duska, Ronald, and Whelan, M. Moral Development—A Guide to Piaget and Kohlberg. New York: Paulist Press, 1975. Katchadourian, Herant., and Lunde, D. T. Fundamentals of Human Sexuality. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1975. Good general textbook. Kesterbaum, Clarice J. “Current Sexual Attitudes, Societal Pressure and the Middle-Class Adolescent Girl.” Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. VII, pp. 147-156. Ed. Sherman Feinstein and Peter Giovacchini, Chicago: University Chicago Press, 1979. Morrison, Eleanor S., and Price, Mila. Values in Sexuality. A New Approach to Sex Education. New York: Hart Publishers, 1974. Excellent book of practical application of values clarification exercises. Saxon, Burt., and Kelman, Peter. Modern Human Sexuality. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Simon, Sidney., Howe, L., and Kirschenbaum, H. Values Clarification: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and Students. Revised Ed., New York: A & W Publishers, Inc. 1978. Boston Woman’s Health Collective. Our Bodies Ourselves, 2nd edition. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976. The Diagram Group. Woman’s Body—An Owner’s Manual. New York: Bantam Books, 1977. The Diagram Group. Man’s Body—An Owner’s Manual. New York: Bantam Books, 1977. Silver, Michael. Facing Issues of Life and Death. Contemporary Values Series. St. Louis, Missouri: Milliken Publishing Co. Useful ideas. Tidow, Ned. Learning Facts and Attitudes About Human Sexuality. Portland, Maine: J. Weston Walch Publishers. Newsweek. Teen Age Sex—The New Morality Hits Home. (Sept. 1) 1980. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019 and also 129 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06510. Offers some very good pamphlets: a. Sex With Love b. The Family Book About Sexuality c. What Teens Want to Know but Don’t Know How to Ask d. Are You Kidding Yourself? e. Teen Sex? It’s O.K. to Say, No Way. Time. Abortion—Battle A “Life” vs. “Choice”. (April 8) 1981. What’s Happening ($1.00). Grady Memorial Hospital Family Planning Publications, 80 Butler Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Good at answering some teenage questions. Sunburst Communications, 39 Washington Avenue, Pleasantville, New York 10570, offers some very thought provoking film strips and cassettes: - a. It Couldn’t Happen to Me. Color, 16 mm, 28 minutes. Focuses on reasons for not using birth control during sexual relations and the consequences. - b. A Family Talks About Sex. Good role model. - c. Adolescent Sexual Conflict—Are We Still Going to the Movies? 16 mm, 14 minutes. Good to study communication. - d. Are You Ready for Sex? 16 mm, 24 minutes. Helps to clarify personal values and make responsible decisions. - e. Teenage Father. 16 mm, 30 minutes. Excellent film, finally recognizes the male’s feelings and thoughts. - f. What About McBride? 16 mm, 10 minutes. Useful film to introduce homosexuality and to examine peer thinking. - a. Values for Dating. Very good to examine peer pressure forces. Good on examining “love”. - b. Becoming Responsible. Investigates problems and stresses consequences. - c. The Gentle Art of Saying No: Principles of Assertiveness. Helps students to find a way of rejecting destructive behavior and attitudes. - STAGES IN COGNITIVE AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT: - SIXTH THROUGH OLD AGE* - (as developed by some of the leading contributors to the study of human development) Contents of 1981 Volume III | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

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Identification. The name "Cambodia" derives from the French Cambodge, which comes from the Khmer word Kâmpuchea, meaning "born of Kambu." During the socialist regimes of Democratic Kampuchea (DK) (1975–1979) and the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) (1979–1989), the country was known internationally as Kampuchea, but more recent governments have returned to using Cambodia, and the official name in English is now the Kingdom of Cambodia. Khmer as a noun or adjective can refer to the Cambodian language, people, or culture and thus suggests an ethnic and linguistic identity more than a political entity. From 1970 to 1975, the country was known as the Khmer Republic (KR). Location and Geography. Cambodia lies between Thailand and Vietnam in mainland southeast Asia, with a smaller stretch of the northern border adjoining Laos. The most central region culturally and economically is the lowland flood plain of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake. The Sap River meets the Mekong at Phnom Penh, where the river soon divides again into the Bassac and the Mekong, which flow through southern Vietnam to the South China Sea. Although Cambodia also has a coastline on the Gulf of Thailand, the coast is separated from the central flood plain by mountains; only since the 1950s have railroads and roads provided ready access to the coastal port towns. The economy is dominated by wet rice agriculture. The iconic image of the countryside is one of rice paddies among which are scattered sugar palms. Until recently, much of the area outside the flood plains was forested. The ancient capital of the Khmer Empire was at Angkor, close to present-day Siem Reap. In the fifteenth century, the capital was moved to the area of the intersection of the Sap and Mekong rivers, near present-day Phnom Penh, perhaps to enhance trade. The most densely populated areas now are along the rivers in the provinces near Phnom Penh. Demography. According to a 1998 census, the population is 11.42 million. There are no reliable statistics for ethnic populations, although the Khmer population is certainly the largest. A 1993 demographic study estimated that Khmer represented 88.7 percent of the population; Vietnamese, 5.2 percent; Cham, 2.5 percent; Chinese, 1 percent; and others (Thai, Lao, and smaller minority groups in the north and northeast), 2.6 percent. Linguistic Affiliation. The dominant Khmer language belongs to the Austroasiatic language family and is related to Vietnamese, Mon, and a number of other Asian languages. Khmer writing, derived from Indian systems, may have begun as early as the third century C.E. ; the first dated inscriptions in Khmer are from the seventh century C.E. While Khmer is closer to Vietnamese than to Thai, a shared literate tradition related to a common religion and centuries of cultural contact has resulted in much vocabulary being shared with Thai. As in Thailand, Laos, and Burma, the language of Theravada Buddhist scriptures, Pali, often is studied by young men during temporary periods as monks and is an important influence on literary Khmer. A scarcity of written materials resulting from the colonial dominance of French and later periods of political turmoil had left the educated population highly dependent on second languages, and in urban areas there is a great desire to learn English and French. Despite the efforts of France to promote the continued use of French as a second language, it is Symbolism. The most important cultural symbol is the ancient Khmer temple Angkor Wat, along with the ancient Khmer Empire and its monumental antiquities. Pictures and bas-relief carvings of the four-faced tower of the Bayon at Angkor Thom and of âpsâras (celestial dancing girls) are ubiquitous in homes and public buildings. Since independence, every flag except the one used by the United Nations when it administered the country in 1993 has featured the image of Angkor Wat. Classical dance, also an important national symbol, consciously tries in costume and gesture to recreate Angkorean bas-reliefs. The institution of kingship, which was reestablished in 1993, is an important national symbol, especially in rural areas, where devotion to the king never died out during the socialist period. It is not clear to what extent the symbolism of kingship can be separated from its current embodiment in Norodom Sihanouk. In the 1980s, the government promoted the memory of the atrocities of 1975–1979 DK period, also known as the Pol Pot regime, including holidays to commemorate bitterness (20 May) and national liberation (7 January). However, the DK atrocities symbolize Cambodian identity much less for its people than they do for foreigners. Nevertheless, many Cambodians express a sense that their culture has been lost or is in danger, and this cultural vulnerability stands as a kind of national symbol. National identity sometimes is mobilized around the idea of hostility to Vietnam. This derives in part from the ways in which national identity was defined by resistance groups during the PRK period, when there was a strong Vietnamese military and cultural presence. Emergence of the Nation. The roots of the nation lie in the systematization of wet rice agriculture and the gradual development of a more extensive political organization that climaxed in the Khmer Empire in the period 802–1431. The Khmer Empire was not a nation in the modern sense and varied in size from king to king. However, at different times the empire ruled large parts of what is now Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The population of the empire included Siamese and probably other Austroasiatic peoples who gradually assimilated to the Khmer. Khmer culture and language were clearly dominant during that period, and the Khmer population extended well beyond the current boundaries. The rise of Siam (now Thailand) as an empire and nation and the gradual expansion of Vietnam drastically decreased Khmer territory and led to a period when Cambodia was dominated by those kingdoms. It is generally accepted that if Cambodia had not been colonized by France, it would have been swallowed by its neighbors. National Identity. True national identity was created during the French colonial presence. The French fixed boundaries, systematized government and ecclesiastical bureaucracies, promoted the empire as a national symbol, encouraged an increasingly elaborate ceremonial role for the king, and introduced secular education. Ethnic Relations. There are significant populations of ethnic Khmer in Thailand and Vietnam. The Khmer in Thailand are well integrated into the Thai state, with few significant links to Cambodia. The Khmer in southern Vietnam, called Khmer Kraom, have historically had much stronger ties to Cambodia proper, and several important Cambodian political leaders have been Khmer Kraom. There continues to be migration of Khmer Kraom to Cambodia, including young men who come as Buddhist monks; many Khmer Kraom have a strong sense of identity with the nation. Their role in Cambodia is complex in that while they are glorified as a symbol of lost territory, they are sometimes distrusted as being Vietnamese. Large numbers of the Cambodian refugees who fled to camps in Thailand during the DK period and the early PRK period resettled in the United States, France, Australia, and New Zealand. The largest ethnic minority population is Vietnamese, whose numbers range between 500,000 and a million. However, those numbers are hotly contested for political reasons. Tension between ethnic Khmer and Vietnamese is strong. Scholars disagree about whether this hostility has a long history or is a recent political construction. State-sponsored killing and forced expulsion of Vietnamese occurred during the KR and the DK periods. Since the 1991 Paris Agreements, there have been two well-publicized massacres of Vietnamese villagers and numerous smaller incidents of violence against Vietnamese, mostly attributable to Khmer Rouge guerrillas. Other new political parties employ strong anti-Vietnamese rhetoric. Vietnamese influence in Cambodia dates at least to the seventeenth century. A significant Vietnamese population in Phnom Penh predated French colonialism; however, the pattern of migration increased when the French brought Vietnamese to Cambodia as administrators, plantation workers, and urban laborers. As rice farmers, Vietnamese have often been in direct economic competition with Khmer. There are also large fishing communities of Vietnamese, and in urban areas, Vietnamese engage in a number of small trades, including construction work, another area where they compete with ethnic Khmer. The Cham, a predominantly Muslim people, began migrating to Cambodia in the fifteenth century from the South China Sea coast as that area came under Vietnamese political domination. Their population is between 240,000 and 300,000. Many Cham live in riverfront communities and engage in fishing, small business, and raising and slaughtering of livestock (an occupation avoided by Khmer Buddhists for religious reasons). Cham suffering during the DK period was especially severe, when resistance to Khmer Rouge communal discipline led to brutal pogroms. In recent years the Cham have cultivated links to Muslims in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Arabic countries. A recent estimate of the Chinese population is 100,000, although because of the numbers of Chinese who have historically lived in Cambodia, the numbers of persons with some Chinese blood, and Chinese cultural influence, the impact is much greater. There has traditionally been much more Phnom Penh, the capital and the only major city, is relatively small, but rapidly increasing in population. At the time of the 1998 census, it was 997,986. A lack of political and economic integration with rural Cambodia and peasant resentment of the urban population probably influenced the decision of the DK government in 1975 to evacuate the entire urban population to the countryside. Since 1979, Phnom Penh has experienced only a gradual rebuilding. Architecturally, the city is a mixture of pre-1975 French colonial, Chinese, and modernist styles alongside the simple socialist styles of the 1980s, garish new buildings, and shanty towns. The Royal Palace compound and the nearby National Museum lie on Phnom Penh's park-lined central riverfront and form a prominent cultural focal point of the country and city. Norodom Boulevard, lined with embassies, government buildings, and villas, runs between Independence Monument and the Wat Phnom temple. Several key markets, Buddhist temples, and luxury hotels serve as major landmarks. City streets are full of people, evoking a sense of social flux with no clear boundaries. Communication is easy and natural. Provincial capitals have compounds of government buildings, large central markets in pre-1975 modern buildings, and several Buddhist temples. At the district and subdistrict levels, there are more modest temples, makeshift markets, and simple school buildings. Distinctions between public and private buildings tend to be free-flowing. Food in Daily Life. The staples are rice and fish. Traditionally, a home meal is served on a mat on the floor or with the diners seated together on a raised bamboo platform. Meals are eaten in shifts according to status, with adult males and guests eating first and food preparers last. Breakfast typically consists of rice porridge or rice noodles. Lunch and dinner may be a combination of a spiced broth with fish or meat and vegetables, fish, fresh vegetables eaten with a fish-based paste, and stir-fried vegetables with chopped meat. A strong-smelling fermented fish paste called prâhok is the quintessential flavoring of Khmer food. Fruit is savored, and its display is considered a mark of abundance. It often is given as a gift. Teuk tnaot, a liquid tapped from sugar palms and drunk in various degrees of fermentation, generally is not taken with meals. The tradition of Khmer cuisine in restaurants is undeveloped, and restaurants typically serve what is regarded as Chinese food. There are no food taboos, although devout Buddhists refrain from alcohol. Monks also cannot eat after noon and are enjoined to eat whatever they are given without making special requests. Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. During festivals, elaborate and painstakingly seasoned dishes are prepared, such as curries, spiced fish sauces, complex stir fries, and a variety of sweets. At a temple festival, each family brings dishes that are ritually presented to the monks. After the monks have eaten, the remaining food is eaten by the lay community. Basic Economy. The basis of the economy continues to be rice agriculture, and much of the population farms at a subsistence level, linked by a relatively undeveloped market system for rice, fruits, and vegetables, and using the riel for currency. Rice farmers are vulnerable to market fluctuations and to drought and insect infestation. State-owned rubber plantations dating back to the colonial period have remained a peripheral part of the economy. Land Tenure and Property. Radical attempts to communalize property during the DK period and more modest attempts to encourage collective agriculture under PRK met with strong cultural resistance. Cambodians have a strong sense of personal property shared within the domestic unit. Constitutionally, the PRK recognized only three kinds of economic organization: state, cooperative, and family. Only after 1989, with the conscious shift to a market economy, did corporate enterprises and foreign investment become legal. Commercial Activities. Cambodian artisans are known for silk and cotton weaving, silver work, silver and gold jewelry, and basketry. Handmade pottery is sold from oxcarts that travel from city to city. Straw mats made by hand at local workshops are available in markets; they also are made for personal use. In rural areas, plows, machetes, Tourism is an important part of the economy, but it was hindered by fear of political unrest during most of the 1990s. It increased dramatically in 1999 and 2000. Major Industries. Industry is undeveloped. State-owned sawmills, soap and cigarette factories, and small workshops for the construction of aluminum products, together with larger state-owned textile and rubber tire factories, have been privatized, and new breweries and cement factories have opened. After 1994, foreign-owned garment factories began to appear, employing mostly female laborers at extremely low wages. The economic role of those factories has expanded rapidly. Trade. The government lacks effective controls over cross-border trade. In the 1980s, resistance groups near the Thai border financed their activities by trading in gems and timber. Illegal timber exports to Thailand and Vietnam are uncontrolled, and the country is rapidly becoming deforested. Illegal sales of rice to Thailand and Vietnam are also considerable and in 1998 resulted in domestic shortfalls. Besides rice and wood products, Cambodia exports fish products, cement, brewery products, and handicrafts to nearby Asian countries. The garment industry is linked to markets in the United States and the European Union. Classes and Castes. Ideas about status and the display of wealth have changed dramatically since 1991. Under socialism, the state promoted an ideology of egalitarianism, and personal wealth was not easily detected. Since 1991, extremely wealthy individuals have emerged among high-ranking government officials and well-placed businesspersons in a country where the population remains very poor. Cambodians have traditionally cultivated the practice of exaggerated respect for a small class of civil servants and other "big men," perhaps defined in terms more by influence than by wealth. There is great sensitivity to degrees of relative wealth, especially in decisions about marriage partners. A relative status hierarchy figures conspicuously in personal relations. Symbols of Social Stratification. There is a general assumption that degrees of wealth can and should be publicly known. In the absence of banks, wealth was traditionally worn on the person as jewelry, which still is an important marker of status. Folk categorization distinguishes between the poor family's house of bamboo and thatch, the more economically secure family's traditional wood house on stilts, and the richer family's house of stone or cement. In Phnom Penh, the wealthiest families live in villas as opposed to apartments or wood houses. More contemporary markers involve cars and consumer goods. Government. The 1993 constitution established a constitutional monarchy devoted to the principles of liberal democracy. The national government consists of a 120-member National Assembly, a Council of Ministers, and a Constitutional Council. In 1999, the Assembly voted to create a Senate. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the government was still in transition from the one-party system of the 1980s to a liberal democracy. Although 1993 United Nations-sponsored elections instituted a multiparty system at the national level, and multiparty elections determined the membership of the National Assembly and the choice of prime ministers in 1993 and 1998, there have not been local multiparty elections. While provincial governorships and ministerial positions were decided by negotiations between the major parties after the national elections, officials at the district level and below were usually persons who had been in office since the socialist 1980s. Local elections were tentatively scheduled for early 2002. Leadership and Political Officials. The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is an outgrowth of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea (PRPK), which through the 1980s served as the single party, providing discipline and leadership for the socialist state. It is not clear to what extent the transition to a multiparty democracy has taken place. Social Problems and Control. There is much dis-trust of the police and judicial systems, which are believed to be corrupt. Traffic disputes and claims to property often are negotiated outside the legal system. Common criminals are dealt with brutally, and there is a widespread assumption that persons with wealth and political power are effectively outside the law. There have been many cases of violence against opposition politicians and journalists. Military Activity. The military continues to dominate the national budget despite the collapse of the Khmer Rouge insurgency. In 1997, defense and security represented 53.9 percent of government expenditures. Fighting on the streets of Phnom Penh at the time of a 1996 coup is remembered with resentment. Individual soldiers often break the law with impunity. The military is not a particularly cohesive social force and has not threatened to seize power. While a basic government framework to address the needs of widows, orphans, veterans, and those handicapped by war has been in place since the PRK period, those programs have been plagued by a lack of funds. International organizations (IOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) played an important role in the emergency reconstruction of the country in 1979–1982, providing food and helping to rebuild the agricultural infrastructure. The issue of aid was complicated in the 1980s by an international embargo. Some aid organizations chose to provide relief to Cambodians on the Thai border; other organizations were restricted from working in the provinces. A small number of international NGOs continued to offer assistance in health care, rehabilitation for mine victims, food relief, and agricultural training and assistance. After the beginnings of a negotiated political settlement Local NGOs usually are funded by IOs, donor countries, or international NGOs. In 1999, there were over two hundred local NGOs, all but two formed since 1992. Given a traditional absence of associations outside the state and religious institutions, NGOs represent a significant development. Some have focused on rural development, welfare, education, and women's issues. Perhaps the NGOs with the greatest immediate impact have been local human rights organizations, which have established extensive grassroots networks to document human rights abuses. Division of Labor by Gender. In most spheres, there is some flexibility in gender roles. Most tasks performed by men occasionally are performed by women, and vice versa. Traditionally among villagers, men fished, plowed, threshed rice, made and repaired tools, and cared for cattle. Women transplanted seedlings; did washing, mending, and housecleaning; performed most of the child care; and did the everyday shopping. Women are traditionally responsible for a family's money and engage in small-scale marketing. In the DK period, communal work further broke down gender barriers, and in the post-DK period, when conscription created a shortage of men in civilian life, women were forced to do more hard physical labor. This gender imbalance meant that a small number of women played important roles in civil service and politics. The numbers of women in civil service and politics decreased somewhat in the 1990s, but new foreign-owned textile factories employ almost exclusively women laborers. Only men can enter the monkhood. While women assume ascetic lifestyles and take up residence in temples, they are considered part of the lay population. The Relative Status of Women and Men. Bilateral kinship and a strong tendency toward matrilocality leave women in a position of relative strength. The fact that women control family finances may not be regarded as a sign of superiority but represents real power in practical terms. However, women have much less access than men to the highest positions of political and economic power. Traditional codes of behavior for women are more elaborate and strict than those for men. Their role is often marked symbolically as inferior. While traditional art and contemporary media images of women show them as active agents, they often are depicted as physically vulnerable to men. Domestic violence against women at the village level is widespread, and those women have little legal recourse. Marriage. Marriage traditionally is arranged by the parents of the bride and groom or by someone acting as their representative. Ideally, the groom originates the courtship process by asking his parents to approach the parents of a woman to whom he is attracted. Neither the groom nor the bride is forced to take a marriage partner, although parents may have considerable influence in choosing a partner. Considerations of the benefits to the two families often figure more prominently in the choice of a marriage partner than does romantic love. It is not unusual for decisions about marriage to be made before a couple has had much contact. Specialists in reading horoscopes typically are consulted about the appropriateness of a wedding, although their advice is not always followed. The groom pays bride-wealth to the family of the bride; this money sometimes is used to buy jewelry or clothing for the bride or defray the cost of the wedding. Although polygyny was legal before 1989, true polygyny, sanctioned by ceremony and both wives living in the same house, was rarely practiced outside of royalty in modern times. However, a mistress is referred to as a second wife, and even though bigamy was prohibited by the 1993 constitution, the practice of keeping a second or third wife does not carry a social stigma. There is strong social pressure to marry and for those who marry to have children. Divorce is a socially recognized option, although there is social pressure against it and some reluctance to grant it. Domestic Unit. The domestic unit is classically a nuclear family consisting of parents and children; however, there is much flexibility in allowing other arrangements. Residence after marriage is ideally neolocal but often, for practical reasons, with the parents of one of the spouses. The preference is for matrilocality, although this is not a rigid rule. Aged parents often live with their adult children. Major family decisions are shared by the husband and wife. Inheritance. An inheritance is ideally divided equally among children without regard to gender or age order, although the child who supported the parents in their old age may be favored and a child no longer living in the village may receive less property. Kin Groups. Kin groups larger than the family have no socially prescribed role, although they can be a source of emotional bonds and personal alliance. Infant Care. Infant care is characterized by almost constant attention to the child, who is rarely left alone. The child is carefully observed to determine the character it is believed to already possess; it is considered from birth an active agent and its wishes, such as who should hold it, are observed and respected. Child Rearing and Education. Children are socialized early to respect the authority of parents and older siblings. There is a strong cultural value of "study," but little sense of study as oriented toward a specific goal or profession. Schools in Cambodia emphasize the copying of texts and memorization. Since the DK period, education has been plagued by the poor condition of buildings, lack of books and trained teachers, and the inability of the government to pay teachers. Boys sometimes enter the monkhood as an alternative to state education. Higher Education. Tertiary education has only gradually been re-instituted since 1979 and is still on unsteady foundations. Over the course of the 1980s, different universities were reopened: The Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry in 1979, teacher training schools in 1980, a technical school in 1981, an Institute of Economics in 1984, and the Agricultural Institute in 1985. The University of Phnom Penh was not reopened until 1988. Tertiary education has been very dependent on foreign aid, foreign faculty, and overseas training of students. Khmer has a complex system of pronouns and terms of address that distinguishes between people of formal rank, people with whom the speaker is in everyday interaction (further distinguished by relative age), and those with whom one assumes a marked informality, including people of clear inferior status and those with whom the speaker shares a long-standing familiar equality. Those addressing monks or royalty are expected to use even more complex linguistic systems, which, in addition to special pronouns and terms of address, include special There is a much stronger taboo against public touching between men and women than in Western countries, but same-sex touching is more accepted than, for example, in the United States. Conventional wisdom holds that the head is the highest part of the body and the feet the lowest, and it is rude to touch another adult's head, just as it is rude to point one's foot at another person. However, a certain kind of intimacy among equals is characterized by the breaking of the norm, with friendly cuffs to the other person's head. Religious Beliefs. Theravada Buddhism spread in the later years of the Khmer Empire and is traditionally considered the religion of ethnic Khmer. Animist practices and what are called Brahmanistic practices are also part of the culture and are deeply intermingled with the everyday practice of Buddhism. They are not considered separate religions but part of the spectrum of choices for dealing with moral, physical, and spiritual needs. Buddhism is a national tradition, with a bureaucracy and a written tradition. Brahmanist and spirit practices are more localized and are passed on from person to person rather than as a formal institution. All religious traditions were weakened by the banning of religious observances by the DK and by the religious policies of PRK, which restricted religion and emphasized a Buddhism consistent with socialist modernity. Since restrictions were lifted in 1989, religion has enjoyed a revival. Christian converts returned from refugee camps and foreign countries, and Christianity has established a strong foothold among ethnic Khmers. A number of other religious movements draw on the appeal of powerful traditional cultural icons and funding by overseas Khmer. Religious Practitioners. Theravada Buddhist monks can be seen in saffron robes walking in procession in the early mornings, when they go from door to door asking for food. A lay specialist, the Outside the formal sphere of Buddhism there are other practitioners. The krou (or krou khmaer ) specializes in traditional medicine and magic, including the making of amulets, and negotiating with certain kinds of spirits; the thmuap is a kind of krou specializing in black magic. The roup or roup arâkk is a spirit medium through whom special knowledge can be obtained. Rituals and Holy Places. The Buddhist temple complex, or vott, is central to community life, as is the calendar of Buddhist holidays, which is linked to the seasons and the agricultural cycle. Monks must reside in a single temple for the length of the rainy season, and ceremonies mark the beginning and end of the retreat. The period around the end of the rainy season, after rice has been transplanted but before the harvest takes place, includes two major holidays: Pchum Ben (a two-week period of rituals in honor of the spirits of the dead) and Kâthin (a day for processions and the ceremonial presentation of monks' robes). The day of the Buddha's birth and enlightenment (May) and the day of the Buddha's last sermon (February) are also important holidays. The beginning of the Buddhist lunar calendar occurs in April and has both religious and secular aspects. Death and the Afterlife. Cambodian Buddhists believe in reincarnation, although this may include temporary periods in realms resembling heaven or hell. The dead usually are cremated after an elaborate procession. Ceremonies in memory of the dead are held on the seventh and hundredth days after death. Western and Chinese medicine and health care coexist with traditional Cambodian practices that partly derive from Ayurvedic tradition, under the guidance of krou khmaer. Western medicine enjoys great prestige, but there is a lack of professionals. Widespread use of imported western drugs, including intravenous serums and other injections, involves the role of semi-skilled professionals. Even when the medicine is "western," its practice is deeply shaped by Khmer folk categorizations of the nature of illness and the properties of medicine. In Phnom Penh the most popular secular holiday is the Water Festival, 21–23 November, with its colorful longboat races and the nighttime display of illuminated boats. Spirit practices also associated with the boat races mean that the holiday is not completely secular. Independence Day (9 November) and the King's Birthday (31 October) have in recent years involved large government-sponsored celebrations. However these holidays, and other smaller ones, like Constitution Day, the Day of the Royal Plowing Ceremony, and the Victory Day over Genocidal Crime, do not have the widespread cultural resonance of more religious celebrations such as New Year's, Pchum Ben, and Kathin. Support for the Arts. Since 1979, there has been a governmental effort to restore aspects of traditional culture destroyed during the DK period. Most state and international funding has gone toward the restoration of Angkorean antiquities, but there also has been support for classical dance and for recording traditional music and setting up workshops for making traditional instruments. In recent years, there has been NGO support for preserving and developing marketing strategies for traditional weavers. Some musicians, singers, and theater groups earn money by performing at village festivals and weddings. The most successful perform on radio and television and market their work on cassette tapes. Overseas Cambodian musical groups and video producers also sell their work in Cambodia. Literature. There is a long tradition of the use of writing, with important religious texts, royal chronicles, and epic poetry, but modern literature is undeveloped. Oral traditions are strong: domestic storytelling and a genre of narrative singing to a banjolike instrument play important cultural roles. Virtually no literature was produced during the DK period, and many writers were killed or fled. Literature in the 1980s had a socialist orientation. Since 1991, there has been greater freedom to publish pre-1975 literature but little money to publish new books. Small newspapers have flourished, and some satirical writing has appeared. Pre-1975 authors living overseas and younger writers have published Khmer books in their countries of resettlement. Graphic Arts. While much work in graphic arts is produced, it often is seen as mere artisanship and has received little attention. Some art is produced for tourists and the decoration of homes and offices. Since the early 1990s, the most important project for painters has been the restoration of murals in Buddhist temples. Graphic art is rarely seen as the individual expression of the artist. Performance Arts. Classical dance and music, originally associated with the court, enjoy great prestige, although live performances by the national companies are not frequent. Less professional musicians, singers, and theater artists keep alive local traditions. Virtually every village has musicians who play at weddings. A pop tradition has revived since the end of socialism. While filmmaking was revived in the 1980s, the output remains small and the budgets are low. Television is dominated by films and soap operas from Thailand and Hong Kong, dubbed into Khmer. Center for Advanced Study. Interdisciplinary Research on Ethnic Groups in Cambodia: Executive Summaries, 1996. Chandler, David. A History of Cambodia, 22d ed., 1996. Charny, Joel R. NGOs and the Rehabilitation of Cambodia, 1992. Curtis, Grant. Cambodia: A Country Profile, 1989. Desbarats, Jacqueline. Prolific Survivors: Population Change in Cambodia, 1975–1993, 1995. Ebihara, May. Svay, a Khmer Village in Cambodia, 1971. —, Carol Mortland, and Judy Ledgerwood, eds. Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile, 1994. Edwards, Penny. Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860–1945, 1999. Heder, Steve, and Judy Ledgerwood, eds. Propaganda, Politics, and Violence in Cambodia: Democratic Transition under United Nations Peace-Keeping, 1996. Kiernan, Ben. The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–79, 1996. Ledgerwood, Judy. Analysis of the Situation of Women in Cambodia: Research on Women in Khmer Society, 1992. Mabbett, Ian, and David Chandler. The Khmers, 1995. Marston, John. Cambodia 1991–94: Hierarchy, Neutrality, and the Etiquettes of Discourse, 1997. Martel, Gabrielle. Lovea: Village des Environs d'Angkor, 1975. Smith-Hefner, Nancy J. Khmer-American, 1999. Steinberg, David J., et al. Cambodia: Its People, Its Society, Its Culture, 1959. Zimmerman, Cathy. Plates in a Basket Will Rattle: Domestic Violence in Cambodia, 1994. —J OHN M ARSTON

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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home| Yet she was brought up with the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne as neighbors, teachers, role models and close family friends. She is Louisa May Alcott and this unit explores her life and her works ñspecifically Little Women (published in 1868). - To encourage teachers and students to explore one of America’s favorite classic novels, Little Women and at the same time, develop an interest in classics. Concurrently, students will learn about the author's life and discover which elements of her family history she incorporates into her work. - To show how Alcott’s works relate to family life as portrayed by women authors. It is part of a larger unit comprised of teachers at the L.W. Beecher School in New Haven, Connecticut. We are exploring the families of different cultures as represented by women’s voices in fiction. As part of our team approach, some of our activities will be integrated with other team classrooms. - To achieve balanced literacy, by providing opportunities for students to read, listen, view and write through guided and independent activities. - To incorporate Library Media Standards for grades K - 4. Content standard 1.0 is “READ, READ, READ: The student will demonstrate an appreciation and enjoyment of reading.” The key words included in this standard will be met as students view, listen or read and describe their reactions to literature. When they produce journals of their own, they will meet content standard 1.4a, as they create a product related to the material heard, viewed and/or read. They will also meet Content Standard 1.3g, as they participate in group discussions and activities and express opinions about materials heard, viewed or read. Louisa May Alcott was the product of two remarkable parents. They were such strong influences on her writing that they need to be discussed. In order to better instruct the students, teachers using this unit should know something about where Louisa May Alcott came from and how she “came to be.” Her family was a major part of her life: both parents encouraged her to write and her fictional characters are often based on her family. Bronson Alcott, her father, was eventually to become the first Superintendent of Public Schools in Boston and to be acknowledged as an educational visionary, but this fame came only after he had wandered down several career paths. He was a thinker, a philosopher and an eccentric ñ but he had trouble bringing home the bacon, so to speak. He lost many teaching jobs because he advocated well-lit, heated and comfortable classrooms as well as recess and sex-education. He also purchased textbooks for his poorer students. On the grounds of The Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts stands the school that he eventually founded, where for a time Louisa May Alcott taught. He often came home empty handed from lecture tours, because he hated to charge people. Abba Bronson believed in her husband and often picked up the slack. She protected her daughters from the hard realities of life when they all lived at Fruitlands, a Transcendental commune that was a miserable failure. The family was allowed to eat only what the land provided ñ no meat, milk or eggs. They could wear only linen, as the cotton industry exploited the slaves in the South. Louisa and her sisters were encouraged to spend their time at the commune playing, picnicking and roaming the fields. Louisa later wrote a gentle satire about this time in her life, called Transcendental Wild Oats. At one point when her husband was unable to produce an income, Abba went to work in Boston as one of the country’s first social workers, at thirty dollars a month. She also was in charge of an employment agency for women in domestic service and once ran a boarding house. She did these things at a time when genteel women did not work. Both parents encouraged their daughters’ intellectual development and provided whatever stimulation they could. Abba established a post office in her home so that family members could communicate with each other every day. Bronson kept a day by day diary recording the growth and development of each his four daughters from the day they were born. They encouraged their children to write in their own journals every day and would then critique them or answer any written concerns for them. Her father also built the desk on which Louisa May wrote Little Women (in her room at the Orchard House). Louisa May Alcott;s Louisa May Alcott’s first and biggest success was based on her experience with her sisters and was written in response to a publisher who asked her to write a story for girls. It took her two and a half months to write and was an immediate success, selling 2000 copies. In 1868, this was a great sum. Little Women was originally published as two volumes. Part Two, Good Wives, came out in 1869. Nowadays, both volumes are published together and in every language. Ironically, she did not want to write this story and only did it for the money. She preferred to write for boys and is often quoted as saying “never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters.” Borrowing from life, she used her former home, Hillside, as the setting for her novel and patterned the March girls after her sisters. Jo, the tomboy, is most definitely Louisa. Louisa and Jo are both spirited souls who love to read and write. Like Jo, Louisa wasn’t interested in marriage. Writing was her biggest passion, as was Jo’s. Like Jo and her sisters, the Alcott girls used their vivid imaginations to write and produce adventure plays. In fact, visitors to The Orchard House in Concord today can still see the trunk of clothing the Alcott girls used when acting out their plays. Like Beth, Elizabeth Alcott died young. Anna, the oldest sister, married and became a teacher, as does Meg, the oldest March girl. And May Alcott, who achieved her own fame as an artist, is the model for Amy March. In fact, May even illustrated the first edition of Little Women. Marmee and Abba Alcott are basically the same person ñ the Alcott girls even called their mother “Marmee.” Marmee is patient and kind, strong and supportive. While father March is away at war, she takes care of the family. Bronson Alcott, the model for Mr. March, traveled throughout the country on lecture tours. Louisa’s Great-Aunt Hancock, widow of the famous John Hancock, served as the inspiration for Aunt March. When she described the poverty in Little Women, Alcott was speaking from experience. Once, when family finances were low, Louisa almost sold her hair, just as Jo March later did to send Marmee to visit her wounded husband. Eventually, Louisa supported her family with her writings. Her other children’s novels include: An Old-Fashioned Girl, Little Men (based on a school her widowed sister ran), Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, Under the Lilacs, Jack and Jill, Jo’s Boys and A Garland for Girls. Her books portray nineteenth century domestic middle class life realistically, since so much of her work is based on her own family life, which was however sometimes unconventional. Common themes include self-reliance, duty, charity, self-sacrifice and patience. She incorporated some of her father’s educational theories into Little Men and Eight Cousins. Louisa, like Jo March, was a versatile author and wrote plays, poetry, reviews, short stories and novels. Her first novel was The Inheritance, but this was unpublished until 1997, when it was first discovered at Harvard. Her first poem, Sunlight, was published in “Peterson’s Magazine” in 1852 under the pen name “Flora Fairfield.” Under another pseudonym, “A. M. Barnard”, she wrote gothic thrillers or, as they were also called, the “Blood and Thunder” tales. It would have been unladylike and too embarrassing for a woman of good breeding to be published as a writer of these gory stories, so she assumed pen names to write such titles as Doctor Dorn’s Revenge or Revenge of the Buckle. Other pen names that she used to publish her works included “Aunt Weedy,” “Oranthy Bluggage” and “Minerva Moody.” Louisa ventured into several other careers besides writing. She was a seamstress, a companion, a teacher, and even a Civil War nurse. In 1862, wanting to do her part, she went to Washington, D.C. to serve in the war effort. Unfortunately, she contracted typhoid fever and almost died. She left Washington to recuperate at home in Massachusetts, but not before Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At that time typhoid was treated with calomel, which gave her mercury poisoning. It was an illness that was to affect her health for the rest of her life. Though her nursing career was short, she wrote a book called Hospital Sketches, based on her experiences. Her pen name for this work, was appropriately enough, “Tribulation Periwinkle.” Unlike Jo March, Louisa never married, although she did once receive a marriage proposal. But her sister May did marry and later died, leaving express wishes that her daughter Lulu be raised by her Aunt Louisa. Though she lived with her parents for the bulk of her life, she also at times lived alone in Boston so she could write undisturbed. She wanted to be a dutiful daughter but sometimes needed to be by herself. Among her other accomplishments, Louisa was involved with the suffragette movement. In 1879, she became the first woman to register to vote in Concord in a school committee election. She wrote for the “Woman’s Journal” and was known to go from door to door encouraging women to vote. In 1888, on March 4th, Bronson Alcott died. Two days later, Louisa succumbed to the mercury poisoning that had affected her since the Civil War. Abba had died several years earlier. There are several books that will help ease the students into the study of the classics. These come under the headings of abridged versions, “based on” stories or adaptations. Purists may objects to the use of abridgements, but not all of our students will be able to read through the original work. My strategy is to make these shortened versions available to the students, since one of my objectives is to get them interested in the story of Little Women. The most simplified adaptation is Little Women by Francine Hughes, published by Scholastic. It has only 32 pages and is based on the 1994 version of the movie. Recommended for ages 5 ñ 8, it is on a grade 2 reading level. Another easy “close to the real thing” version is the Little Women adapted by Monica Kulling, as part of the “Bullseye Step into Classics” series. Only 106 pages, it features large print and condenses the story into an easy grade 2 reading level. It simplifies 13 of the more eventful chapters from the original and introduces all of the main characters. As a chapter book, this can be used as a read aloud or for independent reading. The hardest abridgement would be the Little Women from the Dover Children’s Thrift Classic Series. Adapted by Bob Blaisdell, this includes some illustrations. Although it is only 108 pages long, the print is small. This version also captures more of the essence of Alcott’s original prose. Its sixteen chapters also cover the major events. All of the above mentioned books begin with the Christmas episode, as does the original. The Christmas episode introduces the March family and sets them all up as caring and giving souls. Each of the four daughters has a dollar to spend on something for themselves. They fantasize about the things they might buy, like sheet music and pencils. But then the girls decide that they will surprise their mother and spend the money on presents for her because they love to make her happy. This chapter can initiate several discussions, such as what would the class buy if they had a ten dollar bill? What do the girls gain from helping others? Avon Books has put out a series of books by Charlotte Emerson, featuring each of the March girls, with titles like Beth’s Snow Dancer, Amy’s True Prize and Jo’s Troubled Heart. These stories feature each of the sisters at the age of 10 in adventures of their own. Students can pick their favorite sister, read the featured story and then be asked to explain their choices. These questions can be posed: What is it about this sister that attracts you? Do you see any similarities to yourself? Would you be friends if you met? Why? Other books that can be used to supplement the unit, include An Alcott Family Christmas by Alexandra Wallner, which takes a fictional look at the life of the Alcotts, and is based on a true episode. In this story, the Alcotts are a poor but happy family sitting down to their Christmas dinner. A neighbor comes to the door looking for Mrs. Alcott --he wants her to help his sick wife. “Marmee” quietly suggest that her daughters give their dinners to the needy family. The girls acquiesce, because they feel rich in spirit. In a similar episode in Little Women, the March girls give up their Christmas breakfast to a poor widow with six children. In relation to this activity, other journals not necessarily related to this unit can be introduced, such as Dear Levi by Woodruff, Only Opal by Boulton, Polar the Titanic Bear by Spedden and Sally Reed’s Doll by Laugaard. These are all children’s books written in journal form. Another project will be to adapt An Alcott Family Christmas into a one act play. Because it is a short picture book with easy dialogue, it would be simple to do. Because the language of the nineteenth century can be somewhat stuffy for an inner-city school, we could modify the dialogue to reflect the community in which our students live. Another project suitable for an individual classroom would be to institute a Post Office in class. Students would write notes to each other or to the teacher. Replies would be encouraged and students would take turns being the Postmaster. This would help with writing skills and may allow shyer students to tell the teacher things that they might not say aloud. Small class groups or whole classes will be given research lessons which will focus on the study of family life in the nineteenth century as well as familiarize students with the resources in the Library Media Center. This will be a collaborative effort between the classroom teacher and the Library Media Specialist. Teachers will discuss with their class school days in the nineteenth century. How is it different from today? Bronson Alcott was controversial for supporting things we take for granted today--kindergarten, recess, student involvement, adult education, sex education, comfortable learning environments. What would school be like today without these “innovations”? There are several movie versions of Little Women. We will watch the Winona Ryder version and see how it differs from the novel. This film could also be shared with the third grade involved with our team. With a student population that needs encouragement to read more challenging works, a film might prove a bridge to the book. Perhaps the students could write a “Blood and Thunder” play, much like the Alcott and March girls did. The important thing would be to expose the students to an important American author and help lead them on the quest to developing literacy. To introduce a classic American novel. To stimulate discussion. To understand and appreciate the mores of a past generation. - 1. Read aloud the first few chapters of the original, unabridged version of Little Women to the class or group. This can take place over a period of two to three days. - 2. Make abridged editions available for individual reading (as well as the uncut version). - 3. Discuss the following: - ____a. What did families do for entertainment when there were no televisions, no malls, and no theater complexes? Before sports infiltrated society so much? The Alcott and March girls read, wrote and produced plays, and studied art and music. What do the students do with their families that are comparable? - ____b. In one chapter, Jo and Meg share a pair of white gloves when they go to a formal dance. In the nineteenth century, proper dress for women for formal occasions called for long dresses and white gloves. What are the standards of dress for today’s formal occasions? Compare and contrast customs and dress for nineteenth century parties with those of today. - ____c. The Marches made charitable sacrifices, as did the Alcotts, as exemplified in An Alcott Family Christmas. What did the girls gain from helping others? What do today’s young people do for their communities? - ____d. The first chapter shows the girls discussing what they would buy with their dollars. What would the students buy if they had 10 dollars to spend on themselves? - To develop writing skills. - To develop observation skills and to learn to analyze. - 1. Introduce a selection of children’s books written in journal form. These include Dear Levi by Woodruff, Only Opal by Wheeler, Polar the Titanic Bear by Spedden and Patty Reed’s Doll by Laugaard. - 2. Explain to students the elements of journal writing, including putting down date headings, making daily observations and recording daily events. - 3. Distribute blank journals to students ñ either handmade or mass-produced. - 4. Ask students to name the events of their everyday life, including their meals, movies or television shows watched, books read, feelings or moods, test results, etc. List on board or overhead and use these as examples of what they can write in their journals. - 5. At the end of the unit or school year, tell the students to take their journals home and put them in a safe place. They should save them for the future. - 1. To interpret materials read. - 2. To create a product related to the materials heard, viewed, or read. - 3. To complete task in a timely manner with assistance. - 4. To create a final group product which all group members have helped produce. - 1. Read An Alcott Family Christmas to the group. - 2. Generate a list of roles that can be cast in a play based on the book. - 3. Discuss the sacrifices that the Marches and Alcotts made for poorer families. - 4. Assign groups of students to write parts for each role. Encourage them to utilize language more relevant to their backgrounds. - 5. Hold auditions for the roles. - 6. Rehearse the students. - 7. Produce the play one month after introducing the book. - To increase writing skills - To encourage social development - 1. Tell the students about the Post Office the Alcotts set up in their household. Tell them your class will have its own Post Office, so that the students can communicate with anyone in the classroom without repercussion. - 2. Plan an art activity around making a Classroom Post Office, using an empty refrigerator box. - 3. Assign rotating Post Masters, based on class performance or by alphabetical listing. - 4. Assign a mail time each day, when mail can be delivered or dropped off. - 5. Establish ground rules for letter content. - To listen, view and/or read attentively for pleasure and information. - To compare a written story to a story in another medium. - To understand plot, characterization and sequencing. - 1. Schedule over a 2 to 3 day period a showing of Little Women, the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Clare Danes preferred for this age level for the star recognizability factor. Show the movie after the book has been read and discussed. - 2. Ask the students to compare the events in the movie to those in the book. What was different? What was the same? Did the visual presentation echo the images they had formed in their minds? Would they have changed anything in the film? - 3. Talk about “artistic license” and point out that the film version often differs from the written original for various reasons, such as length and character development. Ask the students to list some other reasons for changing the story line in a movie adapted from a novel. - 4. Have the students write a movie review. - 5. Have the students draw a movie poster or book cover promoting Little Women. - To compare and contrast literary characters. - To identify characters. - 1. Provide biographical information about the author through research, sharing or independent reading. - 2. Ask the students to make up a chart listing all the central characters. - 3. Have them compare members of the March family to those in the Alcott family. - 4. Ask them to tell who their favorite character is and why. Who can tell it better? For a first hand look at the author’s life, read her journals. Get insights into her thinking while learning all about her. Anderson, William. The World Of Louisa May Alcott: A First-time Glimpse Into The Life And Times Of Louisa May Alcott, Author Of Little Women. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995. Another biography that also includes photos. Be sure to read about her interesting family. Clark, Beverly Lyon. Regendering The School Story: Sassy Sissies And Tattling Tomboys. New York: Garland Pub., 1996. This examines several authors and their works concerning girls and school stories. Among the discussions: Louisa May and the way she incorporates school into her stories. Delamar, Gloria T. Louisa May Alcott And Little Women. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1990. Biography, criticism, and some of her shorter works, including poems and songs Elbert, Sarah. A Hunger For Home: Louisa May Alcott's Place In American Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984. Discussion about women, sex and the home in literature. Fisher, Aileen Lucia. We Alcotts; The Story Of Louisa M. Alcott's Family As Seen Through The Eyes Of "Marmee," Mother Of Little Women. New York: Atheneum, 1968. A fictional view of Louisa May Alcott's family written as her mother might have written the story of their adventures as a poor but creative family. Juvenile fiction, but a good start for teachers. Foster, Shirley. What Katy Read: Feminist Re-Readings Of "Classic" Stories For Girls. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1995. History and criticism of writings by women. McSherry, Frank, ed. Civil War Women : American Women Shaped By Conflict In Stories By Alcott, Chopin, And Welty. Little Rock: August House, 1988. Includes several short stories by women about the war, including one by Louisa May. Moses, Belle. Louisa May Alcott: Dreamer And Worker, A Story Of Achievement. New York: D. Appleton, 1930. Older biography by someone who was alive in Louisa’s lifetime. Interesting for historical value. Salyer, Sandford Meddick. Marmee, The Mother Of Little Women. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1949. Marmee was a big influence on Louisa and deserves this book on her life. It is an older biography but full of facts that should not be overlooked. Shephard, Odell. Pedlar’s Progess; The Life Of Bronson Alcott. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1937. Though it was published over 60 years ago, this is a comprehensive and scholarly look at a fascinating man. Bronson Alcott was a major influence on American education and impacted his daughter’s life. Strickland, Charles. Victorian Domesticity: Families In The Life And Art Of Louisa May Alcott. University, Ala: University of Alabama Press, 1985. Shows the influence of family on Alcott’s family. A good resource work. Ticknor, Caroline. May Alcott. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1928. Another Alcott family member who was the subject of a biographical work. May was the artistic sister who served as the model for Amy. Once again, an older reference with valuable information. Simplification of 13 of the more eventful chapters from the original and introduction to all of the main characters. Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York: World Pub. Co., 1969. Alcott, Louisa May. Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary. Mahwah, NJ: Bridgewater Books, 1993. Boulton, Jane. Only Opal: The Diary Of A Young Girl. New York: Philomel Books, 1994. Opal lives in a lumber camp in Oregon at the turn of the century and records her daily life in her journal. Emerson, Charlotte. Amy's True Prize. New York: Avon Books, 1998. ----------. Beth's Snow Dancer. New York: Avon Books, 1997. - Amy must make a decision when, after two of her paintings are accepted for an art contest, she discovers that one of her entries is actually a work done by Marmee. When a sick pony strays into her yard, Beth tries to save it from a horrible fate. ----------. Jo's Troubled Heart. New York: Avon Books, 1997. Jo must control her temper or run the risk of not getting her first story published in the newspaper. Laugaard, Rachel. Patty Reed’s Doll ñ The True Story Of The Donner Party. Sacramento: Tomato Enterprises, 1989. A doll who travels westward records the dangerous journey she takes with her owner and her family. McGill, Marci. The Story Of Louisa May Alcott, Determined Writer. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens Pub., 1996. Newbery Award winning biography for young people. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Amy Makes A Friend. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998.Desperate for art lessons, Amy tries to manipulate her friendship with two other girls to get what she wants. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Amy's Story. New York: Delacorte Press, 1997. Because she desperately wants to have her picture taken, ten-year-old Amy finds a way to save the necessary five dollars but then decides to spend it another way. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Beth Makes A Friend. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998. Beth tries to help an impoverished Irish immigrant boy and his family by stealing a silver bowl from her great aunt and giving it to his family to sell. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Beth's Story. New York: Delacorte Press, 1997. Relates the story of Beth’s trip to New York in the days before the Civil War. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Christmas Dreams: Four Stories. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998. As each of the four March sisters turns ten, she is invited by Aunt March at Christmastime to discuss who will receive an heirloom, an old cameo brooch, and thus each girl contemplates her role in the family. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Jo Makes A Friend. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998. Great-Aunt March asks Jo to befriend a sad and lonely blind girl whom is visiting the neighborhood. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Jo's Story. New York: Delacorte Press, 1997. Young Jo decides to let her wealthy Aunt adopt her. Pfeffer, Ssusan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Meg Makes A Friend. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998. Meg plans to sing at a friend's wedding, until she meets the groom's sister and they become instant enemies. Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Portraits Of Little Women: Meg’s Story. New York: Delacorte Press, 1998. When ten-year-old Meg receives an invitation to a friend's picnic but Jo does not, Meg must decide whether to stay home in loyalty to her sister or to follow her heart and attend. Ruth, Amy. Louisa May Alcott. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1999. Biography for older readers. Spedden, Daisy Corning Stone. Polar, The Titanic Bear. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company Canada, 1994. The story of the Titanic as revealed from the journals of a stuffed bear who survived the fatal voyage. Wallner, Alexandra. An Alcott Family Christmas. New York: Holiday House, 1996. The Alcotts are sitting down to their holiday supper when they receive the opportunity to do some good for their neighbors. Woodruff, Elvira. Dear Levi: Letters From The Overland Trail. New York: Knopf, 1998. Something to attract male readers! Austin Ives, age 12, writes letters to his younger brother describing his long journey by wagon train from their home in Pennsylvania to Oregon in 1851. Suitable for a gift or reward for work well done, this is a compilation of sayings taking from Louisa’s books. Anderson, Gretchen. The Louisa May Alcott Cookbook . Boston: Little, Brown, 1985. Recipes for young cooks based on dishes mentioned in Little Women and recreated from cookbooks of the times. Penner, Lucille Recht. The Little Women Book; Games, Recipes, Crafts And Other Homemade Pleasures. New York: Random House, 1995. As the title suggests, this is full of activities to be enjoyed by Alcott’s fans. “The Scrap-Baggers”, Orchard House, P.O. 343, Concord, Massachusetts, 01742-0343. $10.00 yearly susbscription. Contents of 1999 Volume I | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

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A Literary Analysis of the Book of Ruth Both the Old Testament and the New Testament use various forms to communicate, including story, music, and homiletics. Each of these forms deserves to be analyzed according to their genre. “Since both the Old and New Testaments are largely written in story form, narrative is the essence of biblical revelation… That makes understanding narrative essential for all interpreters of the Bible.”1 A literary approach is fundamental to understanding the Bible because many of the parts of the Bible are in literary form. In doing so, it is necessary to trace the action in terms of plot: “Correct interpretation of narratives depends in part on an appreciation of the plot as it marks out the beginning, middle, and end of both single and complex patterns and an appreciation of the pace of the narrative.”2 Further, the literary approach is able to appropriately appreciate the artistry of the Bible. “The artistic beauty of the Bible exists for the reader’s enjoyment and artistic enrichment. To ignore this aspect of biblical literature is to distort the Bible as a written document.”3 The Book of Ruth, as a story, deserves to be treated as literature in its study. On defining literature, Leland Ryken observes that Literature does not, for example, discourse about virtue but instead shows a virtuous person acting. We might say that literature does not tell about characters and actions and concepts but presents characters in action. Literature not only presents experience but interprets it. The writer of literature selects and molds his material according to discernible viewpoints. Human experience is presented in such a way as to express, whether explicitly or by implication, a world view. Finally, literature is an interpretive presentation of experience in an artistic form. That is, the content of a work of literature is presented in the form of a novel, play, short story, poem, and so forth…A working definition of literature, then, is that it is an interpretive presentation of experience in an artistic form.4 In seeking to analyze the story of Ruth and Naomi according to its literary genre, this paper traces the plot and character elements in structures evident in early mythological writings as well as modern movies.5 In so doing, this paper will employ literary form and structure to analyze Ruth and its elements. The Hebrew short story uses “an artistic and elevated prose containing rhythmic elements which are poetic,” takes an interest in typical people, and seeks to both entertain and instruct.6 “Especially important: they look at ordinary events as being the scene of God’s subtly providential activity. Fun and delight, pathos and violence, characterize the human portrayals; combined with the subtle divine dimension, the total effect is one of joy and seriousness together.”7 Ruth, in particular, displays artistry in the poetic prose of different speeches (i.e. Ruth’s vow to Naomi in 1:16-17),8 in word-play such as assonance and punning,9 and in the design of the story with its inclusios (i.e. ילד),symmetry (i.e. Ruth’s return from Boaz with grain in symmetrical scenes), and contrasts (i.e. the general disobedience of Israel characteristic of the time of the judges seen specifically in Naomi’s family abandoning the promised land contrasted with Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and God in times of trouble; empty verses full; helpless versus provided for and protected; death versus life). The universal monomyth contains four elements: romance and anti-romance, tragedy and comedy.10 These categories are evident in Old Testament stories: “In classical literature, and in the literature of the Old Testament itself, the existence of pregeneric [monomyth] plot structure is not only evident, but is intrinsically necessary to the development of that literature.”11Ruth, as a romance, displays the fulfillment of desire and, as a comedy, the upward movement from the unideal to the ideal. The book displays typical virtuous, beautiful ideals, villains that threaten the heroine’s ascent and final achievement of “the victory of fertility over the wasteland” of a comedy-romance.12 The final society reached at the end is the one that the “audience has recognized all along to be the proper and desirable state of affairs.”13 As a comic plot, “the protagonist encounters obstacles but eventually overcomes them through faith and/or divine intervention.”14 Its story is meant to “inspire, challenge, and encourage us.”15 One aspect of literature is its elements of recurrence in imagery and conventional actions.16 Rituals of conventional actions and that imitate nature’s cycle are organizing rhythms and patterns. These patterns represent the fulfillment of desire and the obstacles to it.17 Because the same sovereign God Who is ruling the affairs of men is also ruling the acts of the natural world, these cycles are “rooted in a divine reality beyond the natural world. There is a continual interpenetration of the supernatural into the earthly order, and God is a continual actor in human affairs. One effect of this is that life becomes filled with meaning, since every event takes on spiritual significance.”18 This coincides with Frye’s analysis of the imagery and cyclical elements of story. In short, the setting and details of Ruth are pregnant with meaning. In Ruth, imagery such as provision is embodied in Bethlehem: Bethlehem (בית לחמ) literally means “house of bread.” This is ironic since at the opening of the book, Bethlehem was lacking in bread due to the famine! In 1:6, God visits His people with the purpose of giving them bread. Ruth and Naomi together sojourn to Bethlehem hoping for, and finding, provision through Ruth’s work of gleaning in the field, through Boaz’s generous gift to Ruth, through Boaz’s redemption of Ruth and Naomi’s field, and finally through Obed, the son who holds the hope for future provision. The book begins with a famine but ends with plenty. It is also interesting to note that Ruth’s marriage proposal occurs on the threshing floor, where the grain that provides is created. Not only does she return to Naomi after the marriage proposal with a promise of redemption but also with tangible evidence of grain. The use of the harvest cycle is also prevalent in Ruth. While the family tragedy is surrounded by famine, Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem when the famine has been abated at the beginning of the barley harvest, clueing the reader in to the hope they have. Ruth exhibits both the typical initiation and death-rebirth cycles of the mythic plots. Naomi’s character, as the Hero Mentor on her own journey (see below), displays the death-rebirth cycle, which “involves a hero who endures death or a deathlike experience and returns to life and security.”19 As a helpless and childless widow, Naomi is in a “deathlike experience.” However, she passes to rebirth at the birth of Obed. Ruth’s character demonstrates both the death-rebirth and the initiation cycles. Like Naomi, she moves from the deathlike experience of the childless widow to the rebirth of marriage. This cycle is represented in miniature at Ruth’s Approach (occurring in the evening), Ordeal (at midnight), Reward (at dawn) (see below for further explanation of these stages).20 As a Moabitess seeking redemption in God’s community, she also undergoes the initiation cycle. “In an initiation story the hero undergoes a series of ordeals as he passes from ignorance and immaturity to social and spiritual adulthood.”21 Ruth’s character, while always exhibiting virtuous character, passes socially to the next level. In the beginning she is known as the Moabitess. However, in the end, she is recognized as an ancestor of the great King David of Israel. The story of Ruth begins with death, moves toward marriage, and finds its ultimate fulfillment in birth. The Hebrew uses the same term ילדfor sons to show in inclusio Naomi’s loss of sons to her regaining of a child. The tension and tragedy lies in the empty and lonely Naomi. However, as a comedy, there is rebirth in the end, literally in Ruth’s son that is considered Naomi’s, and figuratively in Naomi, who is redeemed. The women in the story act as a Greek chorus, noting Naomi’s return in the beginning and commenting in the end both on Yahweh’s provision for Naomi of a son and on Ruth’s loving-kindness (חסד), which furnished the vehicle for Yahweh’s blessing (ironically). The plot of any story revolves around overcoming obstacles. In Ruth, the obstacles consist of Naomi attempting to dissuade Ruth from coming; Ruth approaching Boaz; and the potential kinsman with first rights. From this, a plot structure can be derived. Pratt fits Ruth into a five-part plot structure.22 Specifically, the plot structure breaks into the following divisions: “I. Naomi’s Bitterness (ch. 1); II. Ruth Discovers Potential Kinsman Redeemer (ch. 2); III. Boaz Agrees to be Kinsman Redeemer (ch. 3); IV. Boaz Acquires Right to be the Kinsman-Redeemer (4:1-12); V. Naomi’s Blessing (4:13-17)”23 This analysis fits within the overarching comedy ternary form from the ideal (understood by the audience) to the unideal experience (the deaths of Elimelech, Kilion and Machlon leaving their three widows helpless, unprotected, and unprovided for), and the journey back to the ideal (Ruth’s marriage to Boaz, which redeems both her and Naomi, and Ruth’s child, who carries Ruth’s husband’s name24 and guarantees Naomi’s future).25 Further, because the story of Ruth exhibits elements of mythic structure as analyzed by Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler, it is helpful to understand how Ruth fits this form.26 1. The Ordinary World: This stage is understood by the audience as a time of blessing and provision. 2. The Call to Adventure: This occurs when the men Elimilech, Machlon, and Killion die and Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. 3. Refusal of the Call: While Ruth is set on going throughout, this stage is seen in Orpah, Ruth’s foil, who is discouraged by the Threshold Guardian and returns to Moab. 4. Meeting with the Mentor: Herein lies the irony: Ruth’s meeting with the Mentor becomes her first test as a meeting with the Threshold Guardian (the one who attempts to barricade entrance into the first stage). 5. Crossing the First Threshold: Ruth swears an oath to Naomi to remain loyal to her and returns with Naomi to Bethlehem. 6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies: Ruth’s continued hard work in the fields wins her Allies in Boaz’s foreman and in Boaz himself. The Enemy exists in the Shadow, the idea of an unredeemed, unprovided for and unprotected life. This is embodied in the Mr. So and So, who refuses to redeem Ruth. “For this potential redeemer, the question placed before him was simply a matter to be decided on the basis of financial considerations. Love for the covenant and the preservation of a family in that covenant played no role in his calculations.”27 7. Approach to the Inmost Cave: Naomi prepares and instructs Ruth regarding approaching Boaz. 8. The Ordeal: Ruth’s Ordeal comes in the form of a marriage proposal to Boaz. On a sub-level, this scene is the Call to Adventure for Boaz, who becomes the active Hero for the next few scenes. 9. Reward: Boaz promises to seek redemption for Ruth, whether through approaching the nearer kinsman-redeemer or redeeming himself. Boaz also gives Ruth grain to take back to Naomi so that she would not return empty-handed. 10. The Road Back: This scene is also Boaz’s Ordeal stage as he speaks with Mr. So and So, the nearer kinsman redeemer. 11. Resurrection: On Ruth’s journey, her Resurrection is her wedding with Boaz (thus using a life cycle to represent the fulfilled desire). 12. Return with the Elixir: Ruth, as the Heroine, provides a son, Obed, for Naomi, thus giving life to Naomi. For the Fallen Mentor (Naomi), who herself is journeying, this scene is the Resurrection of Naomi. The Message of Ruth Though the story treats Ruth as the heroine, the story revolves around the redemption of Naomi. The book begins and ends focusing on Naomi. This reveals God’s character in His faithfulness toward His covenant promise of protecting His chosen people, His loving kindness in providing for the helpless widow, and His sovereignty in the surprising twist of using the Moabitess to provide for Naomi.28 The sub-theme focuses on Ruth’s redemption and God’s mercy in grafting the Gentiles into His chosen people for redemption.29 The heart of the story is God’s provision, both in expected ways (providing for Naomi and ultimately Israel through Ruth’s line) and in unexpected ways (providing for Ruth, the Moabitess). While Naomi receives provision and blessing, Ruth is God’s instrument for this. It is the Abrahamic covenant in reverse: instead of the nations being blessed through Israel, Israel is blessed through a Gentile. This story is a great tool for evangelism by drawing analogies between Boaz, the type of Christ, and the archetype, Christ Himself. It exposes the unbeliever to the loving grace of God and His provision of redemption through Jesus Christ. Old Testament narratives reveal the character of God.30 In Ruth, God is revealed as the Faithful Provider to the helpless. In this case, God provides through the גאל, the kinsman redeemer who plays the part of the Messianic figure. The Messiah figure is associated with various royal figures in the Old Testament (i.e. the bridegroom, the conqueror, and the leader who brings his people into their rightful home).31 In the story of Ruth and Naomi, Boaz represents the Messiah as the redeemer who is the bridegroom for Ruth and reclaims the rightful home for Naomi. Boaz is described as the one who redeems (גאל). BDB defines גאל as “redeem, act as a kinsman.”32 It is used to refer to God’s redeeming acts.33 This term refers to the kinsman “who is responsible for standing up for him and maintaining his rights.34 Boaz takes responsibility for Naomi’s land and the widows. In so doing, he provides an example of Yahweh, who is the redeemer of the widows and the orphans.35 As Ruth was delivered from poverty, unprotected and unprovided for, Yahweh also delivers His people from distress and ultimately from death through Christ’s sacrifice on and the cross and victory over. This tale also provides an object lesson for the Christian on חסד, loving-kindness. The first chapter introduces Ruth’s sacrificial character. “Against the dark moral and ethical backdrop of the Judges period, the foreigner Ruth emerges as a paradigm of loyal love and of the kind of person the Lord is looking for to populate his covenant community.”36 Boaz notes this quality in Ruth in 3:10, blessing her for remaining loyal to Naomi and to Yahweh rather than finding her security in a Moabite husband.37 Because of Ruth’s loyalty and love, she is first blessed by Yahweh in her marriage to Boaz and then becomes Yahweh’s tool of blessing to Naomi (the helpless widow), to the nation of Israel through Ruth’s descendent, King David, and to the whole world through Ruth’s descendent, Jesus Christ. Death in the beginning sets the story in motion. The action revolves around looking for the “missing piece” and restoring balance.38 The rescue consists of saving from a “death state.”39 Both Naomi and Ruth are in a “death state” in that they have no hope of provision or protection because they are widows and childless. Ruth recognizes wholeness in a life attached to Yahweh and His people rather than in an empty life of idol worship in Moab. Naomi considers herself cursed by God and sees no hope of security. The character and function of the Hero should fall to Naomi who has the power to redeem Ruth by bringing her to God’s chosen people. However, it is Ruth who plays the Heroine and saves Naomi. “A Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others, like a shepherd who will sacrifice to protect and serve his flock. At the root the idea of Hero is connected with self-sacrifice.”40 This definition more aptly fits Ruth, who sacrifices security and the likelihood of marriage in order to remain loyal to Naomi.41 Naomi’s role changes throughout the story: she is the threshold guardian attempting to dissuade Ruth from entering the “special world” in chapter one; she is the mentor who instructs and prepares Ruth for the marriage proposal in chapter three (the inversion of the threshold guardian); she is the recipient of the healing elixir in the end. While Ruth is the flat character who remains constant, Naomi presents a more complicated character of the Fallen Mentor. “Some Mentors are still on a Hero’s Journey of their own. They may be experiencing a crisis of faith in their calling…Such a Mentor may go through all the stages of a hero’s journey, on his own path to redemption.”42 Naomi, as Mentor, considers herself a special vessel of God’s wrath. However, Boaz is presented as Naomi’s kinsman (2:1); the hope of redemption is first seen through Naomi’s eyes (2:20); and the final redemption is defined in regards to Naomi (4:14-17). Naomi, as the Fallen Mentor, is actively involved in preparing Ruth for Boaz and becomes the Recipient of the Elixir given by Ruth. Thought the book is titled Ruth, the story revolves around Naomi and her perspective. Ultimately, it is about God and His loving-kindness to act as the Faithful Provider to His covenant people and to those who put their trust in Him for wholeness and salvation. A literary analysis of this book enabled an enlightenment of the story development as well as the character development, which revealed the overarching and secondary messages of the Book of Ruth. It also allowed an appreciation for the beauty and complicity of the plot as unfolded by the author. These same categories can be applied to other stories in the Bible to unveil the central message that God wishes to communicate, understood according to their appropriate genre. 1 Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., “Narrative” in Cracking Old Testament Codes: A Guide to Interpreting the Literary Genres of the Old Testament, ed. D. Brent Sandy and Ronald L. Giese, Jr. (Nashville: Broadman & Holdman Publishers, 1995), 71. 2 Ibid., 73. 3 Ryken, Literature of the Bible, 14. 4 Leland Ryken, The Literature of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1974), 13. 5 Joseph Campbell analyzes the elements of myths and stories from different countries and different times in order to reveal the parallels of the basic plot. He lists segments of the common adventure as Departure (including the Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid, The Crossing of the First Threshold, and the Belly of the Whale), the Initiation (i.e. The Road of Trials), and the Return (consisting of such elements as the Rescue from Without, the Crossing of the Return Threshold, and the Freedom to Live). Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd ed. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968), ix-x. Christopher Vogler further clarifies these categories as well as characterization and applies them to modern-day story telling (i.e. plays and movies). Cf. Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: The Mythic Structure for Writers, 2nd ed. (Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998), throughout. 6 Edward F. Campbell, Ruth: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, The Anchor Bible, vol. 7, ed. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1975), 5. 7 Ibid., 5-6. 8 Ibid., 11. 9 Ibid., 13. 10 Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 95. 11 Reg Grant, “The Validity of Pregeneric Plot Structure in Ruth as a Key to Interpretation” (Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1988), 169. 12 Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 193. 13 Ibid., 164. 14 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., From Exegesis to Exposition: A Practical Guide to Using Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998), 156. 15 Ibid., 157. 16 Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 86, 104. 17 Ibid., 104, 160. 18 Ryken, Literature of the Bible, 17. 19 Ibid., 23. 20 Grant, “Validity of Pregeneric Plot Structure,” 180. Cf. Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 160 for an explanation of the cycle of times and seasons as significant in plot. 21 Ryken, Literature of the Bible, 23. 22 This five-part plot structure is defined as problem, rising action (“raises tension”), turning point, falling action (“continues the unwinding initiated by the turning point”), and resolution. Richard L. Pratt, He Gave Us Stories: The Bible Student’s Guide to Interpreting Old Testament Narratives (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1990), 200. 23 Ibid., 301. 24 For the sake of ease, this musical takes Machlon as Ruth’s husband, although the biblical text never assigns which husband to which wife. 25 Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 171. 26 Categories taken from Vogler, Writer’s Journey, passim. 27 S. de Graaf, Promise and Deliverance, vol. 2, trans. H. Evan Runner and Elisabeth Wichers Runner (St. Catherines, Ontario: Paideia, 1977), 62. 28 The musical makes use of the bread metaphor found in the biblical account. In the beginning, Naomi worries about the lack of bread; she makes the announcement to Ruth and Orpah of her plan to return to Bethlehem while kneading bread (a hint of the hope she has in her return to Bethlehem); Ruth recognizes the provision of bread Boaz will bring with his agreement to marry her; finally, Naomi receives the announcement of Obed’s birth while taking a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven. 29 A second metaphor used in this musical is of the branch. Ruth recognizes that her life is in Yahweh’s tree, and therefore seeks to join His people. Ideally the set should be presided over by a large tree that blooms at the wedding ceremony. 30 Pratt, He Gave Us Stories, 130. 31 Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 316. 32 Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs, eds., The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, reprinted (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979), 145. 33 It is also connected with the legal and social life of Israel. The legal acts of the Israelites reflect the acts of God. 34 Helmer Ringgren, “גאל,” in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, rev. ed., eds., G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, trans. John T. Willis, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 351. 35 Ruth finds shelter both in the wings of Yahweh (2:12) and in the covering of Boaz (3:9), further associating Boaz’s role with Yahweh’s role (Grant, “Validity of Pregeneric Plot Structure,” 203-04.). 36 Chisholm From Exegesis to Exposition, 226. 37 Orpah provides the foil for Ruth’s character here. Her character is united with Ruth’s in the beginning, but the shallowness of her commitment “dissolves” this union (Grant, “Validity of Pregeneric Plot Structure,” 206). Orpah was more interested in her perceived well-being than in remaining loyal to her proper family ties (Deuteronomy 25:5 notes that a widow is not to remarry outside the family). It also shows her lack of a fear of Yahweh, Whom she abandons in order to return to her Moabite gods. Her decision highlights Ruth’s sacrifice. 38 Vogler, Writer’s Journey, 40. 39 Campbell, Hero with a Thousand Faces, 213. 40 Vogler, Writer’s Journey, 35. This definition also fits Boaz, who sacrifices his own self-interests (seen in his foil, Mr. So and So) to redeem Ruth and Naomi. 41 This jabbed the original Jewish audience. Ruth’s social status as not only a widow but as a Gentile Moabitess brought expectations of both a sinful and helpless character. However, her actions as well as the speech and thought of the story community proved her to be faithful, loyal, and sacrificial (cf. Pratt, He Gave Us Stories, 137-39 for categories of character revelation). 42 Vogler, Writer’s Journey, 52-53.

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History of the Ascendency of the Lunda Kingdom Luba (Baluba) Ethnic group of present-day Zambia and Zaire. The Luba are regarded as one of the earliest peoples to practice Ironworking in Central Africa. Their ancestors were farmers who, as early as 400 CE, inhabited the Lake Kisale region of Katanga. Oral tradition mentions Luba Chiefs in Malawi and Zambia, but very little is known about their early history. The area in which the Luba lived was well suited to the growth of powerful Chiefdoms. The copper mines of the Katanga region were nearby; the soil was fertile and good for growing crops, especially cereals; nearby woodlands provided hunting grounds; waterways were an excellent source of fish; and ease of movement through the savannah stimulated trade. The Luba were an agricultural people whose communities slowly grew into small trading and farming chiefdoms. Between 1300 and 1400 they came under the sway of the Nkongolo Dynasty, which, in turn, was conquered in the early 1400s by Ilunga Kalala, whom oral tradition describes as a fierce hunter. Ilunga Kalala expanded the kingdom’s boundaries and took control of the Katanga copper mines and the trade routes to East Africa. Later in the 15th century, members of the Luba aristocracy left the kingdom and moved west, where they centralized their power among the Lunda people, beginning the ascendency of the Lunda Kingdom. The Establishment of the Lunda Kingdom The Lunda Kingdom Monarchy was taking shape in Austral Equatorial Africa by 1450, along the upper Kasai River. Some histories place the foundation of the Kingdom of the influential Bantu-speaking Lunda around 1450, when members of the Luba aristocracy - disappointed in their failed attempts to gain power in their own land - moved south-west into Lunda territory. Other accounts point to an earlier starting date for the Kingdom but note that the Lunda state remained a loose confederation and did not develop strong centralized government until about 1450. The Luba newcomers married into the families of the Lunda Chieftains. Initially they made no major changes in Lunda political structures; they simply collected tribute from their Lunda subjects. In time, however, the Luba Chiefs began centralizing their authority, paving the way for the emergence of the Lunda Empire that became a major regional trading state from the 16th through the 19th centuries. Administratively the Lunda Kingdom practised “perpetual kingship,” whereby a new king assumed the identity of the one he replaced. In essence, the successor to the title became the previous king. Through perpetual kingship, alliances and agreements could remain in force from generation to generation because they were made by the “same” king. Tchokwe (Cokwe, Ciokwe, Bajokwe) Bantu-speaking Central African people. A mixture of many indigenous and immigrant peoples, they trace their origins to the Mbuti, hunter-gatherers who came under the demonstration of agricultural by Bantu-speakers about the sixth or seventh century. Around 1500 the Tchokwe came under the rule of the Lunda Kingdom when a disinherited Lunda Prince moved west into the area in southern Austral Equatorial Africa. Conquering the people in his path, the Prince created a Kingdom for the Tchokwe people. HISTORY AND CULTURAL IDENTITY On a contemporary map of Central Africa, three national, colonial-drawn borders artificially cut through the savannahs where the Tchokwe (also Cokwe, Tshokwe, Tutshokwe, Quioco, Bajok) people live in southern Zaire, northeastern Angola, and northwestern Zambia. Every year, many families, travelling along footpaths to visit relatives on the other side, cross back and forth across these often invisible boundaries. Approximately 900,000 Tchokwe live in Moxico, Lunda Norte and South Lunda another 800,000 in Congo (formerly, Zaire), and 100,000 in Zambia. (See Bastin, 1966). All of these present-day Tchokwe (singular Kachokwe) trace their origins to Lunda nobles once living in the Nkalaany Valley of western Shaba, in today’s Republic of the Congo. According to oral history as recounted by Lunda and Tchokwe peoples alike, the Lunda nobles began moving out from the Nkalaany Valley in the sixteenth century when Chibinda Ilunga, a Muluba hunter from the East, arrived in the Lunda court and married the Lunda queen, Lweji (Lima 1971, 41–65; de Heusch 1982, 180–82). Discontented with his rule, the queen’s brothers decided to emigrate. The Lunda diaspora includes the following peoples, who all trace their ancestors to these emigrating chiefs: Tchokwe, Minungu, Lwena (also known as Luvale), Luchazi, Songo, Lunda Ndembu, and Lunda of Kazembe. One of the brothers, Ndumba wa Tembo, settled in Saurimo, Angola, and it was his maternal nephew, Mwachisenge, who was given the title of supreme chief of the Tchokwe. This same title, “Mwachisenge,” together with a special bracelet (lukano), has been passed down through the generations from maternal uncle to maternal nephew, as a sign of the highest chief among the Tchokwe. The present-day bearer of the bracelet and Mwachisenge title lives in Samutoma village, of Shaba province in Congo. Historical Expansion The Tchokwe have been known throughout history as independent, indomitable warriors, hunters, and traders. By the eighteenth century, the Tchokwe had established power over the matrilineal peoples around them and had claimed rights to the farming and hunting. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Tchokwe were known as excellent hunters and traders all along the trade route from Central Africa to the Angolan coast, where they traded with Europeans. They exchanged ivory, wax, and male slaves for European weapons, mostly guns. In raids on other peoples en route, they captured the men as slaves and integrated the women and children into Tchokwe society through marriage. Thus they assimilated other peoples and expanded throughout the area. Not until the 1880s did the Tchokwe return to the Congo, when a group of Lunda hired Tchokwe warriors to fight for them in Shaba province. For a brief time, these warriors gained victories over the Lunda (1880–1887) and thus facilitated the Tchokwe expansion into Shaba as well. The Tchokwe continued to expand north and west out of Angola until the late 1930s (See Miller 1970, 175–201 for Tchokwe history). Village Life and Social Organization Tchokwe independence and ease of assimilating other peoples can be attributed in part to their political and social organization. Tchokwe political power is decentralized. Though all chiefs recognize the title Mwachisenge as a sign of supreme chieftanship, Chief Mwachisenge of Samutoma is a ritual chief who has little practical influence over the lives of Tchokwe people beyond his own village. Tchokwe villages are insular, socially cohesive units. Though matrilineal, the women move to the homes of their spouses after marriage. A group of brothers and maternal uncles, along with their wives and children, build a village together. Often small, ranging from forty to eighty people, these villages frequently move their locations in search of better fishing, hunting, gathering, or farming areas or to escape sorcery accusations or conflicts with relatives. As subsistence farmers and roaming hunters, the Tchokwe are extremely mobile and thus, of necessity, live in very small villages. This kind of self-sufficiency enables the Tchokwe to maintain their language and customs as they move from one locale to another and from one country to the next. As a consequence, their way of life survives times of great upheaval and change. Folklore and Fame The Tchokwe’s reputation among neighbouring groups in Central Africa differs somewhat from their reputation in the West. Their neighbours know them as great hunters, sorcerers, diviners, and healers; they both fear their sorcerers and visit their healers. In a similar vein, Africanist scholars remember the Tchokwe for their history as expansionists, for their assimilation of other peoples along the trade routes of Central Africa. In contrast, many Westerners, especially art connoisseurs, recognize the Tchokwe for their artistic traditions. They admire the remarkable masks, ancestor figurines, carved chairs, and divining baskets, which can be viewed in museum displays on African life and art throughout the world. Travellers and researchers, from the early 1900s on, have collected and/or documented Tchokwe arts, that is, the more visible, striking features of Tchokwe life: the ancestor figurines (mahamba), carved chairs (yitwamo), and masks (akishi) from the mukanda initiations (Bastin 1961; Crowley 1975). Early twenty-first-century researchers study Tchokwe life in greater detail, paying attention to local concerns and daily routines; they document and analyze artistic expression and ritual performances in the contexts of Tchokwe daily life. For example, such studies concern the practices of healers (mbuki), diviners (tahi), and sorcerers (nganga), and the lives of women and women’s initiation rites (mwadi) (See Bastin 1982, 1988; Fretz 1987; Jordan 1993; Kubik 1988, 1993; Sesembe 1981; Yoder 1988). Unlike these more easily observed and transported objects, the verbal arts have been minimally described until recent times. For instance, the documents of Tchokwe tales (yishima) from the early 1900s, translated into Western languages such as Portuguese, lack the vitality and aesthetic qualities of Tchokwe storytelling as performed for local audiences (See Barbosa 1973; Havenstein 1976). Current studies focus on the teller’s interactions with the audience and record both verbal and nonverbal features of the performance. Such research includes documentation of both artistic and everyday forms of speech: for example, narrating and telling proverbs (kuta yishima), indirect speaking and telling parables (kubwa nyi misende), recounting historical events or recent news (kulweza sanoo), and “just talking” (kuta pande) (Fretz 1987; 1994; 1995). Historically, whenever the Tchokwe relocated, they carried with them their knowledge of healing, divining, and sorcery, their renowned abilities in mask making and carving of ancestral figurines, and their oral tradition as represented by myths, tales, and proverbs. Thus, they created a web of interconnected traditions that still transcends the colonially imposed national boundaries. Today, they continue to traverse the borders that separate their families and clans. However, as the political situations in the Republic of the Congo, in Angola, and in Zambia shift, the alliances between these neighbouring countries change, often making their journeys more difficult and urgent. Not only do they cross the border for family visits and for the lucrative diamond trade, but they also escape as refugees from war-torn areas. In addition, these erstwhile hunters and traders now cross more intangible, intellectual frontiers through radio broadcasts, education abroad, and leadership positions in international organizations. As communication with the rest of the world accelerates, the opportunity for travel beyond their homelands increases for the more educated and well-connected. Having learned throughout their history to be resilient, to assimilate other cultures, and to create syncronistic arts, the Tchokwe, no doubt, will continue to improvise on new experiences and, thereby, both retain and revitalize their traditions. References Barbosa, A. 1973. Folclore angolano, ciquenta cantos quicos, texto bilinque. Luanda: I.I.C.A. Bastin, Marie-Louise. 1982. La sculpture tshokwe. Translated by J.B. Donne. Arcueil, France: Offset Arcueil. —. 1988. “Entites Spirituelles des Tshokwe (Angola).” Cuanderni Poro 5:9–59. Crowley, Daniel J. 1975. Aesthetic Value and Professionalism in African Art: Three Cases from the Katanga Chokwe. In The Traditional Artist in African Societies, ed. Warren L.d’Azevedo. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. De Heusch, Luke. 1982. The Drunken King or The Origin of the State, trans. Roy Willis. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Fretz, Rachel I. 1995. Answering in Song: Listener Responses in Yishima Performances. Western Folklore 9(2):95–112. —. 1994. Through Ambiguous Tales: Women’s Voices in Tchokwe Storytelling. Oral Tradition, 9, no. 1:230–50. —. 1987. Storytelling among the Tchokwe of Zaire: Narrating Skill and Listener Responses. Ph.D. Dissertation, Folklore and Mythology, UCLA. Havenstein, A. 1976. Fables et contes anaolais. St Augustin bei Bonn: Verlag des Anthropos-Institus. Holdredge, Claire Parker, and Kimball Young. 1927. Circumcision Rites among the Bajok. American Anthropologist n.s. 29:661–9. Jordan, Manuel. 1993. Le Masque comme processus ironique: Les makishi du Nord-Ouest de la Zambie. Anthrooolosie et Societe 17, no, 3:41–61. Kubik, Gerhard. 1981. Mukanda na makishi—Circumcision school and masks—Bescheidunasschule und Masken. Berlin: Museum fur Volkerkunde, Musikethnologische Abteilung. —. 1993. Makisi Nvau Mawiko: Maskentraditionen im bantu-sorachiaen Afrika. Munich: Trckster Verlag. Lima, Mesquitela. 1971. Fonctions sociolosiaues des fiaurines de culte “hamba” dans la societe et dans la culture tshokwe. Luanda: Institute de Investicacao Cientifica de Angola. McCulloh, Merran. 1951. The Southern Lunda and Related Peoples (Northern Rhodesia, Ancrola. Belgian Conao). Ethnographic Survey of Africa, West Central Africa, Part I. London: International African Institute. Miller, Joseph C. 1970. Tcokwe Trade and Conquest in the 19th Century. In Pre-Colonial African Trade, ed. Richard Gray and David Birmingham. London: Oxford University Press. —. 1988. Wav of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade 1730–1830. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Sesembe, Nange Kudita wa. 1974. Tshikumbi, Tshiwila et Mungonge: Trois rites d’initiation chex les Tutshokwe du Kasai Occidental. Cultures au Zaire et en Afriaue 5:111–35. —. 1981. L’homme et la femme dans la society et la culture Tchokwe: de l’anthropologie et la philosophic. Unpublished dissertation. Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Yoder, P.Stanley, 1981. Disease and Illness Among Cokwe: An Ethnomedical Perspective. Ph.D. Dissertation, Anthropology, UCLA. Language: Wuchokwe (Bantu) Neighboring Nations: Luba, Lunda, Lwena, Ovimbundu, Songo Types of Art: The Tchokwe are well known for art objects produced to celebrate and validate the royal court. These objects include ornately carved stools and chairs used as thrones. Most of the sculptures are portraits, which represent the royal lineage. Staffs, scepters, and spears are among other implements sculpted to celebrate the court. History: Tchokwe origin can perhaps be traced to the Mbundu and Mbuti Pygmies. Between 1600 and 1850 they were under considerable influence from the Lunda states and were centrally located in Angola. In the second half of the 19th century though, considerable development of the trade routes between the Tchokwe homelands and the Angolan coast led to increased trade of ivory and rubber. Wealth acquired from this allowed the Tchokwe kingdom to expand, eventually overtaking the Lunda states that had held sway over them for so long. Their success was short-lived, however. The effects of overexpansion, disease, and colonialism resulted in the fragmentation of Tchokwe power. Economy: The Tchokwe grow manioc, cassava, yams, and peanuts. Tobacco and hemp are also grown for snuff, and maize is grown for beer. Domesticated livestock is also kep, and includes sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. Protein is added through hunting. There is an exclusive association of big game hunters known as Yanga, but everyone contributes to the capture of small game animals. The farming and processing of agricultural products is done almost exclusively by women among the Tchokwe. Slash and burn techniques and crop rotation are practiced to conserve the land naturally. Political Systems: The Tchokwe do not recognize a paramount leader, but instead offer allegiance to local chiefs who inherit their positions from the maternal uncle. The chiefs (mwana nganga) consult with a committee of elders and ritual specialists before making decisions. Villages are divided into manageable sections which are governed by family headmen. All members of Tchokwe society are divided into two categories: those who are descended from the founding matrilineal lines and those who are descended from former enslaved populations. Religion: The Tchokwe recognize Kalunga, the god of creation and supreme power, and a series of nature and ancestral spirits (mahamba). These spirits may belong to the individual, family, or the community, and neglecting them is sure to result in personal or collective misfortune. Evil spirits may also be activated by sorcerers (wanga) to cause illness, and this must be counteracted to regain health. In order to accomplish this individuals normally consult with a diviner (nganga), who attempts to uncover the source of the patient's problem. The most common form of divination among the Tchokwe is basket divination, which consists of the tossing of up to sixty individual objects in a basket. The configuration of the objects is then "read" by the diviner to determine the cause of illness. The hyphenated Nation of the Lunda-Tchokwe. As the hyphenation implies, the category comprises at least two subsets, the origins of which are known to be different and the events leading to their inclusion in a single set are recent. The Lunda alone were a congeries of peoples brought together in the far-flung Lunda Empire (seventeenth century to nineteenth century) under the hegemony of a people calling themselves Ruund, its capital in the eastern section of Zaire's Katanga Province (present-day Shaba Province). Lunda is the form of the name used for the Ruund and for themselves by adjacent peoples to the south who came under Ruund domination. In some sources, the Ruund are called Northern Lunda, and their neighbours are called Southern Lunda. The most significant element of the latter, called Ndembu (or Ndembo), lived in Zaire and Zambia. The people with whom the northward-expanding Tchokwe came into contact were chiefly Ruund speakers. The economic and political decline of the empire by the second half of the nineteenth century and the demarcation of colonial boundaries ended Ruund political domination over those elements beyond the Zairian borders. The Tchokwe, until the latter half of the nineteenth century a small group of hunters and traders living near the headwaters of the Cuango and Cassai rivers, were at the southern periphery of the Lunda Empire and paid tribute to its head. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Tchokwe became increasingly involved in trading and raiding, and they expanded in all directions, but chiefly to the north, in part absorbing the Ruund and other peoples. In the late nineteenth century, the Tchokwe went so far as to invade the capital of the much-weakened empire in Katanga. As a consequence of this Tchokwe activity, a mixed population emerged in parts of Zaire as well as in Angola, although there were virtually homogenous communities in both countries consisting of Tchokwe, Ruund, or Southern Lunda. The intermingling of Lunda (Ruund and Southern Lunda) and Tchokwe, in which other smaller groups were presumably also caught up, continued until about 1920. It was only after that time that the mixture acquired the hyphenated label and its members began to think of themselves (in some contexts) as one people. The languages spoken by the various elements of the so-called Lunda-Tchokwe were more closely related to each other than to other Bantu languages in the Zairian-Angolan savanna but were by no means mutually intelligible. The three major tongues (Ruund, Lunda, and Tchokwe) had long been distinct from each other, although some borrowing of words, particularly of Ruund political titles by the others, had occurred. Portuguese anthropologists and some others accepting their work have placed some of the peoples (Minungu and Shinji) in this area with the Mbundu, and the Minungu language is sometimes considered a transitional one between Kimbundu and Chokwe. There may in fact have been important Mbundu influence on these two peoples, but the work of a number of linguists places their languages firmly with the set that includes Ruund, Lunda, and Tchokwe. Economic and political developments in the 1970s affected various sections of the Lunda-Tchokwe differently. Substantial numbers of them live in or near Lunda Norte Province, which contains the principal diamond mines of Angola. Diamond mining had been significant since 1920, and preindependence data show that the industry employed about 18,000 persons. Moreover, the mining company provided medical and educational facilities for its employees and their dependents, thereby affecting even greater numbers. How many of those employed were Lunda-Tchokwe is not clear, although neighbouring villages would have been affected by the presence of the mining complex in any case. In the intra-Angolan political conflict preceding and immediately following independence, there apparently was some division between the northern Lunda-Chokwe, especially those with some urban experience, who tended to support the MPLA, and the rural Tchokwe, particularly those farther south, who tended to support UNITA. In the 1980s, as the UNITA insurgency intensified in the border areas of eastern and northern Angola, Lunda-Chokwe families were forced to flee into Zaire's Shaba Province, where many remained in 1988, living in three sites along the Benguela Railway. The impact of this move on the ethnolinguistic integrity of these people was not known. A somewhat different kind of political impact began in the late 1960s, when refugees from Katanga in Zaire, speakers of Lunda or a related language, crossed the border into what are now Lunda Sul and northern Moxico provinces. In 1977 and 1978, these refugees and others whom they had recruited formed the National Front for the Liberation of the Congo (Front National pour la Libération du Congo-FNLC) and used the area as a base from which they launched their invasions of Shaba Province. In the 1980s, these rebels and perhaps still other refugees remained in Angola, many in Lunda Sul Province, although the Angolan government as part of its rapprochement with Zaire was encouraging them to return to their traditional homes. The Zairian government offered amnesty to political exiles on several occasions in the late 1980s and conferred with the Angolan government on the issue of refugees. In 1988, however, a significant number of Zairian refugees continued to inhabit Lunda Tchokwe territory. The significance for local Lunda-Tchokwe of the presence and activities of these Zairians was not known. ARTE PRIMITIVA LUNDA Se não mantivéssemos estes objectos juntos, esta pequena migalha da cultura mundial perder-se-ia. A arte Africana ao entrar na Europa influenciou estéticamente artistas como Picasso ou Matisse que admiraram a animação dos objetos e seu primitivismo... A cultura Lunda ou Kioka, nasceu das tribos Bantu, silvícolas, recolectores e caçadores que esculpiam todos os aspectos da vida. Traçavam seus dotes artísticos com uma simples faca fazendo instrumentos de uso diário como pentes, adornos vários e artefactos de uso em suas casas e cozinhas. As paredes de suas casas eram decoradas, seus corpos tatuados, seus penteados adornados com criatividade. Na falta de registos escritos, a cultura oral que passava de pais para filhos, tal como a sua arte primitiva e costumes, eram as bases que perpectuavam no tempo. Este é o legado Kioko ou, tchockwe, sendo que sua arte constitui raridade e, por isso, mais reputada na avaliação de seus artigos da arte a nível mundial. As revistas “Art d´Áfrique Noir” de Roul Letuart referem a arte Tchockwe como sendo das obras mais cotadas no mercado de artes primitivas; as famosas estátuas T´chipinda e Lunda mais conhecidas por Mwatshianvua e Lweje-Ya-Konde (casal fundador do império Lunda), atingiram nesse mercado de arte, o 1º lugar da tabela de preços. Isto é referido no livro “Identidade e Patrimônio Cultural” da autoria do antropólogo e escritor Henrique Abranches. Acácio “Sakapwma”, iniciou suas esculturas em madeira respeitando a arte, conteúdo, e corte com machadinha, faca nativa e formões. Esculpiu o casal do império Lunda, de rara beleza, talhando a madeira de forma muito pessoal preservando a traça original. Independentemente dessas peças preciosas que marcam sua obra, esculpiu outras de renome e forte cunho na identidade deste povo, o “T´shipinda Katele” (caçador), o casal “Mama Wa-Knkw” e “Mwkuluana Wa Kwkw” (pensador e pensadora), talvez a representação mais marcante e admirada internacionalmente, pois que mostra um casal de velhos esperando a morte. Como obra inédita, tem uma peça única em madeira, com quatro pessoas que mostra a cena do “Kaponye” (parto). Além das estatuetas temos as máscaras, masculinas e femininas: umas decorativas, outras para uso em danças populares ou profanas. É rica a diversidade deste conjunto, sendo as máscaras por demais importantes em suas vidas. O bastão decorativo é uma peça importante e de uso dos chefes ou notáveis como insígnias do poder. O artista “Sakapwma”, não poderia deixar de criar quatro destas belas peças. Em relevo, criou cenas do quotidiano representadas numa tábua de madeira e duas peças de alumínio fundido, uma dourada a outra prateada. No conjunto do espólio de arte tchockwe, trabalho rico em arte e de difícil elaboração é a incisão de figuras e simbologia em cabaça natural, obra que os nativos muito praticavam e valorizavam. Não há referência de haver outro branco que tenha ousado gravar em cabaça. No campo das esculturas, não poderia faltar o trabalho em marfim; a realização de um artista é reconhecida devido à dificuldade e paciência na sua elaboração; e Acácio “Sakapwma” executou uma jarra com altura 38,5cm, com o diâmetro interno de 13x10,5 cm e o peso de 2kg. Esta peça consumiu 18 anos de trabalho na sua execução. José Manuel Primo Videira (Nelo) Subscreve: O Soba T´chingangeFFSAFederation of the Free States of AfricaContactSecretary General

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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home| For this unit I collected stories at large and worked on developing methods for analysis, synthesis, evaluation,and application to the stories collected. Students need to be made aware of the value of the oral tradition and the purpose it has served for Black people historically and currently. Keeping the culture alive and preserving the folk system of a group is an important reason for folk stories. Black Americans have an oral tradition which is a historical and social phenomenon. The oral tradition of the African societies and the necessity for oral traditions as a result of the slave system has helped the Black culture survive. Dialect is an important aspect of a folk system. The presence of a dialect is one of the elements that confirms and maintains the folk system. It is important, when collecting folk stories, to keep this dialect intact. The problem of maintaining the dialect can be enormous when attempting to collect folk stories. When people are first asked to tell stories their initial response is usually disbelief. People tend not to believe that: 1. the request is straightforward 2. the stories should remain in the form that they are normally told with the dialect and with the language that would normally be used and 3. the type of story that is told could be appreciated by any group other than their own, and that the story is inappropriate for others. Inquiry creates the possibility of contaminating the story. Therefore, while collecting these stories it is necessary to make people believe what they have to offer is valuable for what they say and for how they say it because each storyteller is preserving the culture, and to change any part for the sake of making it more “acceptable” spoils the story. The idea of the orality of Black people needs to be stressed to the storytellers as well as to the students. The orality of Black people mirrors socioeconomic conditions, place, and experience. For this unit folk stories from several sources have been collected. Urban, rural, young and old people were asked for stories. For classroom use it was necessary to have some examples from a variety of sources, and to include stories told by young people so that the students can see how they and their peers are able to fit into the scheme of the oral tradition. Once the student realizes their importance to the continuation of the oral system, they can perhaps begin to empathize with people who are older or live in a different place. The stories contributed by the young people were done in the form of raps, the talking rhythms that young people listen to today. These raps are sometimes memorized by young people and sometimes they are ad libbed. This ad libbing and memorization are important aspects of the larger matrix of the black folk tradition because as the stories are told and retold they are changed and made slightly different by the storytellers. The stories collected have some of the same general ideas that are part of the raps. They are memorized, and altered as told or they are made up from another known story. Each storyteller, like each rapper, makes the story his own in the telling of the story. The use of these two kinds of oralities is very important for the use of this unit in the classroom. One has the possibilities of teaching historical lessons from the past, and the other teaches some of the folk culture of today. There are several classroom goals and activities that can be achieved and used in conjunction with the stories collected and the stories to be collected. Although stories were collected at large for use in the classroom, that does not satisfy the need for a method of exploring what is collected for use in the classroom. The stories need to be used for practical purposes as well as for academic purposes. The student as well as the teacher need to feel that they are in a process of developing and integrating the classroom with the real world, particularly to the student’s world. These stories can provide this, however, that does not necessarily happen without some structure, and an outline and method for investigation. The student as well as the teacher need assistance in determining what to do with the folk stories after they have read and collected some of them. The stories should be used, applied to different situations, evaluated, and closely examined for the purposes of combining the student’s school life with real life. Methods for examining the folk stories collected and read was developed which included several activities to help students learn how to make inquiries and how to apply them to both a school situation and to life situations. These methods include synthesis, analysis, application and evaluation of the stories collected as well as the stories read in class. An example of how to use a story following the methods prescribed is also included. Students need to synthesize what is intended for the course, and in order to achieve this goal, students will tell stories themselves, rearrange stories they have heard, and compile the folk stories that they are collecting themselves. Students in the classroom probably already know a few raps. They should be encouraged to begin collecting for the folk tradition with themselves. Each student should “perform” a rap for the class. This performance should be recorded as the beginning stage of collecting folk stories. This activity gets the student personally involved. Once students have placed their own raps on tape they should move out and begin to collect stories from their community. Their community should include family and friends. Once the students have collected these stories they should return and retell the story to the class, Wherever possible they should use tape recorders. If recorders are unavailable, they should be encouraged to use the “voice” of the story teller. Students will analyze the stories they collect by recognizing unstated assumptions about black people and their folklore and determine whether the assumptions are valid or not. One assumption is that all folk stories are rural and told strictly by old people. When they realize their own contribution through the raps they will see that this is not a valid assumption. In the second step of analysis, students will distinguish between facts and inferences. This should be enjoyable for the student when they think of how real or unreal the stories are. At this point, students need to make distinctions between what are facts and what are inferences. Students should be asked whether the stories that they have collected thus far are true, and if not, what purpose do they serve. Each story they collect should have this distinction made about it. There are several good writing assignments that go along with collecting and retelling folkstories and these need to be done with the class. Suggestions will be given later in the unit on these assignments. The application of the stories can be demonstrated in several ways. Students will be able to modify what they have learned in other areas to help other students discover how to learn. A classroom activity which will help students apply another level of the power of the oral tradition is a way of being successful in school by learning facts. Students can prepare educational or informational raps that would stimulate other students. These educational raps can help students demonstrate how to learn history, biology, math, a foreign language, or they can teach them or give them information on more contemporary issues like the use of drugs. The students who worked with me composed a rap about the use and abuse of marijuana, the last line of the rap was: “don’ choke, don’ smoke, everybody’s smokin’ chokin’ on dope.”Students who are artistic and able to use puppetry can do storytelling for elementary school students. These stories that are disseminated to the elementary schools should be the stories that the students collected, read, and the raps they composed. This visual method, the puppetry couples easily with the oral tradition. However, before the student’s use the puppets for the younger students, they should evaluate the use and the purpose of the stories they have collected to see which would be most appropriate. Another method of getting students interested and working hard on storytelling is by incorporating stories told by Black comedians like Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, or Eddie Murphy. Many of the students already listen to these comedians, but don’t realize that they (the comedians) like the other storytellers used in this unit are preserving the Black oral tradition of storytelling. These comedians use a similar style of many black urban folklorists. They combine humor and enliven the stories with the realism of everyday events and are able to tell stories that entertain, explain, or teach. Students might evaluate what they have researched by comparing the stories of the storytellers to those of the comedians, summarizing the differences and similarities and report to the class and finally judge the value of the stories by use of internal criteria. Much of the evaluation becomes subjective because it involves judgment without the necessity of external criteria. There are several sources of Black folklore; the stories collected by Julius Lester in Black Folktales, is an excellent source and is available within the school system. This is one book chosen for that reason particularly since acquisition of classroom materials is at times a problem. The Lester book and the folklore collected by Langston Hughes in The Book of Negro Folklore should be used to assist students in developing methods for analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application in the classroom. Newer collections that might also be used are Mother Wit From the Laughing Barrel by Alan Dundes, and Harld Courlander’s A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore. The folk story chosen for synthesis, analysis, evaluation, and application was the stories about Stagolee. This character is familiar to students, information about the character is familiar to students, information about the character as well as several versions of the story exist, and even though the stories have been fashioned by the community over time it is not so out of synch with time that the urban student of the 1980s cannot relate to the information covered and given about the character. Everything that Stagolee (to Stackolee) does is bigger and bolder than any ordinary man could or would attempt to do. In the Lester version there are several inferences made as to the prowess of Stagolee. Whenever someone gets in his way or does him wrong, Stagolee shoots and kills the person. Obviously students should be made to realize that this is not a way to handle a problem or a person. Stagolee has more affection for his hat than any person, and when Billy Lyons spits on his hat, Stagolee shoots Billy and moves in with Billy’s wife. Stagolee also could not be killed by ordinary methods; he was hanged and did not die. Another inference about Stagolee and death was that he was so fierce that death would not touch him, and it took a thunderbolt sent from God to kill him. This would seem to be the end of the story, but the final part of the legend is that once Stagolee did die and went to Hell, he ruled Hell. This folktale is full of inferences, to help students sort out the facts represented in this story the Stagolee story of the Lester book should be compared to the stories about Stagolee in the Hughes book on Black folklore, The Book of Negro Folklore. In the Hughes book there are two versions of the story of Stagolee, “Stackolee” and “Stackalee”2 By comparing the three stories it can be assumed that: 1. there was a man named Stagalee 2. that he possessed a violent streak 3. the character probably did wear a stetson hat and 4. the character met with a violent end 5. it is usually assumed that he went straight to Hell and ruled over Hell. This story is excellent for establishing the probabilities of truths as opposed to the exaggeration of legends; it reaches the student where the student lives, teaches practical and moral wisdom, and is a good example of a popular legend, and has been reinforced by word of mouth.3 A similar use of traditional stories of the purposes of analysis, synthesis, application and evaluation can be done for other stories in Black Folktales by Julius Lester and The Book of Negro Folklore by Langston Hughes. The use of dialect in folk stories as mentioned previously is one of the important aspects of maintaining the folk system. In the Hughes book there are two short story/poems which students can read aloud to practice what dialect sounds like and how one author writes what is said. The stories are “Tad’s Advice to his Son” and “Old Sister’s Advice to her Daughter”. Both stories deal with similar themes and are short enough so that students can practice and “perform” the stories for class. Since the theme is not to trust a member of the opposite sex, the boys can perform “Tad’s Advice to his Son” and the girls “Old Sister’s Advice to her Daughter.” There are several other sources of Black folklore that use dialect, The Book of Negro Folklore is full of stories with dialect; another excellent source of stories written in dialect is Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston. There should be as many different ways of retelling the story as there are people telling the story. This is an excellent way of helping students understand that stories change from person to person according to what each person defines as important. 1. Have each student read “High John the Conqueror” from Black Folktales. 2. Select five students who will retell the story of “High John. The five students should be as diverse as possible with male and females and also with different interests. Also some of the students who did not like the story should be chosen. 3. Students will take notes on the various stories so that they can refer back to them for information during discussions. Some of the reasons for variations of the story are that some will see John as a hero and others will see John as a trickster, some will focus in on the feats as opposed to the facts. 4. Discuss with the students the reasons for the different versions of the story. 5. The fact that John was a slave is an important part of the High John stories. He was seen by slaves as a hero who could not be subjugated by his master because he was smarter than his master and able to control his master by his wits more than the master was able to control him. 6. After the discussion choose another three students to retell the High John stories. Students should again take note of the differences. The differences should again be discussed keeping in mind the previous discussion. 1. Student groups will choose a narrator and the parts of master, missy, and the children. The narrator retells the story of Dave and also acts the part of Dave. He describes the events as though they were his own memories. - As Dave nears the end of his story, he keeps on stepping as the master tells him “Dave! The children love you. I love you, and Missy, she like you. But remember Dave! You still a nigger!”4 2. The class will discuss the significance of what it means to “keep on stepping”. The class will apply this story to a modern day situation where a person in the public eye has to “keep on stepping”. 3. Students who do not wish to be part of the dramatization can help make small props. For example in “Keep on Stepping” they will need a boat, a hoe, and a picture of a plantation house. Examples of the quotes that might be used are: 1. Ask students if they know any aphorisms or proverbs. Whatever they know list on the board. After the sayings are on the board, ask the students if anyone knows what any of the sayings mean; they should give examples. This helps the student become involved in the class especially when their “sayings” are on the board. 2. Give students aphorisms from the Book of Negro Folklore or the Treasury of Afro American Folklore plantation proverbs. 3. Students choose from the aphorisms in the Book of Negro Folklore one quote and write short stories with the title and content suggested by the aphorisms. It’s hard to make clothes fit a miserable man. De price of your hat ain’t de measure of your brain. Buyin’ on credit is robbin’ next year’s crop. De cowbell can’t keep a secret.5 This exercise allows the students to be creative and also to share what each person has gotten from the assignment; it serves as a reward for some and an incentive for others. 4. Make copies of the best student stories excluding the titles, and hand out to the class. 5. Have students title the compositions written by their classmates. 1. The day before using this lesson ask students if they have ever heard of Stagolee; if they have not have them as a homework assignment ask someone either at home or in their neighborhood about a man named Stagolee. Ask them also to see if someone has ever heard the song from the fifties about Stagolee. 2. On the next class day, ask who has found out any information about Stagolee. Play the record “Stagolee” by Lloyd Price. 3. Read the “Stagolee” stories from The Black Folktales by Julius Lester and The Book of Negro Folklore by Langston Hughes. 4. List the activities that Stagolee does in the stories that probably could have happened. For example the place he was born, his way of making a living. 5. Discuss why legends have the real occurrences combined with the fantasy. Could any of the fantasy have some explanations. 6. Compare the recording to the stories. Which seems more logical, and what appeal does the story have that the record does not? What appeal does the record have that the story does not? Materials: Tape recorder, blank tapes, and records of rap music. This particular lesson should be done in a team or group effort. Perhaps one student to read the rap, and another to make the beat or rhythm. 1. Listen to one of the rap songs. 2. Ask the students what is a rap; and what are the various components of raps; for example, repetition, beat, and ad libbing. 3. Students will record raps that they are already familiar with that are done by groups that do rap music. Same of the groups should be mentioned for example Grand Master Flash, Run Dee MC, Sugar Hill, the Funkadelics, etc. This should not be difficult because most students have probably already memorized several raps. 4. Students will take the rhythms of their raps and rewrite the story of Stagolee to a rap rhythm; they should be reminded to keep in mind the various components of rap music. 5. Students will record the raps that they have written and share the results with the class. 1. Ask students what playsongs they did as children, and write these on the beard. 2. Ask for a volunteer to perform one of the playsongs. 3. Have students write playsongs they already know. 4. Students should record the playsongs of the children in their neighborhood and report back to the class on how they are different from the songs they read and know and how the songs of the children are similar. 5. Students should record the differences and similarities. The differences need to be explained. Some reasons for change might be that songs deal with more current issues or that the same songs are being done but they have been altered or modified in time. 1. Students should fill out the work sheet on the analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application of the stories they collected. Heroes are made not born; they became legends before they die. They come to be heroes because contemporaries have come to have standards of heroic actions. “When a particular figure represents the heroic virtues for a whole people, we call him a culture hero.”6 Culture heroes differ from real heroes in many ways; these are: High John and Stagolee are culture heroes. Students have read the High John and the Stagolee stories. 1. Miraculous birth 2. Rapid maturation 3. Virtuous (brave, strong and intelligent) 4. Confront and overcome enemies of malevolence and power, and obstacles of insurmountable difficulty 5. Teach their peers practical and moral wisdom 6. Usually die young promising to return.7 1. They are to write the examples for each character to determine if Stagolee and John are culture heroes. Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation, and Application of Stories Collected I. Analysis 1. What kind of person is the main character? (young, old, city, country, real or legendary) 2. Can this person live in the city as well as the country? 3. What were the facts about the person who is the main character and what inferences were made? II. Synthesis 1. Categorize the factual events from the exaggerated events. 2. Rewrite the important events of the story and revise the conclusions of these events. III. Application 1. Compare the positive attributes the folk hero has to be a modern day folk hero. 2. Compare the negative characteristics of the folk hero to the modern day folk hero. IV. Evaluation 1. What important lessons might be learned from the story? 2. How could the hero have changed the situations that he was found in. 2Hughes, Langston, The Book of Negro Folklore, p. 359-363. 3Dorson, Richard, American Folklore and the Historian, p. 158-160. 4Lester, pg. 153-157. 5Hughes, pg. 120. 6Edmonson, Munro S., Lore An Introduction to the Science of Folklore and Literature, p. 150. 7Ibid., p. 150. Courlander, Harold. A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore. New York: Crown Publishers, 1976. A collection of oral literature, legends, tales, songs, religious beliefs, customs, sayings of people of African descent. Dundes, Alan. Mother Wit From the Laughing Barrel. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1973. Selected readings and interpretations of black folklore topics, such as: folk medicine, folk stories, folk heroes and folk traditions. Dance, Daryl Cumber. Shuckin’ and Jivin. Bollmington: Indiana University Press, 1978. Folklore from contemporary black Americans; a good survey of black folktales can be used in the classroom. Edmonson, Munro S. Lore An Introduction to the Science of Folklore and Literature. New York: Holt Rinehart, Winston, 1971. Information Of how the origins and intentions of folklore. Emmons, Martha. Deep Like the Rivers. Austin: Encino Press, 1969. Stories told to Martha Emmons by friends over many years. Goldstein, Kenneth S. A Guide For Field Workers in Folklore. Pennsylvania Folklore Associates, 1969. The purpose of the book is to help guide people in the collection of folklore. Hughes, Langston and Bontemps, Arna. The Book of Negro Folklore. New York: Dodd, 1958. Collections of Black American folklore which consists of stories, aphorisms, sermons, poems, folktales. Very extensive. Hurston, Zora Neale. Mules and Men. New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969. Collection of rural tales from Ms. Hurston’s home in Florida. Good for use on dialects, collecting stories, and the stories of Black Americans. Lester, Julius. Black Folktales. New York: Grove Press, 1969. Collection of Black American folktales. Excellent for use in the classroom. Dance, Daryl Cumber. Shuckin’ and Jivin’. Bollmington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1978. Dundes, Alan. Mother Wit From the Laughing Barrel. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1973. Hughes, Langston. The Book of Negro Folklore. New York: Dodd, 1958. Hurston, Zora Neal. Mules and Men. New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969. Lester, Julius. Black Folktales. Contents of 1984 Volume IV | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

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8.3 Different Types of Communication and Channels - Understand different types of communication. - Understand how communication channels affect communication. - Recognize different communication directions within organizations. Types of Communication There are three types of communication, including: verbal communication involving listening to a person to understand the meaning of a message, written communication in which a message is read, and nonverbal communication involving observing a person and inferring meaning. Let’s start with verbal communication, which is the most common form of communication. Verbal communications in business take place over the phone or in person. The medium of the message is oral. Let’s return to our printer cartridge example. This time, the message is being conveyed from the sender (the manager) to the receiver (an employee named Bill) by telephone. We’ve already seen how the manager’s request to Bill (“Buy more printer toner cartridges!”) can go awry. Now let’s look at how the same message can travel successfully from sender to receiver. Manager (speaking on the phone): “Good morning Bill!” (By using the employee’s name, the manager is establishing a clear, personal link to the receiver.) Manager: “Your division’s numbers are looking great.” (The manager’s recognition of Bill’s role in a winning team further personalizes and emotionalizes the conversation.) Manager: “Our next step is to order more printer toner cartridges. Would you place an order for 1,000 printer toner cartridges with Jones Computer Supplies? Our budget for this purchase is $30,000, and the printer toner cartridges need to be here by Wednesday afternoon.” (The manager breaks down the task into several steps. Each step consists of a specific task, time frame, quantity, or goal.) Bill: “Sure thing! I’ll call Jones Computer Supplies and order 1,000 more printer toner cartridges, not exceeding a total of $30,000, to be here by Wednesday afternoon.” (Bill, a model employee, repeats what he has heard. This is the feedback portion of the communication. Feedback helps him recognize any confusion he may have had hearing the manager’s message. Feedback also helps the manager hear if she has communicated the message correctly.) StorytellingA narrative account of an event or events. has been shown to be an effective form of verbal communication that serves an important organizational function by helping to construct common meanings for individuals within the organization. Stories can help clarify key values and also help demonstrate how certain tasks are performed within an organization. Story frequency, strength, and tone are related to higher organizational commitment.McCarthy, J. F. (2008). Short stories at work: Storytelling as an indicator of organizational commitment. Group & Organization Management, 33, 163–193. The quality of the stories is related to the ability of entrepreneurs to secure capital for their firms.Martens, M. L., Jennings, J. E., & Devereaux, J. P. (2007). Do the stories they tell get them the money they need? The role of entrepreneurial narratives in resource acquisition. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1107–1132. While the process may be the same, high stakes communications require more planning, reflection, and skill than normal day-to-day interactions at work. Examples of high stakes communication events include asking for a raise or presenting a business plan to a venture capitalist. In addition to these events, there are also many times in our professional lives when we have crucial conversationsDiscussions in which the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong., which are defined as discussions in which not only are the stakes high, but also the opinions vary and emotions run strong.Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2002). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high. New York: McGraw-Hill. One of the most consistent recommendations from communications experts is to work toward using “and” instead of “but” when communicating under these circumstances. In addition, be aware of your communication style and practice being flexible; it is under stressful situations that communication styles can become the most rigid. OB Toolbox: 10 Recommendations for Improving the Quality of Your Conversations - Be the first to say hello. Use your name in your introduction, in case others have forgotten it. - Think before you speak. Our impulse is often to imitate movies by offering fast, witty replies in conversation. In the real world, a careful silence can make us sound more intelligent and prevent mistakes. - Be receptive to new ideas. If you disagree with another person’s opinion, saying, “Tell me more,” can be a more useful way of moving forward than saying, “That’s stupid!” - Repeat someone’s name to yourself and then aloud, when being introduced. The form of the name you use may vary. First names work with peers. Mr. or Ms. is common when meeting superiors in business. - Ask questions. This establishes your interest in another person. - Listen as much, if not more, than you speak. This allows you to learn new information. - Use eye contact. Eye contact shows that you are engaged. Also, be sure to smile and make sure your body language matches your message. - Mirror the other person. Occasionally repeat what they’ve said in your own words. “You mean… ?” - Have an exit strategy ready. Ideal conversations are brief, leaving others wanting more. - Be prepared. Before beginning a conversation, have three simple facts about yourself and four questions about someone else in mind. Source: Adapted from information contained in Gabor, D. (1983). How to start a conversation and make friends. New York: Legacy; Post, E. (2005). Emily Post’s etiquette advantage in business. New York: Collins Living; Fine, D. (2005). The fine art of small talk. New York: Hyperion. In contrast to verbal communications, which are oral, written business communications are printed messages. Examples of written communications include memos, proposals, e-mails, letters, training manuals, and operating policies. They may be printed on paper or appear on the screen. Written communication is often asynchronous. That is, the sender can write a message that the receiver can read at any time, unlike a conversation that is carried on in real time. A written communication can also be read by many people (such as all employees in a department or all customers). It’s a “one-to-many” communication, as opposed to a one-to-one conversation. There are exceptions, of course: A voice mail is an oral message that is asynchronous. Conference calls and speeches are oral one-to-many communications, and e-mails can have only one recipient or many. Normally, a verbal communication takes place in real time. Written communication, by contrast, can be constructed over a longer period of time. It also can be collaborative. Multiple people can contribute to the content on one document before that document is sent to the intended audience. Verbal and written communications have different strengths and weaknesses. In business, the decision to communicate verbally or in written form can be a powerful one. As we’ll see below, each style of communication has particular strengths and pitfalls. When determining whether to communicate verbally or in writing, ask yourself: Do I want to convey facts or feelings? Verbal communications are a better way to convey feelings. Written communications do a better job of conveying facts. Picture a manager making a speech to a team of twenty employees. The manager is speaking at a normal pace. The employees appear interested. But how much information is being transmitted? Probably not as much as the speaker believes. The fact is that humans listen much faster than they speak. The average public speaker communicates at a speed of about 125 words a minute, and that pace sounds fine to the audience. (In fact, anything faster than that probably would sound unusual. To put that figure in perspective, someone having an excited conversation speaks at about 150 words a minute.) Based on these numbers, we could assume that the audience has more than enough time to take in each word the speaker delivers, which actually creates a problem. The average person in the audience can hear 400 to 500 words a minute.Lee, D., & Hatesohl, D. Listening: Our most used communication skill. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from the University of Missouri Web site: http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/comm/cm0150.htm. The audience has more than enough time to hear. As a result, their minds may wander. As you can see, oral communication is the most often used form of communication, but it is also an inherently flawed medium for conveying specific facts. Listeners’ minds wander. It’s nothing personal—in fact, it’s a completely normal psychological occurrence. In business, once we understand this fact, we can make more intelligent communication choices based on the kind of information we want to convey. Communication mediums have come a long way since Alexander Graham Bell’s original telephone. Most jobs involve some degree of writing. According to the National Commission on Writing, 67% of salaried employees in large American companies and professional state employees have some kind of writing responsibility. Half of responding companies reported that they take writing into consideration when hiring professional employees, and 91% always take writing into account when hiring.Flink, H. (2007, March). Tell it like it is: Essential communication skills for engineers. Industrial Engineer, 39, 44–49. Luckily, it is possible to learn to write clearly. Here are some tips on writing well. Thomas Jefferson summed up the rules of writing well with this idea: “Don’t use two words when one will do.” Put another way, half the words can have twice the impact. One of the oldest myths in business is that writing more will make us sound more important. The opposite is true. Leaders who can communicate simply and clearly project a stronger image than those who write a lot but say nothing. Putting Jefferson’s Rules Into Action: Five Ways to Communicate More With Fewer Words - Picture the receiver in your mind before you begin to write. After all, a written communication is a link between people. - Choose simple words. When in doubt, choose the shorter word (“Automobile or car? Car!”) - Be polite and clear. Your message will make a strong, clear impact. - Make your message brief and direct by trimming redundant words or phrases. “Having thus explored our first option, I would now like to begin to explore the second option that may be open to us.” versus “After considering Option 1, I would like to look at Option 2.” - Choose strong, active verbs. “I suggest…” instead of “It would seem to me that we might…” Remember, concise writing equals effective communication. What you say is a vital part of any communication. Surprisingly, what you don’t say can be even more important. Research shows that nonverbal cues can also affect whether or not you get a job offer. Judges examining videotapes of actual applicants were able to assess the social skills of job candidates with the sound turned off. They watched the rate of gesturing, time spent talking, and formality of dress to determine which candidates would be the most socially successful on the job.Gifford, R., Ng, C. F., & Wilkinson, M. (1985). Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links between applicant qualities and interviewer judgments. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 729–736. Research also shows that 55% of in-person communication comes from nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body stance, and tone of voice. According to one study, only 7% of a receiver’s comprehension of a message is based on the sender’s actual words, 38% is based on paralanguage (the tone, pace, and volume of speech), and 55% is based on nonverbal cues (body language).Mehrabian, A. (1981). Silent messages. New York: Wadsworth. To be effective communicators, our body language, appearance, and tone must align with the words we’re trying to convey. Research shows that when individuals are lying, they are more likely to blink more frequently, shift their weight, and shrug.Siegman, A. W. (1985). Multichannel integrations of nonverbal behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. A different tone can change the perceived meaning of a message. See the table below for how clearly this can be true. If we only read these words, we would be left to wonder, but during a conversation, the tone conveys a great deal of information. Don’t Use That Tone With Me! Changing your tone can dramatically change your meaning. |Placement of the emphasis||What it means| |I did not tell John you were late.||Someone else told John you were late.| |I did not tell John you were late.||This did not happen.| |I did not tell John you were late.||I may have implied it.| |I did not tell John you were late.||But maybe I told Sharon and José.| |I did not tell John you were late.||I was talking about someone else.| |I did not tell John you were late.||I told him you still are late.| |I did not tell John you were late.||I told him you were attending another meeting.| Source: Based on ideas in Kiely, M. (October, 1993). When “no” means “yes.” Marketing, 7–9. Now you can see how changing the tone of voice in a conversation can incite or diffuse a misunderstanding. For another example, imagine that you’re a customer interested in opening a new bank account. At one bank, the bank officer is dressed neatly. She looks you in the eye when she speaks. Her tone is friendly. Her words are easy to understand, yet professional sounding. “Thank you for considering Bank of the East Coast. We appreciate this opportunity and would love to explore ways that we can work together to help your business grow,” she says with a friendly smile. At the second bank, the bank officer’s tie is stained. He looks over your head and down at his desk as he speaks. He shifts in his seat and fidgets with his hands. His words say, “Thank you for considering Bank of the West Coast. We appreciate this opportunity and would love to explore ways that we can work together to help you business grow,” but he mumbles his words, and his voice conveys no enthusiasm or warmth. Which bank would you choose? The speaker’s body language must match his or her words. If a sender’s words and body language don’t match—if a sender smiles while telling a sad tale, for example—the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal cues can cause a receiver to actively dislike the sender. Following are a few examples of nonverbal cues that can support or detract from a sender’s message. A simple rule of thumb is that simplicity, directness, and warmth conveys sincerity. Sincerity is vital for effective communication. In some cultures, a firm handshake, given with a warm, dry hand, is a great way to establish trust. A weak, clammy handshake might convey a lack of trustworthiness. Gnawing one’s lip conveys uncertainty. A direct smile conveys confidence. © The New Yorker Collection. 1991. Robert Mankoff from cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved. In business, the style and duration of eye contact varies greatly across cultures. In the United States, looking someone in the eye (for about a second) is considered a sign of trustworthiness. The human face can produce thousands of different expressions. These expressions have been decoded by experts as corresponding to hundreds of different emotional states.Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., & Hager, J. C. The facial action coding system (FACS). Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/facs/manual. Our faces convey basic information to the outside world. Happiness is associated with an upturned mouth and slightly closed eyes; fear with an open mouth and wide-eyed stare. Shifty eyes and pursed lips convey a lack of trustworthiness. The impact of facial expressions in conversation is instantaneous. Our brains may register them as “a feeling” about someone’s character. For this reason, it is important to consider how we appear in business as well as what we say. The muscles of our faces convey our emotions. We can send a silent message without saying a word. A change in facial expression can change our emotional state. Before an interview, for example, if we focus on feeling confident, our face will convey that confidence to an interviewer. Adopting a smile (even if we’re feeling stressed) can reduce the body’s stress levels. The position of our body relative to a chair or other person is another powerful silent messenger that conveys interest, aloofness, professionalism, or lack thereof. Head up, back straight (but not rigid) implies an upright character. In interview situations, experts advise mirroring an interviewer’s tendency to lean in and settle back in a seat. The subtle repetition of the other person’s posture conveys that we are listening and responding. The meaning of a simple touch differs between individuals, genders, and cultures. In Mexico, when doing business, men may find themselves being grasped on the arm by another man. To pull away is seen as rude. In Indonesia, to touch anyone on the head or to touch anything with one’s foot is considered highly offensive. In the Far East and some parts of Asia, according to business etiquette writer Nazir Daud, “It is considered impolite for a woman to shake a man’s hand.”Daud, N. (n.d.). Business etiquette. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Etiquette---Shaking-Hands-around- the-World&id=746227. Americans, as we have noted above, place great value in a firm handshake. But handshaking as a competitive sport (“the bone-crusher”) can come off as needlessly aggressive both at home and abroad. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall coined the term proxemics to denote the different kinds of distance that occur between people. These distances vary among cultures. The chart below outlines the basic proxemics of everyday life and their associated meaning.Hall, E. T. (1966). The hidden dimension. New York: Doubleday. Distance between speakers is partially determined by their intimacy level. Source: Hall, E. T. (1966). The hidden dimension. New York: Doubleday. Standing too far away from a colleague (public speaking distance) or too close to a colleague (intimate distance for embracing) can thwart an effective verbal communication in business. The channel, or medium, used to communicate a message affects how accurately the message will be received. Channels vary in their “information-richness.” Information-rich channels convey more nonverbal information. Research shows that effective managers tend to use more information-rich communication channels than less effective managers.Allen, D. G., & Griffeth, R. W. (1997). Vertical and lateral information processing; Fulk, J., & Boyd, B. (1991). Emerging theories of communication in organizations. Journal of Management, 17, 407–446; Yates, J., & Orlikowski, W. J. (1992). Genres of organizational communication: A structurational approach to studying communication and media. Academy of Management Review, 17, 299–326. The figure below illustrates the information richness of different channels. Information channels differ in their richness. Sources: Adapted from information in Daft, R. L., & Lenge, R. H. (1984). Information richness: A new approach to managerial behavior and organizational design. In B. Staw & L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, vol. 6 (pp. 191–233). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press; Lengel, R. H., & Daft, D. L. (1988). The selection of communication media as an executive skill. Academy of Management Executive, 11, 225–232. The key to effective communication is to match the communication channel with the goal of the message.Barry, B., & Fulmer, I. S. (2004). The medium and the message: The adaptive use of communication media in dyadic influence. Academy of Management Review, 29, 272–292. For example, written media may be a better choice when the sender wants a record of the content, has less urgency for a response, is physically separated from the receiver, and doesn’t require a lot of feedback from the receiver, or when the message is complicated and may take some time to understand. Oral communication, on the other hand, makes more sense when the sender is conveying a sensitive or emotional message, needs feedback immediately, and does not need a permanent record of the conversation. Figure 8.11 Guide for When to Use Written versus Verbal Communication Make sure to match the medium to the task. Trying to accomplish a visual task such as choosing colors is more challenging on the phone versus in person. © 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation Like face-to-face and telephone conversations, videoconferencing has high information richness, because receivers and senders can see or hear beyond just the words that are used—they can see the sender’s body language or hear the tone of their voice. Handheld devices, blogs, and written letters and memos offer medium-rich channels, because they convey words and pictures or photos. Formal written documents, such as legal documents and budget spreadsheets, convey the least richness, because the format is often rigid and standardized. As a result, the tone of the message is often lost. The growth of e-mail has been spectacular, but it has also created challenges in managing information and increasing the speed of doing businesses. Over 100 million adults in the United States use e-mail at least once a day.Taylor, C. (2002, June 10). 12 steps for email addicts. Time.com. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002621,00.html. Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion e-mails each day, and a large portion of these are spam or scam attempts.60 Billion emails sent daily worldwide. (2006, April 26). Retrieved July 2, 2008, from CNET.UK: http://www.cnet.co.uk/misc/print/0,39030763,49265163,00.htm. That makes e-mail the second most popular medium of communication worldwide, second only to voice. Less than 1% of all written human communications even reaches paper these days.Isom, D. K. (updated October 19, 2005). Electronic discovery: New power, new risks. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from the Utah State Bar Web site: http://utahbar.org/barjournal2000/html/november_2003_2.html. To combat the overuse of e-mail, companies such as Intel have even instituted “no e-mail Fridays.” During these times, all communication is done via other communication channels. Learning to be more effective in your e-mail communications is an important skill. To learn more, check out the OB Toolbox on business e-mail do’s and don’ts. OB Toolbox: Business E-mail Do’s and Don’ts - DON’T send or forward chain e-mails. - DON’T put anything in an e-mail that you don’t want the world to see. - DON’T write a message in capital letters—this is the equivalent of SHOUTING. - DON’T routinely CC everyone. Reducing inbox clutter is a great way to increase communication. - DON’T hit send until you’ve spell-checked your e-mail. - DO use a subject line that summarizes your message, adjusting it as the message changes over time. - DO make your request in the first line of your e-mail. (And if that’s all you need to say, stop there!) - DO end your e-mail with a brief sign-off such as, “Thank you,” followed by your name and contact information. - DO think of a work e-mail as a binding communication. - DO let others know if you’ve received an e-mail in error. Sources: Adapted from information in Leland, K., & Bailey, K. (2000). Customer service for dummies. New York: Wiley; Information Technology Services. (1997). Top 10 email dos and top ten email don’ts. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center Web site: http://www.uic.edu/hsc/uicmc/its/customers/email-tips.htm; Kawasaki, G. (2006, February 3). The effective emailer. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from How to Change the World Web site: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/02/the_effective_e.html. An important although often ignored rule when communicating emotional information is that e-mail’s lack of richness can be your loss. As we saw in the chart above, e-mail is a medium-rich channel. It can convey facts quickly. But when it comes to emotion, e-mail’s flaws make it a far less desirable choice than oral communication—the 55% of nonverbal cues that make a conversation comprehensible to a listener are missing. Researchers also note that e-mail readers don’t pick up on sarcasm and other tonal aspects of writing as much as the writer believes they will.Kruger, J. (2005). Egocentrism over email: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 925–936. The sender may believe that certain emotional signifiers have been included in a message. But, with written words alone, those signifiers are not there. This gap between the form and content of e-mail inspired the rise of emoticons—symbols that offer clues to the emotional side of the words in each message. Generally speaking, however, emoticons are not considered professional in business communication. You might feel uncomfortable conveying an emotionally laden message verbally, especially when the message contains unwanted news. Sending an e-mail to your staff that there will be no bonuses this year may seem easier than breaking the bad news face-to-face, but that doesn’t mean that e-mail is an effective or appropriate way to break this kind of news. When the message is emotional, the sender should use verbal communication. Indeed, a good rule of thumb is that more emotionally laden messages require more thought in the choice of channel and how they are communicated. Communication can occur without you even realizing it. Consider the following: Is your e-mail name professional? The typical convention for business e-mail contains some form of your name. While an e-mail name like “LazyGirl” or “DeathMonkey” may be fine for chatting online with your friends, they may send the wrong signal to individuals you e-mail such as professors and prospective employers. Is your outgoing voice mail greeting professional? If not, change it. Faculty and prospective recruiters will draw certain conclusions if, upon calling you, they get a message that screams, “Party, party, party!” Do you have a “private” social networking Web site on MySpace.com, Facebook.com, or Xanga.com? If so, consider what it says about you to employers or clients. If it is information you wouldn’t share at work, it probably shouldn’t be there. Googled yourself lately? If not, you probably should. Potential employers have begun searching the Web as part of background checking, and you should be aware of what’s out there about you. Direction of Communication Within Organizations Information can move horizontally, from a sender to a receiver, as we’ve seen. It can also move vertically, down from top management, or up from the front line. Information can also move diagonally between and among levels of an organization, such as a message from a customer service rep to a manager in the manufacturing department or a message from the chief financial officer sent down to all department heads. Organizational communication travels in many different directions. There is a chance for these arrows to go awry, of course. As Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of best-selling books such as Flow, has noted, “In large organizations the dilution of information as it passes up and down the hierarchy, and horizontally across departments, can undermine the effort to focus on common goals.”Quotation listed on Inspirational Business Quotes. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/effort-quotes.htm. The organizational status of the sender can impact the receiver’s attentiveness to the message. For example, consider the following: A senior manager sends a memo to a production supervisor. The supervisor, who has a lower status within the organization, is likely to pay close attention to the message. The same information conveyed in the opposite direction, however, might not get the attention it deserves. The message would be filtered by the senior manager’s perception of priorities and urgencies. Requests are just one kind of communication in business. Other communications, either verbal or written, may seek, give, or exchange information. Research shows that frequent communications with one’s supervisor is related to better job performance ratings and overall organizational performance.Snyder, R. A., & Morris, J. H. (1984). Organizational communication and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 461–465; Kacmar, K. M., Witt, L. A., Zivnuska, S., & Gully, S. M. (2003). The interactive effect of leader-member exchange and communication frequency on performance ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 764–772. Research also shows that lateral communication done between peers can influence important organizational outcomes such as turnover.Krackhardt, D., & Porter, L. W. (1986). The snowball effect: Turnover embedded in communication networks. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 50–55. Figure 8.14 How Managers Spend Time Communicating at Work Source: Adapted from information in Luthans, F., & Larsen, J. K. (1986). How managers really communicate. Human Relations, 39, 161–178. External communications deliver specific businesses messages to individuals outside an organization. They may announce changes in staff or strategy, earnings, and more. The goal of an external communication is to create a specific message that the receiver will understand and share with others. Examples of external communications include the following. Public relationsProfessionals who create external communications about a client’s product, services, or practices for specific receivers. professionals create external communications about a client’s product, services, or practices for specific receivers. These receivers, it is hoped, will share the message with others. In time, as the message is passed along, it should appear to be independent of the sender, creating the illusion of an independently generated consumer trend, public opinion, and so on. The message of a public relations effort may be b2b (business to business), b2c (business to consumer), or media related. The message can take different forms. Press releases try to convey a newsworthy message, real or manufactured. It may be constructed like a news item, inviting editors or reporters to reprint the message in part or as a whole, with or without acknowledgement of the sender’s identity. Public relations campaigns create messages over time through contests, special events, trade shows, and media interviews in addition to press releases. Advertising places external business messages before target receivers through media buys. A media buy is a fee that is paid to a television network, Web site, magazine, and so on by an advertiser to insert an advertisement. The fee is based on the perceived value of the audience who watches, reads, listens to, or frequents the space where the ad will appear. In recent years, receivers have begun to filter advertiser’s messages. This phenomenon is perceived to be a result of the large amount of ads the average person sees each day and a growing level of consumer wariness of paid messaging. Advertisers, in turn, are trying to create alternative forms of advertising that receivers won’t filter. The advertorial is one example of an external communication that combines the look of an article with the focused message of an ad. Product placements in videos, movies, and games are other ways that advertisers strive to reach receivers with commercial messages. A Web page’s external communication can combine elements of public relations, advertising, and editorial content, reaching receivers on multiple levels and in multiple ways. Banner ads, blogs, and advertiser-driven “click-through” areas are just a few of the elements that allow a business to deliver a message to a receiver online. The perceived flexibility of online communications can impart a less formal (and therefore, more believable) quality to an external communication. A message relayed in a daily blog post, for example, will reach a receiver differently than if it is delivered in an annual report. The popularity and power of blogs is growing, with 11% of Fortune 500 companies having official blogs (up from 4% in 2005). In fact, blogs have become so important to companies such as Coca-Cola Company, Eastman Kodak Company, and Marriott International Inc. that they have created official positions within their organizations titled “chief blogging officer.”Chief blogging officer title catching on with corporations. (2008, May 1). Workforce Management. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/50/77.html. The “real-time” quality of Web communications may appeal to receivers who might filter out traditional ads and public relations messages because of their “prefab” quality. Despite a “spontaneous” feel, many online pages can be revisited many times in a single day. For this reason, clear and accurate external communications are as vital for online use as they are in traditional media. Customer communications can include letters, catalogs, direct mail, e-mails, text messages, and telemarketing messages. Some receivers automatically filter these types of bulk messages. Others will be receptive. The key to a successful external communication to customers is to convey a business message in a personally compelling way—dramatic news, a money-saving coupon, and so forth. Types of communication include verbal, written, and nonverbal. Surprisingly, 55% of face-to-face communication comes from nonverbal cues such as tone or body language. Different communication channels are more or less effective at transmitting different kinds of information. In addition, communication flows in different directions within organizations. - How aware are you of your own body language? Has your body language ever gotten you in trouble while communicating with someone? - In your experience, how is silence used in communication? - If the meaning behind verbal communication is only 7% words, what does this imply for written communication? - How could you use your knowledge of communication richness to be more effective in your own communications? - What are the three biggest advantages and disadvantages you see regarding technology and communications?

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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home| Jessie O. Sizemore Students will read stories and novels containing the themes listed above. Innocence is man’s beginning in a new land where he dreams and strives to be free, but is tormented by his religious background. Tradition is inner conflict between the old and the new. Salvation is man’s battle to save his soul. Industrialism is the great machine and its role in the loss of innocence. To help explain why these ideas are a part of American literature, I have included folklore and witchcraft stories which will give students insight about their beginning and will be interesting reading. Before I can get students interested, I must help them understand what a writer is saying. Most skillful writers construct sentences full of subordinated thoughts but place the main ideas in the main clauses. Students must be able to tell the difference between the lower-ranking idea and the independent idea. They must understand that the main clause is the basic structure of a sentence, and that modifying clauses and phrases add details or explain conditions which define or limit the meaning of the main clause. I feel that most of the students I teach are not aware of the importance of sentence structure. Most of them become confused when I talk about coordination and especially subordination. I believe that this causes their poor comprehension and their lack of interest and keeps them from being able to follow ideas and directions. Therefore, my second objective is to get students to understand the thought process in sentence syntax. This will be done through diagnostic testing and reviewing sentences taken from various forms of literature (excluding poetry, which will be discussed later). We will identify all kinds of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Students will learn about various sentence patterns and be able to identify subjects and predicates. They will know the difference between clauses and phrases, and remember that the important thought is always found in the main clause. Since creative writers use figurative language to heighten expression, students will familiarize themselves with symbolism, imagery, irony, allusion, allegory, and archetypes found in American literature. The following literary terms will be covered: short story, novel, drama, poetry, essay, biography, autobiography, plot, journals, characterization, setting, plays, conflict, protagonist, antagonist, point of view, tone, metaphor, analogy, mood, satire, foreshadowing, coincidence, climax. This list will grow as we progress because the works we read will contain unfamiliar references to myths and historical events. To give an example of defining the terms: the short story is one of the most popular and oldest literary forms. The short story is a brief narrative. Since primitive times, fundamental human instincts have been talked about using fiction. Not unsimilar to these tales of old is the folklore of today. Contributions to our American literature have been made by Blacks, lumberjacks, cowboys, sailors, and others. A good example of the incredulous yarns which circulate about the fire in loggers’ camps is the Paul Bunyan Saga. Many of these tall stories have been gathered and written down by James Stevens.—H. C. Sheikert, Short Stories (New York, 1934), p. xxv.My fourth objective will be to teach four genres of literature in the following order: short stories, novels, plays, and poetry. Essays, biographies, autobiographies, personal letters, notebooks, sketchbooks, and diaries of authors will be explored in order to give students insight into the author’s background and to point out to students that art and form are very much a part of the author. We also will use slides, artifacts of the author’s times, filmstrips, recordings, and films. We will use as many different types of work by a single author as we can so students will get to know and understand him. We will get to know how the writer creates his or her art through style, characterization, setting, plot, point of view, theme, and tone. I want to get the students to respond to point of view and tone, and to think critically about the implications of the work. I hope to achieve these goals through this multiple approach. Short stories and novels will be compiled from such authors as Hawthorne, Melville, Faulkner, James, Wright, Ellison, Jesse Stuart, James Baldwin, Toomer, Shirley Jackson, and others if time will permit. These stories will be taught not only as examples of art, but in order to increase students’ awareness of the variety of human experience. All aspects of the short story and the novel will be taught. Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter will then be studied in class to help students recognize the ideas of innocence and salvation which are found in other American novelists’ works. We hope to view the film Scarlet Letter in class. I chose the short story to teach first because students have a big adjustment to make upon returning to school. I have included rhetorical thought exercises and literary terms because students must be equipped to understand what they read. The unit on short stories will last for eight weeks. One week will be spent testing and reviewing exercises to develop sentence sense. After students have grasped these exercises, homework assignments will be made, and one day each week will be devoted to discussions on homework and to answering any questions students may have. Some exercises have been included to develop understanding of syntax. Mimeographed sheets of literary terms will be given to students. They will keep these in their notebooks, identifying the terms they know and looking up the others in literary dictionaries which are in the school library. We will spend two class periods discussing these after the class has been given time to look the words up. Four class periods will then be spent on Hawthorne and his background. Students will view slides and pictures of artifacts dating from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, and will learn about the influence of historical customs and traditions on the works they will read. Each student will research a topic relevant to the period discussed, and will present an oral report to the class on what he or she has learned. (Two or three class periods will be devoted to these reports.) Students will pool their knowledge of historical topics to make a class scrapbook. Along with this activity we will read Hawthorne’s stories “The Ambitious Guest” and “Young Goodman Brown,” using the questions and exercises that accompany this unit. Two of the five weeks left will be spent reading other short stories by Hawthorne and the other authors. During the last three weeks students will read The Scarlet Letter in class and at home. Class discussions will deal with Hawthorne’s personality, style, point of view, use of symbolism, and ideas about innocence, tradition, salvation, and industrialism. Finally, we will view the movie and compare it with the novel. Class activities will include a “question box” for which everyone will write questions about characters and scenes; writing projects about characters, setting, and incidents in the novel; and a “newspaper” about important events that occurred in the stories or in The Scarlet Letter. In the first writings, we see evidence of the writers clinging to nature because of its order and purity. Man’s inability to cope with nature created many problems for him. So literary craftsmen used these human experiences to design fictional plots. Frontier life provided a setting for many fictional stories about man’s purging himself to fit in with his new and pure surroundings. Innocent characters were featured in beautiful garden settings. The real encounters people had in the westward movement and Indian wars brought people back to their traditional ideas; failure to understand their new experiences led to superstition and witchcraft. Ancestral beliefs created many problems for the Puritans. So a battle to save themselves from evil laid the foundations for literary art. Growth in America brought about a great change. Railroads, shipping, mass production, foreign trade, and a change in political ideas are responsible for industrialism and the loss of innocence. So American authors used these ideas to create stories which present characters with points of view and moods woven into plots. These plots developed in settings from America’s beginning through America’s industrial age. We may derive the author’s meaning through his use of symbolism. We will strive to discover artistry in American literature. Hawthorne’s second period was his self-imposed retirement from the world after graduating in 1825 from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. This period lasted about twelve years. Hawthorne continued to live apart from normal existence in a world of dreams, spending most of his time in a dismal room on the third floor of the old house in which his family lived. In 1828, his first short stories and sketches appeared anonymously in gift-books and magazines. In 1837, these stories were collected and published as Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales. His injury and his self-retirement did not make him a recluse but made him a modest, reticent, imaginative man. His contact with nature and his devotion to the past can be found in all of his works. During the early years when Nathaniel was recuperating from his foot injury, his mother, Elizabeth, took him and his sisters to visit their uncles in Raymond, Maine. While there, Hawthorne enjoyed the backwoods. Along with developing the habit of reading, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, swimming, skating, and walking. Legg’s Hill, Rattlesnake Mountain, Thomas Pond, and Sebago Lake were places that Hawthorne dreamed of all year round. Hawthorne destroyed all known copies of his first novel, Fanshawe (1828). He married Sophia Peabody in 1842, and they moved to Concord and lived in a house called the “Old Manse.” These were the happiest years of his life. He worked at the Custom House as a measurer of salt and coal. He invested in the Brook Farm Experiment, in the hope that the community would provide a good place to begin married life. Realizing its lack of privacy, he moved back to Salem where he worked as a surveyor. He was removed from office by scheming politicians in 1849. His best friend was the fourteenth President of the United States, Franklin Pierce, who appointed Hawthorne as consul at Liverpool and Manchester, England. After living abroad for seven years, Hawthorne returned to Concord in 1860. He died in Plymouth, New Hampshire on May 19, 1864, and was buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. He was a country gentleman, a product of the past because his ancestors interested him greatly. He was obsessed with the nature of sin. His first American ancestor, William Hawthorne, arrived from England in 1630 and was remembered for having given orders to have Quakers whipped in the streets. William’s son John was one of the judges at the Salem witch trials and was said to have drawn a curse from one of the victims upon himself and his descendants. Hawthorne read much Colonial history and delighted in old documents. He studied the psychology of the Puritans and peopled his stories with characters who are either outright Puritans or who possess Puritan traits. His theme is “unpardonable sin” found in the presumption and bigotry of the Puritans. Aspects of his local community and local people are used in most of his works. Hawthorne’s other preoccupation was the use of the literary symbol, the significant object which could be manipulated to reveal ever-deeper sources of meaning. Most of his successful works concentrate on the forces of conflict in a single, often ambiguous object— a flower, a statue, an embroidery symbol. His use of symbolism greatly influenced later American fiction. - 1. Why does the author begin the story with the fireside scene? - 2. How is the cheerfulness of the inside emphasized? - 3. What does the author mean by saying that the family had found the “herb, heart’s-ease?” - 4. Describe the White Hills. - 5. What picture does the word Notch suggest? - 6. Where does the story really begin? - 7. Give a brief sketch of the young stranger - 8. How does the young man’s enthusiasm affect the father; the mother; the grandmother; the daughter; the children? - 9. What is the “unutterable horror” of the catastrophe? I am hoping to get my students to understand the narrative technique of developing character and plot. - 1. Give a brief summary of the story in your own words. - 2. Prepare a newspaper story of the tragedy. - 3. Write a biographical sketch of the young man. - 4. Write a short, short story from one of the character’s points of view, assuming that the accident had not occurred. - 5. Write a paper telling about a related personal experience using a theme from the story: - ____I. Explain the situation. - ____II. Describe as effectively as you can your thoughts and feelings while involved in the experience. - ____III. Explain the outcome; what people, event, or conditions helped you? - ____IV. After the above assignment, write a character sketch about the person who might be involved in the situation you created. Be honest and objective, give personal qualities and background, important influences and experiences, and physical appearances. - ____V. Take the character you have developed through the event you created by giving a full description of both, using dialogue and point of view. The American history teacher and I will work together to get students to understand the context and source of the materials we will be using. I will work to show how the form is the author’s vehicle for presenting his or her artistic creation. - 1. Have students study the highlights of the times in which the author lived or lives. Better groups will be assigned entire stories; slower groups will be assigned parts, and I will read orally the beginning of the story to clarify different references and to introduce characters. Questions of this kind should help students recognize Hawthorne’s style. Students will write character sketches, discuss and write about characters’ points of view, and describe settings. - 1. Trace the background of Goodman Brown. - 2. What are the story’s main themes? Give a full explanation of each. - 3. Write a sentence or two which tell the story of Goodman Brown. - 4. What might the names symbolize: Goodman, Faith, etc.? - 5. How is the devil presented? - 6. How is the idea of tradition presented? - 7. How is the idea of salvation presented? - 8. Who might Goodman Brown be? - 9. How does the author present the past? - 10. How does Hawthorne present good and evil in his characters? These reports will be reviewed in class. - 1. New England Witchcraft. - 2. New England Indians: history and traditions. - 3. The Salem Delusion. - 4. The Puritan Stereotype. - 5. New England Towns in the late seventeenth through early nineteenth centuries. - 6. A school during these times. - 7. Law in New England during this period. - 8. Customs during this period. _____ written by _____ is a(an) _____ story about _____ a _____ . The story, which takes place _____ during _____ is _____ . - 1. The name of the story. - 2. The author and something about him or her. - 3. A description of your favorite character. - 4. A short paragraph about an interesting minor character. - 5. Describe the opening or closing setting. - 6. Write a summary of the story in no more than six sentences. - 7. Describe or be able to discuss three of the following: - ____a. The major character’s problems in growing up. - ____b. The type of housing in the story. - ____c. The clothing worn by the characters. - ____d. The ideas of the major characters. - ____e. The personality of a character. - ____f. The education of a character. - ____g. Your opinion. The most important character(s) in the story is(are) _____ . He/she/they is/are _____ who _____ . His/her/their most important decision is when _____ . The problem is finally solved when _____ . I liked/disliked _____ because The lessons that _____ teaches is that _____ . I approve/disapprove of the ending because _____ . The only change I might want to make in the story is that _____ . I would recommend this book to other students who _____ because _____ . - 1. Have students research comments in American writers’ diaries, sketchbooks, notebooks, letters, etc. - 2. Have students discuss parallels to actual history. - 3. Try to get students to put characters into comparable roles in real life. - 4. Have them write descriptions of characters. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories - 1. “The Gray Champion” - 2. “The Minister’s Black Veil” - 3. “Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe” - 4. “The Great Carbuncle” - 5. “David Swan” - 6. “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” - 7. “Rappaccini’s Daughter” - 8. “The Great Stone Face” - 9. “The Custom House” - 10. “Endicott and The Red Cross” - 11. “The Maypole of Merry Mount” - 12. “Peter Goldwaite’s Treasure” - 13. “Drowne’s Wooden Image” - 14. “Roger Malvin’s Burial” - 15. “The Snow Image” - 1. Twice-Told Tales - 2. Tales of the Province House - 3. Mosses from An Old Manse - 4. Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales Individual reports will be given in class from this list. - 1. Hawthorne’s Letters - 2. Edgar Allen Poe’s Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales We will get to know how an author reveals character. He may do so (1) by what a character says, (2) by how he says it, (3) by physical description, (4) by psychological description, (5) by probing what he thinks, (6) by what he does, (7) by what others say about him, (8) by his environment, (9) by his reaction to others, (10) by the reaction of other to him. We will stress the importance of observation of surroundings and objects in the background and how important these things are to our reactions and responses. This will help reveal character in stories. Geographical locations, topography, and scenery will strengthen students’ awareness of physical settings. They will see how the author relates character to setting. To get students to understand plot, we will start by finding out where and how they have heard the word “plot” used. I will let them plan things step by step. Then we will follow the chain of events in stories. We will follow character development through one episode after another to a climax and a conclusion. Some emphasis will be placed on how to identify a change of episode. I hope to get students to see how much unity can be given to human experience through the author’s plot. Students will learn to associate fictional characters with human behavior. They will compare themes in the different genres we study. They will learn to contrast pastoral and mechanical, repose and tension, simple and complex, tranquillity and anxiety. We will look for other themes as we work with the unit. Drama will help students realize how the power of language portrays human conditions. Students will see how playwrights create many-faceted characters as well as stereotyped ones. Students will get to know dramatic organization, the purpose of dialogue, climax, variety, human understanding, proportioning by the playwright, and humor and emotional warmth. Students will study transitions between scenes and settings, live action, the difference between comic and serious issues, and tragic consequences. We will discuss the division of plays, and they will create new dialogue and new scenes for a given play. I will review with them various techniques used by playwrights to reveal character. Some of the questions to be asked: What personal qualities do the characters reveal through conversation? Is there a change in character? What foreshadows a certain event or action? We will look for symbolism and imagery. Students will learn how to do role-playing before classmates and will act out scenes they like. This will help them understand human beings and also themselves. They will realize that scripts are for the stage. Examples of class activities: Take a line or your favorite line and write a complete scene; divide class into troupes and rehearse scenes and present each to class; audition for character roles; direct a scene; write out the directions for a character to follow which correspond to the dialogue, including inflections, movement, gestures, lighting and sound; listen to dramatic recordings; and see live plays when possible. Because the form is the meaning in poetry, the skill of reading poetry will be developed. We will discover imagery, symbols, metaphors, paradox, irony, metrics, rhythm, and patterns. Students will work to paraphrase poems and make judgments about them, and to recognize various forms. Working with poems will stimulate their imagination, stimulate their creative ability with words, and help them to understand life. We will collect the best in poetry that contains the ideas of innocence, tradition, salvation, and industrialism and the loss of innocence. Students will get to know how poets use language to achieve a certain stylistic effect. After analyzing style, they should use alternative ways of expressing ideas, construct better sentences, and create a variety of sentences for the right occasion. Various forms of poetry will be studied, such as lyrics, sonnets, narratives, poems, and ballads. We will also touch upon the American hero in American folklore. Writing will be a part of the entire course. Because of the immaturity of students’ construction and interpretation of sentences, I hope to see growth in these areas. I will get students to write all kinds of sentences; simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. This will help them become aware of the form of their language. Topics will be given which they will develop as fully as possible in one sentence. Sentences will grow into paragraphs, compositions, and themes. Well-constructed sentences from literature will be used. An example from The Good Earth: “All through the late spring and early summer the water rose and at last it lay like a great sea, lovely and idle, mirroring cloud and moon and willows and bamboos whose trunks were submerged.” We will write paragraphs after students’ knowledge of sentence sense has increased. After they can write all kinds of sentences well, we will practice writing topic sentences and developing these topic sentences by using details, examples, comparisons, contrasts and summaries and conclusions. We hope to develop unity and clarity of thought. Besides emphasizing the presentation of ideas, we will give attention to the mechanics of writing. Class discussions will be held using the opaque projector to focus in on constant errors made by students. Persistence in errors will be dealt with in individual conferences. During this year’s work, students will practice reading and writing about the best there is in American literature. We will continue to search for the best writings and a variety of styles, forms, and sources. I feel that before I can get my students to read and think critically about American literature, I have to use all the techniques 1 have included. I am expecting to get them to realize that American literature is a definite part of their heritage. I hope to see a change in their attitudes towards reading and in their choices of reading. I am sure students will gain insight into why America is America. |What is talked about in a sentence.||What is said about your subject.| |Simple Subjects||Simple Predicates| |Talk about nouns and pronouns.||Use verbs and verb phrases to talk about nouns and/or pronouns.| |Subjects Modified||Predicates Modified| |Adjectives before and after nouns||Adverbs before and after the verb| |and pronouns.||and/or the verb phrase.| |Subjects with Prepositional||Predicates with Prepositional| |Prepositional phrases used as||Prepositional phrases used as adverbs.| |Noun Clauses as Subjects||Noun Clauses in Predicates| |Gerunds as Subjects||Gerunds in Predicates| |Infinitives as Subjects||Infinitives in Predicates| |Participle Phrases in Predicates| - 1. Subjects are made from nouns and/or pronouns and can have modifiers. - 2. The verb or verb phrase introduces the predicate; everything after the verb is a part of the predicate. Kinds of Sentences - 1. A phrase is a group of words used together. - 2. A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb used together. - 1. Someone discovered that the building was on fire. - 2. The trouble was that she had the pills, but no water. - 3. The idea that matter and energy are different forms of one reality occurred suddenly to the young scholar. - 1. Noun clauses are units of words which are used as nouns: subjects, direct and indirect objects, objects of prepositions, predicate nominatives, objective complements. We streamed with perspiration. We swarmed up the rope. We came into the blast of cold wind. We gasped like men. We plunged into icy water. Streaming with perspiration, we swarmed up the rope, and coming into the blast of cold wind, gasped like men plunged into icy water. Identify each sentence as simple, compound, or complex. Make a sentence for each of the kinds of sentences. - 1. The rear tire needed no air, but the front tire did. _____ - 2. The ball circled the rim of the basket and finally slipped in. _____ - 3. Unless Henry can obtain a scholarship, he may not go to college next fall. _____ - 4. Dad is unhappy about his golf score, which has not been improving lately. _____ - 5. On this tour, you can take a side trip to Disney World at no extra cost. _____ - 6. At the end of the season, the team was given a banquet and was presented with trophies. _____ - 7. The campers said good-bye with regret; they would not meet again for a long time. _____ - 8. The motor sputtered and then stalled. _____ - 9. The motor sputtered before it stalled. _____ - 10. Did you know that the onion is a lily? _____ Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961. Brockway, Wallace, and Keith Winer. A Second Treasury of the World’s Greatest Letters. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940. Brown, Sterling, The Negro in American Fiction. Buell, Lawrence. The Design of Literature. West Haven, Ct.: Pendulum Press Inc., 1973. Burton, Dwight L. Literature Study. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1959. Dorson, Richard. America Begins. 1954. Dorson, Richard. American Folklore. 1959. Earle, Alice Morse. Customs and Fashions in Old New England. Frye, Northrop. On Teaching Literature. New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich Inc., 1972. Goldberg, Gerald J., and Nancy Goldberg. The Modern Critical Spectrum. Englewood, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1962. Howard, Jane, Families. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. Kumar, Shiv K., and Keith Mckean. Critical Approach to Fiction. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1968. Lewis, R. W. B. The American Adam. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1955. Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden. London: Oxford Press, 1972. Puckett, John. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. 1926. Schuster, Lincoln, A Treasury of the World’s Great Letters. 1941. Seynour-Smith, Martin. Who Is Who in Twentieth-Century Literature. Starling, M. The Slave Narrative: Its Place in American Literary History. 1946. Speller, Sharp, Johnson, Canby, Ludwig, and Gibson. Literary History of the United States. New York: 1974. The English Journal 56 (Jan. 1967). Big Woods. New York: Random House, 1953. Who Am I?: Essays on the Alienated. Edited by Ned E. Hoopes, 1969. Snakes. Al Young. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970, The Secret Sharer and Others: A. H. Lass and Norma L. Tasman: Mentor Book; New American Library. Advanced Skills in Reading. Gainsburg; R. C. Library Book 3. American Literature: 4 Representative Types; R. C. Library. The Early Years of American Literature: Wachner et al.. R. C. Library. Invisible Man; Ralph Ellision Of Mice and Men; John Steinbeck; R. C. Lee’s Library. Native Son; Richard Wright; R. C. Library. My Antonia; Willa Cather; R. C. Lee’s Library. The Old Man and the Sea; Ernest Hemingway; R. C. Library. Bloodline; Ernest Gaines. American Hunger; Richard Wright. Childlife in Colonial Days; Alice Morse Earle Gone With The Wind; Mitchell Scarlet Letter; Hawthorne The Auto-Biography of Mrs. Jane Pittman; Gaines Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue & Buyer’s Guide, No. 56. 1894-1895. A Literary Tour Guide to the United States; Northeast: Emilie C. Harting; William Morrow & Co. American Art, 1750-1800; Towards Independence (1976); Yale Publ. Contents of 1978 Volume I | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

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The orphan has long been used as a device in adolescent literature to allow child protagonists to have wondrous adventures that would be stymied by the constraints of parents. Charles Dickens created a plethora of orphans whose parentless state allowed him to explore political, social and ethical issues of the time period. In The Outsiders, Pony boy and his brothers lose their parents in an automobile accident. The boys band together to avoid the threat of foster parents who would change their lives. The parentless child remained a plot device. Often these parentless boys embark on journeys that lead them to maturity. The emotions accompanying such a loss were subtly alluded to but mostly ignored. Only in the past decade have we seen a marked change in how adolescent literature examined the emotional complexities of grief and loss, particularly for adolescent girls. People are uncomfortable discussing grief. During the 1900s, a great silence settled on the subject of death (Aries, 1974). Though Edna St. Vincent Millay once identified childhood as "the kingdom where nobody dies," our students witness thousands of deaths each year on television, while few explore bereavement. The classroom is no exception. Through a student's schooling, teachers read tragic stories from Charlotte's Web to Romeo and Juliet. Yet, we do not deal with the aftermath of loss. We do not teach our students how to mourn for Charlotte the spider or Johnny Cade and Dally Winston or Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. We silently close the book and move on. Our students who suffer personal tragedies have few models from which to draw in addressing their own sorrow. However, in the 1990s, a remarkable trend began in adolescent literature: an exploration of the nature of the grieving process in adolescents. In this article, we focus on how adolescent literature can enable students to examine the specific experience of the motherless daughter. We acknowledge that the discussion of the death of a mother causes discomfort and resistance in some. While these adolescent novels are not the only titles on the topic, we feel they are powerful in reducing the threat of the situation and prompting meaningful dialogue. Each novel has been recognized as superior. We have each taught these books in middle school classrooms and found them to have merit. We will look at these novels in the chronological order of publication to see the evolution of the archetype of the motherless daughter from the 1960s to the present day. In addition, we will be utilizing the work of texts on grief and loss and how they relate to the motherless daughter to examine the nature of both bereavement and acceptance as explored in adolescent literature. In Jean Craighead George's absorbing novel, Julie of the Wolves, Julie's mother died when Julie was but four years old. The character of the mother and her impact on Julie are only briefly discussed. In a short passage that opens Part II of the novel, Julie recalls a walk with her father on the day of her mother's death. She recollects not being sad, but rather being happy to be with her father. She remembers how her father said that the cries of the animals sounded as if they were grieving with him. In Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss, Hope Edelman notes that young children do not have the understanding to deal with death. They do not understand the loss or the process of grief. Their bereavement process is often protracted. They often must wait to grieve until the surviving parent has mourned. Only then can the child grieve safely (1995) . George acknowledges this through julie's actions in the Newbery Award-winning novel. Her anger is directed at her aunt. Edelman explains that a motherless daughter chooses a woman as a replacement figure. Instead of detaching from her lost mother, a daughter may try to quickly and directly transfer her feelings of dependency, her needs, and her expectations onto the nearest available adult. The woman can be a relative, a teacher, or a family friend who plays a strong role in the child's development. During adolescence, the motherless daughter will then rebel and gain autonomy from this woman. For Julie, that person is her aunt Martha. In early adolescence, Julie escapes from her aunt's home into an arranged marriage. Yet, no effort is made in the text to further explicitly examine Julie's grief for the loss of her mother. She is only mentioned in passing. The text concludes with Julie's desire to reconcile with her father. The death of Julie's mother essentially remains a plot device to free the character for a wilderness adventure. Julie's grief is silenced. Anna, 11, is one of the few motherless daughters in adolescent literature who is not an only child. She is the older sister to Caleb. Edelman states that a motherless daughter who is also the oldest child assumes the role of family historian. Patricia MacLachlan's poignant novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall, opens with Anna recounting the story of Caleb's birth and their mother's subsequent death. Caleb is listening and offering details, indicating that Anna has told this story many times before. The role of family historian is only one in a pattern of service this motherless daughter accepts. Edelman reminds us that early loss is a maturing experience. Another pattern of service is the daughter'S assumption of her mother's role in the household, since no other older female relative exists to assume the tasks. Set in the prairie of the late 19th century, the story shows Anna labors in the home, undertaking many of the chores of her late mother. MacLachlan does little to explore Anna's emotions regarding her mother's demise. In the opening passage, Anna ends her account of her brother's birth with her mother's dying words, "Is he beautiful?" Caleb answers for Anna, "And I was" (1985, 4). But Anna secretly and vehemently disagrees. She tells herself that he was homely and plain. He had a terrible holler and a horrid smell. She remembers going to bed thinking of how wretched he looked. In this sequence, we get a hint of the rage Anna feels about the death of her mother. Following this moment, Anna's grief, like Julie's in Julie of the Wolves, remains silent. It becomes secondary to the story of the arrival of Sarah Wheaton from Maine and her romance with Anna's father. For a long period, the cultural norm has been for the bereaved to be silent and move on (Stephenson 1985). Much adolescent literature prior to the 1990s reinforced this concept by keeping grief felt by protagonists unspoken. Salamanca Hiddle lost her mother in a bus accident when she was twelve. Shortly after the death, Salamanca's father plucked her up like a weed and the two of them moved three hundred miles away to begin a new life. However, she has no interest living in a neighborhood of tiny homes jammed together like birdhouses. Nor is she interested in the stiffly dressed kids at her new school. She especially has no interest in knowing her father's fond new acquaintance, Margaret Cadaver. Sal simply wants everything to be like it was. Sharon Creech's landmark story, Walk Two Moons, unfolds as Salamanca takes a week-long road trip with her grandparents to follow the steps of her mother's journey; a trip that ultimately leads to the site of Mrs. Hiddle's demise. It is a trip her father had made alone nearly twelve months earlier. Now it is Salamanca's turn to acknowledge the death of her mother. The grieving process in adolescence is frequently characterized by an attack of emotions including fear, resentment, abandonment, guilt, and anger (Edelman, 1995). Creech's development of Salamanca's character allows her to illustrate these feelings. For instance, Sal is afraid. When she and her father move to Euclid, the first thing she does is to unpack all of the gifts and remembrances from her mother and display them around the room. Without them, Sal fears the memory of her mother will disappear completely. Salamanca's fear continues to be seen as she suggests the journey with her grandparents is a trip she is not eager to take, but one she has to take. In fact, even though her grandparents describe the jaunt as an opportunity to "see the whole ding-dong country," Sal only wants to see her momma but acknowledges that she is also afraid. In addition to her fear, Salamanca is angry, especially at the relationship developing between her father and Margaret Cadaver. Creech often characterizes Sal as feeling "particularly ornery" and accentuates the awareness of her behavior. She tells the reader, "Whenever anyone tried to console me about my mother, I had nearly chomped their heads off." Although she feels miserable and lost, she will never admit it. Instead, Salamanca feels she has to cry by herself. Edelman explains ornery behavior like Salamanca's by reminding us that mourning hurts. It requires these girls to take a risk, to lose control of emotions. In order to take this risk, they need to feel a safety from the remaining parent who has already begun the healing process. Therefore, adolescent girls begin to grieve six to nine months after the death of their mother. Not until Salamanca visits the site of her mother's grave a year later that she is able to face her sorrow and begin to move toward acceptance. In fact, Salamanca buries her grief as she remains in denial about her mother's death. Psychologist Judith Mishne writes, "The avoidance of the finality of the loss is supported by fantasies of the parents return" ("Parental Abandonment," 1987, 17). In the same way, Salamanca tells us, "When my mother did not return, I imagined all sorts of things. Maybe she had cancer and didn't want to tell us and was hiding in Idaho. Maybe she got knocked on the head and had amnesia and was wandering around Lewiston, not knowing who she was, or thinking she was someone else." Salamanca needs to feel that her mother is coming back and refuses to believe her father saying those reasons are "fishes in the air." Even when the journey to Idaho begins, Sal expresses an extreme urgency in getting to Lewiston by her mother's birthday so they would have a chance at bringing her home. "I had been praying that a miracle would happen and my mother would come back and we would return to Bybanks and everything would be exactly as it used to be." But once Salamanca saw the wreckage of the accident, she knew things would never be the same. When Salamanca finally returns to Bybanks, she learns that she can still live on the farm, she still climb the sugar maple tree, and she can still miss her mother, too. In A Girl Named Disaster, Nancy Farmer's engrossing tale of a young girl's maturation in the rural Africa of Zimbabwe and later Mozambique, we are shown how one motherless daughter utilizes idealization of the deceased as a normal response to loss. The tragic death of Nhamo's mother, Runako, haunts her daughter. A leopard killed Runako when Nhamo was three years old. The animal came into the hut, struck, and dragged the young mother's lifeless body back into the jungle. The bereaved move toward acceptance when they can visualize the face of the deceased at peace. Virginia Woolf, who was thirteen when her mother died, wrote, "Youth and death shed a halo through which it is difficult to see a real face" (A Sketch of the Past 15). Nhamo cannot recall her mother's face. She supplements her mother's face with that of a model in an advertisement torn from a magazine. The woman, clean and well dressed, is serving margarine and bread to a little girl. Nhamo treasures the picture. She speaks to it daily as if her mother were still alive. Rather than surmising her mother's face looks like one of the weather-beaten women of her village, Nhamo idealizes her mother as having the features of a magazine model. Edelman writes that because girls love their mothers they want them to be flawless when they lived. Girls honor their mothers by granting them posthumous perfection, and soothe themselves by creating the mothers they wish they had had. One of the key reasons mothers cannot be replaced when they are gone is that there is confusion as to who is missed -the ideal mother or the real one (Davidman 2000). Though deceased, Runako plays a vital role in a novel where spirits can and do converse with the living. When Nhamo is forced to flee her village in a leaking fishing boat and becomes lost on a great lake, she freely converses with her mother's spirit who responds. Nhamo hears her mother's voice as "sweet and low" (Farmer, 1996, 293). This is an idealized voice that would match the appearance of a model in a magazine advertisement. Later, after a severe illness, Nhamo comes to believe a female doctor is her mother, because of the physician's resemblance to the model in the advertisement. Nhamo transfers her mother's identity to the woman who cares for her during an illness. This idealized maternal figure is highly intelligent, a quality Runako was said to have possessed. Only when Nhamo sees a photograph of her mother and hears the true story of Runako's life is Nhamo able to separate the image of her mother from the advertisement and to come to terms with her grief. Nhamo has established herself as an independent person without feeling she has abandoned the memory of her mother. A daughter who is an only child suffers a different loss when her mother dies. Because she received more attention from her mother, her loss is greater, according to Edelman. That is true in Karen Hesse's remarkable novel, Out of the Dust. The novel, written in first person, free verse poems, follows 14-year-old Billie Jo Kelby through a journey of healing that begins with her mother's accidental, yet horrific death. Set in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, the community holds both Billie Jo and her father jointly responsible. After the death of the mother, the relationship between a father and his only child changes. Billie Jo comments, "I don't know my father anymore ... I am awkward and irritated ... We are both changing. We are shifting to fill in the empty spaces left by Ma." The effort is not successful. A nurturing, caring, unconditionally loving mother is so central to our idea of family that it is virtually impossible to have a family with out her (Davidman 2000). Sometimes motherless daughters feel the impulse to become perfect so their father won't leave them too. During her first Christmas without her mother, Billie Jo aches that she never had mother teach her to make a special cranberry sauce. Billie Jo laments that being there without her mother would not have been so bad if she had remembered the cranberry sauce her father so enjoyed. In reality, it is not cranberry sauce that is creating distance between father and daughter. The death of her mother has left Billie Jo and her father alone. Not knowing how to cope with the death, their relationship begins to disintegrate. Edelman reminds us that a child who loses a parent cannot exist alone emotionally without significant cost. Billie Jo desperately yearns for her father's love, but they no longer know how to talk with one another. Billie Jo states, "My father and I, we can't soothe each other. I'm too young, he's too old, and we don't know how to talk anymore if we ever did" (Hesse 153). Time progresses and the relationship diminishes further. "I have given my father so many chances to understand, to reach out, to love me. He once did. I remember his smile, his easy talk. Now there's nothing easy between us" (Hesse 195). Ultimately Billie Jo leaves her father. Unable to find solace, this motherless daughter hopes to abandon her loneliness when she latches on to an abandoned boxcar and heads west. She is not gone long. During her journey, Billie Jo learns a life on the road is even more lonely than the life at home. Upon her return, she and her father begin to find healing, acceptance, peace, and forgiveness: As we walk together, side by side, in the swell of dust, I am forgiving him, step by step, for the pail of kerosene. As we walk together, side by side, in the sole-deep dust, I am forgiving myself for the rest. (Out of the Dust 206) Suicide brings with it a legacy of confusion, guilt, blame, hostility, stigma and feelings of rejection. Social stigma compounds problems created by a suicide. The potent mechanism of denial may prompt the bereaved to unconsciously create acceptable stories. That is all true for Miracle McCloy. In a book that is controversial for its inclusion of Ouija boards and self-immolation, the effort undertaken by this motherless daughter to find inner peace is profound. Named by her maternal grandmother Gigi, Miracle was born immediately after her mother was killed. Sissy, nine months pregnant, was struck by an ambulance. "It didn't seem natural, a live baby coming out of the dead body of a dead woman. Gigi said it was the greatest miracle ever to come down the pike," reads the opening passage of Han Nolan's powerful novel, Dancing on the Edge (3). Children who have lost their mothers feel they no longer have a stable foundation in their lives (Davidman 2000). The narrative of this novel follows Miracle as she leads an unconventional life filled with isolation and unspoken grief. Her father leaves one night during Miracle's first attempt to connect with her dead mother's spirit using the Ouija board. The grandmother Gigi denies the truth of her son's departure as a rejection of her. She creates a fanciful tale that has Dane vanishing in the flames of the candles in his basement bedroom. Miracle grieves the loss of both her dead mother and absent father until her torment is extreme. She sets herself afire to follow her father. While hospitalized and partaking in therapy, Miracle confronts the truth of her mother's death: I saw Mama sad, the way she was in the picture of her on the iron gate. I saw her standing on the side of the street looking down the road to check for traffic. I saw her watching the ambulance, waiting for it to pass, its siren screaming, blocking out her own thoughts, her ability to reason, there wasn't time. There was just the screaming siren, the speeding truck, there was no time to think, she just did it, she stepped in front of the ambulance. She let it hit her, I saw it. I knew how it was. I had always known. I had always known! (Dancing on the Edge 217). Children grieve differently than adults. Their process is lengthened, extending throughout their development as their cognitive and emotional abilities mature. Miracle and some of our students cannot address the death of their mothers before they are ready. Yet, as Edelman suggests, all ties, both positive and negative, have to be evaluated before a daughter can reconcile her mother's death and move on. There is no more suitable time to discuss the concept of forgiveness than in the wake of a suicide. This is the teachable moment. Students can learn to forgive the deceased and forgive themselves for any guilt they may hold. This is critical to the healing process. Later Miracle proclaims, "I didn't need Mama to make me feel real ... I was real ... It was knowing the truth -all of it. The truth made me real" (Dancing on the Edge 234). In her landmark research and subsequent writings about death and dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified the five stages of grief and loss -anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Kubler-Ross 1969). Award-winning author Norma Fox Mazer sends 13-year-old Sara beth Silver on a journey through these stages following the untimely fatal heart attack of her 29-year-old mother, Jane Halley Silver. Sarabeth changes following the death of her mother. "You're not the person you used to be. Jane would cry to see you," warns Cynthia, Sara beth's mother's best friend, and now Sarabeth's temporary guardian (Girlhearts 157). Others notice the change. Her friend Patty, a sexual abuse survivor, tells Sara beth, "You're all closed up; you're like a room with no doors and no windows" (Girlhearts 150). The character of Chester Jay Travisino, Sarabeth's social worker, allows Mazer to speak directly to the grieving process and specifically to issues of anger present in one suffering from grief and loss: This 'yeah, yeah' stuff is telling me you're depressed. You're mad, really mad. And we both know why. You're mad at your mother for dying. Simple as that. Listen you can admit it. Nobody'll put you in jail for being angry about her deserting you. (Girlhearts 93) Through the narrative, Sara beth does confront her anger, as well as her denial, her depression, and ultimately her acceptance. In the closing of the novel, Sara beth has a dream of her mother. They share a moment together. Finally Sarabeth acknowledges the realization that she will never forget her mother nor will her mother forget her. "And the happiness I felt was extraordinary." Traditionally we shield children from the grim finality of death. Girlhearts does not shield the adolescent reader from Sarabeth's raw emotions. Kubler-Ross spent her life writing about how death shapes experience. Advocating that children should not be hidden from a friend or a family member who is dying, she writes, "If we shield the canyons from the winds, we would never know the beauty of their carvings" (Kubler-Ross xix). In Motherless Daughters, Phyllis Silverman, M.D., director of the Child Bereavement Study at Massachusetts General Hospital, stated that asking girls to sever ties to the past may only confound bereavement. When one loses her mother, the intervals between grief responses lengthen over time, but the longing never disappears. Edelman explains that grief always hovers at the edge of her awareness, prepared to surface at any time, in any place in the least expected ways. As educators, we have choices. Many novels we teach begin or end in death. We can opt to turn away from those students who grieve and dismiss their emotion as the result of effective storytelling. Traditionally we shield children from the grim finality of death. Those who work with children confronted by death tell us that this is an error. Girls enveloped in grief and loss feel anger, denial, and depression. Purposefully or not, we encourage denial. Societal rules regarding anger are different for young men than young women. Young women who exhibit rage are not in keeping with the traditional feminine behavior of many cultures. An adolescent who has lost the primary female role model in her life wants to conform. She wants the other females in her life to like her. The teenage girl who thinks her mother's absence will make her appear different or abnormal will often avoid talking about the loss or revealing any anger or depression to her friends. The motherless daughter is also coping with rejection. "My mother left me." The argument is not rational, but the feeling of rejection is real. The notion exists that grief is a finite process that can be resolved (Davidman 2000). Grief does not end. Motherless daughters revisit their loss at significant moments in their lives—graduation, awards night, first date, a break up with a serious boyfriend, birthdays, Mother's Day. The motherless daughter misses her mother at these and other significant moments. No one story should be expected to offer a complete philosophy, to portray all the stages of grief and adherence to the "typical" set of circumstances (Radley, 1999). Literary characters can provide experiences and actions to guide readers to empathy or to model positive choices. As educators, we have the opportunity of enriching the study of adolescent literature by expanding into the realm of profound relevancy for not only those students who address grief and loss in their lives but every student by providing a greater depth of understanding of bereavement and acceptance -the reality of death, the importance of connecting with others, the power of forgiveness, the ability to feel joy without guilt, and the freedom of truth. James Lovelace is the Assistant Principal at Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose, California, and was a teacher of middle school English for 20 years. Laura Howell Smith is a new mother who taught middle school English for five years. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Aries, P. Western Attitudes Toward Death: From the Middle Ages to the Present. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1974. Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. HarperCollins Juvenile Books: New York, 1994. Davidman, L. (2000). Motherloss. University of California Press: Berkeley, 2000. Edelman, H. Letters from Motherless Daughters: Words of Courage, Grief, and Healing. Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA,1996. Edelman, H. Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss. Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1995. Farmer, Nancy. A Girl Named Disaster. Orchard Books: New York, 1996. George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. Harpercollins Juvenile Books: New York, 1973. Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Scholastic: New York, 1997. Kubler-Ross, E. On Children and Death. New York: Macmillan, 1983. Kubler-Ross, E. On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Mazer, N. F. Girlhearts. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Mishne,].. "Parental abandonment: A unique form of loss and narcissistic injury." Clinical Social Work Journal 7, fall,1979. Nolan, Han. Dancing on the Edge. Harcourt Brace: New York,1997. McLachlan, P. Sarah Plain and Tall. HarperCollins Juvenile Books: New York, 1985. Radley, Gail. "Coping with death in young adult literature." The ALAN Review, volume 7, number 1, fall, 1999, 1416. Stephenson,]. Death, Grief, and Mourning: Individual and Social Realities. Free Press: New York, 1967. Woolf, Virginia. "A sketch of the past." Moments of Being. Harvest/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York, 1985.

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The Greek Myths William Harris, Prof. Em. Middlebury College Preface and Historical Background Euhemerus was a Greek philosopher who lived about 330-260 B.C. who is known mainly for his radical interpretations of the Greek myths, which he felt were part of a long historical tradition by which the Gods were originally men, known for some great historical feat or some important social and cultural advancement and later raised to god-hood. This view was current in Greek intellectual circles and was popular in the early Christian period as well, probably as a way of defusing the idea of pagan religion. The principal materials were handed down in the writing of Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca Historica: Book VI, (Loeb Library ed. Vol. 3, transl. C. H. Oldfather, HUP 1970): Diodorus presents Euhemerus as a friend of king Cassander, first ruler of Macedonia after the death of Alexander, on the throne no more than four years until his death. It was Cassander who sent Euhemerus to sea on international expeditions, going southward from Arabia for a number of days, before carried ashore on the island of Panchaea where he found inhabitants worship their gods with magnificent sacrifices. He found a temple to Zeus, in which there was a writing telling the deeds of Uranus, Cronus and Zeus when they were men in a fully human status. Certain of the gods, they say, are eternal and imperishable, such as the sun and the moon and the other stars of the heavens, and the winds as well and whatever else possesses a nature similar to theirs; for of each of these the genesis and duration are from everlasting to everlasting. But the other gods, we are told, were terrestrial beings who attained to immortal honor and fame because of their benefactions to mankind, such as Heracles, Dionysus, Aristaeus, and the others who were like them. Regarding these terrestrial gods many and varying accounts have been handed down by the writers of history and of mythology; of the historians, Euhemerus, who composed the Sacred History, has written a special treatise about them, while, of the writers of myths, Homer and Hesiod and Orpheus and the others of their kind have invented rather monstrous stories about the gods. Euhemerus says that Uranus was the first to be king, that he was an honorable man and beneficent, who was versed in the movement of the stars, and that he was also the first to honor the gods of the heavens with sacrifices, whence he was called Uranus, or "Heaven". There were born to him by his wife Hestia two sons, Titan and Cronus, and two daughters, Rhea and Demeter. Cronus became king after Uranus, and marrying Rhea he begat Zeus and Hera and Poseidon. And Zeus, on succeeding to the kingship, married Hera and Demeter and Themis, and by them he had children, the Curetes by the first named, Persephone by the second, and Athena by the third. And going to Babylon he was entertained by Belus, and after that he went to the island of Panchaea, which lies in the ocean, and here he set up an altar to Uranus, the founder of his family. The materials relating to Euhemerus were first collected in a small volume by the Hungarian scholar Nemethy in 1889. New edition of the materials by Marek Winiarczyk: Euhemerus Messenius: Reliquiae, Hamburg 1994, and the Dissertation of H. F. van der Meer, Amsterdam 1949 (Dutch) Euhemerism and Mythic History This study investigates the Greek myths as a thinly cloaked chapter in an ancient Historical Tradition, which goes far back into the history of the Near East. A captious critic of conservative cast might call this approach Cultural Materialism, while many who have read and loved the Greek stories as highschool students will resent a theory which threatens the pleasure of the days when they were entranced with their Bulfinch's Mythology. The Myths themselves have no real basis in a Greek "Theology", which never was developed at any period.. The Mystery Religions which coursed through Hellenic culture from Homer to Christ were the real "Religion" of the Hellenic world, but their myths which were secret are ill known and generally had small influence outisde the cults.. But the Myths do have many traces of historical fact, much of it going back to a Pre-Greek period, even into the third millennium BCE. Examining these considerations critically is the core of the twelve chapters of this study. The ancient Greek myths are a familiar part of the intellectual background of Western society. Along with the materials of the Old Testament and New Testament, Greek mythology supplies a variety of names, situations and awarenesses which no educated person can ignore. Reading the Greek and Roman literary Classics, one is constantly confronted with mythological references, and this is equally true of our English Classics, which from the Renaissance on used Classical mythological names and references as a part of the modern Western cultural tradition. The Greek and also the Hebraic traditions did contribute many of the views and traditions which crystallized in the mind of modern Western society. But it was from Charles Bulfinch's popularizing book (The age of Fable, l855) that Greek mythology became a part of the English language consciousness, while mythical motifs reappeared indirectly in painting, sculpture and the curious Greek Revival architecture in America. Even now elementary school classes learn the more common stories about the Greek gods, especially those which present material consonant with our society's esthetics and morals, while the less attractive tales of incest, murder and cannibalistic atrocities are conveniently avoided. For the Romans the Greek myths were readily available, and since they reflected the values and status of the literary models of the Greek world, they were often used for largely illustrative and decorative purposes. We see a fascination with the Greek stories in Ovid's and Propertius' poetry, but sheer proliferation of mythologizing tends to become an end in itself. Mythological "references" in Propertius are often nothing more than literary "asides" for the recognition of an educated class of readers, while the poet's value lies more in his personal and subjective processes than in the mythological trimming. For earlier authors Aeschylos and especially Pindar, the myths were intertwined with the poet's meaning in an inextricable interplay of forces, but already in the Hellenistic period and especially in Alexandrian circles the Greek myths were either reference points for new treatments of traditional themes, or used for purely decorative effects. By the time Apollodoros' Library of Mythology was put together about l50 B.C. for literary readers' use, the myths had become a web of stories which had lost both religious and historical significance. When the Roman learned his mythology out of Julius Hyginus' strange little abridgment in Latin, he was familiarizing himself with materials which he would find useful in his Classical reading, much as the modern student of literature uses his pocket dictionary of mythology to decode Milton's Paradise Lost or the Greek Drama which is on his reading list. When one compares Greek mythology with the myth cycles of the Indian tradition, one sees immediately that there is a vast difference between the two. The Indian myths have as wide a story-telling range as the Greek myths, but they have also been incorporated into, and also formed by a strong religious tradition. They are used to develop philosophical points, to indicate moral choices, and to reinforce sincere religious views if value to the society. Part of the reason for this transparency of purpose lies in the fact that there is a continuous religious tradition which extends with many changes from Vedic to modern times, even as Hinduism became fused and amalgamated with Buddhism, to reappear later as the dominant religious system of India. Within this long, living tradition the position of the myths in India is full of new developments but their use is relatively stable and clear.Working with the Greek myths carefully, I have always felt that they are far more History than Storytelling. Their theological and philosophical content is questionable and can often seem evanescent. We do know the Greeks were early in contact with India by the 7th century BC, and I believe some thoughtful Greeks absorbed some of the format of the Indian myths while entirely missing their religious and philosophical penchant. But most of the the Greek myths reach further back into the history of migrations into Europe from the Near East, and represent a different segment of historical evolution. I and many others have found the mythic interpretations of Joseph Campbell misleading and embarked on an entirely wrong track. But Campbell achieved a certain degree of public fame in the decades before his death. I feel we should not leave the public with an impression of Campbell as the major authority in this area. Campbell started his studies with serious interest in the Hindu myths, which are remarkable examples of myth, story and philosophy rolled into one. But then he returned to the Greek materials, with a conviction that they were analogous to the Indian corpus and throughout his long career he preached the message of the Indian doctrine on very different Greek social and textual grounds. It is no pleasure to discredit Campbell under the adage "Nihil de mortuis nisi malum...", but his loose and uncritical treatment of Greek myths as a close cousin of the Indian mythologies, which has become popular in the last few decades, has led us on an entirely wrong path. The Greek myths had no regular religious structure or "Theology" to reinforce popular belief, since Greek religion never became institutionalized beyond the needs of the individual city-state. Myths became formalized and politicalized after the fifth century, and in the Hellenistic period they became more of a political or even literary tradition than a religious phenomenon. It was the ancient Mystery Cults which were the real religion of the Greeks, from the time of Homer down into the Hellenistic Period, even with some features which were absorbed into early Christianity.The myths were reduced to a complicated system of formalized storytelling, largely bereft of historical and the earlier pre-Greek associations. Greek mythology turned into a formalized political apparatus with specific associations and rituals assigned to each city-state, but it could also be used as entertainment for a literary Hellenistic society. It is in this mode that it appeared in Bulfinch's l9th century translation as a delightful set of stories from the ancient world, arranged,compacted and regularized for modern readers. Beyond being entertaining and useful for understanding the Classics read in translation and our older English poetry, what do the Classical myths tell us? Often their meaning is obscure, contradictory and (if taken literally) frightening. One might well ask if there is another way of approach. Euhemeros, a Greek writer on myth and mythic history in the early third century B.C. had already suggested an alternate path of interpretation for myths, his views were widely known in the ancient world, and the fact that he did develop a new method of approach shows that even in the Classical period people were not satisfied with the traditional, story-cycle approach to mythology. His methods were of a sort that educated Hellenistic Greeks could understand and use. His ideas enjoyed a considerable vogue in the Hellenistic world, although their extension was limited by the accusation of atheism which was leveled against their founder. In the Christian period Euhemeros' theories were used in another way, to demonstrate the man-made and hence harmless notions of the Greek gods, and his notions became a stock demonstration of the futility of the heathen world's atheistic theology. In the last two centuries we have learned a great deal about man's behavior from the formal fields of sociology, psychology, political science and economics. Archaeology has thrown a whole new light upon man's recently unknown past, while anthropology has broadened the scope of all studies of the human condition. Scientific aids, such as carbon-dating methods and pollen identification, as well as information gathered by students of the history of science, have extended our range of inquiry far beyond what the ancient Greek could have imagined. This "new thought" must be present in any serious study of humankind, and much of this material is so important and pervasive that it simply cannot be ignored. Our study of Man's history extends from the very beginning of humankind some five millions years ago, to the time after the last glacial retreat, when much factual material about the rise of civilization as a social phenomenon starts to appear. A great deal of light on the human condition can be elicited from the rich matrix of human history interpreted in the light of the newly evolving disciplines, and it is in this spirit that the present study of Greek mythology is undertaken. Euhemeristic interpretation of myth has much to work with in conjunction with modern studies of myth as part of the human social and historical record. The Greek myths are of two sorts. Some are what can be called the "mythic" myths, which are stories which find ways of telling important things about difficult and even ineffable matters through stories. Some of the Greek myths explore profound matters and have through the ages challenged people with examples of serious thought, these are the true and spiritual myths, which abundantly deserve religious and philosophical study, and constitute to a major section of Greek thought. A second much larger group may be called the "historical" myths. These are the ones which Euhemeros identified and began to interpret, and it is these which the present study will discuss. Many of the myths, when viewed as mythology will seem confusing, self-contradictory and somewhat pointless as myths, but this is because are historical records of social and historical events which lose their meaning when read as quasi-religious mythology. And when the historical mythology loses its original social and historical factuality, it becomes inane and superficial. Over the years it has become common to tell and retell the myths as imaginative stories, leaving historical origins aside, rather than trying to fathom an original meaning. A partial parallel may be seen in the fossilized Mother Goose stories which date from l8th century England. Children and their elders still enjoy telling and retelling the traditional tales about Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and the old lady who lived in a shoe, but most of us have no idea of they mean, if they do mean anything. Historical studies have shown that these stories once had pertinent, often trenchant political meaning, but for most of us, they are amusing but essentially meaningless. Yet by being familiar and historically "indestructible", they do form a part of our cultural baggage, meaning left quite aside. We can enjoy the mouse who went up the clock, without having any idea of what he was doing and that the story means. Appreciation of most of the Greek myths is exactly of this nature, we know and retell and enjoy Greek mythology without having much idea of what it is really about. The germ of the idea behind the present study goes back to Euhemerus, a writer on mythology who flourished about 300 B.C. at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedonia. Very little is known about his life, even the place of his birth is disputed, the date of his death is unknown, and there are no personal particulars to give us a better idea of the man. He is known chiefly as the author of a book called The Sacred History, which purports to be based on inscriptional material found on the island of Panchaea while traveling around the coast of Arabia Felix. These inscriptions have never been taken to be any more real than the imaginary island of Panchaea, but the Sacred History also outlines the theory for which Euhemerus' name is famous. Euhemeros seems to have picked up some parts of his theory of interpretation from eastern sources which he heard of on his travels, but some parts of his theory may come from Greek sources, or even from his own imagination. This study proceeds with an analysis of the Greek myths partly analogous to Euhemeros' outline. His scant material has been collected by Nemethy (Euhemeri Reliquiae, Budapest l889), as a source of what later became the Euhemeristic school of interpretation of the Greek myths. His suggestions seem perhaps hesitant or tntative, either because they were not well developed in ancient times, or because our historical information about them is so fragmentary. This study will graft onto the Euhemeristic rootstock, a number of concepts and sources of information which are available at the present time. Using Euhemeros' original and authentically Greek interpretations as a starting point, we can go a great deal further than he would have gone, probably further than he could have imagined. Some of the inscriptions Euhemerus cites claimed to have come from Greece proper, others from "Panchaia" which may be as far away as Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The Sacred History has never been taken seriously as a document, but a full and entertaining description of Euhemerus' travels among the Panchaeans is found in Diodorus Siculus (V, c. 4l-46), which at first glance might seem to belong somewhere in the imaginative range between Psalmanazer's 1702 description of Formosa and Gulliver's Travels. But we have more skills these days about processing of presumed "fake" data for bits of fact, enough perhaps to make rereading the Sacra Historia worthwhile, if it is undertaken by someone competent in ancient Near Eastern history. One may wonder why Euhemerus was traveling in the Near East in the first place. He was authorized to travel there by Cassander who found himself passed over after Alexander's death as ruler of Macedonia, a position which he clearly expected not only because he was ambitious, but also since he had married Alexander's half-sister Thessalonica. After killing Alexander's son Alexander, and Alexander's wife Roxana, and making connections with various powers, he did finally become ruler of Macedonia in 30l, just four years before his death. Everything that Cassander did, seems to have been done in opposition to Alexander. He worked against Alexander's family, against the assignment of rule in the empire, and he even rebuilt Thebes, which Alexander had previously razed. Hence it is not surprising that the chapter of Alexander's history, his trip to the East and specifically to India, should have been the one thing which Cassander could not equal. When he sent Euhemerus to the East on an exploratory cultural-historical mission, he probably thought he was ensuring for his memory the kind of fame which Alexander had accrued in his lifetime as world-king in Greece and abroad. Euhemerus' name would have probably been consigned to the library files of antiquity forever, had he not incorporated in his writing the one idea which made his name famous. He maintained that heroes and gods were actually men of note, who were commemorated for their achievements by being relegated to divine status by a grateful populace. It has been suggested that this idea was drawn from Indian or Arabian sources, which Euhemerus may have picked up in his travels either from written materials or from discussion with the natives. Whatever the origin of this singular idea, the ancient world fastened onto it with great interest, since it promoted a train of historical thinking about the gods and heroes which few people in Greece had contemplated. Euhemerus' theory proposed that the divine and semi-divine personages of myth were just people, perhaps remarkable people, but actually humans and not of divine origin. For some people Euhemerus was considered an evil man, oras the poet Callimachos put it "an idly babbling old man", or still worse, an atheist, although for Hellenistic scholars his name was not identified with atheism. But the Christians took an opposite tack. If one could prove that the gods of antiquity were mere human fabrications, whether they were so constructed for bad or for good reasons, Christians can get rid of the weight of millennia of pagan thought with one swift stroke. This is rendered even more plausible when it is suggested that Euhemerus himself was an atheist. From this odd notion comes the important flow of Christian comment and quotation on this author, to which we owe a great deal of our knowledge of Euhemerus and his theories. A great deal of this material is hopelessly garbled, not only because of slanted arguments which the Christians were using, but also because they had almost no authentic material at hand on which to base their views. Second-hand historical criticism, especially when done with a zealot's vengeance, is not a good source for exact information, but this is exactly the case of the many Christian apologists who rehandled Euhemeros' name in the interests of proving old errors and establishing the true faith. In l889 Geyza Nemethy brought together everything that is known about Euhemerus (G. Nemethy: Euhemeria Reliquiae, Budapest l889), and this material was carefully sifted through by Jacoby in his article on Euhemerus (Pauly Wissowa s.v. Euhemerus). Much of the ancient material is thin and disappointing, especially when one considers the serious studies in the Euhemeristic spirit which have been undertaken since the l8th century, starting with Banier's "Explication de la Fable, Expliquee par la Histoire ", the l9th century factualizing historians and even the sociology of Herbert Spencer. Cicero intelligently remarks that "Those who maintain that famous and important men after their death became the gods to whom we pray and bow.... are these men not actually immune to religion? This kind of thinking has been developed by Euhemerus, which our Roman Ennius later translated and interpreted. But it is Euhemerus who has portrayed the deaths and burials of the gods. Does he (Euhemerus) seem on the one hand to have provided a factual base for religion, or has he actually removed the need for it?" (Cicero De Natura Deorum I 42). One wonders why, with all the rich Greek literary materials available, the 3 c. BC Roman poet Ennius chose to translate the work of Euhemerus. It may have been that the Romans were uneasy with the superior status of the Greek deities as compared to their own familiar if shadowy Animistic spirits, and wanted an explanation which rendered these distant theological concepts more understandable. If they turned to debunking them by analysis, it suits well the hardheaded, practical Romans, who were at work developing a few things on their own, like Rustic Comedy and the genre of Satire. Most people in the third century B.C. would still have been aware of the subtleties of the old Roman animistic beliefs, which carried their own interpretation for a perceptive country folk . If the Greek gods and heroes were not interpretable, they would seem inaccessible, and in such a quandary Ennius' interest in approaching Euhemerus' doctrine seems reasonable. Since Ennius' translation with his own commentary has disappeared and is known only from slight references, there is little more that we can draw from this source. Sextus Empiricus is not the best witness for subtle thought, he is as often disappointing in his remarks about early Greek philosophical figures as he is informative. But in the case of Euhemeros he is the only source which gives a clear and unequivocal statement of his basic views, and his remarks can serve as a general introduction to Euhemeristic thought: "In the days when life was unsettled, those who were superior to the others in strength and intelligence, so as to get greater control over the rest (figuring that they might seem more remarkable and serious), fabricated the story that there was some surpassing and, as it were, divine power about their persons, and it is from this that they were venerated by the people as gods." This is an extension of the rule of "man is the measure of all things", to the role of "measure of the gods". Man made the gods, and in a typically Greek mode, made them out of human forms and notions, and even eventually from human beings who had died. Xenophanes had said in parallel spirit some centuries earlier "if oxen and lions had hands which enabled them to draw, they would portray their gods as having bodies like their own, horses would portray them as horses, and oxen as oxen". Moreover he noted "Ethiopians have gods with flat noses and black hair, Thracians have gods with blue (glaukos!) eyes and red hair." With such well known statements serving as intellectual background, Euhemeros' words would not have been surprising to the educated Greek public. However he does, as Cicero remarked, work this process in reverse, and the results of his theorizing can finally dispense with deity altogether. In the history of the West after the Greek period, divification is common. It started with the cult of Romulus and the Roman founding fathers, who are not actually deified, but given a special position of respect and veneration in the Roman consciousness. The serious tone in which the Augustan poets speak of these early heroic figures at Rome marks a semi-religious sanctity which verges more on the religious than on the historical side. The formal divification of Caesar and the Roman Emperors follows easily from Greek myths, from the old idea Eastern Monarchs were gods in their own right, and from the old Roman hero tradition. As Christianity gathered strength and numbers within the Roman world, it too found the practice of sanctifying certain holy men with the title of "saint" to be a useful focus for public veneration. The transition from humanness to godliness seems easier to imagine than the conversion of a god into a human being, which can only be done as aa temporary disguise. Holifying famous men produces hallowed examples of holiness out of human fabric, and this probably offers a greater opportunity for social identification than the gods who reside apart in the clouds like Epicuros' "reformed" deities, aloof and unconcerned. The very familiarity of a great deal of Greek mythology, which was heavily used in a borrowed form by everybody from the Romans to the classically oriented nineteenth century, obscures the fact that many Greek myths are obscure in themselves, and so heavily reworked into later fabrics that the basic meaning of the original cannot be imagined. But following an Euhemeristic thread, and weaving it into the fabric of modern studies of the three pre-BC millennia which are now appearing, we may elicit from the Greek Myths a wealth of surprising information. In summary, the aim of this study is to bring into focus the Greek myths of the class which belong less to a religious than to a historical class, and to elicit from them where possible,factual social and historical meaning. There is much important information which we can draw from myths if we treat them as carriers of the social and historical activities which were current in the early Greek and pre-Greek periods, at the time when story-cycles (later to become myths) were alive and responsive to social issues. In the last two hundred years we have learned a great deal about man and his early history. If we can use a portion of our modern, multifarious frame of reference in the interpretation of Greek myths, we can extend our knowledge of man's earlier history considerably further back into the shadowy realm of Pre-History. Return to Greek Myth index

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Definitions of media literacy remain contested, with different dimensions emphasised or marginalised. Arguably the biggest concern in attempting to reach a consensus on a definition of media literacy is the tendency in some policy statements to undervalue the importance of critical or creative/ communicative dimensions. Definitions vary, and include: ‘The ability to access, analyse, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms’ (US National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy, Pat Aufderheide, 1993). Aufderheide’s full definition can be found at: ‘The ability to use, understand and create media and communications’ (Ofcom). Ofcom’s full outline of media literacy can be found at: Sonia Livingstone also uses this definition, which is expressed in her discussion on media literacy, which can be found at: ‘Media literacy relates to the ability to access the media, to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media content and to create communications in a variety of contexts.’ (European Commission). This definition is given here: Media Literacy in the UK In aiming to meet this statutory mandate, Ofcom undertakes research into UK citizens’ media literacy needs in order to inform and support public policy initiatives. Ofcom’s research initiatives in this regard are broadly classified into three categories: children’s research, adults’ research, and nations’ research. Ofcom’s Media Literacy Audits for children and parents are undertaken regularly, followed by the publication of detailed reports (the most recent in October 2013). You can view the reports here: A commentary of the reports by Sonia Livingstone: Ofcom researches various aspects of children’s media usage and literacy, including children and parents’ attitudes to diverse media; the websites visited by children; how parental controls are exercised and evaluated; and children’s television viewing preferences at different times in the day. Ofcom similarly undertakes in-depth research into adults’ media use and attitudes (the most recent published in 2013). It also investigates related topics, including people’s habits and attitudes in the online world (June 2013), and how people make use of the internet (July 2012). The full June 2013 report ‘Being online: an investigation of people’s habits and attitudes’: The full July 2013 report ‘Internet use and attitudes’: Ofcom similarly compiles a report that combines a number of media metrics relating to parents and children ‘in the nations’ – i.e. in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as across the UK (the latest report was published in February 2013). But as argued by Svenja Ottovordemgentschenfelde, while Ofcom thus does much to support media literacy initiatives in the UK, it is charged with not only supporting but with also actively promoting media literacy for UK citizens – a role that Ofcom is arguably at risk of neglecting at the moment. While Britain traditionally at the forefront of media literacy and media education initiatives, new research suggests that the UK is lagging behind in funding, training and policy; and there is a perception that, since the 2011 election, there has been a reluctance on the part of politicians to take inclusive and sustainable media literacy initiatives forward. A blog post by Julian McDougall on media and information education in the UK can be accessed here: A blog post by Svenja Ottovordemgentschenfelde on new research in media literacy can be accessed here: This apparent lack of political will is worrying in light of express recognition by the government of the importance to encourage media literacy initiatives – on more than one occasion: - In the Digital Britain Interim Report (2009: 5) “The necessary education, skills and media literacy programmes to allow everyone in society to benefit from the digital revolution will be a central part of the Digital Britain work and key to our success.” - In a March 2011 letter to Professor Sonia Livingstone, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP explained that media literacy is indeed ‘a priority’ for the government. Hunt’s letter can be accessed here: As the government’s own analysis of UK social trends reveals, the ‘e-society’ is advancing steadily (if unevenly and unequally). An article that overviews e-society: While more and more services move online due to the growth of the ‘e-society’, digital participation becomes increasingly important. An Ofcom report on Internet Citizens: Use of selected citizen-related online content and services (2013): Communications Consumer Panel: The Consumer Framework for Digital Participation: Media Literacy in the EU “I want to assure you that I take digital literacy seriously”, said Neelie Kroes, the EC’s Commissioner for the Digital Agenda and Vice-President of the European Commission, in 2009. And more recently, in early 2014, she confirmed the importance of the internet but also warned about the risks involved with digital technologies. During a speech at the World Economic Forum, she said: ‘Europe’s leaders have recognised the large and growing role digital plays in our economy. And they have supported our plans to bring down the barriers that stand in the way.’Kroes’ full speech can be read here: “We must make sure everyone is media literate so nobody is left out,” said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship in 2009. In January 2013 the High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism recommended (among other things) that ‘[m]edia literacy should be taught in schools starting at high‐school level. The role media plays in a functioning democracy should be critically assessed as part of national curricula, integrated either with civics or social studies.’ Following this report, the EC made various recommendations, including one aimed at improving media literacy. The report can be found at: The task of producing indicators is now underway, building on the work of EAVI Consortium (European Association for Viewers’ Interests (EAVI), CLEMI, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Université Catholique de Louvain and the University of Tampere): Study on Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels – A comprehensive view of the concept of media literacy and an understanding of how media literacy level in Europe should be assessed (2009). See full list of studies: Media Literacy Internationally The UIS and UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector, in collaboration with an international advisory panel of experts, have developed a framework to measure media information literacy in countries at different stages of development. The Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Framework can be downloaded from here: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy, MediaSmarts, operates with the vision that ‘children and youth have the critical thinking skills to engage with media as active and informed digital citizens’. For this reason, MediaSmarts develops digital and media literacy programmes and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities: ‘We support adults with information and tools so they can help children and teens develop the critical thinking skills they need for interacting with the media they love.’ More information on their fundamentals for digital and media literacy can be found here: In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has an online resource that combines research, activities and reports on media and digital literacy in the country. In the United States, the first Media Literacy Conference was held in 1995 in North Carolina with approximately 400 participants. After a continual growth of dialogue emerged, the Alliance for a Media Literate America was formed in June, 2001, which was dedicated to the promotion of media literacy education. A full history of media literacy in the U.S. can be found at: 2. Key Documents UK: For the first time in UK law, section 11 of the Communication Act 2003 gave the Office of Communications (Ofcom) a statutory duty to take steps to promote media literacy. Section 11 of the Act can be accessed here: The Bailey Review investigates how children in England are under increasing pressure to ‘grow up too quickly’. A progress report was published on 24 May 2013. Both documents are produced by UKCCIS (UK Council for Child Internet Safety). Bailey Review Progress Report: The Wolf Review, which investigated vocational training, was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and published in March 2011: While the BBC’s First Click initiative is no longer operative, a useful guide for first-time internet users is still available for free download. The BBC’s media literacy strategy, published in May 2013, confirms the need to promote media literacy, as outlined in the 2006 BBC Charter Agreement. The 2017 BBC Charter Review may arguably lead to changes in this regard. Access the Media Literacy Strategy here: The Next Gen Report, published in January 2011, made various recommendations to help the UK become a more popular talent hub for visual effects and visual games. But, as pointed out earlier on the LSE Media Policy Project blog, in conjunction with the curriculum changes, the recommendations ‘will place media education in the UK in further ‘limbo’’. Download the full report here: The Review of the National Curriculum (Department for Education) has been completed and the 2014 National Curriculum has been published, proposing significant reforms to what is taught in schools: The EC’s Digital Agenda for 2020, which aims to help ‘reboot the EU economy’ and ‘enable Europe’s citizens and businesses to get the most out of digital technologies’ , emphasises the importance of digital literacy, with one of its seven pillars being dedicated to digital literacy, skills and inclusion. As it explains: ‘As ever more daily tasks are carried out online, everyone needs enhanced digital skills to participate fully in society. The Digital Agenda tackles the digital divide.’ More details on this pillar and the associated list of actions: As part of the Lisbon strategy, in response to calls from the European Parliament and from the media and communication sector, and informed by the High Level Expert Group (2008), the European Commission has worked to promote media literacy as follows: Communication on media literacy (2007) – alerted member states to the importance of media literacy: Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive 2007/65/EC – article 26 introduced a three-yearly reporting obligation regarding levels of media literacy in all member states. The full Directive 2007/65/EC can be accessed here (Amendment to Article 26 is found on p. 332/44): Recommendation on media literacy in the digital environment for a more competitive audio-visual and content industry and an inclusive knowledge society, EC(2009) 6464 final. In this Recommendation, the Commission recommended that: “the Member States […] open a debate in conferences and other public events on the inclusion of media literacy in the compulsory education curriculum, and as part of the provision of key competences for lifelong learning, set out in the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning”. The 2006 and 2009 recommendations can be accessed, respectively, here: See also the Brussels Declaration on Lifelong Media Education from over 300 media literacy experts (in French): The OECD identifies a range of key competencies essential for full participation in society, several of which relate to media or digital literacy (including the ability to use knowledge, information and technologies interactively). Access their full Executive Summary: UNESCO: ‘Information and media literacy enables people to interpret and make informed judgments as users of information and media, as well as to become skillful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right.’ See particularly the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) section on information literacy: In 1982, UNESCO issued the Grunwald Declaration at the International Symposium on Media Education in Grunwald, Germany. The Declaration was used as a means for educators to justify media education, and to promote media education globally. The Declaration can be accessed here: In the United States, Renee Hobbs, R. (2010) has produced Digital and media literacy: A plan of action aimed at incorporating digital and media literacy education into formal and informal settings through a community education movement: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on the recommendation for a National Digital Literacy plan: “Nothing can open more doors for a person than literacy. But knowing how to read is no longer sufficient to be ‘literate’ in the 21st Century. Basic literacy must be supplemented with digital literacy” (Clyburn, 2010: 4). Full recommendation: 3. Key Participants Ofcom: In aiming to meet this statutory mandate, Ofcom undertakes research into UK citizens’ media literacy needs in order to inform and support public policy initiatives. Ofcom’s research initiatives in this regard are broadly classified into three categories: children’s research, adults’ research, and nations’ research. An index of their research on media literacy can be accessed here: Communications Consumer Panel: This Panel consists of eight independent experts who work to protect and promote people’s interests in the communications sector, and was established by the Communications Act 2003. The Panel conducts research and provides advice to Ofcom, the Government, the EU, and the industry on how to consider consumer persepctives. Their website can be accessed here: Svenja Ottovordemgentschenfelde: PhD at the London School of Economics who studies Ofcom’s support of media literacy initiatives in the UK. A full description of her research and research interests can be found here: Participants in ongoing policy initiatives include: UKNC: The UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) is a leading force in UNESCO’s initiatives for media literacy. They aim to strengthen the internationalist dimension of media literacy in the UK, and to raise awareness and understanding among UK Government of the importance of media literacies for democracies: Access their website here: Go On UK: promote digital and internet literacy. See its three-point plan for 2013/14): Martha Lane: Lane was appointed as the UK’s Digital Champion in 2010, resigned at the end of 2012. The Digital Champion’s remit is to ‘encourage as many people as possible to go online, and improving the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery’. Read her resignation letter here: UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online. Among other things, UKCCIS has created a code of practice for internet parental controls, published in October 2011. UKCCIS Code of Practice: More information on UKCCIS, including achievements, board members, and the Executive board: The DfE Technology Policy Team, tasked with developing ICT in schools, was abolished in April 2012. An article on the abolishment can be found at: Media Smart develops and provides free educational materials that teach children to think critically about advertising in the context of their daily lives. Media Smart offers a range of innovative and interactive materials for parents, educators and children: There are also various other non-governmental national initiatives in the UK: Learning for the Fourth Age (L4A) aims to provide educational and learning services to frail elderly people who live in residential accommodation settings, using multimedia resources: Citizens Online is a national charity that aims to tackle the issues of digital exclusion, to make sure that the Internet is available to everybody, and to help individuals and communities understand and gain the benefits of being online. This charity has a variety of valuable projects around the UK aimed at encouraging digital inclusion. Age UK works towards improving ‘later life’ of UK citizens through information and advice, campaigns, products, training and research. The organisation, for instance, offers computer classes across the country for older people to allow them to have access to the advantages of the internet and computers. Digital Unite is an independent organisation that offers digital skills training and promotes the benefits of computers, tablets and the internet to older people. Useful guides to a variety of topics are offered on their website, including how to use Skype, basic computer skills, how to join social networking websites and how to use email. AMES: The Association for Media Education in Scotland was formed in 1983 at Stirling University with the purpose of promoting media education. They now publish a bi-annual journal, the Media Education Journal, and hold an annual conference. Access their website here: Neelie Kroes: High-Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism: This independent group was established in October 2011 by Vice-President Neelie Kroes, and is chaired by Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the former President of Latvia. Their mandate was to create a report for the European Commission with recommendations that aim to respect, protect, support, and promote pluralism and freedom of the media in Europe. More details on this group can be found on their website: Media Literacy Expert Group: In 2005, the European Parliament requested that the European Commission launch an initiative on media literacy. As a result, the EC formed the Media Literacy Expert Group, made up of media literacy experts from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. This included members from academia, the audiovisual and media industry, international organisations, and regulators in media institutions. For more information and to access the full list of members, follow this link: EU Kids Online: This multi-national thematic network aims to “stimulate and coordinate investigation into children’s online uses, activities, risks and safety”. EU Kids Online also publishes a wide variety of research and resources for media education. Links to their reports and contact details can be found at: EAVI: The European Association for Viewers Interests is a non-profit international civil society organisation based out of Brussels, and aims to work with European and other international institutions to contribute to the empowerment of EU citizens through the field of media. It was formally established with the support of the European Commission. EAVI works on a variety of projects, reports, and conferences in order to promote active citizenship and media literacy, and engage European institutions and media stakeholders. A link to their website: EuroMeduc: The European Congress on Media Literacy (EuroMeduc) promotes media education in Europe. The aim to set up structured media education programs and research findings, and sustain networks in the field of media education. The last congress was held in 2009. Their publications on media literacy can be accessed on their website: OECD: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development aims to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world, and currently has 34 member states. One of their key topics is the Internet, consisting of issues surrounding broadband and telecom, internet economy, consumer policy, and public sector innovation and e-government. Access to their website, including published reports: UNESCO: The United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics acts as an official source for literacy data. They are responsible for monitoring international literacy targets associated with Educational for All (EFA) and the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). More information on their research and international goals can be found at: UNESCO’s Media Literacy webpage with links to detailed actions for media education and literacy: MediaSmarts: Formerly known as the Media Awareness Network, MediaSmarts emerged as part of a TV violence initiative by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in the early 1990s. They now act as a resource for educators, youth, and policy-makers on digital and media literacy among young Canadians. Their website provides more details on their mission and history, as well as resources for researchers, policy-makers, educators, etc.: Media Literacy Network: This non-profit foundation, founded by Liesbeth Hop and Bamber Delver and based in the Netherlands, aims to develop media literacy projects around various topics, such as safe Internet, digital bullying, sexualisation of the media, the Mobile Internet, online privacy, transmedia storytelling, etc. They also work with major universities around the world to initiate studies on media and youth related topics. Access their website here: A) Academic research foci (by Sonia Livingstone) With the growing importance of media, information and communications in society, media literacy contributes to: - democracy, participation and active citizenship; - the knowledge economy, competitiveness and choice; and - lifelong learning, cultural expression and personal fulfilment. But academic research suggests that media literacy initiatives are still needed: - By the whole population, since they are faced with rapid changes in the choices, complexity and importance of communication technologies; - By disadvantaged populations in particular (e.g. young, elderly, poor, disabled, ethnic minorities), for whom knowledge gaps compound prior disadvantage; - In areas of importance to the state (e.g. health, civic participation, e-government, e-commerce, creativity/innovation, digital take-up/switchover), since currently the population does not meet government expectations; - In areas of importance to citizens (e.g. for empowerment, alternative lifestyles or politics, critical information skills, creative production) Also, key questions persist (with links to relevant articles): - Is media literacy about empowerment or protectionism? - Should media literacy be defined minimally or ambitiously? - What does research show about media literacy? - What new challenges do new media pose for media literacy (for adults and for children respectively?): - Do media literacy interventions work? There are significant differences between the post-test scores of experimental and control groups, indicating that the media literacy course offered to college students was ‘at least partially successful’ in achieving the course goals of improving knowledge of media structures, increasing awareness of media influence, and being critical of implied messages. (Duran, Yousman, Walsh, and Longshore, 2008) Media literacy interventions can be helpful or harmful. Students who had the cognitive activity after the lesson about violence in media reported a reduction in willingness to use aggression, while children who did not had the cognitive activity after the lesson reported an increase in willingness to use aggression. The media literacy lesson offered might have brought students’ attention to violence without helping to develop the cognitive skills required to process the information. Future studies should have more refined comparative conditions in order to understand the boomerang effect, and determine what factor in each condition works or does not work. (Byrne, 2009) Survey conducted to a random sample of U.S. university students shows that those who are more critical about tobacco use in advertisements, TV and movies (‘smoking media literacy’) are significantly less likely to be current smokers (Primack, Sidani, Carroll, and Fine 2009). Media detective: “Media Detective is a media literacy education program for 3rd- to 5th-grade students. The goal of the program is to prevent or delay the onset of underage alcohol and tobacco use by enhancing the critical thinking skills of students so they become adept in deconstructing media messages, particularly those related to alcohol and tobacco products, and by encouraging healthy beliefs and attitudes about abstaining from alcohol and tobacco use.” - Why is critical media literacy important? - Aren’t young people already media literate? - What do recent research findings show? Although economic capital is the first and foremost mediating factor in digital divide, cultural and social capital are also important factors as the possession of them means having the know-how and resources to operate and engage with technologies meaningfully at the personal level. (Grant, 2007) Children’s digital skills should be enhanced through regular education, focusing especially on information and strategic skills (given their already high level of operational skills). As to the elderly, the illiterate, the disabled, and ethnic minority, there should be special courses offered to them, adapting to their needs, learning pace and style. If nothing is done, the “information and strategic skill divide” will continue to widen, with the skilled people being able to take advantage of the Internet to achieve their personal goals, while the less skilled continue their struggle to locate correct information. (van Deursen and van Dijk, 2009) Regarding content-sharing online, although there is significant difference between genders, after controlling for internet experiences, the difference no longer exists. In other words, users’ online ability mediates online content-sharing. (Hargittai and Walejko, 2008) “[N]ew digital media, due to their interactive and highly socializing nature, are more adept at breeding the social and cultural competencies needed for a full participation in today’s digital environment than traditional media, which are inherently more passive” (Literat, 2011): Blog post at the following links: When given the opportunities to learn about political participation online through digital media literacy education, students are more likely to engage in political participation online. (Kahne, 2010) “Teens who have poor health literacy are more likely to search for sexual health information using slang terms, which may lead to less credible Web sites.” (Brown, Keller, and Stern, 2009) - Far from promoting empowerment, is media literacy really a neoliberal strategy to reduce top down regulation? As the UK’s then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, stated: ‘if people can take greater personal responsibility for what they watch and listen to, that will in itself lessen the need for regulatory intervention’ (The Daily Mail, 21/1/2004, p. 23). Ofcom concurred: Robin Foster, Ofcom’s Partner for Strategy and Market Developments in 2005, said, “As regulators and policy makers we need to radically adapt the way we think about the communications sector as this group evolves into the mainstream. And we need to start doing this now. We will have to learn to rely more on markets than ever before. And we need to rely more on individual consumers and on companies exercising responsibility in those markets, with increasing emphasis on self-regulation and co-regulation.” Pressing policy questions: - Does the evidence show that media literacy is increasing? - Can such increases, if any, be attributed to policy efforts to promote media literacy? - How can media literacy initiatives and interventions be meaningfully evaluated? - What policy recommendations would result and will policy-makers follow them? - Who is getting left out of media literacy opportunities? - Which dimensions of media literacy tend to get neglected (Critical? Creative?) - Can teachers be held primarily responsible for teaching children about media literacy? - How can adults be reached, once they have left school, to increase and update their media literacy? - Should it remain Ofcom’s remit to promote media literacy? - Should internet safety be a key pillar in media literacy or, even, should it be part of a separate policy? (For UK policy on internet safety, see http://www.education.gov.uk/ukccis) - As a new UK Communications Act is announced, should the present section 11 be maintained, altered or dropped? What would be the justification, the evidence base, for any of these decisions? - If media literacy is no longer actively promoted as part of UK public policy, who will be the biggest losers and why?

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Native American Religions, Bioethics in NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONS, BIOETHICS IN••• Using the phrase "Native American" signals a recognition that there are indigenous peoples on the North American continent who retain distinct ethical perspectives within the mainstream cultures of the United States and Canada. Terms such as "First Peoples," "American Indian," and "Amerindian" are also used to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Each term has a history of use and limitations in its reference. For example, there are no actual people who call themselves Native Americans in their traditional language; rather, there are distinct ethnic groups who were on the North American continent prior to the arrival of Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Prior to contact with European settlers in the fifteenth century, it is believed, there were over 2,000 different native communities on the continent. Over 700 of these ethnic groups have survived repeated invasions, epidemic diseases, cultural genocide, and ideological exploitation. Thus, when we use the term "Native American," it is at a general level of understanding and reference that is fictional and conceptual. A deeper understanding of Native Americans must move to another level of reference, beginning with the names by which indigenous peoples know themselves. In this entry the following system will be used. The indigenous name will be followed by the popular name in Canada and the United States. The peoples who call themselves Anishinabe are also known as Chippewa/Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Pottawatomi. In some instances, there are historical and sociological reasons for differentiating specific tribal names among a larger nation such as the Anishinabe. So also, the term Haudenosaunee, or "Long-House People," is the name of the northeastern North American peoples whom the French called Iroquois. Either term is often used to indicate individual nations within the Haudenosaunee political confederation, or "long house": Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Tuscarora, and Mohawk. Other examples can be listed: Apsaalooke/Crow; Tsistsistas/Cheyenne; Muskogee and Miccosukkee/Creek; Dine/Navajo; Ashiwi/ Zuni; Tohono O'odham/Papago; and Skittagetan/Haida. This usage recognizes the right of a people to be known by the name by which they describe themselves. The term religion raises a similar ethical concern; it carries associated references that can mislead an inquiry into Native American ways. The term religion derives from the Latin religio, "to bind fast." Traditionally this has carried associations from its Mediterranean-Atlantic heritage, namely, to be reunited, after a pilgrimage through life, with the personal, monotheistic, creator God who transcends earthly existence. The connotations of monotheism, the one deity as personal and transcendent, and a pilgrimage orientation to life are embedded in the term religion for many Euro-American Christians. In contrast, the term lifeway emphasizes the road of life as indigenous people see it. Such a perspective can be associated with the concept "worldview," a distinct way of thinking about the cosmos and of evaluating life's actions in terms of those views. The Dakota/Sioux lawyer and professor of history Vine Deloria, Jr., speaks thus of an Indian ethical view of the universe: "In the moral universe all activities, events, and entities are related, and consequently it does not matter what kind of existence an entity enjoys, for the responsibility is always there for it to participate in the continuing creation of reality" (Deloria, p. 63). This view understands all life forms as having purpose, as being related, and as being cocreators of the world they occupy. The religious structure that flows from these views gives rise to a moral imagination in which the sacred is immanent, within the earth, and revealed in one's contemplation of natural occurrences. All life in one's local bioregion is both interdependent and participating in the act of creation evident, for example, in the changing seasons. The term bioregion, is used here to suggest the Native American reverence and respect for all life forms in the local region. Indians have traditionally understood their local bioregion as filled with moral purpose, interrelated, and alive. Moral actions in Native American lifeways are acts in harmony with a sacred power that is believed to pervade the world and is experienced most immediately in the local bioregion. While moral actors are not limited to the human community, any particular human is seen as integrated into the larger harmony by means of his or her community. Someone who has committed a crime is not made into an outsider by virtue of an isolated act. Rather, the one who is out of balance must be brought back, if possible, into the community by ritual treatment with that power believed to pervade the cosmos. Native peoples in North America have articulated terms such as Wakan Tanka (Lakota), Kitche Manitou (Anishinabe), or Akbatatdia (Apsaalooke), which convey an understanding of the mysterious presence and fullness of pervasive cosmic power. These terms have often been used by nonnative missionary traditions to communicate ideas regarding the sacred, especially belief in a personal God. While such usage may be sanctioned by Christian native peoples, some traditional practitioners object to this interpretation as misleading. Sacred power, and the native terms used to evoke that mystery, do not indicate a patriarchal deity but emphasize the web of cocreative relationships throughout the spiritual realms and the ecological terrain, or bioregion. This pervasive power is experienced in a plurality of manifestations, or spirits, that relate to the presence of transformative power in distinct spiritual realms of the cosmos but especially to the local bioregion. Thus, Native American lifeways may be described as manifesting an "ethical naturalism" in which moral choices flow from the desires of individuals and communities to flourish within the limits and opportunities of nature as understood by the people and as typically observed within the particular bioregional conditions of a people (Lovin and Reynolds). Questions of the relation of ethics to ritual and myth are also analytical themes in the study of religion, but in Native American traditions these questions are inextricably linked. This article will attempt to communicate this ethical wholeness by describing practices related to both ritual and the daily life of native North American peoples. One term used throughout this entry, synthetic ethics, refers to the Native American effort to bring people into the most immediate and profound encounter with resources for thought and for food: the bioregion, the animals hunted, the human community, the seasons, and the spiritual realm. Synthetic ethics signifies the seamless whole of the Native American world in which personal actions affirm mythic values and in which ritual actions reflect relationships established with the surrounding bioregion. Rather than abstract principles, these ethical relationships correspond to moral metaphors transmitted in the myth stories. Such generative metaphors as the living earth and purposeful animals cause a person to contemplate, as ethical experiences, the seasons, or the hunt, or the eating of local foods at their harvest time. American Indian moral imagination arises from formal structures that are believed to govern personal and community life as well as the bioregion and the larger cosmos. Such a worldview implies integration of a situational ethic, which guides one in daily life, and a cosmological ethic, which flows from the harmonious rhythms of nature. Thus, the terms lifeway, synthetic ethics, and bioethics are used in this entry to suggest the wholeness or totality of a good life that is lived in thoughtful relationship to the seasons and the living bioregion. Each particular native people has its own terms for such concepts as synthetic ethics and lifeway. For example, Winona LaDuke writes: The ethical code of my own Anishinabeg community of the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota keeps communities and individuals in line with natural law. "Minobimaatisiiwin"— it means both the "good life" and "continuous rebirth"—is central to our value system. In minobimaatisiiwin, we honor women as the givers of lives, we honor our Chi Anishinabeg, our old people and ancestors who hold the knowledge. We honor our children as the continuity from generations, and we honor ourselves as a part of creation. Implicit in minobimaatisiiwin is a continuous habitation of place, an intimate understanding of the relationship between humans and the ecosystem and of the need to maintain this balance. (p. 70) It is possible to find similar expressions by elders from indigenous communities in North America that articulate the relationship between social justice and ecojustice in their lifeway. The range of indigenous terms need not be discussed here but, where appropriate, such terms will be introduced. Land and the Human Presence Three features of Winona LaDuke's description of Anishinabe/Ojibwe ethical naturalism—enduring habitation (land), cosmological understanding (lifeway), and ecological balance (synthetic ethics)—can be used to frame the Native American appreciation of land and the human presence. The Winter Dance among the Okanagan/Salish/ Colville peoples of Washington State provides a unique insight into the relationships of land, lifeway, and synthetic ethics. The Winter Dance introduces us to a developed native North American lifeway in which ritual participation is believed to transform individuals, communities, and bioregions. Moreover, the Salish understand the relationships established during the ritual as historical, that is, they deepen as an individual matures in the ethical path. While this ritual, from the interior Salish-speaking peoples of the Columbia River plateau, has been selected for discussion here, it should be emphasized that the themes discussed have parallels in many distinct native North American rituals. The Green Corn, or Busk, ceremony of the Muskogee in the Southeast, the Shalako and Winter Solstice rituals of the Ashiwi in the Southwest, the Ashkisshe, or Sun Dance, of the Northern Plains Apsaaloke and many more rituals throughout Indian country continue to be performed in sacred settings by traditional practitioners. OKANAGAN/SALISH/COLVILLE WINTER DANCE. Among many Salish people the Winter Dance begins the annual ritual calendar. Rituals performed during the calendar year include individual and communal activities, such as sweat-lodge ceremonies, vision questing, stick gambling, curing rituals, and first fruits and harvest festivals for deer, salmon, and root crops. However, the major ritual, which draws together all of the old subsistence and healing rituals, is the Winter Dance. This dance is a complex renewal ritual convened by individual sponsors from late December through February. An abbreviated form of the ceremony can be performed at any time for someone in need. Simply by ritually establishing the center pole, the most significant symbol of the bioregion, in the middle of the dance house the curative and transformative powers of the Winter Dance can be evoked. The Winter Dance ritual complex is especially focused on the singing of guardian spirit songs over the successive days of the ceremonial (Grim, 1992). Singing begins in the evening of each day and continues until dawn. "Ceremonial" also refers to the accompanying ritual activity that occurs during the day, such as feasting, sweat-lodge rituals (healings, purifications, petitions), giveaways, stick-game gambling, and storytelling. At the ritual heart of the Winter Dance, however, is the individual-guardian spirit relationship. Most important, this spirit-human exchange generates and reenacts the time of the traditional mythic stories, or cosmogony, in which the universe was created. The Salish moral imagination is established in this cosmogonic symbolism that is believed to renew community life and to regenerate plants and animals. Thus, individual-guardian spirit relationships form the core of the Salish synthetic ethics in which stories, songs, and symbolic actions bind individual, community, and bioregion together to generate a sacred cohesiveness and a spiritual empathy. This Native American ritual, then, provides an excellent example of the close relationship between land, lifeway, and synthetic ethics. Prior to contact with mainstream America and the establishment of the reservation system in the nineteenth century, the Winter Dance provided the major impetus for independent villages to undertake ritual diplomacy with other villages. The ritual was the locus of interaction that smoothed individual conflicts and encouraged group cohesion. Thus, the multifaceted Winter Dance diminished aggressive rivalry between villages and brought them together for the shared task of world renewal. Just as the Winter Dance was the locus for negotiation between fiercely independent and self-governed villages, so this ritual continues to be the central place for negotiation between the human and spirit realms. As a world renewal ceremony the Winter Dance calls the spirit powers of the bioregion into reciprocal relationship with the human communities. This ceremonial makes explicit the interdependence of minerals, plants, animals, and humans through the songs that are sung by those who have had visionary experiences of these spirits in special places of the bioregion. There is no explicit recitation of a cosmogony during the Winter Dance; however, during the days between the evening and all-night ritual activity, individuals are encouraged to tell stories. Coyote stories are especially popular on these occasions. While there is no single cosmogony among the Salish people, the cycle of Coyote stories has cosmogonic features that describe the formative activities in the time of mythic beginnings (Mourning Dove, 1933). The often humorous Coyote stories are ensembles of generative moral metaphors in which the ambiguous and mistaken actions of Coyote are narrated as examples of inharmonious behavior. Thus, the formal activities of singing vision songs and the giving of gifts, as well as the informal storytelling, serve to activate a ritual logic that informs participants of both the sources of motivation for a moral life and the purposive world around them. The most significant symbol of land and the human presence is the center pole, a lodgepole pine ninety or so inches high. The center pole, symbolic of the bioregion, is set up in the middle of the dance hall. It is the most significant place for contact with, and communication from, guardian spirits. Songs and giveaways are the mode of the moral imagination during this ritual, and the singers are said to experience a spirit sickness because of their proximity to the cosmogonic powers. The singers go to that center pole to sing, speak in moral exhortation to the assembled community, and give gifts just as the ancient mythic spirits gave to humans. While dancing around the pole to the songs of the visionaries, the participants are said to be like the animals who "are moving around" during the snows of the Winter Dance season. The very structure of the Winter Dance as animals moving about the land is presented as having moral force in Salish thought. More than simply isolated ritual acts or symbolic gestures, it is understood as bringing a person and a community into the moral order established during the time of the cosmogonic events when the mythic plants, minerals, and animals decided to give their bodies to humans for food. In the traditional Winter Dance singers renewed themselves in the centering experience of the ceremony, and by doing so re-created their village communities. Much has been lost due to the intrusion of the dominant Euro-American worldview, which has devalued the sacredness of the community of all life forms and has often misunderstood the visionary experiences of guardian spirits. Still, the Salish Winter Dance retains striking continuity with a traditional ethics of giving, evident in the giveaway features of the ritual, and of empathy, apparent in the spirit sickness. This is because of the evocation in the Winter Dance ritual of the ancient cosmogonic knowledge transmitted in the sacred power (sumix) of the mineral, plant, and animal persons, in the spirit sickness of the singers, and in the cosmic symbolism of the centering tree. This relationship between ritual and ethics can be labeled "synthetic" to signal the holistic character of the traditional lifeway of these people. Health, Sickness, and Healing Knowledge of health, reproduction, and death among particular native North American peoples developed in relation to their investigative exchange with bioregions, and in historical contacts among indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. One ancient religious practice, that of the healer, or shaman, still embodies traditional knowledge of bioregions accumulated over centuries of historical change. Comparative studies in shamanism suggest that Native American peoples brought healing practices with them in their transcontinental passages from Siberia as long as 40,000 years ago. The shaman, as a specialist in psychological and spiritual healing, can be contrasted in some native North American traditions with herbalists, who also sought to cure ills. Among the Winnebago of the western Great Lakes region of Wisconsin the following advice was given to young men who were about to seek a vision experience: There are individuals who know [the virtues and powers]. It is sad enough that you could not obtain [blessings from the more powerful spirits] during fasting; but at least ask those who possess plants to take pity on you. If they take pity on you, they will give you one of the good plants that give life [to man] and thus you can use them to encourage you in life. However, one plant will not be enough for you to possess. All [the plants] that are to be found on grandmother's hair, all those that give life, you should try to find out about, until you have a medicine chest [full]. Then you will indeed have great reason for being encouraged. (Blowsnake, p. 75) Such advice not only emphasizes the disciplined attention given to the plant world and to those who know the healing properties of plants but also suggests the broad connections between religion, ethics, and bioregion. The last 500 years of historical contacts with Eurasia have brought "virgin soil epidemics," diseases against which native peoples had no natural defense (Crosby), resulting in demographic devastation among Native American populations (Dobyns). The initial challenge to and decline in the ritual authority of Native American shamans due to disease during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries did not lead to the disappearance of these ritual practitioners. Rather, as epidemics subsided, traditional practices were often given full credit for effecting cures (Trigger). Currently, traditional healers are often found working with scientific medical practitioners on many reserves and reservations. Mainstream American popularizations of surviving Native American healing practices resulted, during the nineteenth century, in misunderstandings of herbal healers or medicine persons (Albanese). This has led to romantic fictional accounts of shamans as creative individualists. One characteristic that courses through all of this interest in Native American health systems is the close connection between medicine and religion. As we have emphasized in the use of the term lifeway, religion is a relational practice, and an indigenous shaman always stands in close connection with his or her bioregional community. Ritual specialists capable of diagnosing disease, treating ailments, and guiding the dead are found in all traditional native North American settings (Hultkrantz). In many agricultural communities these specialists organized in priesthoods that transmitted traditional lore and ritual experiences that addressed specific sicknesses. Among the Ashiwi/ Zuni in the Southwest, research on the human body was extensive and, during healing rituals, patterns symbolic of the somatic knowledge of Zuni healers were drawn on the patient (Hultkrantz). The physiology and anthropology informing this ritual, however, were not necessarily drawn from cadaver experiments or empirical observations of social structure. These healing societies typically abhorred cutting a dead body, for it still embodied ancestral animating principles in the process of release or dying. Often specialists in dreams, visions, and spiritual travel to other-than-human realms were believed to have acquired knowledge of the human body that could not have been obtained by observational means (Deloria). The gathering-and-hunting societies of the period before the late nineteenth century, as well as many of these extant native communities, generally sanction individual shamans. Different from priests, who may be inducted into a healing cult through a personal healing or clan privilege to learn a traditional body of lore (Ortiz), shamans are usually called by vivid experiences of spirits that "adopt" them and enable them to respond to specific needs of their people (Grim, 1983). Myths among diverse native North American peoples, such as the Apsaalooke/Crow and the Dine/Navajo, often described a hero or heroine as someone who had been abandoned by the people and consequently, "adopted" by a spirit power (Eliade; Grim, 1983; Sandner; Sullivan). Disease in a traditional Native American setting is usually attributed to transgression of a cosmological principle, performance of prohibited behavior, intrusion of an object "shot" into a diseased individual by witchcraft, or loss of a vital soul. Prohibitions in a native context often constitute a major ethical system involving hundreds of rules for the treatment of living organisms, handling the remains of organisms, and strategies for living with the spiritual powers in the bioregion. The Koyukon people of Alaska, for example, have an elaborate system of rules and regulations called hutlanee (Nelson). Disease and death can result from breaking these rules and disrupting the natural balance of sinh taala, "the power of the earth." Koyukon shamans, diyinyoo, know the spiritual powers that reside in the bioregion and use their power to diagnose disease, to treat illness, and to restore sinh taala, the foundation of their medicine. Shamans and elders teach the wisdom needed to restore the power of the earth and to meet death with knowledge of the paths to those places in the bioregion where the dead one will live. These teachings are found in the stories from the Distant Time, or Kk'adonts'idnee, in which the origin, design, and functioning of nature were established. Instituted in Distant Time, the hutlanee, moral codes for conserving game animals and the environment, are not simply superstitions but the Koyukon synthetic ethics that governs life. Disease that results from "object intrusion," or witchcraft, often implies a worldview in which balance or harmony between one's body and the local bioregion has been purposely broken by a malicious individual. Among the Dine/Navajo, the health of an individual is not an isolated case but a matter of the whole community of life. The "beauty," or hozho, inherent in the world can be put out of harmony by the malicious act of witchcraft. Cosmological ceremonies of great beauty, called chantways, are conducted by ritual specialists, or singers, to reestablish the diseased person's bodily harmony by removing the intruded object or retrieving lost vitality. The key relationship in Dine/Navajo rituals is that between the Holy People, Diyin Dine'e, who are potentially malevolent as numinous forces in the landscape, and the Dine themselves, as earth-surface people. To reestablish health, the ritual evokes the Holy People, who are the inner forms of the elements of nature. Through the narrative power of language, especially in a form of the chantway called Enemyway, which exorcises evil, the chaos of witchcraft can be transformed into order and beauty (Witherspoon). The synthetic ethics of the Dine/Navajo people does not expel malicious people from the community, where there would be no opportunity to undo their evil. Rather the hope is that they also can be restored to "beauty" and cosmic harmony. In the Dine/Navajo Emergence Myth, the basic narrative source for the chantway stories, the beauty of the earth is evoked in the following chant to restore health: "Then go on as one who has long life, Go on as one who is happy, Go with blessing before you, Go with blessing behind you, Go with blessing below you, Go with blessing above you, Go with blessing around you, Go with blessing in your speech, Go with happiness and long life, Go mysteriously" (Sandner, p. vii). Through this repetitive language, the chanters amplify sacred power and control the inner forms of themselves, of their patients, and of the spiritual powers in the landscape that have been evoked into the sandpainting ritual. The chanter restores the blessedness of the one sung over by bringing the patient into the healing environment. Current Ethical Perspectives Major ethical issues involving native North American peoples have coalesced around the following three areas: ancestral bones, religious freedom, and sovereignty. The passage of the Grave Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 has helped to slow the pillage of ancestral Native American gravesites. So also the itemization of Native American holdings in major museums will enhance the possibility of the return of sensitive religious material to native peoples from whom it was often improperly obtained. Serious questions of trust and sovereignty between the American government and Native American peoples have arisen in the late twentieth century in a series of court cases in which indigenous religious freedom has been curtailed. The history of mainstream American cultural and legislative antagonism toward Native American lifeways had been momentarily reversed in the passage in 1978 of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. However, a sequence of Supreme Court cases (especially Lying v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association and Employment Division v. Smith) has challenged the sovereignty of Native American lifeways and demonstrated an unwillingness to recognize their sacred relationships to land. The emergence at the end of the twentieth century of a global voice of indigenous people comes as a result of such negative factors as the environmental crisis and the proximity of indigenous peoples to undeveloped areas on the globe. In the United States and Canada, native North American peoples, having been pushed onto reservations and reserves away from the majority populations of mainstream culture, now manage resources and undeveloped land. Native American peoples have increased their close contact with other indigenous peoples around the globe in an effort to protect themselves from environmental racism, the imposition of projects such as hydroelectric dams and toxic dump sites that destroy the environments of minority peoples. Gatherings such as the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the meetings titled "Changing Ecological Values in the 21st Century" in Kyoto, Japan, in 1993 have included native North American representatives. Meetings have also brought together representatives from the world's religions to talk with elders from Native American lifeways about their traditional environmental ethics. The remarkable resurgence of native North American peoples in the late twentieth century, after 500 years of suppression, derives from a complex process, but undoubtedly the knowledge transmitted in traditional ethics is a singular component of their endurance. Often dismissed as superstitious or derogatively labeled as primitive, the affective and holistic insights of native peoples are now recognized as ways of knowing grounded in close relationship with local bioregions. Those native teachers who still know this ethical system present their insights as a gift, a giveaway, to dominant America, which for so long juxtaposed the "nobility" of Enlightenment reason with the "contemptible character" of native thought. For traditional native North American peoples, the world is alive and, far from being a random collection of objects, is seen by some as our Mother and by many as a community of knowing subjects. Rather than a branch of knowledge, bioethics, in a native North American context, brings one to the heart of a way through life. john a. grim (1995) Crosby, Alfred W. 1986. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Deloria, Vine, Jr. 1993. "If You Think About It, You Will See That It Is True." Noetic Sciences Review no. 27 (Autumn): 62–71. Dobyns, Henry F. 1983. Their Number Become Thinned: Native American Population Dynamics in Eastern North America. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. Eliade, Mircea. 1964. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. New York: Bollingen Foundation. Grim, John A. 1983. The Shaman: Patterns of Siberian and Ojibway Healing. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Grim, John A. 1992. "Cosmogony and the Winter Dance: Native American Ethics in Transition." Journal of Religious Ethics 20(2): 389–413. Hoppal, Mihaly, and Von Sadovszky, Otto, eds. 1989. Shamanism: Past and Present. 2 vols. Budapest: International Society for Trans-Oceanic Research. Hultkrantz, Ake. 1992. Shamanic Healing and Ritual Drama: Health and Medicine in Native North American Religious Traditions. New York: Crossroads. Jilek, Wolfgang G. 1982. Indian Healing: Shamanic Ceremonialism in the Pacific Northwest Today. Surrey, B.C.: Hancock House. Kunitz, Stephen J. 1983. Disease, Change, and the Role of Medicine: The Navajo Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press. LaDuke, Winona. 1992. "Minobimaatisiiwin: The Good Life." Cultural Survival Quarterly 16(4): 69–71. Lovin, Robin W., and Reynolds, Frank E., eds. 1985. Cosmogony and Ethical Order: New Studies in Comparative Ethics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lyons, Oren. 1987. "Communiqué No. 11." Traditional Circle of Elders (Denver), September 11. Mourning Dove. 1990 (1933). Mourning Dove: A Salishan Autobiography, ed. Jay Miller. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Nelson, Richard K. 1983. Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Ortiz, Alfonso. 1969. The Tewa World: Space, Time, Being, and Becoming in a Pueblo Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sandner, Donald. 1979. Navaho Symbols of Healing. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Sturtevant, William C., ed. 1978–. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols. to date. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Sullivan, Lawrence E., ed. 1989. Native American Religions. New York: Macmillan. Thornton, Russell. 1987. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Trigger, Bruce G. 1985. Natives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. Vogel, Virgil J. 1970. American Indian Medicine. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

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. Folge Deiner Leidenschaft bei eBay! Kostenloser Versand verfügbar. Kauf auf eBay. eBay-Garantie This set includes a power point of Aztec Art produced by Primary School children. It shows a range of outcomes- weaving, drawing, clay modelling and printing. Ther History >> Aztec, Maya, and Inca for Kids Art was an important part of Aztec life. They used some forms of art such as music, poetry, and sculpture to honor and praise their gods. Other forms of art, such as jewelry and feather-work, were worn by the Aztec nobility to set them apart from the commoners. Metaphor They used images from nature Today's task Draw a geometric design inspired by the Aztecs. Use the pictures and Aztec fabric to help you. Make sure you can translate your design into print easily! Aztec Art Today we will. Look at examples of Aztec art. Create our own Aztec design to use in printing lesson. Some examples of Aztec art Aztec art was often made mainly for religious reasons, as a way of honouring the gods. The Aztecs decorated the walls of their temples with carvings and created enormous stone sculptures of their gods. They also fashioned much smaller pieces from jade and quartz,. And to try your own, why not follow the example of Shelley Primary School near Horsham, West Sussex, where we gave a presentation on the Aztecs (to all KS2) in June 2009: Claire Davis, the school's Art & Literacy Coordinator, took inspiration from the wonderful book for children The Shawl (learn more below) and in no time the Years 4-6 children were producing easy-to-make string paintings. This is a medium term plan covering Aztecs designed for yr 4 but could be easily used for yrs 5 or 6. It has success criteria (Must/Should/Could) Dec 31, 2020 - Explore Emma Parker's board Aztecs ks2 on Pinterest. See more ideas about aztec, aztec art, art lessons Lloyd goes back in time to the Aztec ages and teaches you how to create traditional Aztec art!For more fun and games from all of your favourite shows, head o.. Pupils could use the images of the Aztec temples shown in the clip as source material to help them construct their own models. You could task individuals and groups to make models of each of the. Sep 14, 2013 - Explore Ann DiPomazio's board Aztec art lesson, followed by 128 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about aztec art, art lessons, art lessons elementary The Aztecs were a group of warriors who first settled in the valley of Mexico in the 14th century. They became some of the most important and powerful people in Mesoamerica and ruled a large empire in the 15th century.. The Aztecs were known for being rather fierce and in fact didn't have the best of reputations - they even sacrificed humans in order to keep the gods they believed in happy See more Aztec art and craft Show text Pendant necklace. Jewellery-making was an important craft and Aztec jewellers had their own guilds (groups). This necklace has a pendant carved in the shape of a human figure Aztec animation from the History channe Speakers: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Beth Harri Nov 24, 2015 - Free printable Teaching Resources for Busy Educator A very basic introduction to where the Aztecs were and what sort of things they did. Includes: ppt and questions info sheet and questions (also SEN) puzzle Watch part two here: https://youtu.be/9_9BAxxxWoEThe Aztec society was enormous, with complex social systems, religious rituals, schools, art, culture, trade.. A fun, creative and bright art project for your students to enjoy. Select the template that best fits your students. 3 Different Templates: ♦ draw your own patterns and then add colour. ♦ draw half of the patterns and then add colour. ♦ just add colour. Suggested Colouring: ♦ Moon side - cool colours (shades of blue, green, purple .Your class should research the different patterns and symbols used in Aztec designs, as well as the native animals often represented such as lizards, snakes, deer, rabbits and monkeys just to name a few. Once they've copied down the Aztec. With this lesson plan, students learn more about Aztec Sun art, specifically the Aztec Sun Stone. Students are encouraged to make real-world connections and think critically throughout the lesson. Aztec Masks. In Pre-columbian Mexico, Aztec masks followed a tradition of many cultures. The art form was ancient, and had religious connections. Masks were created in a variety of ways for a number of purposes, but there's one thing that may surprise you about a typical type of mask - they were often made for display, not to be worn Art & Design Computing Design & Technology Drama English English Grammar English Reading for Pleasure English Spelling French Geography History Maths Music Physical Education RSHE (PSHE) Religious Education Science Spanis The Aztec were ancient people who lived in Mexico during the 14th to 16th centuries. They are considered to have been a highly evolved civilization, having their own numerical system, calendar, and social structure. Much of their art remains in the early 21st century, and it is admired for its animal symbolism and storytelling Clay Aztec Art. Learn more about the ancient Aztec civilization that who were a warrior tribe that lived in Mexico in the 1300s with this fun hands-on Aztec activities for kids. We love lots of clay art ideas for you to explore clay Aztec Art with your kindergartens, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 students How do Aztec masks help modern people to learn about the ancient Aztec society? Cite several examples in your response. Find a photo or graphic of each example to help illustrate your response. Organize your responses into an electronic presentation. Compare and contrast the Aztec culture to that of another Indian group, such as the Mayans The Aztec Empire collapsed. The Spanish took over the entire region. Today, in Mexico, there are about one million descendants of the ancient Aztec, living and working. Human sacrifice is no longer part of their festivals (thank goodness!), but beautiful Aztec art and clever Aztec games are still enjoyed today Aztec Mythology (with 3 myths) lessons. Aztec Folk Literature: Two Legends and a Folktale (complete unit pdf) The Conquest of the Aztec Civilization (complete unit pdf) Aztec Sunstone Lesson Plan. Mexico Lesson Plans (Aztecs) Wheeler Dealer. Aztecs Meet the Spanish (lesson, activity) Cortes and the Aztecs. Conquest of the Aztecs Civilizatio May 26, 2015 - This Pin was discovered by Liz Packwood. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinteres . The Aztec number system was vigesimal or based on twenty. Numbers up to twenty were represented by dots. A flag represented twenty, which could be repeated as often as needed Aztec gods were divided into groups, such as for the weather, agriculture and warfare. The patron god was called Huitzilopochtli, who was associated with war and sacrifice. Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Quetzalcoatl, the god of knowledge and wisdom are other prominent gods common in art and stonework Aztec codices (Nahuatl languages: This has historical reasons, for according to Codex Xolotl and historians like Ixtlilxochitl, the art of tlacuilolli or manuscript painting was introduced to the Tolteca-Chichimeca ancestors of the Tetzcocans by the Tlaoilolaques and Chimalpanecas,. The Ancient Aztecs - Explores the ancient Aztecs, their religious beliefs, their culture, and their everyday life.. Aztec Calendar - Shows you the current date according to the tonalpohualli, the sacred Aztec calendar.Gives a reading of the significance of the day and the relevant gods. The Aztecs - Another excellent Primary school site which tells the tale of the Aztecs The Aztec emperors received art works as tribute or the artists sold them in the great marketplace at Tlatelolco. The walls of the great Tenochtitlan Templo Mayor are covered with carvings of Aztec symbolism. Stone carvers created sculptures of the Aztec gods to be used in the monthly religious ceremonies The Aztecs were a civilization that lived from the 14 th to the 16 th centuries in Tenochtitlan, a city built on an island in Lake Texcoco (now known as Mexico City). The Aztec's first ruler Acamapichtli oversaw the construction of the Aztec Empire in the 1300s. It was only two centuries later in the early 1500s, when they Aztecs were ruled by Cuauhtemoc, that the Spanish conquered and. Also, the Nahuatl word for Toltec, in Aztec society, came to mean artisan in reference to their view that the Toltecs were the pinnacle of Aztec culture, art and design in Mesoamerica. The architecture of the Aztec Empire is known for many of its characteristics, including the incredible architectural styles that the Aztec people used in the construction of their buildings and cities Aztec art usually portrays Huehueteotl as a very old man, hunched over with a wrinkled face and a toothless mouth. Huehueteotl is one of very few gods depicted is such an aged state, but it represented his great wisdom Learn about the wonders of the ancient Aztecs with this brilliant Aztec information PowerPoint for KS2 Featuring Religious Art, Nature with the Aztecs, Stone Carvings, Aztec Pottery, Jewellery and their amazing art!Explore all of the equipment and labour used to make beautiful pieces of architecture and art.This Aztec information lesson is ideal for KS2 students looking into world History . It measures 358 centimetres (141 in) in diameter and 98 centimetres (39 in) thick, and weighs 24,590 kg (54,210 lb). Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in. School sessions and resources for ages 7-11 (KS2). Middle East and Asia . School sessions and resources for ages 7-11 (KS2). Virtual Visits. Bring your class to British Museum with live, interactive workshops on ancient Egypt, Roman Britain and more. For ages 7-11. Aztec feathered headdress Aztec art and feasts for the dead Remembering the Toxcatl Massacre: The Beginning of the End of Aztec Supremacy Painting Aztec History Isthmian cultures (Central America) Browse this content Doe Shaman Effigy Mirror Pendant in the Form of a Bat-Human From Grave 5, Sitio Cont Art Classroom Management Common Core State Standards Dramatic Play English Language Arts Free Resources Health Education Holidays, Festivals, and Special Events Mat By making a purchase on Aztec.Style you represent that you are of legal adult age and that the items you're purchasing can be bought and owned in your state, county, and/or city where you reside. By offering life-like replicas for sale, Aztec.Style does not claim or warrant that any specific buyer may legally buy, own, or possess the product ordered Year 5 primary art resources If you are looking for Year 5 KS2 Art lesson plans, you'll find something perfect for you and your learners right here. Our Art resources for primary school teachers cover famous artists and movements, and traditional art forms from around the world Here are a few of our favourite art and design opportunities in KS2 topics: Art and Design in Lower Key Stage 2 (Year 3 and Year 4) In our Meet the Artists topic, Year 3 and Year 4 children meet some of the world's most famous, influential and ground-breaking painters, sculptors, architects and designers The so-called Aztec Calendar Stone was not a calendar, but most likely a ceremonial container or altar linked to the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh, and festivities dedicated to him. At its center is what is typically interpreted as the image of the god Tonatiuh, within the sign Ollin, which means movement and represents the last of the Aztec cosmological eras, the Fifth Sun All Aztec children attended school, though their curricula varied by gender and social class. Each calpulli had a school for commoner children known as a telpochcalli. The purpose of the telpochcalli was to train young men to be warriors, and boys generally began their training at the age of 15 . According to Aztec cosmology, the sun god Huitzilopochtli was waging a constant war against darkness, and if. Aztec Art. 1,560 likes · 41 talking about this. You've probably heard of the Aztec civilization, but if you're like most people, there's a good chance you don't know a lot about it The Aztec creation myth which describes how the world originated is called the Legend of the Fifth Sun. Several different versions of this myth exist, and this is for a few reasons. First is because the stories were originally passed down by oral tradition The Aztec civilization had many different shapes and sizes of buildings all around. In the Aztecs civilization temples were very popular. These temples had carvings of their daily life, they also contain of five to six layers. These buildings needed the help of tools to be created. There are many useful tools that the Aztecs created Join our newsletter to find out about our brand new booklists, reviews and updates on new children's books.. Click here to sign up We have 94 individual gods listed in the Aztec pantheon of gods and spirits. Many legendary characters have more than one name. If you include nicknames, official titles and honorifics, some gods have hundreds of names! The Godchecker Holy Database currently contains 204 Aztec deity names — these are listed below Chantico was, unfortunately for us, not a very well known god causing her to be shrouded in mystery. From the sources that do survive documenting her, however, we can gain understanding of the Aztec culture on a larger scale. Keber, Eloise Quiñones. Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Ritual, Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript Art$Scheme$of$Work$ $ St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, High Crompton !!!!! ArtSchemeofWork! INTRODUCING CACAO The story of chocolate begins thousands of years B.C. in the region we now know as Southern Mexico and Central America. A tree bearing unusual fruit with vibrant colors produced seeds so valuable that it was considered to be a gift from the gods. It was the cacao tree, known to the Aztecs as Xocatl. Aztec people were not the first to discover and cultivate this magical fruit. The capital city of the Aztec world was called Tenochtitlan, which was built on a lake that was later drained by the Spanish. Modern-day Mexico City is built on top of the old city. The Aztec civilization came to an end when Hernan Cortes, who was mistakenly believed to be an Aztec god, led his Spanish army into Tenochtitlan and conquered it in 1521 The Aztec civilisation, which flourished in the 14th century until the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1519, was a society based around agriculture. Most Aztecs would spent their days working their fields or cultivating food for their great capital city of Tenochtitlan KS2 teaching resources on Maya maths, calendar, writing, chocolate, cities, ballgame, arts, music, clothing, gods and goddesses, languages, people today, timelines and more. Skip to Content. Maya Archaeologist. Educational Resources on the Maya by Dr Diane Davie The first Diary Entry is from the Emperor Cuauhtemoc, the last leader of the Aztecs until the Spanish Conquered them.. 19th January 1522. Sometimes I look back on the life I'd had before this. Conquering Messoamerica, ruling my people, it was just the life for me Modern Art Maths The idea for this lesson was taken from the NCTM article 'Masterpieces to Mathematics' and all credit must go to its authors: Christopher Scaptura, Jennifer Suh and Greg Mahaffey. It's a lovely fractions, decimals, percentages conversion task based around creating works of art in the style of Ellsworth Kelly The aztec nobility would wear circular headdresses that signify the sun and the universe because aztecs were bigger than life. stupid education and philisophical beliefs. grumble grumble. the feathers held a special place in the aztec religion as they felt it symbolized Huitzilopochtli who was the god of featherworks, who they thought was close to the sun god who they worshipped the most The chacmool, a type of reclining Aztec statuary, is perhaps his greatest single influence In 1921 Moore won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, London. His work up to this point had retained a romantic, Victorian flavour, but now he was able to study the ethnographic collections in the V&A and the British Museum Maya Art. Pottery. Pyramids. Palaces & Temples. Maya Stelas. Maya Cities. Ball Courts. Agriculture. Corn tortillas, Chocolate. Dance (over 1000 dances, many still performed today) Masks. Fabulous headdresses. Beautiful Fabrics. Construction of underground reservoirs to store fresh wate Symbols, Iconography, and Art of Ah Puch . Mayan depictions of Ah Puch were either of a skeletal figure that had protruding ribs and a deaths-head skull or of a bloated figure that suggested an advancing state of decomposition. Because of his association with owls, he might be portrayed as a skeletal figure with an owl's head Art and design in the national curriculum for Wales pdf 154 Kb This file may not be accessible. Request a different format If you need a more accessible version of this document please email email@example.com. Please tell us the format you need. If you use assistive technology please tell us what this i In art, Xolotl was depicted as a skeleton, a dog-headed man - xolotl can also mean dog in Nahuatl, the Aztec language - or a monster animal with reversed feet. He was also the patron of the Ulama game. He is identified with Xocotl as being the Aztec god of fire The Aztec civilization developed an amazing calendar that was even more accurate than the one we use today. Hernán Cortés A Spanish adventurer and conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain (1519-21). 1800's. Home ·Art Recipes.

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In its modern descriptive sense, literature denotes written texts; by extension scholars have also applied the term to spoken or sung texts ("oral literature"), writings in particular subject areas ("medical literature"), other collections of material in a given language or national tradition ("English literature"), visual texts such as video and illustration, and published ephemera (“campaign literature”). It is often divided into historical periods ("Victorian literature") as well as into formal categories (prose, poetry, or drama) and genres (such as the epic, the novel, or the folktale). In its more traditional prescriptive sense (that of the 1911 Britannica), literature connotes a particular quality found in the written culture of humane learning, the profession of “letters” (from Latin litteras), and written texts considered as aesthetic and expressive objects. Of “literature”, the current (2012) Britannica states: "The name has traditionally been applied to those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution." In that sense, the art of “literature” differs from linguistics, the science of “language” as studied by theoretical linguists, cognitive scientists and others. Unlike scholars in certain fields of learning, such as biology, where the boundaries are fairly well defined, those in the field of literature still debate exactly what the term means. For example, the literature and drama website at the Australian Catholic University begins a long answer to the question “What is literature?” as follows: The quest to discover a definition for “literature” is a road that is much travelled, though the point of arrival, if ever reached, is seldom satisfactory. Most attempted definitions are broad and vague, and they inevitably change over time. In fact, the only thing that is certain about defining literature is that the definition will change. Concepts of what is literature change over time as well. What may be considered ordinary and not worthy of comment in one time period may be considered literary genius in another. Initial reviews of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights in 1847 were less than spectacular, however, Wuthering Heights is now considered one of the greatest literary achievements of all time. The same can be said for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851). When the celebrated 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica defined literature as “the best expression of the best thought reduced to writing,” few dared question it. Now, though, a century of such questioning has broadened the definition so that it can include nearly any text in any human language, even works in other media. Practically speaking, literature’s present-day definition is shaped by the perspective from which one regards it: scholars of a theoretical bent see it as embedded in questions of race, class, and gender, and highly variable over historical time, while those more aesthetically inclined tend to emphasize its continuity within traditions of arts and humane letters. One perspective typically mistrusts the other. The study of literature Literature as a subject worthy of academic study was first identified in the nineteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) traces the English word itself back to the 1200s (when it described familiarity with classical learning); not until the early 1800s was it used in the more modern sense. Classical authors of ancient Greece and Rome generally never recognized the study of “literature” as a discipline per se; rather, they looked at forms such as drama, history, poetry, philosophy, and mythology on their own terms, or in terms of various schools of philosophical or religious thought. With the revival of advanced learning in late medieval and Renaissance Europe, though, the focus of study became classical literature itself—the sense first recorded by the OED; a person of “letters” was one who knew the classical traditions, and could read the classics. Only after literature in modern vernaculars became too significant to ignore did the current sense of the word develop. European universities long resisted according writers working in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and other vernacular languages the same status in their curricula as that given to writers of classical Latin and Greek. Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and their contemporaries were always conscious of the perceived inferiority of their native language, even as they rivaled and surpassed the literary achievements of their classical precursors. As scientific learning began to supplant classical learning in the early nineteenth century, universities added philology (the predecessor of modern linguistics) as a discipline, but that field focused more on the historical relationships between languages than on their literature. In the United Kingdom, for example, the first institutions to offer instruction in literature were not the elite universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, but those geared toward students seeking to move up in the world, such as the London Working Men's College (founded in 1854). There, much to their surprise, sons of London bricklayers and artisans encountered teachers such as F.J. Furnivall, an early editor of the OED, who opened his classes with the dramatic announcement that he was about to return a national literature to its citizens, and then commenced reading aloud in Middle English from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. At the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching, J.C. Collins stressed the influence of classics on English literature, shifting studies of the language away from philology and toward the present-day discipline of comparative literature. In the United States, the study of literature was introduced at normal schools (schools for the preparation of teachers, mostly women at that time), and subsequently at land grant universities, where English literature was given the place assigned at older universities to reading in Latin and Greek. Early professors of English literature, among them Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and Henry Morley, devoted much of their attention to establishing a canon of suitable texts for study. In the twentieth century, this led to standardized anthologies, such as the Oxford and Norton anthologies of English literature. With the rise of the New Critics in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, scholars began looking at the literary text as a cultural object—a living repository of tradition extending across ages and civilizations. This movement coincided with expanding post-World War II college populations and helped elevate literature’s place and prestige in university curricula. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, proponents of poststructuralist theory began questioning the traditional literary canon and accepted hierarchies: Why, for instance, should lyric poetry be regarded as worthy of literary study, when comic books weren’t? Couldn’t we learn important things about contemporary culture from native American storytelling traditions as well as Italian opera? Practically speaking, this has meant that while college English departments still teach courses in Shakespeare and James Joyce, the sense of a highly exclusive canon of “great writers” is much diminished, and more kinds of literature are fair game for scholarly inquiry. Scope of literature In its broadest sense, literature came into being with the first use of pictographs, hieroglyphs, cuneiform, or alphabetic scripts, although it is more common to designate as "literature" only those texts which contain a degree of imaginative, emotive, allegoric, didactic, or descriptive content. Thus, business records, tallies, or lists are not generally included, even though such texts, which can be found in the earliest civilizations, are significant from a historical and archaeological perspective. The earliest literature evolved from the transcription of pre-existing oral traditional narratives, and progressed gradually to a point where such materials were first composed in written form. Religious texts, while they have of course an entirely different significance to the adherents of the faiths to which they pertain, may also be considered literature when their narrative, figurative, or compositional qualities are foregrounded. The earliest instances of literature, therefore, those termed "ancient", include a variety of texts ranging from the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh to the Hebrew Torah, and onward to the Hellenistic Odyssey of Homer. These texts, though clearly recognized as literature, share an origin in pre-literate cultures, and thus predate, in some sense, the modern use of the term. Later in human history, the deliberate writing of imaginary or fanciful texts, disseminated in written form to a literate audience, marks the first fully self-conscious literary traditions. In this context, although still considered ancient, might be placed such compositions as the Latin Aeneid of Virgil, the Chinese Songs of Chu, or the Greek lyrical poetry of Sappho. With improvements in the production and dissemination of written texts, from Roman copyhouses to the invention of the printing press, along with the increase of a literate reading public, a third sense of "literature," and the one most commonly used today, came into being. Specifically, literature encompasses all imaginative writing in any language, as well as essays, criticism, travel writing, biographies, memoirs, diaries, and collections of letters. Literature was first recorded in pictographic and alphabetic systems of writing, which were either incised on clay tablets or stone, or written with inks or dyes on various flat organic media such as papyrus or parchment. The development of alphabetic systems, in which characters stood for sounds instead of things, by the Phoenician and Greek cultures, enabled a rapid advancement in the variety and dissemination of written literature. In earliest times, such documents were generally prepared and stored on long sheets rolled into scrolls, but beginning in the second century CE, the codex, a bound set of trimmed sheets with a cover, began to predominate; this is the ancestor of the modern book. The introduction of paper to Western Europe in the later Middle Ages greatly reduced the cost of written manuscripts, and the invention of mechanical printing about 1450 led to the printing of books in large numbers, and still further reduction in cost. Further refinements to the printing process, such as machines which could cast whole blocks of type at once, led to the emergence of print as a mass medium in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with new formats such as magazines and newspapers printed in thousands of copies, both for subscribers and for sale at booksellers and newsstands. Genres such as the novel gained tremendous new audiences through appearances in periodical and serial forms, bringing writers such as Poe, Dickens, Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs to a mass audience, and establishing literature as a popular medium. In the later twentieth century, the field of popular literature continued to expand, both through the introduction of mass-market genres such as the dime novel and the illustrated press, and via the new commitment to public education and developing a literary curriculum of standard school texts. Established genres, such as detective fiction and science fiction, gained new audiences through the introduction of the paperback book, printed on inexpensive paper with a thin cardboard wrapper, and sold for a small fraction of the cost of a hardcover book. The large number of young readers led to a great expansion of children's literature and adolescent literature, as well as to new popular forms such as the comic book, which in recent years has emerged as a medium for adult fiction in the form of graphic novels. With the advent of new media and technologies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, texts are often stored and transmitted electronically, magnetically, or digitally, without ever being printed on paper; they also often include, or are linked to audio, video, or multimedia content. Speech can now also be recorded, stored, and transmitted, so that some literary historians, such as Walter J. Ong, regard this as an age of "secondary orality". Such changes will doubtlessly expand and alter the definition of literature, just as did earlier technological developments. A formal distinction common to many literary traditions is that between poetry and prose. Although the precise distinction between these two categories varies somewhat among world literatures, and though the boundaries between them have grown more blurred according to certain modern literary theories, it may generally be observed that poetry depends upon a relatively fixed array of metrical and phonological patterns used as repetitive devices, and involves a more densely interconnected arrangement of imagery and metaphor. In Old English poetry, as in the earliest Latin verse, a fixed pattern of stressed syllables, with the alliteration of their initial sounds, provides the basic structure, whereas in ancient Greek poetry, the length of the syllables was the primary principle. Rhyme, the assonance of the final sounds of words or lines, is one of the most common and recognizable options of poetic structure. Prose, of course, especially prose described as "poetic", may partake of all these qualities as well, though generally not in such a dense and closely patterned manner. Modern poetry also includes forms such as free verse and concrete poetry, which depart from the strict poetic meter or earlier forms, or attempt to abandon formal constraints altogether. Prose is a far more inclusive category, and indeed envelops a wide variety of texts, such as business letters, instruction manuals, newspapers, memos, lists, contracts, speeches, and legal documents, which may not be considered literature at all. The earliest epic narratives were poetic in form, and prose was more generally reserved for the writing of history, religious instruction, or descriptive accounts of events or travels. The modern western tradition of literary prose emerged in the later Middle Ages, in texts such as Boccaccio's Decameron, or the prose segments of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales such as the Tale of Melibee, which Chaucer himself describes as "a litel thing in prose". By the time of the Renaissance, literary prose tended to take the form of extended essays, such as Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, or in narratives now regarded as early antecedents of the novel such as Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller. From the eighteenth century onward, literary prose has largely comprised either narrative fiction or essays, along with collections of personal letters, biography, and autobiography. The evolution of various genres of literature has varied considerably in different languages and cultures, although some very general categories can be outlined. Much early imaginative literature can be classed as epic; within this category one would find texts as various as the Odyssey, the Mahabharata, the Finnish Kalevala, the Elder Edda, or the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Epic literature is marked by a strong, central narrative, often focused on the deeds of a single heroic figure, and featuring elaborately detailed accounts of battle. The Greek term "lyric" also has close equivalents in many world literatures; lyric poetry is generally written in short stanzas or strophes, with an emphasis on image and affective emotion. Significant lyric poets in world traditions have included Sappho, Li Po, Kabir, Keats, and Dickinson. Another early and continuing form, dramatic literature, consists of words and actions to be spoken and performed upon a stage by actors; while it has often been recorded in writing and print, the primary venue for this form of literature is theatrical performance. In ancient Greece, where plays evolved out of the religious observances of Dionysus, the works of Aristophanes, Sophocles, and others retain their force after two millennia. Significant world playwrights include Shakespeare, Molière, Ibsen, Chekhov, and Beckett. Some of the paradigms of the stage extend to those of cinema film, and today film studies are often conjoined academically with the study of literature. In the past few centuries, the novel has emerged as one of the dominant literary forms of modern literature, combining some features of the epic (such as a strong, central protagonist) with elements of historical narrative, travel writing, and the naturalistic dialogue of plays. Many claim Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605, 1615) as the first novel, though some assign it instead to the category of mock epic, while others again count centuries earlier Far Eastern works as novels. Among the great practitioners of the novel over the centuries since have been Austen, Dickens, Tolstoy, Proust, Joyce, and Faulkner. Novels themselves, from their first appearance, have been categorized in a variety of topical or formal sub-genres, such as the picaresque novel or the epistolary novel, as well as broader thematic categories such as science fiction, detective fiction, or fantasy. Although their names imply otherwise, national literatures often emerged before the dawn of modern nation-states. Dante, famously, in De Vulgari Eloquentia, his defense of writing in Italian, declared that literary Italian must be "curial", or "of the manner of the Italian court"" - even though, at the time he wrote there was no such singular Italian state. Like Chaucer and other medieval poets, he wrote before the language of his compositions reached its modern form. The writers of the Renaissance were a vital part of the emergence of their respective national literatures, though some, like Sir Thomas More, eschewed their own vernacular in favor of Latin. Even writers whose works now seem essential to their national literature, such as Goethe or Shakespeare, only became legitimate subjects of serious academic consideration very late in the twentieth century, when national vernacular literatures became subjects for schools and universities. Today, at a point when literary works are frequently translated into other languages soon after their publication, and literacy rates around the world are at historic highs, there is a growing sense of an international audience for literature. Not all the study of literature takes place along national lines; comparative literature is one academic discipline that engages in the study of literature in an interdisciplinary and transnational context. The relationships between the national literatures of former colonial powers has also led to postcolonial literature's emergence as a significant area of study. Other interdisciplinary fields with close ties to literature, such as film studies and cultural studies, also move readily across the old boundaries of national and ethnic literatures. The future of literature In 2003, poet Dana Gioia, chairman of the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, noted that the average American spent a mere twenty-four minutes per day reading, compared to more than four hours spent watching television. "The decline of print as our culture's primary means of codifying, presenting, and preserving information isn't merely a methodological change," he observed, "it is an epistemological transformation." This trend, combined with the proliferation of new media for literary expression—such as e-books, "blogs" and other online vehicles, audiobooks, "podcasts," text messaging, and other technologies—could be seen as cause for alarm about the future of letters, especially on the part of devotees of traditional written literature. Yet Gioia and other literary futurists suggest that the likely outcome is not the end of literature, but new ways in which the literary impulse expresses itself through new media. In other words, the future of literature may have less to do with traditional literacy and letters than anyone can predict. - literature, Primary Contributor: Kenneth Rexroth. Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 01 November 2012. - What is literature? Literature and Drama Website. Australian Catholic University. - Kearny, Anthony. "John Churton Collins and the Attempt to Link English and Classics." British Journal of Educational Studies 29:3 (1981), 258-267 - Gioia, Dana. "Disappearing Ink: Poetry at the End of Print Culture." Hudson Review 56.1 (Spring 2003). http://www.hudsonreview.com/gioiaSp03.pdf

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Sophocles in Wikipedia Sophocles (pronounced /ˈsɒfəkliːz/ Σοφοκλῆς Sophoklēs, his name was very likely pronounced [sopʰoklɛ̂ːs]; (c. 497/6 BCE - winter 406/5 BCE) was the second of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides. According to the Suda, a 10th century encyclopedia, Sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most-feted playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens that took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. Sophocles competed in around 30 competitions; he won perhaps 24 and was never judged lower than second place; in comparison, Aeschylus won 14 competitions and was defeated by Sophocles at times, while Euripides won only 4 competitions. The most famous of Sophocles' tragedies are those concerning Oedipus and Antigone: these are often known as the Theban plays, although each play was actually a part of different tetralogy, the other members of which are now lost. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus. Sophocles, the son of Sophilos, was a wealthy member of the rural deme (small community) of Colonus Hippius in Attica, which would later become a setting for one of his plays, and he was probably born there. His birth took place a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC: the exact year is unclear, although 497/6 is perhaps most likely. Sophocles' first artistic triumph was in 468 BC, when he took first prize in the Dionysia theatre competition over the reigning master of Athenian drama, Aeschylus. According to Plutarch the victory came under unusual circumstances. Instead of following the custom of choosing judges by lot, the archon asked Cimon and the other strategoi present to decide the victor of the contest. Plutarch further contends that Aeschylus soon left for Sicily following this loss to Sophocles. Although Plutarch says that this was Sophocles' first production, it is now thought that this is an embellishment of the truth and that his first production was most likely in 470 BC. Triptolemus was probably one of the plays that Sophocles presented at this festival. Sophocles became a man of importance in the public halls of Athens as well as in the theatres. At the age of 16, he was chosen to lead the paean, a choral chant to a god, celebrating the decisive Greek sea victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. The rather insufficient information about Sophocles’ civic life implies he was a well-liked man who participated in activities in society and showed remarkable artistic ability. He was also elected as one of ten strategoi, high executive officials that commanded the armed forces, as a junior colleague of Pericles. Sophocles was born extremely wealthy (his father was a wealthy armour manufacturer) and was highly educated throughout his entire life. Early in his career, the politician Cimon might have been one of his patrons, although if he was there was no ill will borne by Pericles, Cimon's rival, when Cimon was ostracized in 461 BC In 443/2 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai, or treasurers of Athena, helping to manage the finances of the city during the political ascendancy of Pericles. According to the Vita Sophoclis he served as a general in the Athenian campaign against Samos, which had revolted in 441 BC; he was supposed to have been elected to his post as the result of his production of Antigone. In 420 he welcomed and set up an altar for the image of Asclepius at his house, when the deity was introduced to Athens. For this he was given the posthumous epithet Dexion (receiver) by the Athenians. He was also elected, in 413 BC, to be one of the commissioners crafting a response to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily during the Peloponnesian War. Sophocles died at the age of ninety or ninety-one in the winter of 406/5 BC, having seen within his lifetime both the Greek triumph in the Persian Wars and the terrible bloodletting of the Peloponnesian War. As with many famous men in classical antiquity, Sophocles' death inspired a number of apocryphal stories about the cause. Perhaps the most famous is the suggestion that he died from the strain of trying to recite a long sentence from his Antigone without pausing to take a breath. Another account suggests he choked while eating grapes at the Anthesteria festival in Athens. A third account holds that he died of happiness after winning his final victory at the City Dionysia. A few months later, the comic poet wrote this eulogy in his play titled The Muses: "Blessed is Sophocles, who had a long life, was a man both happy and talented, and the writer of many good tragedies; and he ended his life well without suffering any misfortune." This is somewhat ironic, for according to some accounts his own sons tried to have him declared incompetent near the end of his life; he is said to have refuted their charge in court by reading from his as yet unproduced Oedipus at Colonus. One of his sons, Iophon, and a grandson, also called Sophocles, both followed in his footsteps to become playwrights. Sophocles as erastês It was common in fifth-century Greece for men of the upper classes to cultivate sexual relationships with adolescent boys. Sophocles was one such participant in the relationship between the erastês ("lover") and eromenos ("beloved"). Athenaeus reports two stories of this kind, one, if authentic, from a contemporary: a symposium in which Sophocles cleverly steals a kiss from the boy sitting next to him, and another in which Sophocles entices a young boy to have sex outside the walls of Athens, and the boy takes Sophocles' cloak. According to Plutarch, when he caught Sophocles admiring a young boy's looks, Pericles rebuked him for neglecting his duty as a strategos. Sophocles' sexual appetite reportedly lasted well into old age. In The Republic (1.329b-329c) Plato tells us that when he finally succumbed to impotence, Sophocles was glad to be free of his "raging and savage beast of a master." It is debatable how far such anecdotes were invented as references to this well-known passage. In yet another such account, a satirical one by Machon involving a hetaira known for her ironical sense of humor, we are told that, "Demophon, Sophocles' minion, when still a youth had Nico, already old and surnamed the she-goat; they say she had very fine buttocks. One day he begged of her to lend them to him. 'Very well,' she said with a smile,-'Take from me, dear, what you give to Sophocles.'" Works and legacy Among Sophocles' earliest innovations was the addition of a third actor, which further reduced the role of the chorus and created greater opportunity for character development and conflict between characters. Aeschylus, who dominated Athenian playwrighting during Sophocles' early career, followed suit and adopted the third character into his own work towards the end of his life. Aristotle credits Sophocles with the introduction of skenographia, or scenery-painting. It was not until after the death of the old master Aeschylus in 456 BCE that Sophocles became the pre-eminent playwright in Athens. Thereafter, Sophocles emerged victorious in dramatic competitions at 18 Dionysia and 6 Lenaia festivals. In addition to innovations in dramatic structure, Sophocles' work is also known for its deeper development of characters than earlier playwrights. His reputation was such that foreign rulers invited him to attend their courts, although unlike Aeschylus who died in Sicily, or Euripides who spent time in Macedon, Sophocles never accepted any of these invitations. Aristotle used Sophocles' Oedipus the King in his Poetics (c. 335 BCE) as an example of the highest achievement in tragedy, which suggests the high esteem in which his work was held by later Greeks. Only two of the seven surviving plays can be dated securely: Philoctetes (409 BCE) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 BCE, staged after Sophocles' death by his grandson). Of the others, Electra shows stylistic similarities to these two plays, which suggests that it was probably written in the latter part of his career. Ajax, Antigone and The Trachiniae are generally thought to be among his early works, again based on stylistic elements, with Oedipus the King coming in Sophocles' middle period. Most of Sophocles' plays show an undercurrent of early fatalism and the beginnings of Socratic logic as a mainstay for the long tradition of Greek tragedy. The Theban plays The Theban plays consist of three plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King (also called Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex), and Oedipus at Colonus. All three plays concern the fate of Thebes during and after the reign of King Oedipus. They have often been published under a single cover. Sophocles, however, wrote the three plays for separate festival competitions, many years apart. Not only are the Theban plays not a true trilogy (three plays presented as a continuous narrative) but they are not even an intentional series and contain some inconsistencies among them. He also wrote other plays having to do with Thebes, such as The Progeny, of which only fragments have survived. Each of the plays relates to the tale of the mythological Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother without knowledge that they were his parents. His family is fated to be doomed for three generations. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the protagonist. Oedipus' infanticide is planned by his parents, Laius and Jocasta, to avert him fulfilling a prophecy ; in truth, the servant entrusted with the infanticide passes the infant on through a series of intermediaries to a childless couple, who adopt him not knowing his history. Oedipus eventually learns of the Delphic Oracle's prophecy of him, that he would kill his father and marry his mother ; Oedipus attempts to flee his fate without harming his parents (at this point, he does not know that he is adopted). Oedipus meets a man at a crossroads accompanied by servants; Oedipus and the man fought, and Oedipus killed the man. (This man was his father, Laius, not that anyone apart from the gods knew this at the time). He becomes the ruler of Thebes after solving the riddle of the sphinx and in the process, marries the widowed Queen, his mother Jocasta. Thus the stage is set for horrors. When the truth comes out, folling from another true but confusing prophecy from Delphi, Jocasta commits suicide, Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes, and the children are left to sort out the consequences themselves (which provides the grounds for the later parts of the cycle of plays). In Oedipus at Colonus, the banished Oedipus and his daughters Antigone and Ismene arrive at the town of Colonus where they encounter Theseus, King of Athens. Oedipus dies and strife begins between his sons Polyneices and Eteocles. In Antigone the protagonist is Oedipus' daughter. Antigone is faced with the choice of allowing her brother Polyneices' body to remain unburied, outside the city walls, exposed to the ravages of wild animals, or to bury him and face death. The king of the land, Creon, has forbidden the burial of Polyneices for he was a traitor to the city. Antigone decides to bury his body and face the consequences of her actions. Creon sentences her to death. Eventually, Creon is convinced to free Antigone from her punishment, but his decision comes too late and Antigone commits suicide. Her suicide triggers the suicide of two others close to King Creon: his son, Haemon, who was to wed Antigone, and his wife who commits suicide after losing her only surviving son. Composition and inconsistencies The plays were written across thirty-six years of Sophocles' career and were not composed in chronological order, but instead were written in the order Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. Nor were they composed as a trilogy - a group of plays to be performed together, but are the remaining parts of three different groups of plays. As a result, there are some inconsistencies: notably, Creon is the undisputed king at the end of Oedipus the King and, in consultation with Apollo, single-handedly makes the decision to expel Oedipus from Thebes. Creon is also instructed to look after Oedipus' daughters Antigone and Ismene at the end of Oedipus the King. By contrast, in the other plays there is some struggle with Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices in regard to the succession. In Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles attempts to work these inconsistencies into a coherent whole: Ismene explains that, in light of their tainted family lineage, her brothers were at first willing to cede the throne to Creon. Nevertheless, they eventually decided to take charge of the monarchy, with each brother disputing the other's right to succeed. In addition to being in a clearly more powerful position in Oedipus at Colonus, Eteocles and Polynices are also culpable: they condemn their father to exile, which is one of his bitterest charges against them. Other than the three Theban plays, there are four surviving plays by Sophocles: Ajax, The Trachiniae, Electra, and Philoctetes, the last of which won first prize. Ajax focuses on the proud hero of the Trojan War, Telamonian Ajax, who is driven to treachery and eventually suicide. Ajax becomes gravely upset when Achilles’ armor is presented to Odysseus instead of himself. Despite their enmity toward him, Odysseus persuades the kings Menelaus and Agamemnon to grant Ajax a proper burial. The Trachiniae (named for the Trachinian women who make up the chorus) dramatizes Deianeira's accidentally killing Heracles after he had completed his famous twelve labors. Tricked into thinking it is a love charm, Deianeira applies poison to an article of Heracles' clothing; this poisoned robe causes Heracles to die an excruciating death. Upon learning the truth, Deianeira commits suicide. Electra Corresponds roughly to the plot of Aeschylus' Libation Bearers. It details how Electra and Orestes' avenge their father Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Philoctetes retells the story of Philoctetes, an archer who had been abandoned on Lemnos by the rest of the Greek fleet while on the way to Troy. After learning that they cannot win the Trojan War without Philoctetes' bow, the Greeks send Odysseus and Neoptolemus to retrieve him; due to the Greeks' earlier treachery, however, Philoctetes refuses to rejoin the army. It is only Heracles' deus ex machina appearance that persuades Philoctetes to go to Troy. Fragments of The Tracking Satyrs (Ichneutae) were discovered in Egypt in 1907. These amount to about half of the play, making it the best preserved satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, which survives in its entirety. Fragments of The Progeny (Epigonoi) were discovered in April 2005 by classicists at Oxford University with the help of infrared technology previously used for satellite imaging. The tragedy tells the story of the second siege of Thebes. A number of other Sophoclean works have survived only in fragments, including: * Aias Lokros (Ajax the Locrian) * Akhaiôn Syllogos (The Gathering of the Achaeans) * Aleadae (The Sons of Aleus) * Lacaenae (Lacaenian Women) * Manteis or Polyidus (The Prophets or Polyidus) * Nauplios Katapleon (Nauplius' Arrival) * Nauplios Pyrkaeus (Nauplius' Fires) * Poimenes (The Shepherds) * Syndeipnoi (The Diners, or, The Banqueters) * Tyro Keiromene (Tyro Shorn) * Tyro Anagnorizomene (Tyro Rediscovered). Sophocles' view of his own work There is a passage of Plutarch's tract De Profectibus in Virtute 7 in which Sophocles discusses his own growth as a writer. A likely source of this material for Plutarch was the Epidemiae of Ion of Chios, a book that recorded many conversations of Sophocles. This book is a likely candidate to have contained Sophocles' discourse on his own development because Ion was a friend of Sophocles, and the book is known to have been used by Plutarch. Though some interpretations of Plutarch's words suggest that Sophocles says that he imitated Aeschylus, the translation does not fit grammatically, nor does the interpretation that Sophocles said that he was making fun of Aeschylus' works. C. M. Bowra argues for the following translation of the line: "After practising to the full the bigness of Aeschylus, then the painful ingenuity of my own invention, now in the third stage I am changing to the kind of diction which is most expressive of character and best." Here Sophocles says that he has completed a stage of Aeschylus' work, meaning that he went through a phase of imitating Aeschylus' style but is finished with that. Sophocles' opinion of Aeschylus was mixed. He certainly respected him enough to imitate his work early on in his career, but he had reservations about Aeschylus' style, and thus did not keep his imitation up. Sophocles' first stage, in which he imitated Aeschylus, is marked by "Aeschylean pomp in the language". Sophocles' second stage was entirely his own. He introduced new ways of evoking feeling out of an audience, like in his Ajax when he is mocked by Athene, then the stage is emptied so that he may commit suicide alone. Sophocles mentions a third stage, distinct from the other two, in his discussion of his development. The third stage pays more heed to diction. His characters spoke in a way that was more natural to them and more expressive of their individual character feelings.

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FAQ – General Children touch and manipulate everything in their environment. They learn best by doing, which requires movement and spontaneous investigation. In a way, the human mind is handmade. That is, through movement and touch, the child explores, manipulates, and learns about the physical world. Montessori children are free to move about, and may work alone or with others. They choose an activity and may work at their own pace. As long as they do not disturb anyone or damage anything, and as long as they put things back where they belong when finished students have the privilege and responsibility of choosing work for themselves. Especially at the preschool level, materials are designed to capture a child’s attention. They are intrigued to investigate the item in terms of size, shape, color, texture, weight, smell, sound, etc. They begin to learn to pay attention and more closely observe small details in the things around them. Gradually they hone their appreciation and understanding of their environment. This is a key in helping children discover how to learn. Freedom is essential as children begin to explore. The goal of a Montessori teacher is to have his/her students fall in love with the process of focusing their complete attention on something and mastering its challenge with enthusiasm. Work dictated by adults rarely results in such enthusiasm and interest so the key is to create an absolutely intriguing environment filled to the brim with opportunities for learning that the children are free to select for themselves. Therefore the Montessori classroom is a very deliberately prepared environment that serves as a learning laboratory in which children are allowed to explore, discover, and select their own work. The independence children gain empowers them socially and emotionally and is intrinsically involved with helping them become comfortable and confident in their own abilities. They develop the confidence to ask questions, puzzle out the answer, and learn for themselves without needing to be “spoon-fed” by a teacher or adult. While Montessori may look unstructured to some people, it is actually quite structured at every level. The idea is to provide freedom of choice within a clear structured environment. Just because the Montessori program is highly individualized does not mean that students can do whatever they want. Montessori teaches all of the “basics,” along with giving students the opportunity to investigate and learn subjects that are of particular interest. They are given the responsibility and freedom to make their own choices. For preschool students external structure is limited to clear-cut ground rules and correct procedures that provide guidelines and structure needed for three- and four-year-olds. By the third year, or kindergarten year, teachers introduce a daily or weekly “contract” or similar system to allow students to keep track of what they have accomplished and what they have yet to complete. So while they may have some measure of freedom, they must choose within very clear expectations. As they demonstrate their ability to follow-through, they are gradually given more responsibility to manage their own time to complete expected assignments. Learning how to manage one’s time at an early age is an important life skill and one that takes time to practice and hone. The mixed-age classroom actually improves a Montessori teachers’ ability to individualize learning for each child. Because a Montessori teacher has the benefit of keeping a student in his/her classroom for several years and is not faced with an entire classroom of new students every year, Montessori teachers are able to truly get to know each student as individuals and develop a very good sense of each child’s learning styles and temperaments. They get to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses, interests, and personalities extremely well. They also are already familiar with each child’s parents and family members. Montessori teachers closely monitor their students’ progress and take note of particular interests. They frequently adapt lessons and/or introduce activities relating to topics they know are of keen interest to a particular student or to specific groups of students in the class. Many families also choose to request the same Montessori teacher for younger siblings as older siblings have had to capitalize on the strong existing relationship already in place between teacher and family. Montessori teachers focus on the child as a person, rather than on a daily lesson plan as is the focus in most traditional classrooms. Montessori teachers lead children to ask questions, think for themselves, explore, investigate, and discover. Their ultimate objective is to help their students to learn independently and retain the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence with which they were born. Montessori teachers don’t simply present lessons; they are facilitators, mentors, coaches, and guides. Montessori teachers typically do not spend much time teaching lessons to the whole class at once; instead, the focus is to prepare and maintain the physical, intellectual, and social/emotional environment within which the children will work. A key aspect of this is the selection of intriguing and developmentally appropriate learning activities to meet the needs and interests of each child in the class. Montessori teachers usually present lessons individually or to small groups of children at one time, limiting lessons to brief and very clear presentations. The goal is to give students just enough to capture their attention and spark their interest so they are motivated to come back on their own to work the particular material they have been shown. Parents are sometimes concerned that by having younger children in the same class as older ones, either the younger or older students may be shortchanged. They fear that the younger children will demand all of the teachers’ time and attention, or that the teacher will focus more on kindergarten curriculum for the five-year-olds and the three- and four-year-olds will not get the emotional support and stimulation that they need. It is understandable for parents to be concerned, however, Montessori schools throughout the world consistently find a mixed-age classroom actually enhances development for every level. The Montessori environment is designed to address the developmental characteristics normal to children in each stage. Montessori classes are set up to encompass a two- or three-year age span. This allows younger students the inspiration of older children, who in turn benefit from serving as role models. Each child learns at her own pace and will be ready for any given lesson in her own time, not on the teacher’s schedule of lessons. In a mixed-age class, children can always find peers who are working at their current level. Children ideally and typically stay in the same class for three years; with two-thirds of the class normally coming back each year, so the classroom culture remains quite stable. Because a child remains in one classroom for two or three years he/she develops a strong sense of community with classmates and teachers. The age range also allows especially gifted children the stimulation of intellectual peers, without requiring that they skip a grade or feel emotionally out of place. Montessori students are given quite a bit of leeway to pursue topics that interest them, however, this freedom is not absolute. There are expectations for what a student should know and be able to manage by a certain age. Montessori teachers know these standards and provide the structure and support necessary to ensure that students live up to expectations. If it appears that a child needs time and support until he or she is developmentally ready to progress in a particular area, Montessori teachers provide that support and/or helps the parent to identify resources to help their child acquire such support. It is important to realize, however, that a young child observing other students engaged in a work rather than engaging directly is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes younger students need to observe others first to gain the confidence to make their own selection. Montessori teachers are keenly aware of every child in the classroom and gently guide reluctant students to activities they think will spark their interest and allow them time to get used to the idea. By not unduly pressuring a child, the spark of curiosity inevitably kicks in such that the child who was reluctant at first is soon fully engaged. Dr. Montessori identified four “planes of development” with each having its own developmental characteristics and developmental challenges. The early childhood Montessori environment (age 3-6) is crafted to work with the “absorbent mind,” “sensitive periods,” and the tendencies of children at this stage of their development. During these early years, learning comes spontaneously without effort. They learn a variety of concepts in a hands-on way, such that when they move into the elementary grades they have a clear, concrete sense of many abstract concepts. The Montessori approach inspires children to become self-motivated, self-disciplined, and to retain the sense of curiosity that so many children lose along the way in traditional teacher-led classrooms. Montessori students tend to show care and respect toward their environment and one another and are able to work at their own pace and ability. Students who have had the benefit of a three-year Montessori experience tend embrace a joy of learning that prepares them for further challenges. While students can join a Montessori program at any age, we find that students get the most out of their Montessori experience if they join around age 3 and stay at least through the kindergarten year. Children entering at age four or five typically adapt into the classroom very well but may not have enough opportunity to work through all of the three-year curriculum and therefore may not have had enough time to develop the same skills, work habits, or values as students who have had the benefit of a three-year cycle. Students who are 2-1/2 to 3 years old or are 3 years old but not ready for a preschool program may enroll two, three or five half days per week in our Prep Program. The goal of the Prep Program is to help younger students learn social and emotional skills to prepare themselves to join a Montessori preschool/kindergarten class. Students enrolled in the Prep Program may enroll in the Montessori preschool program the following school year or may be ready to join a preschool program during the course of the school year (if a space is available and only after a detailed assessment of a student’s readiness for a successful transition) as determined by the Prep Program Teacher and School Director in conjunction with the child’s parents. Two- and three-day programs are often appealing to parents who do not need full-time care; however, we, like most other Montessori schools, find that four and five-day programs create the consistency that is so important for a Montessori age 3-6 classroom. We therefore offer five half days (morning or afternoon), five full days or four-afternoon Montessori programs for students in our Montessori 3-6 classrooms. The primary goal of a Montessori environment is to create a culture of consistency, order, independence and empowerment. Attending only two or three days per week makes creating such a classroom culture much more difficult to achieve and much more difficult for a child who attends only off and on to embrace and get the most from. In addition, if only two or three days per week are offered, a Montessori teacher would be required to track and work with many more total students and families. By having students attend more consistently, the bonds between teacher and child/teacher and family are stronger and the Montessori teacher can concentrate on a more reasonable total number of pupils each school year and focus on each students’ needs more effectively. However, as a way to allow younger students to get ready for a more consistent routine, we have a Prep Program, which is intended for new students ages 2-1/2 to 3 years old. It is offered as a three or five-morning per week program. The goal of the Prep Program is to help younger students learn social and emotional skills to prepare themselves to join a Montessori age 3-6 class. Students enrolled in the Prep Program may enroll in the Montessori preschool program the following school year or may be ready to join a preschool program during the course of the school year (if a space is available and only after a detailed assessment of a student’s readiness for a successful transition) as determined by the Prep Program Teacher and School Director in conjunction with the child’s parents. To provide additional flexibility once a student is age 3 we offer our Enrichment program as a supplement to a preschool or kindergarten student who is already enrolled in a Montessori class. Students can attend Enrichment classes one, two, three, four or five days per week as an add on to their Montessori half-day schedule. We also offer before and after school programs to help parents create a schedule that works best for their family needs. We find that students do best when their schedule is as consistent as possible and will work with you to try to find the optimal schedule for your child. STEAM Enrichment Classes (3-6 years; available only as an add-on half day class if enrolled in half day Montessori 3-6 for the other half of the day) Before and After School Care (available before morning classes 7:30AM – 8:45AM and after afternoon classes have ended 3:30-6:15PM) Clubroom – Available on non-school days only for students enrolled in Sammamish Montessori School. Clubroom is available on conference days, in-service days, school breaks and public/bank holidays such as Veterans Day. This program is an option for students enrolled in SMS and is paid separately based on the actual amount of time a student attends this program; it is not rolled into the tuition payment so that families not using the service are not paying for it. We create plenty of fun activities such as arts and crafts, projects, plan music and dancing, games, computer time, outdoor recess and sports and sometimes cooking projects. Please help us plan well by reserving your child’s space in advance. That way we can determine what types of activities would work best for the group and we can make sure we have plenty of staff members in place and ready to supervise and work with the children. The school is closed and we do not offer our Clubroom program on Labor Day, Thanksgiving Eve and Day, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Independence Day and Memorial Day. Montessori classes are available as five-day-per-week morning only or five-day-per-week full day options. There may be a limited number of four-day afternoon spaces for preschool-aged children available unless all spaces have been taken by students attending five days per week. Our STEAM program is offered as an integrated 5 full day STEAM/Montessori combination class. Children attend about half their time in Montessori and the other half in STEAM. The STEAM model supports and reinforces the learning that children acquire in their Montessori classroom and gives children more time to explore topics at their own pace. Children benefit socially in this environment where they can participate in collaborative group activities and projects. The STEAM program provides activities that strengthen a child’s fine and large motor skills, support concentration and cognitive skills and ignite the imagination. Our Prep Program is for new students who are starting at age 2-1/2 to 3 years old. It is offered as a four or five morning per week program. The goal of the Prep Program is to help younger students learn social and emotional skills to prepare themselves to join a Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten class. Students enrolled in the Prep Program may enroll in the Montessori Preschool program the following school year or may be ready to join the preschool program during the course of the school year (if a space is available and only after a detailed assessment of a student’s readiness for a successful transition as determined by the Prep Program Teacher and School Director in conjunction with the child’s parents. Yes. If more than one child from the same immediate family attends at the same time, there is a 5% tuition reduction for each sibling. Registration fees and tuition deposits are nonrefundable. Enrollment is a commitment for the entire school year and the commitment you make when you enroll your child, in turn, allows the school to make commitments to teachers and fulfill the many financial obligations the school must take on to provide your child’s space in the school. Once your child has been enrolled, we honor our commitment to you by ensuring your child’s space for the school year. This often means turning away other students who would have enrolled in your child’s space had it been available. For this reason, please make sure you have made your decision to attend Sammamish Montessori School prior to submitting an enrollment contract for your child. Please notify the school in writing as soon as possible (before August 1 of the upcoming school year) if you plan to withdraw your child from the upcoming school year to release yourself from future tuition obligations (September onwards). If you withdraw during the school year, you must provide written notice at least one month in advance of the first day of the month of your withdrawal (for instance, if leaving March 12, you would need to provide notice by February 1). If you are unable to provide one-month written notice of withdrawal, you must pay one tuition installment in lieu of notice. Some parents facing job transfers or new job opportunities requiring a move out of our area have been successful in obtaining some consideration from their employers who are dictating the move or as part of a relocation package. The primary Montessori curriculum is a 3-year cycle. The third year, or kindergarten year, is when all the learning that has taken place in the previous two years reaches fruition and a child’s knowledge begins to fall into place. Your child will be challenged to reach his/her potential by his/her Montessori teacher who knows your child incredibly well and so can provide precisely what is needed next. Children build upon what they have learned, experience rapid academic and social growth and their skill level dramatically increases when they are given the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge within the Montessori classroom. Third year students are ready to explode into more complex learning and discovery and they delve into a wealth of new and interesting materials. They are guided to take on more and more complex work, begin to learn time management skills and have an increased set of expectations and privileges in the classroom. These older children also reinforce their academic skills by helping another child, a well-documented way to consolidate knowledge. Preschool children in a Montessori classroom look forward to being one of the “big kids” in the classroom. If he/she is put into a school where the kindergartners are looked down upon as being in the “baby class” his/her cycle of maturing is interrupted. It is especially unfortunate for a child who is a younger sibling at home to miss this opportunity to shine. This year of leadership gives a child immeasurable self-esteem and intellectual confidence. A 3% discount is provided for school year tuition paid in full by September 10 if paid in cash or by check. To register, complete the enrollment form and attach either a check, or give your credit card number and authorization to charge registration fees and tuition deposits (registration fee ($190) plus your tuition deposit of 10% of annual tuition.) Forms must be filled out completely, signed and accompanied by payment in order to be eligible to process for registration. You may choose to mail in your registration and payment so that it is received by the deadline or deliver it by hand. All registrations received by the deadline will be collected and on the following day applications will be processed in priority order. Priority is given to full day students and then to half day students. Applications received after the deadline will be processed in the order they are received. Tuition is a school year program fee that may be paid in a lump sum or divided into ten (monthly) installments for your convenience. It is calculated based on the total number of actual school days in the school year and does not include holidays, vacations, in-service, and conference days. When you enroll your child for the school year, you are making a commitment for the entire school year from the first day of school in September through the last day of school in June. To secure a space for the school year 10% of the school year tuition must be paid upon registration as a nonrefundable deposit, along with the registration fee. If parents select the monthly payment plan, tuition payments for the balance of the school year are outlined in the table below. Please note that monthly payments each represent 1/10 of the total school year tuition and that while some months have more school days and others fewer, the amount paid each month is always the same so that it is easy for parents to remember and for the school to administer. |Monthly Payment||Amount Due||When Due| |Nonrefundable deposit||10% of school year tuition||upon registration| |September||10% of school year tuition||September 1st| |October||10% of school year tuition||October 1st| |November||10% of school year tuition||November 1st |December||10% of school year tuition||December 1st| |January||10% of school year tuition||January 1st| |February||10% of school year tuition||February 1st| |March||10% of school year tuition||March 1st| |April||10% of school year tuition||April 1st| |May||10% of school year tuition||May 1st| Except for those schools that are associated with a particular religious community, Montessori schools do not teach religion. At our school we do not participate in or promote any kind of religious instruction. We learn about holidays, such as Christmas, Hannukah, Diwali, Ramadan, Eid, and Chinese New Year, or other festivals, but all on the basis of broadening cultural knowledge and understanding. We welcome parent involvement in bringing in first-hand knowledge and understanding of these celebrations into our classrooms, however, we do ask that parents tailor any presentations and discussions to focus on cultural rather than religious aspects. Our goal is to give children a taste of the experience each celebration or festival by sharing the special foods, songs, dances, games, and age-appropriate stories. Montessori education fundamentally aims to inspire a child’s heart. So while Montessori does not teach religion, we do embrace the great moral and spiritual themes, such as love, kindness, joy, and confidence in the fundamental goodness of life. We encourage the child to begin the journey toward being fully alive and fully human. Everything is intended to nurture within the child a sense of joy and appreciation of life. Art, music, dance, and creativity are integrated in the curriculum and children are given many opportunities to tap into their own creativity. While each piece of Montessori equipment has a specific purpose which children are shown how to use, once students have mastered a particular concept, they may be free to explore beyond the original lesson. For instance, once preschool/kindergarten students have gained a solid understanding of size with the sensorial materials, such as smallest to biggest, narrowest to widest, they can use the materials to create their own three-dimensional designs. Creative writing is encouraged once children have mastered basic writing concepts using the moveable alphabet for younger students or pencil and paper. Imagination plays a central role, as children explore how the natural world works, visualize other cultures and ancient civilizations, and search for creative solutions to real-life problems. Children make up their own games and stories routinely during recess. Our playground playhouses and forts are an especially fun place for children to create their own creative worlds. Our Enrichment program also provides ample opportunity for students to be creative. The curriculum spans art, crafts, music, dance, storytelling, acting, puppetry, cooking and other creative endeavors. Enrichment science allows students many hands-on opportunities to smell, touch, taste, manipulate and test things for themselves, thereby honing problem-solving and critical thinking skills. With the observation that competition is an ineffective tool to motivate children to learn and to work hard, Montessori schools do not set students up to compete with one another as is done in many traditional school settings (competing for grades, class rankings, grading on a curve, special awards, etc.). In a Montessori school, the emphasis is on collaboration rather than competition. Students discover their own innate abilities and develop a strong sense of independence, self-confidence, and self-discipline. In an atmosphere in which children learn at their own pace and compete only against themselves, they learn that making a mistake and learning from one’s mistakes is normal rather than something to be fearful of. Students learn that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Our hope is to give students the self-confidence and courage to try things beyond their comfort zones. While competition is not formal or teacher created, Montessori children compete with each other every day, both in class and on the playground. Dr. Montessori, was herself an extraordinary student and a very high achiever and was never opposed to competition as an idea. She just recognized that using competition to create an artificial motivation to get students to achieve was ineffective. Montessori schools allow competition to evolve naturally among children, without adult interference unless the children begin to show poor sportsmanship. The key is the child’s voluntary decision to compete rather than having it imposed on him by the school. When evaluating students we are more interested in following their individual progress and keeping track of their capabilities than comparing them with their peers. So that a child’s progress may be followed throughout their three-year primary cycle, the same evaluation format is used from preschool right through kindergarten. For that reason, parents should keep in mind that in many areas children cannot be expected to have reached proficiency until their kindergarten year. Teachers keep daily records of everything your child does at school and can give you information about any aspect of your child’s work should you require more details. For elementary students a different comprehensive elementary focused report format is utilized to track progress throughout the elementary cycle. So that a child’s progress may be followed throughout a three-year elementary cycle, the same comprehensive evaluation format is used each elementary year. There are no tests or quizzes for preschool or kindergarten students. Montessori teachers carefully observe their students at work to identify areas they have mastered and areas they need additional practice or perhaps another lesson. While Montessori students tend to score very well on standardized tests, Montessori educators as a whole are deeply concerned that many standardized tests are inaccurate, misleading, and stressful for children. Good teachers, who work with the same children for three years and carefully observe their work, know far more about their progress than any paper-and-pencil test can reveal. The ultimate problem with standardized tests is that they have often been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and poorly used to pressure teachers and students to perform at higher standards. Although standardized tests may not offer a terribly accurate measure of a child’s basic skills and knowledge, in most countries test-taking skills are just another Practical Life lesson that children need to master. Yes, in general, children who are highly gifted will find Montessori to be both intellectually challenging and flexible enough to respond to them as unique individuals. Students are able to socialize with a peer group that meets their social and emotional needs while given the opportunity to move on to more challenging lessons individually. Every child is unique and has areas of special talents, a unique learning style, and some areas that may be considered special challenges. Montessori is fundamentally designed to allow for differences. It allows students to learn at their own pace and is quite flexible in adapting for different learning styles. So in many cases, children with mild physical handicaps or mild learning disabilities may do very well in a Montessori classroom setting. On the other hand, some children do much better in a smaller, more structured classroom with much more one-on-one instruction. Each situation has to be evaluated individually to ensure that the program can successfully meet a given child’s needs and learning style. The Montessori approach evolved over many years as the result of Dr. Montessori’s work with different populations and age groups. One of the earliest groups with which she worked was a population of children who had been placed in a residential-care setting because of severe developmental delays. The Method is used today with a wide range of children, but it is most commonly found in educational programs designed for the typical range of students found in most classrooms. Sammamish Montessori School serves children ages 3 years and older, starting in preschool and continuing through kindergarten. New students ages 2-1/2 to 3 who are not yet ready potty trained and for a preschool program may begin in our Prep Program until they are ready to transition into a Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten class. Our summer program includes options for elementary age children up to 8 years old. Sammamish Montessori School abides by the same age requirements as Washington state public school districts. must be 5 years old on or before August 31 of the school year must be 6 years old on or before August 31 of the school year and so on. All-class naps are not included as a regular component of any classroom (Our Prep Program for 2-1/2-3 year olds is morning only). However, on an individual basis a child who is in need of a nap may rest on a mat in the office in the care of the office staff. Or, there is also often a quiet area in the classroom where a student can rest if needed. As our program offers morning and afternoon sessions, you may opt to select a schedule that meets your child’s developmental needs. Keep in mind that most children at this age begin to outgrow naps and do better with a longer consolidated nighttime sleep (versus a shorter night sleep and a nap). Make sure you are consistent with bedtimes and wake times, even on weekends, and try to modify a little at a time to make bedtimes earlier and nighttime sleep longer. Consistent routines and getting enough sleep can make a tremendous difference to your child’s day and enable them to be ready to learn new social and academic skills at school. This is true at any age, but particularly true for younger children, especially if adapting to a new routine. The recommended amounts of sleep per 24 hours are 11-13 hours for 3 – 5 year olds and 10-11 hours for 5 – 12 year olds. Sleep is most restorative when it is consolidated. If, when your child goes to bed, he/she falls asleep easily, wakes up easily and is not tired during the day, then he/she is probably getting enough sleep. The best way to tell if your child is getting enough sleep is to see how he/she acts during the day. Take a moment to notice if: - Your child falls asleep in the car almost every time you drive; - You have to wake your child up most mornings; - Your child seems overtired, cranky, irritable, aggressive, over emotional, hyperactive or has trouble thinking during the day; - On some nights, your child is tired much earlier than his/her usual bedtime. If your child falls into this pattern, then he/she might not be getting enough sleep. Sleep deprived children may have more trouble than usual controlling their emotions. The part of the brain that helps to control our response to our feelings and actions is greatly affected by sleep deprivation. A child who does not get enough sleep may have behavior or attention problems, be more likely to hurt him/herself and just not be doing as well as expected. A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine conducted at the University of Washington also suggests children who do not get enough nighttime sleep are also at increased risk of being overweight, or overweight to obese. Researchers further noted that napping was not an effective substitute for nighttime sleep in terms of obesity prevention, citing that, “sleeping at night is deeper and therefore more restorative than sleeping during the day.” (For more information read, In Young Kids, Lack of Sleep Linked to Obesity Later.) Children must be potty trained to attend our Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten classes. To be considered potty trained children must demonstrate that they are able, on their own initiative, to go to the bathroom with little or no adult prompting or assistance. Our aim is to help children become independent in all aspects of their development, including managing their own basic needs. We of course are able and prepared to assist with an occasional accident and/or help a child get their clothing refastened. We also regularly remind children to remember to go the bathroom. However, chronic potty accidents detract from our ability to provide academic lessons to all of the children. For new students ages 2-1/2 to 3 years old who are not yet potty trained and ready for preschool we offer a Prep Program, which is designed to prepare younger children so that they can eventually transition into a Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten class. The transition process will take place when the child has reached age 3 and can demonstrate social and emotional readiness and is adequately toilet trained. The child’s teacher and director will determine when to move a child from the Prep Program to a 3 – 6 Montessori preschool/kindergarten classroom. The transition is also only possible if there is space available at that time. The emphasis in the Prep Program will be on socialization and independence. Our prep students will be exposed to a wide variety of practical life and sensorial activities, play, art, stories, singing, movement and music. Children in the Prep Program do not need to be fully potty trained, as potty training will be one of the skills taught. Extended care is available to all students enrolled in preschool, kindergarten or elementary (during summer only if enrolled in summer Discovery camp). Students may arrive before or after their class time and will be supervised in our Clubroom. Children brought to school or picked up outside of regular class time must be signed in/out in the Clubroom. A parent or other parent-authorized pickup/drop-off designee must accompany children to and from the Clubroom. Yes, our native-speaking Spanish teacher visits each classroom one morning and one afternoon each week. The school is open from 7 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. What times are classes held? Daily Class Times Early Birds Clubroom 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Students are escorted to their morning classrooms starting at 8:45 a.m.) Morning session (applies to Prep, Morning Preschool and Morning Kindergarten.) 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Drop off begins 8:45 a.m. and pick-up ends 11:45 a.m.) Afternoon session (applies to Afternoon Preschool and Afternoon Kindergarten.) 12:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. (Drop off begins 8:45 a.m. and pick-up ends 3:30 p.m.) Full Day (Applies to: Full Day Preschool, Half-Day Montessori + Half-Day Enrichment, Full Day Kindergarten and Elementary) 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (Drop off begins 8:45 a.m. and pick-up ends 3:30 p.m.) After School Club 3:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. (Students remaining at the end of class transition time are escorted from their classrooms to After School Club promptly at 3:30 p.m. ) By being allowed freedom in a controlled environment with consistent boundaries and guidelines, the child who is able to feel secure learns to love and care for other people and develops confidence and control over his/her own behavior. Our teachers intervene when a child’s behavior is disruptive or upsetting to others. The situation is handled with deep respect and sensitivity. Montessori believed that good behavior is part of the inner discipline that we strive to help each child achieve for him/her self rather than dependence upon rules imposed by others. “Punishment” takes the form of fair and logical consequences, which are fully discussed with the child. Montessori believed that children are by nature loving and caring and we strive to help them develop the vital social and emotional skills needed to participate in any community. Montessori children tend to be socially comfortable. Because they have been encouraged to problem-solve and think independently, Montessori children are typically happy, confident, and resourceful and settle quickly and easily into new schools once they have assimilated the different expectations and ground rules. By the end of kindergarten, Montessori children are normally curious, self-confident learners who look forward to going to school. They are typically engaged, enthusiastic learners who honestly want to learn and who ask excellent questions. By age six most have spent three or four years in a school where they were treated with honesty and respect with clear expectations and ground rules. Within that framework, their opinions and questions were taken quite seriously. There is nothing inherent in Montessori that causes children to have a hard time if they are transferred to traditional schools. Some may be bored or not understand why everyone in the class has to do the same thing at the same time. However, most adapt to their new setting fairly quickly, make new friends, and succeed within the definition of success understood in their new school.

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Strategic readers know that the purpose of reading is to understand, and that there are a number of comprehension strategies that they can adopt in order to build knowledge from reading. Strategic readers are able to apply such strategies in “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language,” as the Rand Reading Comprehension Study Group defines reading comprehension. Strategic readers process information by constantly monitoring their understanding. In that process, strategic readers, when faced with understanding challenges, engage in problem solving and self-correction. Buehl (2007) provides insight into the seven cognitive processes of proficient readers, beginning with making connections to one’s prior knowledge – which is regarded as the one most critical strategy for learning to take place, since no new knowledge or understanding is constructed in a vacuum – to generating questions, creating mental sensory images, inferencing, prioritizing, and synthesizing the information being read. Add intrinsic motivation to that process and the result is a strategic and engaged reader. Importantly, the more one reads to understand, the more motivated one becomes, and the more social interaction ensues, for engaged readers are prone to sharing and socially connecting around what they are learning. The more one interacts, the more strategies are mobilized, and the more one’s knowledge base grows, leading to the desire to read more. That is the engagement cycle, as defined by Swan (2003). Teachers and librarians not only can but indeed they must foster engagement and self-regulation as critical ingredients for strategic reading by means of a balanced comprehension instruction approach that encompasses a supportive classroom context and a model of comprehension instruction that models and supports the development of reading strategies for learners. (Duke & Pearson, 2002) The seven comprehension processes of proficient readers (Buehl, 2007) are mirrored in the six individual comprehension strategies that excellent reading teachers are intent at scaffolding and modelling for and with learners (Duke & Pearson, 2002). Think-alouds represent a strategy for activating schemata and generating questions. Inferencing and determining importance are engendered in text structure analysis. The ability to synthesize is exercised by means of summarization. The creation of visual and sensory representations is both a process and a strategy which boosts one’s synthesis capacity, also helping in the self-monitoring and self-correction process. RAND (2002) provides us with the heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension, defining its components: the reader, the text, and the activity, all of which are nestled within a sociocultural dimension, which is by and large overlooked by NAEP (2015/2019). Indeed, how does a standardized assessment account for a virtually infinite sociocultural variance? If RAND gives us the reader, the text, and the activity, Duke & Pearson (2002) give us the teacher, and CORI (Swan, 2003) pulls in the sociocultural dimension by articulating skills and strategies, knowledge, motivation, and social collaboration. Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction gives us the ‘how’ by leveraging the three basic needs for intrinsic motivation, namely competence, autonomy, and belonging. In other words, learners need a sense of self-efficacy, choice, and opportunities for social interaction and human connection. CORI then represents the supportive classroom context articulated by Duke & Pearson, one in which learners read a lot, read for real reasons, engage in high quality talk about text, and ultimately strive for the construction of conceptual knowledge. I find that one of the greatest challenges in my own teaching context, as well as in the Brazilian educational system, is making instruction coherent as opposed to fragmented, as proposed in CORI. Such coherence and transdisciplinarity entails a whole set of very unique beliefs that have not necessarily been cultivated by teacher training programs, and certainly not in traditional and mainstream educational settings. The shift from a fragmented to a relational and systemic view of and approach to knowledge construction and instructional design (as opposed to lesson planning) requires major transformations in teacher education and school culture. Fragmented teaching is not time productively spent, at least not for learners. It may make teaching and planning less complex for the teacher, but it is ultimately disengaging for all involved in the educational experience. I was particularly struck by the difference between lesson planning and instruction design: intention. Johnson (2014), referring to the implications of the TPACK framework, says: “The framework supports and deepens literacy practices, allowing teachers to become thoughtful instructional designers. Washburn (2010) writes, ‘Instructional design differs from lesson planning, the term we traditionally use to describe a teacher’s pre-instruction preparation. Designers communicate by intentionally combining elements’ (pp.2-3)” I wonder what a teacher development program that enables teachers to operate that shift from fragmented to systemic, from instructor to coach, from planner to designer, looks like? I wonder what will it take for teachers of all subject areas to realize that they are, first and foremost, literacy teachers? Duke, N.K. & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction, 3rd edition. International Reading Association. Swan (2003). Why is the North Pole Always Cold? In Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI): Engaging Classrooms, Lifelong Learners Johnson, D. (2014) Reading, Writing and Literacy 2.0. Teaching with Online Texts, Tools, and Resources, K-8 (chapters 1 & 2) Buehl, D. (2014). Fostering Comprehension of Complex Texts (Chapter 1 pages 3-11) in Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th Edition). International Literacy Association. RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP] Abridged Reading Framework for the 2015/2019 My purpose in this paper is to reflect on my experience in the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy in terms of how the learning experience impacted my role as an educator, digital storyteller, and as a leader engaged in promoting innovation processes in my pedagogical practice with teacher professional and digital literacy development. In my roamings within my original academic field of study, Cultural Anthropology, as well as in my existential rumblings through adulthood, I have embodied my life experience around the theme of story, inspired by the concept of bliss, as proposed by american Mythologist Joseph Campbell. Campbell traces back the notion of bliss to the Sanskrit phrase sat chit ananda, which he translates as being, consciousness, and rapture. He articulates his interpretation of this transcendental phrase in his famous quote (2004), and one which has been a source of personal and professional inspiration: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” Campbell talks about one-to-one conferences with his college students and how he was able to notice a student’s eyes light up when an idea or theme sprang up into the conversation. He would make a point of encouraging his students to pursue those ideas further, to allow themselves to be driven by their curiosity and follow their bliss. Thus, it is in pursuing a journey of inquiry, driven by themes that enrapture our senses, our intellect and spirit, that we perceive value in our existence. People are not seeking the meaning of life per se. What we seek, according to Campbell, is an experience of being alive. We create meaning from acting on our experience, and also from reflecting on the consequences and the value that results from reflecting on experience. (Dewey 1916, 92) In that sense, I would like to explore the meaning making that is achieved in the process of storytelling by sharing some of my digital literacy learning background, for it is in the process of creating and sharing our stories, our own personal myths with others, that we gain a deeper sense of identity, confidence, and purpose. Importantly, reflection on experience, as expressed in stories, operates change in how we view ourselves and in our being in the world. We change, therefore, we learn through sharing our personal experience of embodied life with those around us. My central thesis in this reflective piece is that digital storytelling is a rich means for empowerment, playing a critical role in scholarly, professional and personal identity formation in educators. My story as an inhabitant of the digital universe began in 2014, when I explored the concept of rhizomatic learning in participation within a community of global educators in a cMooc (connectivist massive open online course) called Rhizomatic Learning: the Community is the Curriculum. At the time, the feeling was that of diving into the deep end of the digital literacy swimming pool. Driven by my curiosity and a longing for interaction in a new learning space, I immediately began engaging with other members of this rhizomatic community, who responded to Dave Cormier’s course provocation-assignments in the form of blogs and digital art, which were also shared on Twitter via the hashtag #Rhizo14. My first digital creations took the shape of writing in my own, then newly-created blog, and also in interacting with other participants in their digital spaces on their blogs and on social media. This was the year I began building my professional learning network on Twitter, which plays a critical part in my everyday digital literacy and professional learning habits. Notably, the more participants engaged in collaborating to cocreate new meaning by commenting on one another’s blog posts and tweets, the deeper our appreciation for collaborative inquiry became, which is one of the three core design elements of the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy. My Rhizo14 cMooc experience was intense, generating dense human connections, despite the fact that it was fully online. One of such strong bonds were with Egyptian scholar Bali Maha, whose prolific digital scholarship has been an inspiration in my own learning in digital spaces. My digital literacy learning journey both in Rhizo14 and in SIDL have helped me increase my confidence as a digital creator and storyteller, for they were both instances which enabled me to exercise my voice and choice. Indeed, my sense of agency as a learner was increased in such inquiry-driven, collaborative educational contexts. After all, it is: “(…) by choosing how to creatively express ideas and create media, as well as explore different ways of taking social action, (that) learners may explore their identities as citizens who can improve their communities and society.” (Hobbs et al. 2019) The intensive face-to-face dimension of SIDL brought to the fore the interactive and relational aspect of digital creation. The minds-on, hands-on work with my dyad partner, Carla Arena, and the interplay between our different modes of collaboration (I am a “southwest” and she is a “northeast” as identified in the compass points dynamics we engaged in during SIDL) shifted the focus from skills with digital tools to interpersonal and time management skills in managing the complexity which naturally emerged from our collaboration. Furthermore, our knowledge with the digital tools used in our design studio project shifted our challenge focus from digital skills to digital literacy, in the sense that we were concerned with how the audience of our project – educators – would engage and make meaning with the digital artifacts we were creating together. In other words, we found ourselves more focussed on the who, when, where, why and how learners would make sense of the digital materials we were engaged in co-creating. This is the difference between digital skills and digital literacies: “We often hear people talk about the importance of digital knowledge for 21st-century learners. Unfortunately, many focus on skills rather than literacies. Digital skills focus on what and how. Digital literacy focuses on why, when, who, and for whom.” Maha Bali (2016) Another core design element of SIDL is motivation as a primer for learning and development. A powerful connection with motivation is the concept of the ‘Golden Circle’, as proposed by Simon Sinek. Agency is heightened by a clear sense of purpose, and that is what we experienced in the SIDL opening event. Participants were prompted to create their own meanings of digital and media literacy, and share those with other participants and faculty members in order to spark communal dispositions among all people in the learning space. Moreover, the Digital Learning Motivation Profiles list supported participants in making connections between their educator identities and their motivations for engaging in digital and media literacies developmental work with learners. This horoscope-style self-assessment served as a catalyst for people to orbit towards others with similar motivations, fostering further connection among participants, who also felt valued and respected in their diversity of motivations in approaching the work of digital and media literacies. Importantly, this illustrates the very nature of the digital literacy mosaic created by the engagement of people coming from multiple knowledge areas and interests. The third design element at the core of SIDL is the most powerful, and the one which most resonates with my work as a change agent and social practitioner in the field of innovation in education. As an advocate for human-centered innovation, I share the concern expressed by Hobbs et al. (2019) with regards to the reduction of digital literacy pedagogies to the practice of the so-called personalization of learning which is driven by software algorithms. Such device-centered approach to digital literacies development disengages and disenfranchises both educators and learners, promoting a dangerous power shift which puts the machine in the center of learning, rendering the human element of the experience less important and peripheral in the essentially human process of learning though meaning making and the construction of understanding. Rather than personalized, learning is personal in that it is built in inquiry-driven cooperation among people. According to Dewey, as argued by Dyehouse, “shared understandings are the consequence, not the cause of cooperative action.” Dyehouse continues citing Biesta (2006, 30): “For Dewey, education is more basically a matter of ‘those situations in which one really shares or participates in a common activity, in which one really has an interest in its accomplishment just as others have.” Dyehouse (2016, 175-176) These are the participatory situations in which successful collaborative activity results in learning and understanding. Dyehouse concludes by saying that “(…) for Dewey, the real key to understanding is in doing things together.” This view of making learning personal validates the networked and collaborative practices I have adopted in the design of professional development opportunities for educators both with my dyad partner Carla Arena in Amplifica, and in my role as innovation specialist in my school, Casa Thomas Jefferson. In the first Amplifica seminar for educators, in which I participated as a presenter in 2015, my talk was titled “The Power of Connections”. This was an inspirational talk in which I shared the design principles informing the technology integration and digital literacy development practices adopted in one of my early projects as technology integration coach in my school. Similarly to Hobbs et al. (2019, 408), I believe that the work of digital literacy development requires the intentional design of professional development opportunities that: “(…) foster teacher agency so educators gain confidence in designing their own lesson plans and instructional units for inquiry-based digital learning. We see teachers as eminently capable of supporting and scaffolding student learning through inquiry and collaboration.” Hobbs et al. (2019, 408) Bali (2016) mentions the 8 elements of digital literacies proposed by Belshaw (2014). Interestingly, she points out the element of confidence is an important one among the elements. Belshaw explains that the element of Confidence requires a slightly different approach to its development in comparison to the other elements, for Confidence is a transversal element to all others. He refers to the process of Confidence development in digital literacies as the act of connecting the dots. According to Belshaw (2014, 52): “Developing the Confident element of digital literacies involves solving problems and managing one’s own learning in digital environments. This can be encouraged by the kind of practices that work well in all kinds of learning experiences. Namely, self-review focusing on achievement and areas of development, paired with mentoring. I believe P2PU’s ‘schools’ to be an extremely good example of an arena in which the Confident element of digital literacies can be developed. Not only are learners encouraged to reflect on their practices, but to form a community. Such communities can help build confidence.” Belshaw (2014, 52) Finally, in SIDL, we had the opportunity to experience the Personal Digital Inquiry model proposed by Coiro et al. (2016) scaffolding our knowledge building and the development of participants’ digital literacy skills. The PDI model was clearly articulated throughout the SIDL immersive learning experience, its power notably evident as the Design Studio unfolded. Dyad partners dove deeply into the inquiry process by wondering and discovering, accessing, analyzing and evaluating knowledge and ideas in collaboration and discussion, then taking action and creating digital artifacts with which to promote learning. Reflection pushed us forward and back into the PDI Framework for Teaching and Learning, eliciting the refinement of our final projects. Keynotes and workshops in SIDL were instances of teacher-driven action quadrants illustrated below the (green) line of inquiry in the image, in the giving and prompting stages of technology for knowledge building. We were then gradually released into the upper, learner-driven quadrants of making and reflecting as the inquiry was sustained until the end culminating event where dyads proudly shared their learning artifacts with the whole community. Circling back to the element of confidence in the development of digital literacies, I find myself wondering about the interplay between one’s process of confidence development and the development of one’s leadership persona. I am intrigued by the inner workings of the identity formation of a digitally literate individual, learners and educators alike, in such collaborative learning environments. The experience of exploring imagery that would represent ourselves as digital literacy leaders in our own contexts was a very powerful one to me, in particular. I gravitated towards a picture of a mystic crossing the threshold of visible reality in order to unveil the inner workings in the backstage of the universe. This symbolic exercise provided me with new language to articulate how I sense my calling to lead change in my educational context. I was left feeling a sense of potency and intentionality with regards to the leader in me. Interestingly enough, I am now engaging in the design and facilitation of a leadership academy for middle managers in my educational organization. Ever since my experience in SIDL, I have gained a renewed sense of agency, self-efficacy, and even courage to tackle this great challenge. SIDL has made feel validated in my rhizomatic and communal approach to learning, leaving me with a sense of belonging and sustained curiosity for what is to come. Lands End, San Francisco, CA. June 21, 2019. This video is how I felt after the three days I spent engaging in PBL World 2019. Clouds dissipated, and I could clearly see ahead, a new horizon – it had always been there. This was when I came to the realization that I had been going at innovation in education from peripheral perspectives – educational technology, technology integration, active learning methodologies, digital citizenship, media literacy, deep learning, 21st century learning, maker-centered learning, social-emotional skills development – all terms that we hear being thrown around when innovation in education is being discussed and advocated. Those are all great, but they are all peripheral. They orbit around a core which is pedagogical, and that is project-based learning. PBL is the pedagogy that naturally pulls all those components. Sustained inquiry generates critical thinking as a natural byproduct of collaboration and communication for an authentic purpose, to solve an authentic problem. Technology serves a concrete purpose, that of documenting, demonstrating and showcasing learning. Tools for student creation, though not for the sake of learning a new cool tech tool, but to make learning visible. PBL mobilizes the whole individual – teacher and students alike. Projects is how people work together to create things in the world. However, PBL requires a very specific type of teacher, a true educator, awakened and moved by the vision of equity in education. Meeting each student where they are, hands on, minds on work. Beautiful work. I am about to get further down the rabbit role. Moved by this insight of PBL as the core pedagogy for all things innovative about education, I am looking to explore this idea: what does professional develop that will inspire teachers to become PBL educators look like? How might we support teachers in their journey towards the development of the refined pedagogical skills that will enable them to sustain inquiry-based learning in partnership with their students?

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Screenwriting is the act of writing what's known as a script or screenplay for film, television and web series. It involves a special set of rules that makes it different from a book or play. This module of Film It covers formatting, scene writing, script structure, themes, and character. Recommended for Year levels: 4-10 Learning areas: English, Drama, Media, Media Arts Capabilities: Creative and critical thinking, Personal and social Writing the script is part of the pre-production process. Once it is written, it will be edited and passed on to the director. Scripts include all essential information such as the setting of each scene and dialogue, but there’s a lot more in a script than these things. Characters take us through the story. We experience the story from their perspective. Through the characters, we can feel empathy (for a hero), or even fear (if they are a villain). The more the audience learns about the characters, and the more interesting and complex the screenwriter makes them, the better the script will be. Every film or TV drama is structured. So before you write a script you will plot, plan and structure the bones of the story. There are different ways to do this, and we'll introduce you to a few. When planning a script, start with a theme or an idea. You can separate theme from the plot by saying the plot is what happens in the film, and the theme is what the film is about. Your theme might change or grow as your story develops, but it gives you a great starting point. There is a universal way of formatting scripts which means that once the writer has finished, the script can be clearly interpreted by everyone who works on the film. It has to be consistent so it can be used to plan locations and shots. 1. Formatting scripts Formatting is how words are arranged and laid out on the page. Try using scriptwriting software such as Celtx or Writers Duet as they have shortcut keys that make formatting it easy. A script is broken into elements which are formatted according to a set of rules. Screenwriters are also expected to use the Courier New font. Here are the different elements you see in a script: A scene heading, or 'slug line' is where you set the scene. In a scene heading we need to know: - If it is taking place indoors or outdoors (interior or exterior? INT. for interior and EXT. for exterior) - Where it is (in a living room? A city street?) - Time of day (day or night?) Here's a quick example: INT. CITY STREET - DAY You describe where the characters are, what is happening, and what you want the audience to see. For example: Alex and her mum stand in front of a rambling old house. A 'SOLD' sign hangs out the front. Character and dialogue When you first introduce a character in action, you write their name in capitals so it stands out. Every time after this you write it normally. Once you have set up the scene, the action and your main character, you can introduce your character’s dialogue. You start by writing their name. The dialogue is fitted neatly under the character's name, so it’s easy for the actors to know when they have to say something, as opposed to doing something. Notice too that when characters have dialogue, their name is in bold and centred on the page. Before you write a script, read an example. You can also watch videos like this script-to-screen comparison of Up. Here is a scene, but it's laid out all wrong! Ext. Old house. Day. Alex and her mum stand in front of a rambling old house in front of them. A ‘sold’ sign hangs out the front. Mum: Home sweet home! Alex: I want to go back to our old house. Mum: Just give it some time and it will feel like home. Alex: Whatever. Alex storms off. |1. Rewrite the above scene and ready it for the screen. See if you can put this scene into the correct script formatting using scriptwriting software.| Watch the video below on script formatting first if you like: Using the present tense The tense is really important in formatting your script. When writing a script, we use the present tense. This makes the story immediate and active. It’s happening as we read it. To keep the story exciting, it’s important to keep the action clear and short. This makes it easy for the reader to follow. If there is too much description, the reader will lose interest. Here's another scene that's not quite working yet: INT. CLASSROOM – DAY. It was a sunny day outside and inside the classroom was cold, with pink and blue walls. One wall was covered with recent projects made by students in the class, one on the human digestive system, another on the human brain, and one on how lungs work. There were ten tables in the classroom, each seating two to three students. The tables were quite new, as were the chairs. The school bell rang, and soon after, Ms Holly came into the classroom and wiped the previous day’s class instructions from the whiteboard. Soon students began trickling in and took their seats. Ms Holly: OK guys, it’s that time again. Jake: Oh no, not again! Ms Holly: Sorry Jake, but this must be done every week. |1. Re-write and format the above scene. Make sure it is in the correct tense, the action is brief and clear, and that unnecessary description is removed.| 2. Screenwriting shorthand Now you have the basics and tense sorted, you might like to add some shorthand techniques to your script. Parentheses are used when a character needs to make a small action during their dialogue, or if the writer wants to indicate how the line is being spoken. Use parentheses sparingly, and keep it short. For example: Hey I’m Megan, are you going into year eight? Voice over (V.O) This is a voice that is heard but not seen. It may be the inner voice of a character or someone on a phone call. If this works, then… With off-screen, the character is still in the scene, just not on camera at that exact moment. So if one character was talking to another who was in another room, you could use (O.S) for the character that's in the other room. Or maybe with a phone conversation, the character on the other end of the line could be heard but not seen. Peter, come out of there, your outfit looks fine! No! I look hideous! Here's an outline for a scene you can rewrite for the next activity: Christine has to make a phone call she is dreading. A narrator describes to the audience her fear. Eventually, she makes the phone call, but she is extremely nervous throughout the conversation. |1. Write a short scene for the above scenario with Christine, and include a parenthetical, a line of dialogue that is V.O, and a character who speaks O.S.| 3. Writing scenes Writing a scene goes beyond just having a scene header, including action, characters and dialogue; each scene needs to drive the story forward and tell us about the characters. So something important should happen or be shown in each scene. This moment can be significant to the plot, the world of your story, the characters, or all three. So here is a scene we've added for The Time Machine. At the moment, this scene just shows Alex going about her morning routine just before she finds the time machine device. We've also used another screenwriting term with the scene heading called 'continuous'. This just means the action is continuous even though Alex changes location from the bedroom to the bathroom. You can use this where the action is unbroken so you don't have to write a new scene heading every time. Read the scene first: INT. ALEX'S BEDROOM – MORNING, CONTINUOUS Alex wakes up and gets out of bed. In the bathroom she brushes her teeth. Back in her bedroom and she is in her school uniform. She moves a box on her floor and notices quite a large hold in the floorboard. She pulls at the floorboard and it comes loose, revealing a small compartment underneath. She peers inside. There are a couple of things wrong with it. Although it's getting us to the point where she finds the time machine, it doesn't tell us much about her situation, the fact she has just moved house, or how she feels about it. |1. Rewrite the above scene so that what happens tells us more about Alex's situation and her feelings. When you write your own scenes always ask yourself whether the scene is a) driving the story forward through something significant happening b) telling us about the world the character is in c) telling us about the character themselves, their thoughts and feelings. If your scene isn't doing at least one of these things then you might need to rethink it.| 4. Structuring scripts Beginning, middle and end Let's start with how to structure a script. Stories usually have a beginning, middle and an end, and this makes it easy to break a script into three parts, or ‘acts’. But what usually happens in each act? In the beginning, we are introduced to our character in their normal world. It could be as normal as sitting on the couch watching TV. But then something has to happen. A problem needs to occur, or a goal needs to be set to set the story in motion and spur our character into action. In the middle the character must try and solve a problem and or achieve their goal in front of them. However, they will encounter challenges and obstacles along the way. By the end the character will have solved the problem or achieved their goal. They usually learn new skills or a 'life lesson' along the way. All is resolved, but the normal world is not quite the same following their journey. It’s different because of the change that has occurred within the character or the world. |1. Open the three-act structure document below. It has the three acts of a project we've called The Time Machine all out of order. Your task is to re-structure the plot points so the story makes sense.| The Pixar method To kick start your own story, try this method used by Pixar. It's helpful in sketching out what might happen across the beginning, middle and end of your story. There was once a character called ____________ Each day they __________ until one day__________. Because of that, this happened_________________ And then, this happened_________________ Until finally _____________. |1. Quickly fill out the blanks above using the example of The Time Machine. How well does it fit?| |2. Now, using the simple story structure template below, brainstorm ideas and plan your own short script. This doesn't have to be your final project, it can just be an exercise for now.| Structuring key points and moments Now you've got an idea for a script, time to flesh out in more detail what happens in your three acts. We're going to focus on seven structure points used by many screenwriters. Though these structures are used in feature-length films, you can also apply them to short films. Just be aware that in a short film you might not fit all these points in as well as a feature-length film might. Also, our main character is called a protagonist, and a protagonist doesn't just feature in a story, they help drive it forward along with the plot. Sometimes things just happen yes, but it's more interesting if the protagonist's decisions affect the story. - Set up This is the start of the story, before anything has happened. We use the set-up to introduce the world and the protagonist, and what the world is like to begin with. - Inciting incident This is the event that sets the story in motion. It’s something that makes the protagonist sit up and pay attention. It’s their call to adventure. Sometimes, this is called the 'hook'. - First act turn This is the point where the protagonist stands on the threshold of their adventure. They decide to take the challenge to leave their ordinary world, propelling us into the new world. The ‘new world’ might be as small as going to the haunted house next door, or as big as traveling into a volcano. It doesn't need to be a physical place, the 'new world' could be an uncharted social or emotional world. This is the middle of the story or the halfway point. At the midpoint, something might change; the protagonist may learn something new, face a new problem or change direction on their journey. Things are not going so well, but there’s no going back. - Lowest point This is when the protagonist has lost their way. They feel like giving up. Sometimes this is called the ‘dark night’. The protagonist picks themselves up and faces the last challenge. The protagonist triumphs, the normal world is restored, and everything is as it should be. However the world isn't exactly how it used to be. Something has changed in the world or how the protagonist sees it. There are different theories about a protagonist's journey through these three acts, one of those is called the hero's journey and you can find out more in this video essay What Makes a Hero. |1. Look at the advanced structure worksheet below and fill it out with your own story. Don't forget to identify the theme for your story. Once you have this structure, this will make writing your script much easier because have planned all the key moments from beginning to end.| 5. Theme, tension & endings Identifying the theme Before you go any further, delve into your theme. Themes are ideas that are explored in a story or film. Remember, theme goes beyond plot. That's because the plot is what happens in your story, whereas the theme is what your story is about. In the script we've been working on (The Time Machine) the plot is about Alex, a girl who is thrown back in time and then has to try and make her way back home. However, the story is really about a girl who is having trouble moving school, wants things to go back to how they were and to be with her friends. So the theme is about dealing with change and growing up. |1. To get started list three of your favourite films, create a table and identify the 3-5 plot points that tell the story, and the ideas the films explore. This will help you identify the themes.| |A favourite film||Plot of the film||Theme of the film| |Jurassic Park||Dinosaurs get cloned on an Island and break out||Man trying to control nature (and failing!)| Resolution and other endings The Time Machine ends happily with the normal world restored (Alex getting back to her own time). You don’t always need a traditional resolution, as there are other ways to end a story. Think how to make your script original by experimenting with one of these endings: When a story doesn’t have a neat or happy resolution and instead leaves the audience in suspense. Think about your favourite super hero movie as they often give the protagonist one last challenge. This is often used to set up a sequel. Maybe the protagonist doesn’t get what they wanted? What would this be like? This is when something unexpected happens, and you trick the audience. A twist ending can be hard to do well. |1. Think of some alternative endings for the Time Machine| |2. Think of some alternative endings for your project. Make sure you think about how the theme of your story might be affected as a result. For example, having Alex stuck in the past in The Time Machine would make it harder to explore the idea that Alex needs to grow up and accept her family have moved. The theme would change suddenly and become more of a 'be careful what you wish for' type of story.| Timeline and tension graphs We use structure to make sure the story has a journey, contains dramatic questions, and contains highs and lows for the characters. Earlier you planned your story through structure points across three acts. Take the same story, or another one, and use the template below. This is a timeline and tension graph. In a tension graph you can see where the drama builds and falls, with tension high at points such as the climax, and lower at points like the resolution. Check out the example from The Time Machine and notice the line throughout the graph which indicates when the tension is high, low; building or dropping. |1. Now it's your turn. Fill out the tension graph template using your own story to make sure your story contains highs and lows.| If your story doesn't fit the pattern in the template above, draw your own tension graph using the tension graph blank document below. For example, if you have a tragic ending there might be no relief of tension at the end. Or, if your story starts with a dramatic flash-forward to a tense part of the story, your tension graph would look different. It will be up to you to decide where you think the tension is high, and when there is relief for the characters and your audience. Before you write your script, flesh out your character by delving into their personality, their history, their likes, and their fears. Download and fill out the protagonist activity below for your protagonist. If you have more characters, you can do this exercise for them too. Goals and obstacles For your story to be exciting your characters need to have clear goals. This is something the character wants. Goals can be really simple, for example, Libby wants to get her biscuit back from the dog. Or they can be really big, for example, Libby wants to save the world. In the example of The Time Machine the problem Alex faces is the possibility she'll be stuck back in time. Her big goal is to get back to her own time. Check out this video essay called Writing the perfect villain below to see how you can make your antagonist just as interesting as your protagonist. |1. Invent two characters for your script. A protagonist (if you haven't already) and an antagonist.| |2. Download and complete the protagonist and antagonist activity. Once it's completed, use it as the basis for a paragraph describing each character.| Even if you don't have an antagonist for your story, you should still have an antagonistic force. This means something non-human is working against your character. It could be coming from society, the physical world, or within the protagonist themselves. We call these antagonistic forces. There are different types of antagonistic forces, and many films have both antagonists as well as antagonistic forces. Character vs. nature Good survival films often pit human characters against nature, where 'nature' can come in many forms. There are too many films to mention where characters are confronted by natural disasters such as tornadoes, super storms, tsunamis, volcanoes and the like. But nature as an antagonistic force can include characters simply trying to survive the elements, and there are many films about humans trying to survive harsh environments such as jungles and deserts. Character vs. animal Think films like Jaws or Jurassic Park, both films where animals threaten the lives of the characters. Lots of horror films like to pit characters against unnaturally large or vicious animals, as do thrillers like The Birds. In Jurassic Park, characters face off against a number of animals in the form of cloned dinosaurs. Characters are also up against technology in a way too, as the dinosaurs are the product of genetic meddling. Character vs. the supernatural Anything that involves ghosts, demons, vampires, werewolves or any other supernatural force a protagonist must face or battle. Character vs. society Often the society characters are pitted against are ones set in the future, but there are many films set in the past and contemporary settings where characters battle societal oppression. This could be in the form of racism, poverty, or unjust laws. It could also just be about a character who doesn't fit in with the society around them for other reasons. They could be an outsider, or simply hold very different views to the majority of people around them. Character vs. themselves Often characters have to overcome themselves in order to reach their goal. This is where you make your character their own worst enemy. A good protagonist should have a flaw that slows them down anyway but setting up the character as the main antagonistic force takes it to a whole new level. We love this student made film called Rewind where the main character Sam is his own worst enemy! Character vs. technology Often the kind of conflict we see in science-fiction films, where the technology that was supposed to help humankind poses a danger. Or, the technology created by humans turns against them. |1. Brainstorm as many examples of films you've seen or know of that fit into the above categories.| |2. From your list, can you see any that fit into more than one category?| |3. From your list, can you see any that have an antagonist AND an antagonistic force?| Interesting characters are often enhanced or made more interesting because of the story they are in. Likewise, good stories are even better when they contain interesting characters. The two work hand-in-hand. |Let’s see how well you know your protagonist by writing scenes around the following scenarios.| |1. Your character has to leave their school or workplace in a hurry, but they can’t tell their teacher/boss why they need to go.| |2. Your character wakes up to find council workers about to cut down the magnificent tree outside your character’s home.| |3. Your character is at a train station when they notice a man drop his wallet without realising, just as he is boarding a train.| |4. Your character is on a spaceship heading towards the new human colony on Mars.| |5. Create your own scenario/scene, then try re-writing your favourite but this time include your antagonist into the scenario and see what you come up with| Just as the plot has a beginning, middle and end, so does a protagonist's story. This is called a character arc. This just means that your character will grow and change from their experience, and the lessons they learn along the way. If a character doesn't change or learn anything then it won't be a very interesting story. A character arc works on the same timeline as your plot, as the plot always works alongside and with the character. |1. Using your character info, add your character arc into the story and character arc worksheet below. This character arc will go alongside the plot you have already mapped out.| |2. Make sure you explain what the 'character question' is. Your protagonist will have a goal or a problem to overcome, but character questions go a little deeper than plot, and will often relate to the script's theme. Try and make the character question, and the character arc about what your protagonist learns, how they grow, how they change. In The Time Machine, the plot question is about whether or not Alex will get back home, but her character question is more like "will Alex accept the changes in her life and move forward?"| |3. Now, write a short scene between your protagonist and antagonist, remembering the antagonist is in the way of the protagonist achieving their goal.| Want to learn more about story, script and characters before you start writing your script? There is lots more you can learn and practice in the art of screenwriting. Searching the blog of American screenwriter John August is a good place to look for specific tips regarding screenwriting. The Kahn Academy also have great content created with Pixar about storytelling. Check out the next Film It module, Exploring shot types.

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When it comes to traditional Japanese music we can all conjure specific sounds, scores, or even theatrical plays. It’s rare, though, to be able to fully understand the wide variety of genres, styles, and forms of execution that shape Japanese traditional music. Here we'll go in deep - explaining some of the context and instrumentation behind Japanese music, and end by introducing where you can enjoy a concert during your Tokyo stay! Brief History & Genres One of the first obstacles that one faces is the sheer volume of subgenres that are encompassed by the term “Japanese music”, as well as the hundreds of instruments that are more or less commonly used to play it. Yet, for the Japanese culture enthusiast, understanding the origin of the country’s music, and of the various performances, as well as following it on its evolution to the modern times, can be an interesting and rewarding (albeit demanding) task. Well, we are here today to simplify this task. Even those who may not be interested in Japan in general would often be able to associate Japanese music to its country of origin. The instruments that are used are often country-specific. The sounds produced spell “Asia” and especially “Land of the Rising Sun”. One of the main reasons, although often overlooked, lies in the origin of the music itself. It’s worth it here to take a little detour down music-history lane. The modern seven-note system was first developed in Italy by the monk Guido d’Arezzo in the 11th century CE. This kind of musical notation then spread across the globe to become the standard one. Obviously the playing of music predates the seven-note musical scale by millennia, and Japanese music is no exception. While traditional music in Japan does use this widespread scale, it often employs other scales, such as the pentatonic (five-tone) scale (very common since the Heian Period (794-1185CE)). Other scales that are not unusual are the dodecaphonic (twelve tone) scale, or variations of the heptatonic (seven tone) scale. In addition to the instruments and the style the artists use, these scales create a unique, distinctive, and often exotic sound. So we now have the basics down, but how do we define what Japanese traditional music is? Historically, in Japanese culture, there is virtually no event which is not accompanied by music, and the genres, as well as the instruments that are used, vary depending on the event itself, its roots, and even the region to which it belongs. Such variety derives mostly from the fact that Japanese music draws from real life and from nature. This is in fact a very common practice in Japan where nature plays a determining role in architecture, garden composition, and even the presentation of food. Despite the large number of options out there though, we can divide Japanese traditional music in three main categories: Gagaku (court music), theatrical, and instrumental. Gagaku is a Japanese form of classical music. It has a rich heritage, and its historical importance carries on to this day. Gagaku is the oldest living orchestra in the world. This music was imported to Japan from China, but it soon separated itself from its Chinese counterpart in style and circumstances in which it was used. In China it was mostly used to entertain, and accompany banquets. The Japanese version of it quickly became music for the elite. Gagaku was performed exclusively by musicians belonging to guilds based in Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka. The right and privilege to play in the orchestra was passed on from father to son, and this music was, for a very long time, performed exclusively in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The rise of the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333CE), and its establishing of a military ruling class, changed things. Gagaku became music for aristocrats, and it lost its luster and popularity. While it had never disappeared, it regained part of its old relevance only during the Meiji Restoration, starting in 1868. That’s when the descendants of the three guilds formed what is currently the Tokyo Imperial Palace Music Department. Since its inception, the instruments used in Gagaku have been many kinds of wind, percussion, and string pieces. The current composition of 16 to 30 musicians has been established in the 19th century and it presents many of what are probably the most recognizable Japanese typical instruments. Gagaku woodwind section The fue is a category of non-reed flutes made of bamboo. Fue come in many varieties, but especially popular ones are the shinobue (pictured above), which is often found at Japanese festivals, and the shakuhachi, which tends to have fewer keys. The hichiriki is a double reed flute. It presents two reeds, which produce the instrument distinctive sound by vibrating against the mouthpiece of the hichiriki. This is the most used instrument in almost every form of Gagaku, and it’s also the instrument of choice of the Japanese composer Hideki Kogi. Gagaku percussion section The taiko is possibly the most recognizable Japanese drum, or even instrument. Its origins are unclear, although it may have been influenced by Chinese and Korean percussions. Depending on its purpose, the crafting of this drum varies, and it can take up to several years to finish one piece. The kakko is a smaller drum, usually double headed. It differs from the taiko especially in how its made tout. The skin is first stretched over metal hoops and then attached to the body. The kakko is usually played by laying it on its side. Belonging to a class of small hand percussion instruments known as narimono, the chappa are small hand cymbals and are present in a variety of musical styles, from Buddhist rituals to kabuki music. Gagaku string section The biwa is a short necked lute used mostly to accompany narrative storytelling. The one used exclusively in Gagaku is larger than its counterparts. It presents four strings and four frets. It’s played from a seated position and it’s picked with a hard, small, rounded plectrum. This instrument nearly disappeared during the Meiji restoration, but it had a strong comeback after the end of WWII. The koto is a 13–string wood instrument composed of 13 removable bridges. It can also appear in a 17-string variety. The sound is produced by plucking the string with three fingers, and the pitch of the cords can be changed by adjusting the length of the bridges. In Gagaku the choice of instruments and orchestra composition differs depending on the occasion. Gagaku is the traditional music of religious ceremonies and folk poetry, but it also extended its influence to include the Bugaku, a traditional dance performed for selected elites (in particular the imperial family) since the 9th century CE. 2. Theatrical Music Approaching the study of theatrical music in Japan can, at times, appear overwhelming. This is mostly because it’s hard to define what theatrical music really is and how it’s used. What kind of stage performances fall into this category? The confusion is understandable as it’s true that essentially any music accompanying any theatrical performance could be called theatrical music, but there are numerous distinctions to consider, and conventionally when we refer to Japanese theatrical music we are talking, for the most part, about Noh or Kabuki, which themselves encompass many different styles. The origin of Noh can be traced back to the 8th century when it included various types of performance ranging from acting, to acrobatic shows, to music, and theatre. Noh took the shape for which its known and very respected to this day, in the 14th century. Noh originated in China and it has later been adopted by Japanese artists, becoming a form of art made popular by few families specialized in theatrical and musical performances. Another interesting theory brought forth by Shinhachiro Matsumoto suggests that Noh was heavily employed by former outcasts to regain status with the ruling class. Noh is the oldest major theatrical art still performed today in Japan. It depicts the life and society of people living between the 12th and the 16th century. A traditional Noh show includes five Nho plays, separated by comedic intermissions called Kyougen. Considered an extremely complex performance, Noh makes use of masks, makeup, costumes, acting, and music performed by very skilled artists, contributing to the high regard to which it’s hold to this day. Noh performances are accompanied by musicians called Hayashi. Being Noh a form of chanted drama it’s often compared to western opera, which often approaches similar themes (although in a western setting), despite it being strikingly different in style. The hayashi ensemble is usually composed of four musicians playing three different percussions and one flute. These drums are played with sticks (similarly to taiko drums) and are suspended on a stand. The body is short and wide and the same skins are applied at both the top and the bottom of the instrument, and then tied together. This approach, along with metal hoops on which the skins are strung, creates the shime-daiko distinctive sound. This hourglass shaped drum is probably the most complicated percussion to care for, among the Japanese traditional ones. Unlike many other kinds of percussions, which are supposed to be moist to a certain degree, the Ootsuzumi has to be dry at all times. Horsehide is used to create the drum heads, and, in order to maintain it dry, it’s often stored by a hibachi (furnace). It’s played with bare hands and it’s renowned for being painful to master, requiring the musician to develop very thick calluses. This is a smaller version of the ootsuzumi. It presents the same shape, and, unlike its larger counterpart, it’s designed to allow the musician to change the sound and pitch it produces by tightening or loosening the skin while playing. The tsuzumi is also commonly used in Kabuki, as well as Japanese folk music. The nohkan is a kind of transverse flute. Like the tsuzumi it is also often used in Kabuki theatre. It’s built with strips of smoked bamboo to preserve its integrity, and the hard shell of the material is placed to face the core of the flute for improved acoustics. Unlike many other similar instruments, the nohkan produces a characteristic high-pitch sound. 3. Kabuki theatre Very popular and known worldwide, Kabuki is probably the best-known form of Japanese theatre. Kabuki is a “UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”, but its journey to get to this point saw it undergo numerous struggles and changes. Kabuki today is knows to be, for the most part, an all-male cast type of theatre, but at its inception it was quite the opposite. Kabuki first appeared in 1603 when Izumo no Okuni began performing a new style of dance drama in Kyoto. This kind of performance became wildly popular making its way to the imperial court. The actors were all women. Kabuki, though, was not meant exclusively for elite audiences and it was often enjoyed by people of all classes. Because of this reason, the Shogunate never fully accepted it, seeing this mixing of classes as unnatural. Women were banned from performing and that’s how the all-male kabuki was born. The following two centuries, until the mid 1800’s were the golden era of Kabuki. After disappearing for a while, and re-emerging during the Meiji Restoration, Kabuki became what we know today. In Kabuki, makeup, costumes, stage design, as well as dances and acting, play a very important role in the realization of a play, but so do singing and music. Originally Kabuki theatre used the same kind of hayashi who performed in Noh theatre. In time Kabuki developed different musical styles and introduced different instruments, most notably the shamisen. The shamisen is a three-string instrument played using a large plectrum called bachi. There are different kinds of shamisen. The one usually used in kabuki performances has a thin neck to facilitate the virtuosity required for that genre. The bridge (or neck) of the shamisen is usually a composite one and can be disassembled in three to five pieces. Similarly to a banjo or a guitar, the sound comes out of a resonating body. The strings are traditionally made of silk, but nowadays nylon ones are more commonly used. That’s a lot to take in, but about instrumental music? When talking about Japanese traditional music we refer to any kind of musical performance not designed to accompany other performances, such as acting, dancing, or singing. Historically, performers who would play traditional music on its own, would use the same instruments and style that audiences could enjoy in kabuki plays and Gagaku performances. Although not easily framed within a particular genre, or as part of significant occasions, instrumental music contributed in the spreading of the tradition itself, making Japanese music become its own art, as opposed to being seen as a component of a larger performance. Japanese traditional music has a long heritage and it’s still present and relevant in modern representations not only of its original form, but also as an adaptation to modern music (see below). Japan is famous for remaining attached to its tradition while constantly modernizing. Such culture can be seen in the various festivals and ceremonies related to religion, history, and traditional practices, but also in more mundane events like weddings, funerals, coming of age celebrations, and much more. The spirit of maintaining a connection with the past is very much alive in music as well, creating sounds and compositions that however modern, conjure a very distinctive melodic pattern, allowing tradition to stay alive, and modernization to run its course. Enjoying a traditional Japanese music concert during your stay in Tokyo While the sights and tastes of Tokyo and beyond often top what visitors aim to experience during their stay in Japan, the chance to see a traditional cultural performance of some sort ranks closely behind – noh, kabuki, or even a concert. Formed in 2008, the Aun J Classic Orchestra is a group of eight highly talented Japanese musicians that are masters of traditional instruments. This group has garnered a fair amount of popularity overseas, most recently being invited to play in Russia at a banquet attended by Russian President Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Abe, and French Prime Minister Macron. They currently collaborate with 12 other skilled traditional musicians to create “Team J.” With this group they have produced a series of superb concerts. Originally held at Hands Expo Café in Ginza, the 45-minute mini concerts showcase a variety of captivating pieces, including original scores, traditional songs and even adaptations of Western songs to Japanese instrumentation. Live Japan caught up with two of the series’ core artists, twin brothers Ryohei and Kohei Inoue, who enjoy sharing the soul of Japanese music with audiences both in Japan and abroad. We learned more about their relationship with traditional music, the instruments, and what they hope to offer to the world through music. Although very talented musicians now, the brothers came from relatively humble roots and had been more interested in rock and pop music than any other sound. That was, until the age of 18, when they had a chance encounter with taiko drums and shamisen. “I thought, ‘wow, these instruments are so cool. And the sound they make is so different. It was such an incredible moment [meeting these instruments] that we had no idea of before. We decided right then and there that we’d learn how to play them,” recalled Kohei. “So the instruments we perform with are shamisen [a 3-stringed instrument], taiko [drums] and fue [a bamboo flute]. Using these three instruments, we think about the kind of piece we can play. We could play only shamisen, but we think that a variety of instrumentation is a lot more interesting when doing a live performance.” The instrumentation is a perfect arrangement indeed. But their style is less the sort of score you’d think of for a samurai film and more the kind that you’d want to swing dance to. It’s delightfully catchy. When foreign ears listen to the warm-throated twang of a shamisen accompanied with the chest-thumping beat of a taiko, there’s something so familiar and fun about the sound that it immediately lights a smile on your face as you tap your feet. When asked whether this is what he hopes people will take home with them, Kohei smiles. “I hope that people will become interested in the sound these Japanese instruments make.” Ryohei agrees. “I hope people will enjoy Japan better.” Nomatter whether you visit Tokyo, Kyoto or another of Japan’s charming cultural areas, music adds an additional context and dimension for sightseers to experience. Looking around the sophisticated café/concert space, we saw that all the audience members had their eyes fixed on the stage. A gem in Tokyo’s posh east-side neighborhood of Ginza, Hands Expo Café seats about 60 and is exactly the kind of spot you’d drop by for a relaxing cappuccino during the daytime and a splash of something bubbly as the moon rises. When we visited, they offered a variety of hot and cold organic teas (￥700~), coffees (￥600~), smoothies (￥800~), and sparkling juice drinks, but also a solid selection of Japanese whiskies, craft rums, craft gins (starting at￥500 per glass) and more. To tease your sweet tooth, they offer a refreshing variety of shaved ice with toppings like Kumamoto Purple Potato (￥900), Tokaichi Azuki and Uji Matcha (￥900), and even organic no-wax lemon (￥900). Plus their premium pancakes, like the popular ones smothered with syrup made from fresh Tochigi strawberries with a side of whipped cream (￥1300), are delightfully decadent. As a café dedicated to showcasing some of Japan’s unique cultural products, it’s a delight to have sweets to eat while you tap your feet. Back to the music. When asked what they hope foreign visitors to take home with them from the experience, Ryohei smiled broadly as he gave his answer, saying simply, “I hope people will enjoy Japan better.” He noted that tourists come to visit not only Tokyo, but a variety of areas, and that music gives an additional dimension for sightseers to enjoy. “Feeling Japan’s charm and pleasantry [through music] – I hope people will bring that home with them.” Simply put, the Inoue twins enjoy making music and hope that others will enjoy listening. “[Finding a place to listen to] traditional Japanese music is a little challenging,” continues Kohei. In order to appeal the charm of traditional Japanese music to others, they decided to help form the concert series. We know you’ll love it too! Editor's Note: Since this article was originally published, the lineup of live concerts at Hands Expo Cafe has included a mix of traditional and contemporary styles. For more information, see https://www.hands-expo-cafe-ginza.com/ (in Japanese). TOKYU PLAZA GINZA東急プラザ銀座 Tokyu plaza Ginza, 5-2-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061 Ginza Station （Tokyo Metro Ginza Line / Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line / Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line） 1 minute on foot - Phone Number 03-3571-0109 - Address Tokyu plaza Ginza, 5-2-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061 *Prices and options mentioned are subject to change. *Unless stated otherwise, all prices include tax. Share this article. JR Edition: Visit all of Tokyo in one Day with the Tokyo Metropolitan District Pass! Atami 1-Day Itinerary: Exploring Japan's Castle & Hot Springs Resort Town Near Tokyo! Tokyo Roppongi: 5 Most Amazing Spots at Roppongi Hills and How to Make the Best of Them! 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n both art and history, the Hellenistic era pertains to the period of Alexander the Great’s conquests and the following expansion of Greek civilization throughout the great cities and countries of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, and the Near East. Hellenistic art is primarily represented via sculpture, which had been more effectively depicted in precision, physiology, emotion, and motion than the classical forefathers’ sculptures. What is a Hellenist, though? The Hellenists worked hard to promote ancient Greek tradition to the people they invaded and to demonstrate the supremacy of their civilization. Table of Contents - 1 Hellenistic Greek Art History - 2 Hellenistic Statues and Sculptures - 3 Mosaics and Paintings of the Hellenistic Era - 4 Frequently Asked Questions Hellenistic Greek Art History When Alexander led the Greeks to triumph, he split the captured regions among his commanders, the Diadochi. The Near Eastern Seleucids, the Egyptian Ptolemies, and the Macedonian Antigonids were all born in these countries. Other lands formed leagues, such as the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues. These kingdoms and alliances eventually disintegrated into smaller kingdoms enriched with Greek cultural characteristics. Grecian influences combined with native culture during these kingdoms resulted in a wide range of techniques and subjects in Hellenistic art. The historical curiosity that defined this era was also a significant influence on the value of the art generated. The libraries of Pergamon and Alexandria provided artists with accessibility to this heritage, which, along with their understanding of previous artworks, provided them with a basis from which to work with invention and inventiveness. As local faiths grew more secularized as a result of Grecian influence, and as those religions affected Greece, artists discovered new methods to represent their own gods. Eros, for instance, is shown as a young boy, whereas Aphrodite is depicted naked. The presence of the elderly and children, individuals of various races (especially Africans), and grotesque sculptures demonstrate that diversity was not restricted to religious vs. secular influence. Because not every figure was an Olympian, deity, or orator, the artists had to devise a wide range of positions to effectively reflect these new sculptural personalities. With these Hellenistic statues, sculptors sought to build the position on a spiraling twist so that the observer could see something interesting from all angles. Winged Nike of Samothrace (ca. 190 BC), made out of Parian marble and found in Samothrace in 1863. Currently located in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France; Louvre Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Sometimes these stances appeared to serve a purpose, while other times the reasons appeared to be insignificant or contained within a single motion, such as a satyr inspecting his tail. There are relatively few paintings from Hellenistic culture that have survived. What has survived are mosaics that are thought to be exact replicas of the original frescoes. Scholars might conclude from these mosaics that Hellenist artists used twisting motion, strongly expressive features, and accurate representations of nature. A landscape artwork in an unfinished collection of pictures from the Odyssey demonstrates that the artwork was created by a talented artist using disciplined brushwork and expertise in light, shadow, and the capability to portray distance in color. There are also Hellenist Fayum Egyptian Mummy Portraits, which demonstrate how much the Hellenists affected Egyptian art. These portraits depicted living humans, not mummies, with accurate, realistic, and lifelike detail. They are similar to portrait styles from the mid-19th century. While clay and ceramics were in decline, bronze and goldsmiths of the time excelled at creating vessels, jewelry, and figures with intricate decorative work. Mythical monsters, African people, gods, and wreaths were among the subjects. Many of the metalwork objects were set with expensive stones and jewels. Glass blowing was discovered by the Hellenists, who were able to develop new kinds of art. The molded glass was used to make jewelry in Italy, and jewelers devised and improved the cameo. Hellenistic Statues and Sculptures After 293 BC, sculpting fell considerably. After that, there was a period of stasis, with a relatively short reemergence after 153 BC, but nothing up to the quality benchmark of the periods before it. Sculpture grew increasingly lifelike and expressive throughout this period, with an emphasis on conveying extremes of expression. Aside from physical accuracy, the Hellenistic sculptor strives to depict the personality of his subject, encompassing subjects such as anguish, sleep, and old age. Ordinary folk, mothers, children, animal life, and household scenes became appropriate subjects for Hellenistic statues, which were funded by wealthy families to decorate their residences and gardens. A notable instance is “A Boy with Thorn” (101 AD). Laocoön and his sons (also known as the Laocoön Group) (ca. 200 BC), found in the Baths of Trajan in 1506. Currently located in the Vatican Museums in the Vatican City, Italy; Vatican Museums, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Artists no longer felt obligated to show individuals as standards of beauty or bodily perfection, and accurate representations of women and men were created. Dionysus’ realm, a pastoral utopia filled with satyrs and nymphs, had been shown frequently in previous vase paintings and figures, but seldom in full-size sculptures. The Old Drunkard (first century AD) in Munich depicts an elderly lady, gaunt and haggard, clutching a jar of alcohol against herself. As a result, the era is noteworthy for its portraiture. The Barberini Faun (1799) of Munich, for example, depicts a sleeping satyr with a comfortable posture and a worried expression, maybe the prey of dreams. Similar themes are reflected in the Resting Satyr, The Belvedere Torso (1430), and The Sleeping Hermaphroditus (1620). “Demosthenes” (384–322 BC) by Polyeuktos is yet another well-known Hellenistic portrait that depicts him with a well-executed face and clenched fists. Another Hellenistic-era tendency may be noticed in its art: privatization, as demonstrated in the reintroduction of previous public patterns in ornamental sculpture. Under the influences of Roman art, portraiture is tinted with realism. New Hellenistic cities sprung up throughout Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia. The Pergamon Altar, located at the Pergamon Museum; © Raimond Spekking This necessitated the installation of sculptures representing Greek deities and characters in sanctuaries and public spaces. Sculpture, like ceramics, became a business as a result, with uniformity and some degradation of quality. As a result of these factors, considerably more Hellenistic statues have endured than Classic sculptures. The developments of “second classicism” are repeated in Hellenistic statues. This comprises naked sculpture-in-the-round, which allows the sculpture to be appreciated from all sides; drapery and the illusions of transparency of clothes, as well as the flexibility of positions. As a result, “Venus de Milo” (between 150 and 125 BC), despite emulating a traditional figure, is differentiated by the curve of her hips. The group of statues that featured multiple figures was a Hellenistic invention, most likely from the third century, that removed the epic conflicts of older sanctuary reliefs off their walls and created them as life-size sculptures. Their style is commonly referred to as “baroque,” due to their extravagantly deformed body positions and dramatic emotions on their faces. “The Laocoön Group” (1506), which is discussed further below, is regarded as a classic instance of the Hellenistic baroque era. Pergamon did not identify itself just via its architecture. It was also the home of the famous Pergamene Baroque style of sculpture. Mimicking previous eras, the sculptors depict traumatic situations rendered emotive using three-dimensional designs, and physiological hyper-realism. One instance is the “Barberini Faun” (1799). To memorialize his triumph against the Gauls, Attalus I crafted two series of groups: the first, anointed on the Acropolis of Pergamon, contains the famed Gaul massacring himself and his wife, the second, given to Athens, is made up of small statues of Amazons, divine beings and giants. The Louvre’s “Artemis Rospigliosi” (1st – 2nd centuries AD) is most likely a replica of one of them. So-called Ludovisi Gaul and his wife. Marble, Roman copy after a Hellenistic original from a monument built by Attalus I of Pergamon after his victory over Gauls, ca. 220 BC; Museo nazionale romano di palazzo Altemps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is because copies of the Dying Gaul were plentiful during the Roman period. The Pergamene style is characterized by the portrayal of emotions, the boldness of details, and the aggressiveness of movements. These features are shown in the friezes of Pergamon’s Great Altar (2nd century BC), which was adorned under the direction of Eumenes II with a gigantomachy reaching 110 meters in length, portraying stone poetry written specifically for the court. It is won by the Olympians, each on his own side, over Giants, most of whom are changed into terrible monsters such as snakes, birds of prey, lions, or cows. Gaia rushes to their assistance, but she is powerless to help and must watch as they squirm in agony under the gods’ blows. Colossus of Rhodes Rhodes was one of the few city-states that managed to remain completely independent of any Hellenistic power. After surviving a year-long siege the Rhodians erected the Colossus of Rhodes (280 BC) to celebrate their triumph. The Greeks were able to construct huge sculptures because of advancements in bronze casting. Many of the huge bronze statues were destroyed, with the vast number being melted down to reclaim the material. The Barberini Faun, also known as the Sleeping Satyr (2nd century BC Hellenistic or 2nd century AD). Roman copy of an earlier bronze; Glyptothek, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Discovered in Rome in 1506 and instantly noticed by Michelangelo, it began to have a tremendous effect on Renaissance and Baroque artwork. Laocoön, choked by serpents, struggles hard to break free without looking at his dead sons. The grouping is one of the few non-architectural antique sculptures that may be linked to those recorded in ancient texts. The Baroque characteristics of Hellenistic art, particularly sculpture, have been compared with a contemporaneous tendency known as Rococo. Wilhelm Klein invented the term “Hellenistic Rococo” in the early twentieth century. In contrast to the intense Baroque statues, the Rococo movement stressed lighthearted themes like satyrs and nymphs. The sculptural group, “The Invitation to the Dance”, was a prominent example of the movement. Lighthearted images of Aphrodite and Eros were also common. Later, it was believed that the desire for “Rococo” themes in Hellenistic statues might be linked to a shift in the usage of sculpture generally. Personal sculpture collecting grew more prevalent in the late Hellenistic era, and there appears to have been a penchant for “Rococo” elements in this kind of collection. Scholars consider the Neo-Attic style of sculpture as a response to baroque extravagance, a reversion to a form of Classical tradition, or a continuance of the usual style for worship statues beginning in the second century. Studios in the style began to specialize in producing replicas for the Roman market, which favored traditional rather than Hellenistic works. Mosaics and Paintings of the Hellenistic Era Paintings and mosaics were major mediums in Hellenistic Greek art. However, no instances of paintings on panels escaped the Roman conquest. Related media and what appear to be replicas of or loose extensions from artworks in a wider range of materials might give some notion of what they were like. The greater use of landscape in Hellenistic mosaics and paintings is perhaps the most remarkable feature. The landscapes in these pieces of art depict recognized realistic characters as well as mythological and Sacro-idyllic motifs. Landscape friezes were frequently utilized to depict settings from Hellenistic poetry. These settings depicting the tales of Hellenistic authors were used in the house to highlight the family’s awareness and education of the world of literature. The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina (c. 100 BC), a Roman and Hellenistic floor mosaic depicting Ptolemaic Egypt; Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The term “Sacro-idyllic” refers to the artwork’s most prominent aspects, which are those associated with religious and pastoral themes. This style, which first appeared in Hellenistic art, blends holy and profane elements to create a dreamy scene. the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina (1st century BC) exhibits imaginative storytelling with a color scheme and everyday components that portray the Nile in its transit from the Mediterranean to Ethiopia. Hellenistic backdrops can also be found in works from Pompeii, Cyrene, and Alexandria. Furthermore, floral motifs and limbs can be observed on ceilings and walls strewn in a disorganized yet traditional fashion, imitating a late Greek style, particularly in Southern Russia. Furthermore, “Cubiculum” paintings unearthed at Villa Boscoreale show greenery and a rocky landscape in the background of realistic paintings of big structures. During the Pompeian period, wall paintings became more prevalent. These wall murals were not just featured in temples or tombs. Wall paintings were frequently utilized to beautify the dwelling. In Priene, Thera, Olbia, Pantikapaion, and Alexandria, wall paintings were widespread in private residences. Only a few specimens of Greek wall murals have survived the ages. The ones in the Macedonian imperial graves at Vergina are the most spectacular in terms of demonstrating what high-quality Greek artwork looked like. Wall painting depicting a banquet scene from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki (4th century BC); Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Greek artists are credited with introducing key representations to the Western hemisphere through their artwork. Three-dimensional viewpoint, the utilization of lights and shadows to convey form, and Trompe-l’oeil reality were three key characteristics of the Hellenistic style of painting. Except for wooden panels and those put on stone, very few examples of paintings exist in Hellenistic culture. The most well-known stone paintings may be found in the Macedonian Tomb at Agios Athanasios. Techniques and Mediums Recent Mediterranean digs have shown the technologies utilized in Hellenistic painting. The secco and fresco methods were used in wall art during this period. The fresco technique needed layers of lime-rich plaster to be applied to surfaces and stone foundations before they could be decorated. Wall painting depicting Hades abducting Persephone (340 BCE); Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The secco method, on the other hand, did not require a base and instead employed gum arabic and egg tempera to create finalizing features on marble or other stone. The Masonry friezes on Delos are an example of this technique. Both techniques made use of locally available materials, manufactured artificial pigments, and organic materials as colorants. Recent finds include chamber tombs at Vergina (1987), in the old kingdom of Macedonia, where several friezes were discovered. Archaeologists discovered a Hellenistic-style frieze portraying a lion hunt in Tomb II, for instance. This frieze discovered in a tomb reportedly belonging to Philip II is notable for its structure, the placement of the characters in space, and its accurate depiction of nature. Other friezes, such as a symposium and feast or a military procession, preserve a realistic storyline and may repeat actual events. Roman fresco painting, known as “Cubiculum” (bedroom), from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale (50–40 BC). Located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons There are also the newly repaired Nabataean frescoes from the 1st century in Jordan’s Painted House. Because the Nabataeans interacted with the Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, the insects and other creatures depicted in the murals represent Hellenism, while different varieties of vines are linked with the Greek god Dionysus. The latest archaeological findings at the Pagasae cemetery, on the outskirts of the Pagasetic Gulf, have revealed several unique works. The excavated works may be linked to numerous Greek artists from the third and fourth centuries, who represent events from Alexander the Great’s reign. A collection of wall paintings was discovered in Delos in the 1960s. The remains of friezes discovered were clearly constructed by a colony of painters who existed during the late Hellenistic era. The paintings emphasized household decorating, implying that the Delian regime will stay strong and stable enough for this work to be appreciated by residents for many coming years. Certain mosaics give an excellent understanding of the period’s “great painting.” These mosaics are reproductions of frescoes that have been lost to the ravages of time. This art form has mostly been utilized to embellish walls, floors, and columns. Techniques and Mediums The evolution of mosaic artwork during the Hellenistic Era started with Pebble Mosaics, which are best depicted in the 5th century BC at the site of Olynthos. Pebble Mosaics were created by arranging tiny black and white pebbles of varying sizes in a rectangular or circular panel to depict images from mythology. To produce the image, white pebbles in slightly various colors were put on a blue or black backdrop. The black stones were used to frame the imagery. A highly advanced form of art may be seen in the mosaics from the 4th century BC site of Pella. This site’s mosaics show the usage of stones that have been tinted in a wider spectrum of hues and tones. They also demonstrate the early use of lead wire and Terra-cotta to generate more defined curves and features in the mosaic pictures. More materials were eventually added after this scenario. Precisely cut pebbles, broken stones, glass, and baked ceramic, known as tesserae, are examples of this increased usage of elements in mosaics from the third century BC. Detail of the Alexander Mosaic (c. 100 BC), found in the House of the Faun in Pompeii; Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This enhanced the mosaic method by allowing artists to create more clarity, considerable detail, a finer fit, and a larger spectrum of colors and hues. Regardless of the chronological order in which these methods appeared, there is no data to imply that the tessellated evolved from pebble mosaics. The vast bulk of mosaics was created and installed on-site. A few floor mosaics, however, employ the “emblemata” process, in which picture panels are manufactured off-site in trays of terra-cotta or stone. These trays were then placed on-site in the setting bed. Colored grouts were employed on opus vermiculatum mosaics in Delos, although this is not prevalent in other places. The Dog and Askos mosaic in Alexandria is one example of colorful grout being utilized. The grouts and tesserae on Samos are both colored. Scientific study has provided valuable information on the grouts and tesserae in use in Hellenistic mosaics. As a distinguishing feature of the surface treatment, lead strips were detected on mosaics. The mosaics here are devoid of lead strips. Lead strips were popular on mosaics in the opus tessellated style at Delos. These strips were used to delineate ornamental borders as well as geometric decorative elements. The strips were especially popular in Alexandria opus vermiculatum mosaics. Because lead strips were present in both types of surfaces, they cannot be the primary distinguishing feature of one or the other. Tel Dor Mosaic An uncommon virtuoso Hellenistic type image mosaic was discovered on the Levantine shore. Researchers believe that this mosaic was made in situ by itinerant craftsmen based on a technical investigation of the mosaic. Over 200 shards of the mosaic have been unearthed at Tel Dor’s headline since 2000, but the demolition of the original mosaic is unclear. Excavators believe the reason is an earthquake or urban redevelopment. Although the original architectural context is unclear, stylistic and technical parallels point to a late Hellenistic period date, possibly at the end of second-century B.C.E. Scholars discovered that the original mosaic included a centered rectangle with unknown iconography, flanked by a succession of artistic borders consisting of a perspective meandering. It was also accompanied by a mask-and-garland border after analyzing the shards recovered at the original location. Another example is the Alexander Mosaic (100 BC), which depicts the young victor and Grand King Darius III clashing during battle and is an artwork from a floor in Pompeii’s House of the Faun. It is thought to be a replica of a picture mentioned by Pliny as having been created by Philoxenus of Eretria for King Cassander of Macedon towards the end of the fourth century BC, or perhaps of a work by Apelles contemporary with Alexander. The mosaic allows us to evaluate the color palette as well as the ensemble’s composition through turning motion and facial expressions. Stag Hunt Mosaic (300 BC) The emblem is surrounded by an exquisite floral design that is surrounded by stylized portrayals of waves. The work is a pebble mosaic composed of stones gathered from coastlines and riverbanks and placed in cement. The mosaic, as was maybe often the case, represents painting techniques. The bright figures against the darker backdrop might be a reference to a red-figure painting. The mosaic also employs shading, in its portrayals of the individuals’ muscles and capes. The artwork is three-dimensional as a result of this, as well as the use of overlapping figures to create depth. The Stag Hunt mosaic (late 4th century BC) from Pella, Greece. Most likely depicting Alexander and Hephaestion; Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Hellenistic era is also a period of mosaic development, notably with the creations of Sosos of Pergamon, who was prominent in the 2nd century BC. His interest in optical illusion and the impacts of the medium can be seen in several creations ascribed to him, including the Unswept Floor in the Vatican Museum, which depicts the leftovers of a meal, and the Dove Basin at the Capitoline Museum, which is known thanks to a reproduction discovered in Hadrian’s Villa. That concludes our look into Hellenistic Greek art. The Hellenistic era spanned 300 years and was marked by inventions, globalization, and cultural connection via a shared language and standardized schooling. Royal families lived in magnificence and prosperity throughout the Hellenistic period. Palaces feature opulent dining halls, ornately adorned chambers, and magnificent gardens. Extensive wealth encircled the stately homes and the palaces of the aristocracy, political elite, and merchants, who hosted celebrations and symposia to showcase their riches on a regular basis. A rich society with famous patrons of the arts who commissioned public projects of sculpture as well as private luxuries to demonstrate their money and social standing. Take a look at our Hellenistic period art webstory here! Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Hellenist? You might be wondering what exactly a Hellenist is. A Hellenist is an individual who lived during the Hellenistic period and was Greek in dialect, viewpoint, and mode of living but was not necessarily Greek in lineage. The Hellenists worked for years to promote ancient Greek tradition to the people they conquered and to demonstrate their civilization’s superiority. What Is the Hellenism Definition? You might be wondering what the Hellenism definition is. The Hellenistic period began with the demise of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. During this period, art began to depart from traditional classical principles, with painters of the time injecting their pieces with fresh stylistic choices. Jewelry got more ornate, sculptures became more expressive (almost theatrical), and buildings defied convention by growing larger. During these kingdoms, Grecian influences coupled with native culture resulted in a diverse range of styles and topics in Hellenistic art. The historical interest that marked this age had a tremendous impact on the value of the art that resulted. Hellenistic art depicted individuals of different ages, from infants to the elderly.

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Historical travel includes various kinds of destinations, from Stone Age cave paintings to Cold War installations of the late 20th century. History is a central focus for some travellers and some destinations, and almost every traveller in most places will at least have a look at some old buildings or the local museums. |“||History does not belong to us but rather we to it.||”| The early history of life on Earth is studied in paleontology, mainly through fossils. The earliest known fossils of the genus Homo date back at least 4.4 million years. Our species, Homo sapiens, is thought to have evolved between one and two hundred thousand years ago. Some homo sapiens migrated from Africa to the Middle East about 100,000 years ago and to Europe about 60,000 years ago. For purposes of this article, anything after 50,000 BCE counts as history. Naturally this overlaps considerably with our archaeology article. The boundary between paleontology and archaeology, which deals mainly with the study of ancient human artifacts, is not at all well-defined. The oldest known tools made by hominids — Oldowan stone tools excavated in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania — are about 2.6 million years old. Australopithecines, of the genus which included direct ancestors of Homo, had cruder stone tools starting at least 3.3 million years ago. Controlled use of fire is apparently at least a million years old. The boundary between prehistory and history is commonly drawn at the first local written records, which date back to around 3,000 BCE in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia, but as recently as the 19th century in some other parts of the world. Widespread literacy was rare in most of history and even when commoners could read and write, they often had no or limited access to durable material on which to write. As such, the written record is often focused on what the ruling elites deemed noteworthy and what can be learned about the everyday lives of common people is often only revealed indirectly or through archeology. "Oral history" or what was transmitted from generation to generation through poems, songs, legends and other means of storytelling was often dismissed by "Western" historiography but is now seen as a vital source of historical information instead of or in addition to the written record. The distinction of history and pre-history by the availability of writing alone is thus no longer unanimously accepted and other markers are used as well. Pottery, the wheel, the first domesticated animals (dogs), and the first evidence of crop cultivation all appeared between 30,000 and 20,000 BCE. A number of other important developments took place between about 12,000 BCE and 3,000 — the transition of some societies from purely hunting/gathering to being based on agriculture, irrigation, cities, metalworking, and domestication of many more animals. During the civilizations of Greece and Rome, historians demonstrated their interest in history with contributions such as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a list of important works of art and architecture in the region. The line between "historical" and "modern" is arbitrary; some draw it around the time of the European Renaissance or slightly later with the great voyages of discovery starting with Columbus and Vasco da Gama. For travel guide purposes it can be convenient to draw it at the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, when cities, industries and railroads began to expand fast, displacing older structures and rural folk culture. Surviving settlements and city districts from before the mid-19th century which were designed before and survived the advent of cars and trains, referred to as old towns, are typically smaller and more compact (and thus walkable) than modern cities. However, during the 19th and 20th centuries, older styles of art, architecture and furnishing have been revived and reproduced, so that many buildings that look ancient might be less than 100 years old. There might even be a (neo)Gothic train station or an Ancient Greek-style building in the Americas. Deserted settlements can be archaeological sites or ghost towns. Pioneer villages can be authentic or artificial. In some places you quite literally trip over historical remnants, whereas other historic sites have been painstakingly preserved and restored. While the latter is usually more interesting it may seem "fake", "sterile" or even "artificial" when done badly. Also — with few exceptions — there are fewer lines (if any) for historical places that people actually still live in (like old towns) or use for their original purpose (like many churches / mosques / synagogues / temples) than for museums or "theme parks". Nostalgia tourism aims at recent history, remembered by people alive today (especially the middle-aged and elderly). As of the 2020s, it includes World War II, as well as postwar United States, Cold War Europe and the Soviet Union. Some historical sites are threatened, either for natural causes or human-influenced ones like war or neglect. As of the 2020s, coastal cities such as Venice and New Orleans are sinking into the sea, ancient ruins in Iraq and Syria were damaged by wars of the 21st century, and many indigenous cultures around the world have only a handful of survivors left. Future generations are in no way guaranteed to experience these places as they are today. Responsible travel can provide incentives to save them, or at least their memory. Continents and regions Africa is the wellspring of the human race and therefore the site of the oldest finds of human remains, in locations ranging from South Africa to Ethiopia. It was also home to some of the world's oldest civilizations, particularly Ancient Egypt but also Nubia and Ethiopia. A bit later in antiquity, Carthage dominated much of North Africa and was then conquered by the Romans, who did major construction projects in their African provinces as they did in all other parts of their empire, leaving behind substantial ruins. In addition, there were great empires in both the Sahel and Southern Africa in the centuries before European colonialism; some of these relics have been vandalized by Salafist extremists in the 21st century, such as those in northern Mali, but a lot is still standing. Perhaps the two most prominent pre-colonial sites in sub-Saharan Africa are Timbuktu in Mali and the Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. Arab and Berber/Moorish civilization also has left deep and lasting marks on North Africa, and the Arabs, especially the Sultanate of Oman, had far-flung possessions down the East African coast, notably including Zanzibar and Mombasa. There are also many relics of European colonialism, including slave forts and other forts on the coasts. Locations associated with the trans-Atlantic slave trade, World War II battles, the fights for independence, and the fight against Apartheid in South Africa can also be visited; see 20th-century South Africa for the latter. - Ancient Egypt - Churches in Ethiopia - Great Zimbabwe - Atlantic slave trade - World War II in Africa - 20th-century South Africa - MV Liemba, built for the Imperial German Navy before World War I, and still in service as a ferry The only unsettled continent has very few traces of human history. Some Antarctic islands, such as the South Georgia Island and South Shetland Islands, have remnants of the whaling industry. The remains of expeditions of the "heroic age" of Antarctic exploration can still be seen and some have been actively preserved or relocated to museums in Europe and elsewhere. Many former research stations have been abandoned to be "swallowed" by snow and ice, and there aren't always many traces visible. Asia had some of the world's oldest civilizations, including those in Ancient Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, Persia, Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Israel, the Edomites and Moabites of Jordan, China, India and Java, to name a few. The Middle East contains the world's first cities; some old towns have been inhabited for three millennia or more. The Holy Land is sacred to Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith. Iran has one of the oldest histories on earth. You may have heard names of emperors like Cyrus the Great or Ardashir I. The Achaemenid Empire was a really big empire which consisted of many states. The Silk Road played a very important role in supporting the economy of empire. The official language of the various Persian empires was usually Persian. The Asian nation that lacks archaeological relics is much more the exception than the rule. Much has been lost due to iconoclasm, such as in Malaysia several hundreds of years ago, when the relatively new Muslims destroyed Malay Hindu temples; in Saudi Arabia within the last few years, when numerous historical sites were razed in Mecca and other places; in Afghanistan, when statues of the Buddha that were thousands of years old were dynamited by the Taliban; and in Iraq and Syria in the first decade of the 21st century, when the Islamic State group destroyed many of the larger Babylonian and other historical relics they can get their hands on and spirited many of the smaller relics out of the country to sell on the black market. For relatively recent history, the "Hippie Trail" of the 1960s and 70s is covered in Istanbul to New Delhi overland. Parts of what was the usual route back in the day are currently too dangerous, but the journey is still possible using alternate routes. - Ancient Mesopotamia - Persian Empire - Troy, an ancient city famous for the legendary Trojan War recounted in Homer's Iliad - Pre-Islamic Arabia - Islamic Golden Age East and Central Asia - Imperial China — the history of China prior to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1911 - Silk Road — an ancient trading route that provided cultural and technology interchange between the East and West from the 2nd century BCE to the 18th century - Western Xia — a lost ancient Chinese civilization (11th to 13th century) - On the trail of Marco Polo who traveled from Venice to China in the 13th century - Mongol Empire (13th and 14th centuries) - Pre-modern Japan — the history of the Japanese people prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1868 - Pre-modern Korea — the history of the Korean people prior to the Japanese occupation in 1910 - Japanese colonial empire - Chinese Revolutions (1911 to 1976) — China during the Republican era, and the first decades of Communist rule - Long March — a significant military event during the Chinese civil war in the 1930s that forged the Communist party - Pacific War — the Second World War in the Asia-Pacific region - World War II in China — the longest lasting and deadliest front of World War II - Korean War — the 20th century conflict at the beginning of the Cold War - Tibetan Empire — history of the Tibetan people prior to the Qing conquest in the 18th century - Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan South and Southeast Asia - South Asian history - Khmer Empire - Mughal Empire (16th to early-19th century) - Colonial India - British Raj - the British empire in the Indian subcontinent (from 1858 to 1947) - Philippine Revolution (1896 to 1898) - Indochina Wars - See also: European history Europe has been more thoroughly excavated by archaeologists than any other continent. Southern Europe has archaeological sites from Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and other ancient civilizations. Central Europe in particular is filled with medieval castles and early-modern palaces, with Old towns across the whole continent. Historical tourism itself has a long history in Europe; educational journeys such as the Grand Tour have been customary since the 17th century. Europe's heritage has been scarred by war, especially World War II. The Holocaust was not just a genocidal campaign against the Jews; the Nazis also set out to methodically destroy Jewish heritage. Many beautiful synagogues were destroyed and never rebuilt due to - among other things - lack of a Jewish congregation, lack of funds or personal and institutional continuities. Jewish cemeteries, too, were vandalized. As the Second World War left many cities bombed beyond recognition, many city planners saw their opportunity to replace the "old fashioned" old towns with (in today's eyes) bland 1950s architecture and big streets and overpasses to make these places "ready for the automobile". Although the worst excesses have been turned back, many historical buildings that survived the wars were torn down in this somewhat iconoclastic frenzy. - Prehistoric Europe - Medieval Europe - Early modern Europe - Protestant Reformation - Napoleonic Wars - World War I - World War II in Europe - Cold War Europe Central and Eastern Europe - Austro-Hungarian Empire - Hanseatic League - Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth - Russian Empire - Soviet Union - Thirty Years' War - Vikings and the Old Norse (until 1000 AD) - Nordic history (since 1000 AD) - Stockholm history tour - Swedish Empire (strictly 1611–1721, the article covers a longer period) - Medieval Britain and Ireland - Early modern Britain and Ireland - Dutch Empire - Kingdom of France - French Colonial Empire - Industrial Britain - British Empire - Ancient Greece - Roman Empire - Byzantine Empire - Medieval and Renaissance Italy - Ottoman Empire - Portuguese Empire - Spanish Empire The first humans arrived at New Guinea and Australia 65,000 years ago; this places their indigenous cultures among the oldest known on Earth. Without writing or metalworking, their heritage is sourced from their artwork and oral tradition. See Indigenous Australian culture. The first settlers of the Solomon Islands arrived more than 30,000 years ago. The general term for these ethnic groups is Melanesians. The rest of Oceania has a relatively short human history, though. The Austronesians began migrating into the Pacific around 3,000 BCE and were the first people to arrive in Polynesia, from 1,000 BCE onwards. They reached Hawaii in the 4th century CE, and New Zealand in the 13th century (see Maori culture), making the North and South Islands the last major landmasses on Earth to be settled (other than Antarctica). Oceania was also among the last regions to be charted and colonised by Europeans. - Indigenous Australian culture - Australian Convict Sites - Military museums and sites in Australia - Ned Kelly tourism - Pacific War North American prehistory has left behind sites such as the New Mexico Pueblos and Ohio prehistoric sites. In addition, in Mexico and Central America, especially Guatemala, there are very impressive remains of the Mayan civilization, particularly quite a number of pyramids. Sites associated with written history for the most part begin with early contact between the indigenous peoples of North America and European colonists. Often the indigenous were displaced by European settlers and sometimes killed (for example, the infamous Trail of Tears). Early colonial sites are often preserved as "old towns" in Atlantic coastal cities such as Antigua Guatemala, Granada (Nicaragua), Quebec City, Havana, San Juan, or St. Augustine. But there are also old cities inland, notably Santa Fe, New Mexico. Military tourism on this continent includes the American Revolution, War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War and the various "Indian Wars" between the colonists and the indigenous peoples. African-American history includes sites related to the Atlantic slave trade as well as the Underground Railroad: multiple routes for smuggling slaves who had escaped the southern US across the northern states into what later became Canada (at the time British North America) or other non-US territory. Active primarily in the 1850s, when US federal law left slaves who had escaped to free states in immediate danger of recapture by slave catchers unless they left the US entirely. History-focused itineraries include the Camino Real, the Royal Road linking the 21 Spanish missions of California; the Lewis and Clark Trail leading across the Western United States, following the route of explorers Lewis and Clark; the Oregon Trail which took settlers to the Pacific coast; the Ruta del Tránsito, the historic route from east to west across North America that passed through Nicaragua; Route 66, which existed from 1926-1985 but continues to be marketed for nostalgia tourism; and the American Industry Tour from 17th-century Massachusetts to 20th-century Chicago. For the politically-inclined there is also the chance to see sites related to the Presidents of the United States. United States history series Note that most of these topics are not exclusive to the United States. Indigenous cultures did not conform to modern boundaries and thus many were equally present in Canada and Mexico. Colonial boundaries were also different to modern ones: British colonial history includes Bermuda and Nova Scotia as much as the "13 colonies" of U.S. school textbooks. The American War of Independence was partially fought in present-day Canada. Even after the establishment of the modern boundaries, trends and events touched multiple countries; those interested in the Old West will also find cowboy culture in Northern Mexico and the Canadian Prairies. - Indigenous cultures of North America - New France (1608 to 1763) - Early United States history (1492 to 1861) - American Civil War (1861 to 1865) - Old West (mainly 1865 to 1900) - Industrialization of the United States (1865 to 1945) - Postwar United States (1945 to present day) Many people travel to Peru every year to see the Inca Trail and other historical sites from the Inca Empire. Other historical sites include the remnants of the Falklands War and the history of the Jesuit missions in Paraguay. Beautiful colonial old towns can be found all over the continent, especially in Argentina and Chile, whose mineral wealth made them some of the richest countries in the world during the early 20th century. The great epics Some of the oldest and most famous works of literature are epic poems about great heroes. In all cases there is some dispute among scholars about the historical authenticity of these stories, and about the dates of both the events described and the composition of the text. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature. It tells tales of a Sumerian king who probably ruled in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE and of a great flood. The best-known version was likely written around 1200 BCE. While a surprising number of copies survive for a text of that age, they are not all written in the same language and sometimes disagree significantly on details. Other great epics were written a few hundred years BCE and describe events around 1000 BCE: - Homer recounts the story of the Trojan War in two epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Today Troy is an archaeological site which attracts tourists. - The Mahabarata is a great Indian epic. Perhaps the most famous passage in India literature is the Baghavad Gita, a dialog between the warrior Arjuna and the God Krishna which takes place just before the climactic battle. That battle was fought at Kurukshetra, which now attracts both pilgrims and tourists. - The Ramayana is another great Indian epic. An epic battle was fought between the forces of the hero, Rama, and the villain, Ravana, on the island of Lanka, which is widely believed to be modern-day Sri Lanka. - The Bible is a more complex set of books than can be encompassed by the term "epic", but parts of it are basically Hebrew epics. The Torah (Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses) was first written down in full in the 6th century BCE, with fragments having been found that date to the 7th century BCE. The Exodus of Moses is one of the most famous stories of the Old Testament. See Holy Land, Judaism and Christianity for Biblical destinations. When reading any epic, keep in mind that most were passed down orally for centuries before being written down. Also, many tended to exaggerate numbers, either just to make a better story or to make rulers look impressive with great army sizes, harem sizes and feats of city building, so the "real deal" when finally verified by archeologists can fall short of the epic scales of the tales - See also: Spies and secrets Espionage has existed since ancient times, and sometimes made or broken the fate of nations. Science and technology tourism Science tourism is for those with an interest in science, including science museums as well as live science research centers and exploratory missions. Closely related is industrial tourism, factory tours and museums describing manufacturing in various time periods from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the modern era. Industrial tourism includes visits to historical or present-day industrial sites and museums. Mining tourism and certain underground works are a subset of industrial tourism. It is often related to the history of transportation, with steam power, heritage railways, aviation history and space flight sites. History of organized labor describes the first trade unions and their struggle to improve working conditions. Nuclear tourism is for those with an interest in the nuclear industry from either a science or military perspective. The locations can either contain live reactors or be otherwise of interest from a historical point of view. History of justice Judicial tourism includes visits to courthouses, police buildings, prisons, crime scenes, and other places related to the legal system. - See also: Military tourism Military tourism is for those with an interest in current or historical military sites and facilities, including museums, battlefields, cemeteries and technology. - See also: In the footsteps of explorers Retracing the voyages of the great explorers of old. The most famous journeys are from Europe's Age of Discovery. - Cape Route - Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation - On the trail of Marco Polo - Voyages of Columbus - Voyages of James Cook - Voyages of John Franklin - Voyages of Roald Amundsen - Voyages of Zheng He - See also: Philosophy tourism Philosophy tourism is for those with an interest in the history of philosophy, including historical residences of philosophers, museums, statues and places of burial. - Archaeological sites - Grand houses - Grand old hotels - Fiction tourism and Literary travel - Heritage railways - Mining tourism - National parks - Nobel tourism; life and works of Alfred Nobel, and the Nobel Prize - Old towns and Ghost towns - Some Tourist trains also focus on a supposed or actual historical connection - Reenactment and LARP - UNESCO Creative Cities - UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage - UNESCO World Heritage List

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At Metro, we are preparing students for success in middle school, high school and beyond. Our courses are designed to provide students with the tools they need to be active learners and to use STEM practices (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in all academic areas. Middle School Curriculum ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COURSES Investigation Into Literature In this course, we will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 6th grade ELA focusing on the importance of telling our own stories, exploring the complex characters of fiction reading, and analyzing themes in fiction reading. The curriculum includes Personal Narrative (Lucy Calkins’ Personal Narrative: Crafting Powerful Life Stories), Fiction Reading (Lucy Calkins’ A Deep Study of Character) and Literary Analysis (Lucy Calkins’ The Literary Essay). By the end of this course students will be able to critically analyze and inquire about the content they read and answer the essential question, “Why is storytelling an important part of culture and society?” In this course, we will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 6th grade ELA with an emphasis on becoming confident writers, clear thinkers, and investigative readers. Curriculum includes three units: Reading Nonfiction (Lucy Calkins’ Tapping the Power of Nonfiction), Writing Informative Texts (Lucy Calkins’ Research-Based Information Writing), and Reading Fiction (Lucy Calkins’ Social Issues Book Clubs). After this course, students will be able to concisely summarize both fiction and nonfiction texts, accurately deploy direct quotations to illustrate clear points, and analyze how fictional characters wrestle with social issues relevant to today’s world. In this course, we will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 7th grade ELA focusing on the importance of writing realistic fiction, investigating characters of fiction reading, and comparing and contrasting fiction reading themes. The curriculum includes Realistic Fiction Book Clubs (Lucy Calkins’ Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing), Investigating Characters (Lucy Calkins’ Investigating Characterization: Author-Study Book Clubs), and Literary Nonfiction (Lucy Calkins’ An Indepth Look at Literary Nonfiction). By the end of this course, students will be able to inquire about the content they read, investigate and analyze fictional character development, and write their own realistic fiction stories. In this course, we will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 7th grade ELA with an emphasis on becoming more effective researchers, informational writers, and passionate speakers. Curriculum includes three units: Nonfiction research partnerships, (Lucy Calkins’ Essential Research Skills for Teens), learning about and relating to teens affected by historical events (Lucy Calkins’ Historical Fiction Book Clubs), and Shakespearean Poetry (Odes and Sonnets). After this course, students will be able to recognize ideas and causes they are passionate about, recognize internal and external bias, consider the other side of an argument, develop a script and record a “TED Talk'' based on a relevant and researched topic with which they are passionate. They will also use these skills in relationship to historical fiction characters and recognize how historical events impacted young people of that era. Last, students will learn how to creatively write their own odes and sonnets. Fact and Fiction in Literature Fact and Fiction in Literature is a course where students will spend significant time developing their reading and writing stamina. We will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 8th grade ELA, specifically focusing on analyzing author’s craft and identifying patterns in nonfiction literature. This course will include three Units: Identifying Trends in Nonfiction Literature (Lucy Calkins’ Literary Nonfiction), Literary Analysis (Lucy Calkins’ The Literary Essay: Analyzing Craft and Theme), and Contemporary Fiction Book Studies (Lucy Calkins’ Critical Literacy: Unlocking Contemporary Fiction). At the end of this course, students will move on to Multicultural Literature in the Spring. Multicultural Literature is a course where students will continue to build their skills as readers and writers. We will follow the Ohio Department of Education standards for 8th grade ELA with a special emphasis on journalism, debate, public speaking, and dystopian literature. This course will include three units: Informational Writing (Lucy Calkins’ Investigative Journalism), Argumentative Writing (Lucy Calkins’ Position Papers: Research and Argument), and Dystopian Literature (Lucy Calkins’ Dystopian Book Clubs). By the end of this course, students will be well prepared to take on more advanced high school courses. English 9 is an accelerated course covering 9th grade Ohio State Standards that provides an opportunity for students to expand upon competencies in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This course focuses on the development of reading strategies that help students navigate through various types of academic texts both expository and narrative. Students leave this class more effective, thoughtful, and strategic readers. Students read and write frequently and plentifully and continue to acquire the fundamentals of grammar and broaden their vocabulary. Topics in this course include literary analysis of fiction short stories, argumentation and rhetorical devices, and personally relevant research. Integrated Mathematics I Two sections of Integrated Mathematics prepare students for entry into the next sequential course, Pre-Algebra A and B. Integrated Mathematics I is designed to provide a strong foundation for all future mathematics courses. This course will dive deep into ratios and proportions, the number system, and expressions and equations. Learning activities rooted in application will challenge students to consider the “why” behind the math. Integrated Mathematics II Two sections of Integrated Mathematics prepare students for entry into the following math course, Pre-Algebra A & B. This semester, Integrated Mathematics II content continues the study of 6th grade standards and content. To prepare students for both the 6th grade AIR test as well as Pre-Algebra, content will include the real number system, expressions and equations, statistics, and geometry. Pre-Algebra A is the first math course in a three course-long series that prepares students for high school Algebra 1.This course follows the Ohio Department of Education standards for 7th grade Math, along with learning tools such as Mathspace. The curriculum includes four units covering Integers and Rational Numbers, Expressions, Equations & Inequalities, Ratios, Unit Rates, and Percents, and Proportional and Linear Relationships. Pre-Algebra B is the second math course in a three course-long series that prepares students for high school Algebra 1.This course follows the Ohio Department of Education standards for 7th and 8th grade Math, along with learning tools such as Mathspace. The curriculum includes four units covering Probability, Triangles & Transversals, Geometry, and Statistics. This final section of Pre-Algebra prepares students for entry into the first high school credit math course, Algebra 1. Pre-Algebra C content includes the study of the real number system, expressions and equations, linear functions/relationships, statistics, and geometryand follows Ohio Department of Education standards for 8th grade. Units of study are listed below.Click here to view all learning targets and standards for the course. Mastery completion of Pre-Algebra C will place students in Algebra 1 during the Spring Semester. Algebra 1 is the first math course in the high school math series and follows the Ohio Department of Education standards for Algebra 1. Mastery in Algebra 1 results in a high school credit. Each of the skills you will learn in this course are essential to your success in subsequent math courses. This course is an semester long course following a challenging, accelerated pace to cover the following targets: Relations and Functions, Systems of linear equations and Inequalities, Exponents and Exponential Functions, Polynomials, Factoring and Quadratic Equations, Data Analysis, Quadratic equations and quadratic functions. Energy & the Environment In this course, we use the Next Generation Science Standards for middle school Earth & Space Science and Physical Science. Students will explore and investigate units covering nature of science, structures and properties of matter, energy, and human impact on Earth’s systems. In this course, students will be exposed to three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science; disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts and science & engineering practices. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in future science courses. Life As We Know It In this course, we use the Next Generation Science Standards for middle school Life Science. Students will explore and investigate units covering molecules to organisms: structures and processes, and interactions, energy, and dynamics relationships in ecosystems. In this course, students will be exposed to three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science; disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts and science & engineering practices. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in future science courses. Motion & Stability In this course, students will progress through specific Next Generation Science standards that surround physical science. Curriculum includes 3 units covering topics related to Newton’s Laws of Motion, speed & velocity, forces, electricity, and magnetism. In this course, students are also exposed to a blend of educational practices, including direct instruction, demonstrations, experiments, and projects that help students work through the scientific and design processes. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in high school science courses. Our Changing Earth In this course, students will progress through specific Next Generation Science standards that surround Earth and space science. Curriculum includes 3 units covering topics related to the solar system and the relationship between the objects in it, the water cycle and basic weather patterns, and the geologic forces that help shape the planet as we know it. In this course students are also exposed to a blend of educational practices, including direct instruction, demonstrations, experiments, and projects that help students work through the scientific and design processes. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in high school science courses. Alchemy in Action In this course, we will follow the Next Generation Science Standards standards for middle school physical science. Curriculum includes 3 units covering Atoms and the Periodic Table, Elements, Compounds and Mixtures, Law of Conservation of Mass, Physical and Chemical Changes, Natural and Synthetic Materials, Acids, Bases and pH, Thermal Energy, Macromolecules, and Energy Transfer. After this course, students will be able to model atoms and extended structures, examine the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred, and explain how chemistry affects our daily lives. In this course students are also exposed to a blend of educational practices, including direct instruction, demonstrations, experiments, and projects that help students work through the scientific and design processes. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in high school science courses. In this course, we will follow some of the the Next Generation Science Standards standards for middle school life science. Curriculum includes 3 units covering Cell Division, Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Medical Technology, Human and Animal Anatomy, and the Nervous System. After this course, students will be able to explain how groups of specialized cells work together to create a complex multicellular organism, how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms, how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment and what this means for populations over time. They also will have a basic understanding of the nervous system and how we use it to gather sensory information about our environment for immediate behavior or storage as memories. In this course students are also exposed to a blend of educational practices, including direct instruction, demonstrations, experiments, and projects that help students work through the scientific and design processes. The content of this course builds on students’ prior knowledge from elementary science and helps prepare and ensure student success in high school science courses. SOCIAL STUDIES COURSES Regions & People I In this course, students will cover half of the Ohio Department of Education standards for sixth grade social studies. Students will be challenged to uncover their own heritages and cultures as well as learn about other cultures and religions that exist around them. This course will also allow students to learn about the earliest humans, as well as, explore the earliest civilization: Mesopotamia. Additionally, students will analyze the impact of supply and demand and competition on market prices. Furthermore, students will begin to understand more about global trade, specialization and the impact of choices made within an economy. Regions & People II In this course, students will cover the second half of the Ohio Department of Education standards for sixth grade social studies.This semester will start out with an exploration of Black and women’s history. Students will be challenged to research and present about figures in Black and women’s history. This course will also allow students to learn about more ancient civilizations including China, Egypt, and India. Students will explore how geography influences human activity and produces innovation to help navigate the land. Additionally, students will take a deep dive into the different forms of governments as well as the rights and responsibilities given to the rulers and the citizens. World Studies I: 750BC - 1400AD This course will look at world history from the period of the Ancient Greek and Roman Empires to the time period of trade and exploration in the 1500’s. The course will be broken into thematic units: Ancient Greece/Rome, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation of the church. In these units we will look at the global impacts of these ancient world achievements by making connections to our lives today. Students will make class connections to understand how these achievements later get shared through the European trade and exploration time period to the Western world. Students will engage in learning through research driven projects, discussions, primary and secondary source analysis, and hands-on activities. World Studies II: 1400AD - 1600AD World Studies II picks up where World Studies I leaves off. The time period covered will be broken down into the units of The Mongol Empire, Islamic Civilizations, West African Empires, and The Columbian Exchange. These units explain the impact of the civilizations and people that have shaped the global modern world today. Themes will also be related to Current Events as much as possible to help the students to learn the importance of World History, even in today's norms and conditions.Students will engage in learning through research driven projects, discussions, primary and secondary source analysis, and hands-on activities. American Studies I: New World Order to Interruption American Studies I takes students on a journey that explores land that belonged to indigeonous peoples who would soon have their worlds turned upside down by Europeans in search of a new life.. As Europe grew increasingly oppressive, people began realizing they deserved better and sought to achieve that, by any means necessary. In this course, students will learn how to analyze primary & secondary sources and use that knowledge to evaluate how the landscape of the Americas changed by European domination for their quest of religious and economic freedom. From the years 1491 to 1788, we’ll take broad and narrow looks at the idea of a free country, led by refugees from Europe, became future Colonists of the New World and set the path for a complicated America. American Studies II: United & Divided American Studies II is a course designed to challenge students to think outside the constructed norms of current society in ways to be better for their future. We will explore the land we now call home, from the drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution in 1789 to the year 1877, where we investigate the reconstruction era that caused political and racial tension that can be felt in present day America. As we began to develop into the powerhouse the United States is known for, it almost unraveled right before the eyes of the pioneers who fought hard for this land to fulfill the promise of the constitution. STEM Foundations (6th grade) This nine-week course partners with OSU’s TEK8 program, as students explore Ohio’s technology standards and learn about how an iterative design process and technology can be used to solve problems that matter to people. The Internet of Things (7th grade) This nine-week course applies the design process to information technology and Ohio’s standards for Computer Science. Students learn about what a computer is, how the internet works and how we cause computational thinking to solve problems. Computer Science Applications (8th Grade) As the sequel to the Internet of Things, this class dives deeper into the Computer Science Standards, focusing on algorithm design, debugging and representing data. Prototyping and Problem Solving (8th Grade) This nine-week course allows 8th graders to dig deeper into using research and science to define and understand problems, and drive their solutions forward. Students have access to laser-cutting and 3-D printing, microcontrollers and more as they prototype and iterate solutions to problems. Middle School Wellness (6th Grade) Middle School Wellness & Fitness is designed to motivate students to build healthy lifestyles for today and the future in all aspects of health: physical, mental/emotional, and social. The curriculum is designed to increase student knowledge & skills in a variety of adolescent health topics in order to achieve and maintain wellness. Topics to be addressed include healthy behaviors, goal setting, decision-making, and nutrition. In addition, students will regularly participate in physical activity to enhance their individual fitness levels. During this course, students will demonstrate an improvement in their cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance, as well as, learn a variety of sports and activities. This includes but is not limited to team sports (Basketball, Team Handball) net games (Volleyball, Pickleball), and invasion games (Flag Football, Soccer). Middle School Wellness (7th Grade) Middle School Wellness & Fitness is designed to motivate students to build healthy lifestyles for today and the future in all aspects of health: physical, mental/emotional, and social. The curriculum is designed to increase student knowledge & skills in a variety of adolescent health topics in order to achieve and maintain wellness. Topics to be addressed include healthy behaviors, goal setting, decision-making, and body systems. In addition, students will regularly participate in physical activity to enhance their individual fitness levels. During this course, students will demonstrate an improvement in their cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance, as well as learn a variety of sports and activities. This includes but is not limited to team sports (Basketball, Team Handball) net games (Volleyball, Pickleball), and invasion games (Flag Football, Soccer). Middle School Wellness (8th Grade) Middle School Wellness & Fitness is designed to motivate students to build healthy lifestyles for today and the future in all aspects of health: physical, mental/emotional, and social. The curriculum is designed to increase student knowledge & skills in a variety of adolescent health topics in order to achieve and maintain wellness. Topics to be addressed include: healthy relationships, harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, and drug abuse/addiction. In addition, students will regularly participate in physical activity to enhance their individual fitness levels. During this course, students will demonstrate an improvement in their cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance, as well as learn a variety of sports and activities. 6th Grade Visual Arts 6th grade Visual Arts, using the Ohio Learning Standards for Fine Arts, focuses on beginning technique and design including the basics of drawing, painting, and sculpture. We will concentrate on the Elements and Principles of Design, understanding concept, process, and composition along with what it takes to create a successful artwork and how to self-assess that work. 7th Grade Visual Arts Following the ODE Standards for 7th grade Visual Arts, we branch into TAB which is a student-choice led classroom system where each student has 70 - 100% autonomy when creating their art projects. This teaches the students creative/ abstract thinking, metacognition, and decision making skills. With this beginning intro to tab, the students will focus on creating works influenced by real world issues and human connection and will have the opportunity to apply their concepts through drawing, painting, sculpture, written pieces, dance, song, etc. 8th Grade Visual Arts 8th grade Visual Arts continues with TAB learning following the ODE Visual Arts Standards. During this grade level, students will obtain 100% creative autonomy, creating works conceptualized by them from start to finish. This allows the students to become creative change-makers who improve the lives of all. English 9: College Reading & Writing - 1 ELA Credit English 10: College Writing & Reading- 1 ELA Credit English 11: Literature & Composition - 1 ELA Credit English 12: Language & Composition - 1 ELA Credit World Studies/Metro Skills This enriched class will integrate Modern World History Ohio Content Standards (historical events from the Enlightenment to the present), through an equal focus on skills/habits fostering success in higher education and beyond. Common Core Standards in Reading and Writing, as well as specific Social Science skills will be incorporated. The content/assignments will promote and measure academic skills in students’ other coursework in order to serve as a “multiplying force” toward overall success. Half (0.5) credit will be awarded for World History and half (0.5) credit for Metro Skills. American History - 1 Social Studies Credit This American History course will integrate both Social Science skills with historical content of America and the United States from the early 1600s to the present, as well as education in government and economics. There is a strong emphasis on college preparation, civic participation, and integration with research and technology. Students use a variety of resources to explore major themes, including the changing face of American society and the United States’ changing role in the world. Government - 1 Social Studies Credit Government is designed as a vigorous, writing-intensive course that uses the perspective of political institutions to explore the history, organization, and functions of the U.S. government. Students are encouraged to use their knowledge of the structures and processes of governing to develop their own views on current political issues and apply what they have learned to the promotion of civic action. This course explores the relationship between individual Americans and the governing bodies. It looks closely at the political culture of the country and the roles of political parties, interest groups, and the Supreme Court. Economics - 1 Social Studies Credit The introductory Economics course has a strong emphasis on personal finance. Students learn the importance of budgeting and how, through a variety of financial instruments, to make money work for them. Students also learn how the stock market operates by participating in a virtual stock game. In this context, students are introduced to the concepts of stock ownership, the commodities market, supply and demand and the different types of business structures. Students will learn about the American tax system, different types of economic systems, the circular flow of money through the economy, and government intervention in our economy. Environmental/Earth Science - 1 Science Credit This course introduces students to ecological concepts that focus on issues of resource management such as: soil & agriculture, land use, freshwater systems/impacts, and energy sources. Students study earth science fields like geology, meteorology, oceanography and astronomy. Students explore the relationships between humans and the natural environment by conducting environmental research, applying the scientific method and developing analytical and critical thinking skills while investigating solutions to real world problems. Environmental Justice - 1 Science Credit Environmental Justice is designed to have students evaluate and learn about Earth and all of its resources. Throughout the course, students will examine case studies that relate to environmental science as well as looking at the environmental justice aspect of issues. The environmental justice aspects may include disproportionate effects on certain areas, people groups or species. This course will develop student's ability to think about how what they do has an impact on a scale much larger than themselves. Biology - 1 Science Credit This course covers fundamental biological concepts to prepare students for college biological sciences course work and capstone research. Topics include: basic biochemistry, energy flow, ecosystems and population biology, cellular structure and processes, metabolism, photosynthesis, heredity, genetics, evolution, and organismal structure. Students develop research project efficacy through designing a long-term experiment, collecting data, drawing conclusions, and reporting their findings. Chemistry - 1 Science Credit Chemistry is an introductory course in fundamental chemical concepts and laboratory techniques that prepares students for college chemistry course work. Topics include atomic structure, periodicity of elements, bonding, molecular structure, reactions, stoichiometry, solutions, acids and bases, pH and pOH, gas laws, and chemical equilibrium. Students develop laboratory efficacy through extensive practice doing laboratory chemistry. Physics – 1 Science Credit The Physics course is designed to engage the students in thinking about scientific concepts and scientific inquiry. Students participate in experimental design, laboratory experiments, demonstrations, discussions and projects. Upon successful completion of this course, students demonstrate an understanding in graphical analysis, Newtonian mechanics, and energy and conservation. Algebra I - 1 Math Credit Algebra I is the first in a series of courses preparing students for advanced mathematical concepts. This course is designed to develop algebraic concepts, problem solving and abstract thinking. Students explore algebraic expressions, linear and quadratic equations, functions, polynomials, rational numbers, solve linear equations and inequalities, use proportional reasoning, graph relations and functions, analyze linear equations, factor expressions, simplify radical and rational expressions and solve radical and rations equations. Students apply the concepts of permutations, combinations and factorials. Algebra II - 1 Math Credit Algebra II reviews, expands and extends student knowledge of the fundamental facts, concepts, and skills of Algebra I. Algebra II focuses on the following concepts: rules of exponents and radicals, operations with polynomials (FOIL, distribute, factor & combine like terms), systems of equations (including quadratic equations), solving matrix/quadratic/rational/radical equations, graphing parabolic, conic functions, and inequalities. Students apply these concepts using a problem-solving approach in real-world settings when appropriate. Geometry - 1 Math Credit Students explore the characteristics of lines, planes, polygons, circles and three-dimensional figures using inductive and deductive reasoning. Geometry is explored through visual and analytic methods using tools such as compasses, protractors, straightedges, graphing calculators, computer applications, presentations, and design challenges. Topics include: an analysis of lines and angles, midpoint and distance, proof and logic, triangles, introduction to trigonometry, polygons, 2-and 3-dimensional formulas in geometry, and circles. Trigonometry - 1 Math Credit Trigonometry is an advanced mathematics course that extends algebraic concepts through an analytic and graphic study of radical, rational, polynomial, exponential, circular and logarithmic functions over the complex number system. Students are introduced to the concepts of probability, sequences and series and extend their knowledge of right triangle trigonometry to the study of unit circle trigonometry and analytic trigonometry. Finally, students study the structure of trigonometric graphs and trigonometric regression of data. Pre-Calculus-1 Math Credit Pre-Calculus emphasizes analysis of functions and applying problem solving skills. Students model and analyze Pre-Calculus concepts that include: Function analysis and curve sketching (domain, intercepts, asymptotes, end behavior and range); Analytic trigonometry (inverse trig functions and proofs with Trig identities); Vectors, polar coordinates and complex numbers (graphing and operations); Conic sections and parametric equations; Sequence and series; Limits and other calculus-bridging concepts. The graphing calculator serves as a learning tool to help students apply their understanding of the concepts and applications introduced. Calculus - 1 Math Credit Calculus is a high school course that is aligned with a college level Calculus I course. Calculus allows students to work through all of the topics covered in differential Calculus as well as some of those covered in Integral Calculus. As part of differential Calculus, students explore the idea of “infinity," derivatives as “rates of change” and how to apply each of the above to everyday situations. Topics in integral Calculus include anti-derivatives and the idea of an integral as the limit for Riemann sums. Students will disembark from Metro math classes with the conclusion of this course. ADDITIONAL COURSES & ELECTIVES Research Internship - 1 Credit The Research Internship course provides opportunities for students to apply the knowledge and skills gained in the classroom in a professional work setting and an opportunity to explore professional career fields prior to selecting a college major. Based on interests, students are placed at an internship site for a minimum of 120 hours. Mentors will identify a research topic directly related with the work and goals of their organization. Students conduct research that is communicated though an exhibition at the end of the semester. Writing is an important component of this course in documenting and communicating quantitative and qualitative research data, results and recommendations. Foreign Language - Elective Credits Students are encouraged to complete foreign language credits in preparation for the college access phase of the Metro program. Students can complete up to three credits of high school level foreign language. Metro offers several languages (Spanish, French, German, etc.) through the use of an online program that helps students build a foundation of understanding, speaking and writing in a foreign language. Students may elect to continue foreign language credits at the university level. Intro to Fine Arts - 1 Art Credit Basic drawing skills are learned using a variety of artistic materials and techniques. This course introduces students to the art elements, art principles and famous artwork, which requires students to be inquiring learners. Students gain an understanding of the process of interpreting, critiquing, creating and experiencing art. 3D Art - 1 Art Credit Students may take a second art credit in a course that focuses on a variety of art forms that move beyond painting and drawing. Wellness I - ½ PE, ½ Health Credit Wellness integrates the concepts and practices of health and physical education. Each student completes 120 hours of fitness and 60 hours of health instruction. Students demonstrate mastery through physical activities, class projects and topic-based group discussions. Students complete three research projects: nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and global health. A weekly exercise log sheet based on each student’s aerobic and anaerobic activity is maintained. The final project includes and analysis of the student’s workout plan and nutritional data during the semester. Advanced Wellness - 1 Health Credit Wellness II focuses on physical fitness and nutrition. Wellness I is a prerequisite for this course. Students are tested at the beginning of the course to measure body fat, test blood pressure and endurance and retest after 8 weeks. The course culminates with a written self-analysys of their nutritional habits and physical activity levels. EARLY COLLEGE EXPERIENCES CURRICULUM Human Body Systems Bodies Learning Center Bodies integrates biomedical technologies and college coursework to promote student interest, growth and development in the biomedical and health sciences. Bodies has formed partnerships with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University and OhioHealth. Students take Biology 1113 and 1114 at Ohio State along with Principles of Biomedical Sciences, Human Body Systems and Scientific Writing. Bodies students engage in medical rotations through Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center and are immersed in Capstone Research projects with practicing scientists and medical personnel. Design Learning Center Design is a year long STEM Early College experience that integrates Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Capstone Research, Automated Systems and Robotics with college level Computer Programming and Math. Enrollment in this program includes participation in Metro's FIRST Robotics team's planning, build, and competition seasons. Previous Capstone Research projects have included explorations into the effects of Radiation on electronic equipment to simulate the effects of space travel, hot embossing polymer plastics in microchips, and ways to improve the efficiency of diesel engines. This learning center is designed for students interested in Engineering fields. Growth Learning Center Growth is an early-college experience that partners with the Ohio State University’s Horticulture and Crop Science Department. The program offers trans-disciplinary project-based instruction in all aspects of the food system: sustainability, production, transportation, consumption, and nutrition. The final term of this experience includes the Internship and Capstone Research courses. Students are guided through independent research projects with the end goal of producing a scientific poster and presentation. Within their internship/capstone experience, students work to develop a high level of professionalism and to solve a problem for the host site, thus accelerating their research skills. Capstone Research - 1 Science Research Credit This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to conduct guided research beyond the Metro science classroom. Research topics are developed under the guidance of the instructor. Students develop a hypothesis, conduct experimentation, collect data, interpret and analyze data, and communicate research findings. Students provide weekly written documentation of progress throughout the term and will present to the class for peer assessment. Project conclusions are communicated through a student-developed scientific journal-quality paper and a scientific poster. Metro students are generally advised to take General Education courses because GE classes are required for most majors and will typically transfer to other colleges/universities. Coursework can be completed at The Ohio State University or Columbus State Community College based on students meeting set requirements. Students eligible to take college courses must submit an application prior to the semester when they will take their first class. All scheduling will take place through a Metro college Advisor.

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The text below reviews dynamic assessment as it is applied to discerning a language difference versus a language disorder, specifically in children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The history of dynamic assessment, basic principles, benefits and tips for application will also be discussed. A common question that arises when school professionals evaluate the language skills of a multilingual child who is falling behind their peers is, ‘does this child have a language difference or an actual language disorder’? A true language disorder is evident in every language the child speaks and is defined as deficits in understanding others or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (ASHA, 2017). As the professional responsible for assessing children for language disorders, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must work alongside classroom teachers to determine if a multilingual child has an actual language disorder and truly needs special education services. Unfortunately, it is relatively common for multilingual children to be misdiagnosed with a language disorder when they are only demonstrating a language difference. According to Pieretti & Roseberry-McKibbin (2016), a language difference is illustrated by, “Differences in sentence structure, speech sound production, vocabulary, and the pragmatic uses of language that are to be expected when a child learns a new language” (p. 118). All school professionals who support multilingual children, especially English as a second language (ESL) teachers, SLPs and other members of the special education team must understand the differences between these two concepts when completing language assessments. Identifying Language Disorders One of the ways SLPs identify language disorders is by using language assessments to rate an individual’s performance and compare that performance to peers. If the student’s score falls a certain amount below average, they are diagnosed with a language disorder and begin receiving services from a licensed SLP. The majority of standardized language tests used for this purpose are normed using monolingual native English speakers (Paradis, Schneider, & Sorenson, 2013). Using these tests to determine the presence of speech and language disorders in children who are not native English speakers, and therefore not like the children represented in the normed sample, is difficult. Assessing the need for service is further complicated by the fact that only seven percent of certified SLPs and audiologists who are members of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) are considered bilingual (ASHA, 2017). When asked to assess a multilingual child’s language skills, SLPs must examine the process of language development, patterns of language loss, and the influence of dual language acquisition in order to identify the presence of a language difference or a disorder (ASHA, 2017). When an individual has a language impairment with no other conditions that qualify them for special education services, they are diagnosed with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) (ASHA, 2017). This diagnosis is most often given to school-aged children who struggle with receptive and/or expressive language but do not have a developmental disability like Down Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Processes for properly assessing English language learners (ELLs) must be developed and refined in order to prevent the under-identification or over-identification of this population, especially since the distinction between a language difference and language disorder can be a thin line. A dynamic assessment (DA) approach is one possibility for determining the presence of a true language disorder in ELLs. DA assesses the student’s ability to learn rather than measuring performance ability on a single test. In the text below, we have compiled an overview of DA, listed its benefits, and described its application in determining if an ELL would benefit from additional services. Federal Laws and ELL assessment Prior to diving deeper into the intricacies of DA, it is important to have an understanding of the federal laws related to ELL assessment. Both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (IDEA) require appropriate services be delivered to all students with disabilities (Liu, Watkins, Pompa, McLeod, & Elliot, 2013). Unfortunately, norm-referenced tests are still used to diagnose disorders (Petersen, Chanthongthip, Ukrainetz, Spencer & Steeve, 2017). Prezas & Jo (2017) found that many monolingual SLPs primarily rely on English assessments, which contributes to the under or over-identification of ELLs. IDEA specifically states that assessment instruments and methods used with ELLs must be unbiased and nondiscriminatory (IDEA, 2004). Hence, federal law supports the use of DA as an appropriate, non-standardized, informal assessment to evaluate ELL students (Roseberry-McKibbin, & O’Hanlon, 2005). SLPs should already be using DA methods rather than standardized tests, assessing both the learner’s native language and L2 and be working with interpreters – when needed – in determining ELLs qualification for special education services. Dynamic Assessment: History and Basic Principals Dynamic Assessment is based on Vygotsky’s model of cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978), in which he claims that learning takes place in the child’s zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978; Gutiérrez-Clellen & Peña, 2001). Feuerstein’s Theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability extended Vygotsky’s theory and applied it to the formal education process (Feuerstein, 1979; Feuerstein, 1980). Feuerstein’s approach evaluated the individual’s response to a specific intervention – the ‘teach’ phase of a test-teach-retest model (Hasson, Camilleri, Jones, Smith, & Dodd, 2012) – and specifically assessed the child’s behavior during intervention. This was in contrast to the standard comparison between pretest and posttest scores (Vygotsky, 1986; Peña et al., 2006). Informed by these theoretical approaches, SLPs can determine how much instruction and support a learner needs in order to complete a task. If the child improves their performance after receiving support, and can apply what they have learned to a related task, their struggle is more likely due to a language difference. On the other hand, if the child needs consistent support and is unable to generalize, they are more likely to have a true language disorder and would benefit from special education services. SLPs primarily use the test-teach-retest approach of DA to assess CLD students as it is better suited than standardized assessments to differentiate language differences from disorders. In this model, the child is tested to obtain baseline proficiency data of their knowledge of the material. The child then takes part in an intervention (the teaching phase of DA) and finally, completes the posttest portion. Results indicate how their knowledge and skills changed after completing the teaching phase. This method differs from a ‘teach to the test’ approach because it does not use the actual test items during the intervention phase (Gutiérrez-Clellen & Peña, 2001). Specifically, the test-teach-retest dynamic assessment (TtR-DA) approach and its application to assessing language skills in children during narrative retell tasks currently has the most support in the research. This approach will be discussed extensively in the following paragraphs. TtR-DA utilizes mediated learning experiences (MLEs) to modify the student’s level of functioning in target areas by teaching the principles that underlie the task. Specifically, MLEs address both task-specific language skills and learning behaviors (Gutiérrez-Clellen & Peña, 2001; Lidz, 1991; Lidz & Peña, 1996). MLEs work as an accurate assessment because cognitive-linguistic interface skills (i.e. attention, memory, problem solving, fast mapping, etc.) can be shared between a person’s two languages (Cummins, 2000). For example, in a narrative task – completed in the child’s L1 with an interpreter present – where the student responds to every question with one word answers, the MLE would focus explicitly teaching them ways to expand utterances. This skill then would be reassessed in the retest section. Typically developing (TD) ELLs have the underlying cognitive skills to improve their performance after an MLE, but those with a language impairment do not. TtR-DA not only reveals the gains the child made from pretest to posttest, it also allows the SLP to formally assess the ‘modifiability’ of the child. Modifiability is the amount of support needed for learning as well as the skills and strategies used by the child to learn new information (Peña, Reséndiz & Gillam, 2007). Through TtR-DA, clinicians are able to “measure children’s latent capacities for change instead of their ability to perform a skill at a given point in time” (Peña et al., 2007, p. 332). A child with a high modifiability score (i.e. need less support and are more responsive to intervention) who makes gains from pretest to posttest, is less likely to have a language impairment. By gathering information about the student’s ability to learn and perform, the SLP is more likely to provide an accurate diagnosis. Test-Teach-Retest Dynamic Assessment: Benefits TtR-DA has multiple benefits and should be a primary procedure used to assess ELLs for special education services in the K-12 setting. One benefit is the high accuracy TtR-DA has for identifying learners with and without language disorder. TtR-DA can test any student’s use of learning skills and strategies, regardless of their knowledge of the English language (Roseberry-McKibbin & O’Hanlon, 2005). This contributes to the validity and reliability of DA, as it decreases the bias of traditional testing methods that exist due to lack of student knowledge of the English language or formal test procedures. Petersen et al. (2017), worked to determine the validity of TtR-DA as a prominent assessment measure for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children. Researchers used the test-teach-retest approach and two MLEs to assess for SLI in school-aged, Spanish-speaking children. Because SLPs often credit a lack of time as a primary reason for using norm-referenced tests (Caesar & Kohler, 2007), researchers conducted assessments in English and completed real-time scoring to examine TtR-DA’s practicality (Petersen et al., 2017). After testing was completed, different researchers listened to audio recordings of the children and scored each child’s performance. There was found to be a 90-95 percent agreement between the real-time and after the fact scores (Petersen et al., 2017). The high inter-scorer reliability shows that real time scoring is effective, meaning the use of TtR-DA can also benefit the SLP or ESL teacher by saving time. The best predictor of the presence of SLI appears to be a qualitative modifiability rating (Peña et al., 2006; Petersen et al., 2017) like a numeric rating scale for examiner effort, child responsivity and the amount of knowledge transfer demonstrated. This finding has important implications, as it may mean that underlying cognitive skills such as attention and memory have a significant impact on student performance during TtR-DA tasks. If consistently accurate results are documented using modifiability ratings to supplement other methods of diagnosing language disorders, SLPs can use modifiability scores to determine the need for service and therefore limit the number of TD ELLs receiving special education services. Other benefits of TtR-DA are that it is easily repeated and can be used to inform therapy goals (Poehner, 2008). Using an ongoing assessment approach provides clear insight into learner needs and how student learning changes over time. The Application of Dynamic Assessment: Narrative Language Samples Multiple research studies have examined the overall effectiveness and efficiency of using TtR-DA methods to assess CLD children’s language skills using narrative language samples. Language Sample Basics When a SLP completes a comprehensive language assessment, it is considered best practice to collect a language sample in the student’s native language (L1) and English (L2). The language sample is often a short, recorded session in which the child retells a story from a wordless picture book (i.e. Mayer, 1979a). This task has the potential to provide many opportunities for spontaneous language production and, therefore, is a good measure of a child’s language strengths and weaknesses. Using language samples and narrative retells to assess a multilingual child’s learning ability can be completed by classroom teachers as well as school specialists. Additionally, the format of language sampling used by SLPs is easily paired with the TtR-DA making this assessment tool extremely valuable. When an SLP uses a language sample as a dynamic assessment measure they are able to obtain the sample in either language and ensure lack of familiarity with testing is not impacting child performance. Narratives provide additional insight into each child’s language skills and are recommended as a less biased assessment tool for ELLs as they are more realistic for collecting linguistic information (Cleave, Girolametto, Chen & Johnson, 2010). Boudreau (2007), explained that narrative development is a domain of language that children with SLI struggle with, implying that it may be a useful assessment tool to differentiate this population from TD peers. Children with SLI struggle to incorporate both the micro and macro elements of narrative retells as well as synthesize the overall production and comprehension of the story (Boudreau, 2007). Narrative assessments have high content validity because they are often a part of the school and home discourse (Peña et al., 2006). Narratives also give more insight into the child’s thought process, emerging skills, and learning potential compared to static measures. Because of these benefits, language samples and DA approaches should be combined to assess bilingual students’ language development. Studies on Narrative Assessment Peña, Gillam, & Bedore (2014) conducted TtR-DA of narrative ability with Spanish-speaking ELL preschool children diagnosed with SLI. Researchers used a test-teach-retest approach, short MLEs and wordless picture books (Mayer, 1979a; Mayer, 1979b). The scripted interventions focused on increasing the length and complexity of the students’ narrative retells (Peña et al., 2014). Results from this investigation indicated that two short MLEs were enough to demonstrate change in discourse ability and that children with SLI had significantly lower modifiability than the TD children (Peña et al., 2014). Overall, this dynamic approach yielded high reliability, validity and practicality when using narrative skills and modifiability scores to indicate language ability. Peña et al. (2006) also used a test-teach-retest approach with 71 CLD school-aged children, 14 of whom had SLI. Results indicated that the TD children demonstrated a larger amount of pretest to posttest change than those students with SLI (Peña et al., 2006). In addition, measures of posttest score and modifiability were found to be valid and reliable measures in determining a language disorder. The static pretest scores in this study did not produce reliable results when determining SLI (Peña et al., 2006). Kramer, Mallett, Scheider, and Hayward (2009) implemented TtR-DA with 17 First Nations students, five of whom were labeled as ‘at-risk’ for language impairment, to discover if TtR-DA reduced unnecessary referrals for services (Kramer et al., 2009). Given this population’s long-standing cultural tradition of oral storytelling, researchers found that TtR-DA with narrative retell was deemed an appropriate assessment measure for these children. Results showed that the students with typical language learning received higher posttest scores compared to students who had possible language impairments (Kramer et al., 2009). Similar to previously discussed results, this suggests that students with language impairments have more difficulty learning and integrating new information into their narratives compared to TD peers. There are many more studies that describe the implementation of TtR-DA principles and its effectiveness in determining language disorders in ELL students. Overall, results imply that decontextualized standardized tests are not appropriate assessments to use with ELLs as they may contain culturally-biased content and be highly impacted by a student’s lack of exposure to formal tests. Telling stories, however, is a more familiar script for most children. Therefore, a narrative assessment is a more appropriate means for ELLs to demonstrate their language skills (Cleave et al., 2010). In the K-12 setting, educators are constantly presented with CLD learners who struggle academically and socially. When these students begin to fall behind their peers, response to intervention (RtI) programs are often implemented and the child may complete a comprehensive evaluation for special education services. In these situations, each member of the team (the general classroom teacher, the ESL teacher, the reading specialist, the SLP, and other special education staff) must work together and use ethical assessment procedures to ensure the need for services is valid. Understanding the principles of TtR-DA and how to apply them to your scope of practice is a crucial step in this team-based approach. As future SLPs, we plan to conduct TtR-DA when assessing ELL students for language disorders. Overall, DA is preferred to using static, formal measures as it helps SLPs accurately assess ELL students’ potential while ruling out bias due to differences in background experience (Roseberry-McKibbin, & O’Hanlon, 2005) and the influence of dual language learning. As mentioned, federal law supports the use of DA as an appropriate, informal assessment for ELL students (Roseberry-McKibbin, & O’Hanlon, 2005). These laws combined with the best current evidence support the implementation of DA practices when assessing ELLs. Future Steps – Filling Gaps in Research and Changing Practitioner Education When reviewing studies of TtR-DA, we discovered some gaps in the current body of research. A majority of the studies focused on bilinguals who spoke Spanish and English. While findings on Spanish-English bilingual ELLs were informative, it would be ideal if future studies examined TtR-DA application with children who spoke a variety of languages. This would ensure the effectiveness of TtR-DA regardless of L1/L2 combination. If these studies were completed, researchers and clinicians could work together to create norms for ELLs who speak different languages. This would provide SLPs with appropriate, normative cut-offs that could be used to qualify ELLs for services. Another barrier is the lack of multilingual and culturally diverse SLPs and interpreter support in schools, causing lower quality education for many ELL children with speech and language disorders. Best practice demands dual language assessment of all bilingual children, regardless of their English proficiency (Caesar & Kohler, 2007) meaning that English speaking SLPs would benefit from trainings on how to complete appropriate assessment and intervention with interpreter support. Unfortunately, there are still barriers that prevent the widespread implementation of DA in schools across the United States. The primary issue regrettably exists in university classrooms. According to Caesar & Kohler (2007), a majority of the SLPs surveyed did not feel that their graduate education adequately prepared them to assess and provide intervention to multilingual students. Graduate students need academic instruction and clinical training on working with ELL students to be prepared to work in a country as diverse as the United States. This finding aligns with a survey conducted by Roseberry-McKibbin & O’Hanlon (2005). In 1990 and 2001, SLPs were surveyed and asked questions about problems they encounter most frequently in the workplace and what type of continuing education classes would be of interest to them. Even though the surveys were given out 11 years apart, the top answers were similar. Both groups reported a “lack of unbiased appropriate assessment instruments” and that they would take classes focused on “assessment procedures and materials for conducting unbiased assessments of ELL students” (Roseberry-McKibbin & O’Hanlon, 2005, p. 179). SLPs need more training in their graduate careers and more opportunities for continuing education focused on working with ELL students. Combining assessment and intervention processes in a single assessment method like TtR-DA has the potential to reveal differences between children with and without language impairments, regardless of their cultural and linguistic diversity. Ideally, more and more SLPs entering the workforce will understand the importance of using DA methods in their practice. The information synthesized above clearly demonstrates that TtR-DA can limit cultural biases in diagnostic procedures and improve the accuracy of classifying multilinguals with language impairments. What does this mean for students, teachers, and SLPs? For students, the use of more valid and reliable assessment measures will limit the over and under-identification of language disorders. For SLPs, this means using an assessment procedure supported by IDEA and supporting students who truly benefit from their skilled service. For teachers, it means having reassurance that students who struggle academically truly need additional support and that it is not their responsibility to provide that support when a true disorder is evident. Additionally, all team members will learn to watch for red flags for language impairment, know when to refer for RtI or additional evaluations, and understand the TtR-DA approach and its benefits. If you have more questions about DA, we highly advise finding your school or district SLP and engaging in a dialogue about assessing ELLs for special education services – this collaboration can only serve to support the ELL students in our K-12 classrooms. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association | ASHA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2017, from https://www.asha.org/ Boudreau, D. M. (2007). Narrative abilities in children with language impairments. In R. Paul (Ed.), Language disorders from a developmental perspective (pp. 331-356). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, Associates. Caesar, L. G., & Kohler, P. D. (2007). The state of school-based bilingual assessment: Actual practice versus recommended guidelines. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 190-200. Cleave, P. L., Girolametto, L. E., Chen, X., & Johnson, C. J. (2010). Narrative abilities in monolingual and dual language learning children with specific language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43, 511-522. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2010.05.005 Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire.Clevendon, United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment: An intervention program for cognitive modifiability. Baltimore, MD: University Park Press. Feuerstein, R. (1979). The dynamic assessment of retarded performers: The learning potential assessment device, theory, instruments, and techniques. Baltimore, MD; University Park Press. Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. F., & Peña, E. (2001). Dynamic assessment of diverse children: A tutorial. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 212-224. Hasson, N., Camilleri, B., Jones, C., Smith, J., & Dodd, B. (2012). Discriminating disorder from difference using dynamic assessment with bilingual children. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 29(1), 57-75. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. (2004) (reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990) Kramer, K., Mallett, P., Scheider, P., & Hayward, D. (2009). Dynamic assessment of narratives with grade 3 children in a first nations community. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 33(3), 119-128. Lidz, C. S. (1991). Practitioner’s guide to dynamic assessment. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Lidz, C. S., & Peña, E. (1996). Dynamic assessment: The model, its relevance as a nonbiased approach, and its application to Latino American preschool children. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 27, 367-372. Liu, E.W. et al. (2013). Impact: Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities. Mayer, M. (1967a). A boy, a dog, and a frog. New York, NY: Pied Piper Books. Mayer, M. (1967b). Frog on his own. New York, NY: Pied Piper Books. Paradis, J., Schneider, P., & Sorenson T. D. (2013). Discriminating children with language impairment among English-language learners from diverse first-language backgrounds. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 971-981. Doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2012/12-0050) Peña, E. D., Gillam, R. B., & Bedore, L. M. (2014). Dynamic assessment of narrative ability in English accurately identifies language impairments in English language learners. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57, 2208-2220. Peña, E. D., Gillam, R. B., Malek, M., Ruiz-Felter, R., Resendiz, M., Fiestas, C., & Sabel, T. (2006). Dynamic assessment of school-age children’s narrative ability: An experimental investigation of classification accuracy. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 1037-1057. Peña, E. D., Reséndiz, M., & Gillam, R. B. (2007). The role of clinical judgments of modifiability in the diagnosis of language impairment. Advances in Speech Language Pathology, 9, 332-345. Petersen, D. B., Chanthongthip, H., Ukrainetz, T. A., Spencer, T. D., & Steeve, R. W. (2017). Dynamic Assessment of Narratives: Efficient, Accurate Identification of Language Impairment in Bilingual Students. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 60(April), 983–998. Pieretti, R. A., & Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2016). Assessment and Intervention for English Language Learners With Primary Language Impairment : Research-Based Best Practices. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 37(2), 117–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740114566652 Poehner, M. E. (2008). Dynamic assessment (Vol. 9). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75775-9 Prezas, R. F., & Jo, A. A. (2017). Differentiating language difference and language disorder : Information for teachers working with English language learners in the schools. Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice, 2(1). Roseberry-McKibbin, C., & O’Hanlon, L. (2005). Nonbiased assessment of English language learners: A tutorial. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 26(3), 178–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/15257401050260030601 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Recommended Additional Reading - Dynamic Assessment Framework - Caesar, L. G., & Kohler, P. D. (2007). The state of school-based bilingual assessment: Actual practice versus recommended guidelines. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38(3), 190-200. - Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. F., & Peña, E. (2001). Dynamic assessment of diverse children: A tutorial. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. (32), 212–224.

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Paper Airplane Races Design and build your own paper airplanes, then have a race to see which stays in the air the longest or flies the furthest. Have each contestant race one plane or have one child make several using different patterns, then measure which is the most successful — and figure out together why that plane flew the farthest. Here are some online videos that provide instructions for making basic planes: For older kids who want a more competitive design or who like conducting research, spend some time online or check out library books on the topic to learn about aerodynamics and the science behind flight time and distance. Then, challenge them to create their own design! Why do you think the winning plane went the farthest (or stayed the longest in the air)? What will you do differently the next time you make paper airplanes to make them fly farther? Let’s Go Fly a Kite! Learn about how kites fly and then go fly them. Make sure you choose the right day for this activity. Most kites fly best when there is mild to moderate wind (8 to 24 mph). Build your own kites out of different materials and see which fly best. Here are a few websites you can use to help you explain the physics behind kite flying and learn to make a kite: Why do you think the kite stayed up so long in the air today? Why do you think it crashed? How Tall Can We Build? Assemble a set of blocks or other household objects you can stack and see how high you can build your structure (books, shoeboxes, plastic containers, plastic cups or so forth). See if you can build a structure taller than your kid! Before getting started, guess how tall you can make the structure before it will fall down. Then, build your structure, measure it throughout the process using a tape measure, and see if it falls before or after it reaches the height you guessed. You can make this a game by seeing who makes the best guess on final height. Here’s an article by Scientific American that takes this idea a step further for older students. Which is more stable and resistant to falling — a pyramid or a tall skinny building? Why do you think that’s the case? Using a cookbook or website, pick a recipe for a meal or baked item the child would like to learn to make with you, then use this opportunity to teach age-appropriate cooking basics and kitchen safety. If your child is older or experienced in the kitchen, challenge them to make it by themselves with you supervising. Plan the ingredients you need to make the item, go to the grocery store and use basic addition while you shop to see if your child can estimate the total cost of the ingredients before you visit the cashier. If you were a chef, your job would be to come up with new foods for your restaurant’s menu and make them taste good enough to please your customers and make them want to come back. What do you think could be added or subtracted from the recipe you made to make it taste even better? Design and Build Something Using drawing supplies, sketch out designs for a building, machine, clothing item or something else you child wants to make. Then, use other household items (cardboard, scrap fabric, recycled containers, shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls, etc.) to build it. Create a museum of your creations and invite friends, neighbors or family to come to the exhibit. Make posters to promote the event and make refreshments to serve to your visitors! What did you like about bringing your design ideas to life? What was the most frustrating part of taking your design and trying to build it? Go outside and see how many types of plants you can find and either collect a cutting of their leaves or take a photo of them. This activity could be done in your backyard, at a park or on a hike. Remember to bring a bucket if you are collecting live specimens — and even a magnifying glass to get a closer look. (Watch out for poison ivy and other troublesome plants!) Bring your specimens home and see if you can identify each species using online resources or a book of local plants and wildflowers. Make it a game with several kids to see who can find the most different species of plants. This blog provides questions you can use to help identify the species of plant. If you were an animal looking for food to eat, which of these plants would be the most appetizing? Which might look dangerous to eat? Go on a Household Item Scavenger Hunt This is a great activity for early childhood exploration of the world around us. Choose a color and count how many items in your house the child can find with that color. Make it a game for multiple participants by seeing who can find the most items with the color — and only allow one person to use each item. Challenge the child to look for tools or other items in your house, garage or toolshed used in a specific job or trade. For example, look for items in your house that a painter uses in their job. Or a librarian, construction worker, tailor, baker, landscaper or nurse. Again, make it a game by seeing who can find the most items for a specific job. What would the worker use this tool for in their job? What tools in our ____ (kitchen, garage, basement, attic, bathroom) would someone who works at a _____ (restaurant, service station, store, office, salon) use in their job? Watch a Cool Careers Video HirePaths’ five-minute videos each explore a high-demand career your child could someday consider. Watch one video at time, or watch them all in one setting and then have a short conversation about which you liked best and why. After you watch a Cool Careers video, think of someone with a similar job the child might be interested in they could interview themselves. You could even make your own video of the experience on an iPad or phone. If you make one, please send it to HirePaths! We’d love to see it. Email your child’s videos to email@example.com, and we’ll send a response praising them for their efforts. We might even offer to share it on our social media channels! Had you heard about this career before? What surprised you the most? What do you think you’d like — or not like — about having this job? Plant a Garden Start (or work in) your home garden (you can even add a roleplaying element and pretend to be farmers!). Do this in your yard, in pots, a raised bed, or even indoors. Pick out seeds or seedlings to plant, prepare the ground, plant according to the directions, water as needed, then harvest the crop when it’s ready. Make sure to allow for adequate light for the plants you’re growing. Here’s a handy site to help you get started. Create a daily log to track the process. You could even take pictures to enhance the log and record changes. Ask your kids questions such as: - How many days did it take the seeds to sprout? - How much taller did the plants grow each day? - How many flowers or fruits did the plant sprout that day? - What insects are you seeing in the garden? If you have a fruitful harvest, put together a stand at the end and sell your produce to neighbors! (Then you can practice your skills from the Money Mania activity!) How many days do you think it will take before the seeds sprout? How much did the plants grow each day or week? How many fruits do you think this plant will produce by the end of the summer? Have a Lemonade Stand This classic first entrepreneurial adventure can be set up to sell just about anything your child can help make — drinks or popsicles on a hot day, baked goods, harvested vegetables from your garden, or craft items. Here are some tips for preparing your stand and the products you’re going to sell: - Find a good location that’s safe from traffic but still visible to those driving or walking by. Decide whether the children are safe there alone or if they need an adult to supervise at all times. - Find a table, chairs and other supplies for your stand. - Prepare the items to sell and decide how much to charge for each. - Have change and a way to safely store the money. - Talk about the concept of profit being the difference between your costs and the money you make. Decide what to do with the profits: Will the kids keep them for themselves or donate them to a charity? Advertise your lemonade stand to your neighbors the day before so they’re ready to come! Make posters, send emails, make phone calls, post in your neighborhood group, send texts or whatever it takes to advertise the stand to friends, neighbors and families so your kids get a crowd of real customers to wait on. What was your favorite part of having a stand? What products sold the best? What did customers say about your products? What could you do to make the stand better next time? Cash in Spare Coins See how much spare change you can find in your house (check car consoles, between couch cushions, junk drawers, laundry rooms and other places people lose or put lose coins). Once you’ve exhausted your search, add up how much money you and your child found (another great opportunity to teach the value of different forms of currency, see Money Mania), and talk about what you could buy with that money. Then, maybe use it to buy something fun or donate it to a favorite charity. If you find a lot of money, take the money to the bank or store and have it converted into larger bills or deposit it into a savings account. See if the bank has a changing machine and if they’ll let your kid dump the coins in themselves. What can we buy with this much money? Who might benefit from this money more than us? How could we help other people with this money? Why might we want to save this money for your future? Learn Computer Basics Kids are whizzes at computing, but sometimes we adults forget to teach them the basics and assume they are just born with skills like: - How to plug, unplug or charge a computer (or other electronic device like a phone or iPad) safely - How to turn on and off a computer appropriately - How to save a file and open/close it to use another time - How to put a file in the trash and destroy it - How to do basic formatting in a word processing program (fonts, colors, styling of lettering, tabs, inserting photos, drawing boxes or circles, etc.) - How to type (lots of programs available to teach this valuable skill) - How to print a document - How to change the ink or add paper to a printer - How to save a file to a jump drive (and how to correctly eject the drive) Ask your child to teach YOU or a younger child to do some of these basic things as a way to test if they really know how to do it themselves! What did you learn today you hadn’t been taught to do before? How could you use these skills at school or in a job someday? Learn About Energy Everything in our world is powered by a type of energy (electric, hydro, wind, gasoline, kinetic, gravitational, nuclear), but many kids never think about how that energy is generated and moved from the source to their home. Watch some videos and do activities to see energy in action. Here are some at-home energy activities that could keep your kids busy for weeks: The Kansas Energy Program has an assortment of free resources, games and puzzles that teachers or parents can use at home or in classrooms to learn about energy. What did you learn from this activity about how electricity works? What’s the most dangerous part of working with power? What jobs have you heard of that involve moving energy from one place to another? Learn to Code Learning the basics of computer programming is a valuable skill, and like learning any language, learning how to “speak” in code is easier the younger you start. If you’re like many adults, if you try to learn alongside your child, they may pick it up quicker than you do. The nice thing about coding is you can do it almost anywhere — on a home desktop computer, tablet or even a phone. There are many software programs to teach kids how to program, even in preschool. Apps range in cost from free to inexpensive (we personally love Scratch, but there are many others): A lot of kids dream of becoming a video game designer. Encourage kids to research how they’d go from basic coding to video game development and design. This video shows how to make your first game. What’s the hardest part of learning to code? What was the most fun? What was the easiest? What problem would you like to solve using a computer program? We live in a disposable society, so many kids don’t automatically think about fixing something that’s broken. Next time something in your house needs a DIY repair job, involve your kid in the process of learning what you need to do, finding the tools and supplies you need, and then do the work to fix the problem – together. If this is a repair job you aren’t quite sure how to handle yourself without some support, give your kid the key information they might need and see if they can find online instructions or a video that can help! If it seems like the repair is within their skill-level, see if they can follow the instructions to fix it themselves. This can be a very empowering process to do from start to finish for anyone, let alone a kid. If you determine this repair is beyond your skill set or comfort level (such as wiring or plumbing), when a professional comes into your home, see if they’d be willing to let you and your child watch them work – and ask questions! Was that work harder or easier than you expected? If we couldn’t fix it ourselves, what kind of professional would we need to call to fix it for us? What types of jobs fix things? Read Real Success Stories Kids can’t aspire to a job if they haven’t heard of it in the first place. HirePaths has created a library of stories of professionals living in Kansas or the Midwest. Explore these stories by industry area or randomly. Together, find stories to read and discuss, or you can review them and send stories to your child they might find interesting via text or email. After reading some of the stories, did any of these jobs seem exciting to you? Which jobs don’t interest you, and why? Play Eye Spy for Jobs! Sit down to watch one of your favorite TV episodes or movies and see how many jobs your family can find! Shout out every time you see a different job represented. This could also be done when reading a book together. Turn this into a game by having the kids silently write down the jobs they see (or text them to you on their device), to see which kid can find the most jobs. Or, see if they can find more jobs in the program than you do! Then, use HirePaths.com or other online resources to learn more about the most interesting careers. Which job did you see in the show that you’d like to learn more about? Do we know anyone who has that job? Write a Story About Your Future Career Challenge your child to write a story about what they think their life will be like in 10 (or 20) years when they’re done with school and have their own job. Illustrations can bring even the simplest stories to life! Keep the book and give it to the child someday as a graduation gift. What kind of place do you think you’ll want to work in? Will you live in our town or somewhere else? What type of clothes will you wear for work? What kind of tools will you use? Who will you help in your job? Start a Business What can your child make (with or without your help) that people might want to buy? This can be adapted for their interests. Can they: - Build birdhouses? - Bake bread or cookies? - Make jewelry? - Water plants? - Walk dogs? - Mow the yard or pull weeds? - Babysit for younger siblings, neighbors or friends? Work with your child to identify something they are good at and like to do that people might be willing to buy or pay money for them to do. Then, come up with a name for their business, a list of people they could sell their products or services to, and advertise! Help your child make a Facebook page, website or online store to promote their business. Share it with your friends. Or, create fliers to distribute throughout the neighborhood. How much time do you think it will take you to do the job (or make the product)? How much money do you think people would be willing to pay for this job (or product)? What are you going to do with the money after you make it? Brainstorm something you and your child could build together — or research a few options and let the child choose. This could be something useful you need in your house, or something the kid has dreamed up. Together, create a plan, set up a budget, assemble or purchase the supplies or tools, and get to work. Find a problem in your house and invent a solution you can build to solve it! What was your favorite part of building (the item)? What was the hardest part? What would you do differently next time? What types of jobs involve building things? Plan a Party (or Project) Thinking through a project or event is a skill even many adults aren’t very practiced at. If you’re planning an event (like a birthday party) or to do something around the house (like redecorate their bedroom), sit down with your child and work on a plan together. When should you do the event or project? What will you need? Who else will participate? Add lessons about budgeting for your party or project. Think through all of the steps required to make the project happen and what you might need to buy to achieve the goal. Set a budget and see if they can create a plan using a combination of items you already have or items you’ll agree to buy within that budget. Then, work with your child to do the project or host the event and see if you can actually do it within the budget. What was your original vision for the event or project? What went according to plan? What did you have to change to stay within your budget? What types of jobs do a lot of planning and budgeting? Do a Career YouTube Challenge Go to YouTube and type in, “What’s it like to be a [insert career name]?” Watch each video and talk about the pros and cons you learned about the profession. We recommend you do this activity with your child to make sure you don’t end up on a video that’s not age-appropriate. Choose someone you know who is in a specific profession and interview them about what it’s like to do their job. Make a video of the interview and share it with friends. If you got the subject’s permission, you could even start your own YouTube channel and share your video with the world. (If you make a video, we’d love to see what you made! Send a link to firstname.lastname@example.org.) Did the video answer your questions about this field? What type of training do you think would be best if you were interested in pursuing this type of work? What skills that you’re learning in school now would be helpful in this job? Take Career Quizzes There are many free and low-cost online tools you can use to assess a child’s strengths, interests and aptitudes to see what types of jobs they might be a good match for someday. Some of these even compare your innate skills with the level of education you’re interested in pursuing. Check out these HirePath’s blogs for several you could try with your child: There are many other online tools you could use. It’s fun to see if different tools have similar or different recommendations. Here are a few others to check out: - CareerOneStop Work Values Matcher - CareerOneStop Skills Matcher - O*NET Ability Profiler - O*NET Work Importance Locator - State Library of Kansas Interests Matcher and Skills Matcher and “Find a Career Match” page for high school students - Take the Gladeo Quiz - ASVAB Career Exploration Program (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery; Department of Defense) - The ASVAB Career Exploration Guide, Find Your Interests Quiz Once you’ve completed a quiz or assessment, research the jobs the program recommends on HirePaths.com or other online career exploration resources. How much more education do you think you’ll be interested in after high school? What job did the program suggest that seems like a crazy match for you and why? What jobs that the program suggested are worth investigating further? Similar to Build Something or Start a Business, Clean Something can be about teaching your child how to do everyday household chores that are good life skills for anyone to have — but these skills can also translate into entrepreneurial endeavors. By the time they reach kindergarten, most kids are old enough to help with laundry, vacuuming, cleaning a car inside and out, washing windows, sweeping the porch, loading the dishwasher, handwashing dishes and so forth. Working alongside you can also teach them a good work ethic and to approach work with a positive attitude. Have your child teach a younger sibling how to do household chores. Or, help your child start a cleaning business and advertise your child’s services to friends, neighbors, or family members. What types of jobs do this task? In what types of settings do people get paid to do this type of work? Do you think you’d like a job doing this type of work someday? Choose a problem in your house and then challenge your child to invent a way to solve it using household items. If you’ve never built a Rube Goldberg Machine, here’s something your kids will love to do with you — again and again. There are many online videos to help you get started, but here are a few resources that will help: What worked according to plan? What part of the idea failed? How could you improve upon the invention? Play Career Charades Have each player write the names of different jobs and careers on slips of paper (use the HirePaths Explore Careers section for ideas). Put the slips into a jar or box and take turns drawing out jobs to act out. Set a time limit (like one minute per turn) to keep the game moving. Keep an iPad or computer nearby, and if the child isn’t familiar with the job they draw, allow them research it — or allow the child to redraw. Once the game is over, choose jobs that the kids didn’t know and look them up to learn more about what people in that job do, where they work, and what kind of training they need to get started. What job had you’d never heard of before? What job was hard to act out and why? What job did someone else act out that might seem interesting to you? Learn About Supply Chain and Deliveries United States Postal Service employees and other types of delivery drivers come to our houses nearly every day. While these busy workers are usually on a tight schedule, if you can time it right, they’ll stop and chat with you and your child for a minute or two about what they like best about their job and how they got started. Follow an online order from your virtual shopping cart to your front door: - Choose an item to order online. - Order it and see what your shipping options are. Discuss the various methods of the item getting to your house, what each one costs and how long each will take. - After you place your order, use the tracking information each day (or morning and night) to follow your item on its journey. - Watch for the delivery the day it is supposed to arrive. In some cases, you’ll even get a text telling you the item has come. - Talk about the different types of vehicles that might have been used — cargo ship, semitruck, airplane, delivery truck, forklift — to get it from the warehouse to your front door. How many days do you predict it will take to get to our house? What types of vehicles do you think the item was carried in as it traveled to our home? How could it have gotten to us more quickly, even if it would have cost more?

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In 1955, a fourteen-year-old black boy named Emmett Till was lynched after he whistled at Carolyn Bryant, the young white wife of a store proprietor. Anne Moodys Coming of Age in Mississippi and Eldridge Cleavers collected essays Soul on Ice, show how men and women reacted to Tills transgression differently while experiencing an intense moment of political awakening. The photographs of Tills mutilated body in Jet were seared into the memories of African Americans, as they portrayed in grotesque pictures how racial oppression was often sexualized and normally gendered. This was frighteningly clear for Robert Lewis, an impoverished sharecropper in Louisiana who joined the Civil Rights Movement after his boss threatened him with a newspaper clipping of Tills death, a warning of what might happen if I stepped out of line. Even Rosa Parksheralded in popular memory as the quiet, pious, seamstress who ignited the Civil Rights Movementrecalled that she thought of Till when deciding to remain seated in the front of a Montgomery bus at the end of that fateful year in December 1955. Parks, remembered as a humble secretary for the NAACP, was in reality an elected official in the large network of activists. As early as the 1930s, Parks learned leadership skills from colleagues such as Jo Ann Robinson and mentors Septima Clark and Ella Baker. Both the convoluted memory of Parks that venerates her as a quiet but bold model of dignified womanhood.” The increased portrayal of women in Civil Rights historiography from 1979 to 2010 has used womens intergenerational mentorships to provide new insight into the meaning of leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. In addition, by tracking female dissent throughout the twentieth centurys black freedom struggle historians can arrive at a more accurate reassessment of the Civil Rights Movements periodization. By examining the relationships between mentors and mentees, historians have revealed how women experienced and participated in the Civil Rights Movement differently from men. As early as the Second Wave Feminism movement of the 1970s, sociologists forged new avenues for Civil Rights scholarship by arguing that a focus on women could enrich our understanding of black freedom struggles. The oral histories conducted by sociologists shortly after the Civil Rights Movement are valuable resources to social historians interested in womens history, but sociologists almost exclusively limited their analysis to the Civil Rights Movement between 1954 (with the decision in Brown v. Board of Education) and 1968 (marking the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.). This historical periodization, which Bayard Rustin called the classic period and Taylor Branch identified in his biographical trilogy as the King years, was expanded by historians whose disciplinary focus on chronology, contingency, and contextualization recognized that the classic period marked heightened, widespread activity stemming out of a longer trajectory. Jacquelyn Dowd Hall defined this longer trajectory as the long civil rights movement. The October 1998 conference in Atlantaentitled Women in the Civil Rights Movement, Trailblazers and Torchbearers, 1941-1965provoked an outpouring of historical research, which aspired to excavate hidden womens voices from this earlier period. Organized by Georgia State University and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the conference brought activists like Rosa Parks together with scholars like Charles M. Payne, encouraging dialogue while mapping out new questions and lines of inquiry for research throughout the 1990s. The historiography of the Civil Rights Movement divides between works that accentuate charismatic, nationally recognizable messianic-like leaders and their organizationssuch as Stokley Carmichael, Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks and ministerial luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. versus the history of the grassroots-organizing tradition, which focuses on the capacity of everyday people to elicit racial change. In the historical literature, organizations such as the NAACP are usually credited with legislative victories such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, while their lesser-known foot soldiers were primarily ordinary women engaged in sustained regional struggles as early as the Progressive Era. This older generation mentored young activists in the 1950s and 1960s in how to fight oppression and segregation. Thus women predominantly fall into the local-case study side of this historiographic divide. As Danielle L. McGuire stated, the spotlight that focused on King, combined with the construction of Rosa Parks as a saintly symbol, hid the womens long struggle in the dimly lit background.” The books chronicled in this essay, however, have developed a scholarly pedigree that brings those womens voices to light. Sara Evans Personal Politics: The Roots of Womens Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left(1979), described how young women who grew up in the 1950s stepped outside the assumptions on which they had been raised to articulate a radical critique of womens position in American society. The title of her groundbreaking book reveals how an independent womens liberation movement grew out of transformations in political culture and young womens developing sense of personal consciousness. Evans argues that, between 1963 and 1967, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Southern Civil Rights Movement and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in the North became powerful sites of identification. While organizing a movement centered around collective action, white women found the inner strength and self-respect to explore the meaning of equality and an ideology that beckoned them to do so while experiencing sex-stereotyping within the Civil Rights Movement. At a moment when the emergence of Black Power began to marginalize the efforts of white women, female activists came to recognize that elements of racial segregation were analogous to gender oppression. They began to articulate gender grievances and apply their organizing skills to their own plight. Evans was the first historian to argue that the intergenerational mentorship between Movement Mamas and young female activists helped Civil Rights participants develop a deep sense of kinship.” Evans argued that women actively sought role modelsa completely new concept in how historians understood female participation in the Civil Rights Movement. Womens role models not only taught leadership skills and effective organizing tactics, but also provided emotional support in the 1960s, while young activists constructed alternative black and white womanhoods. As women in the movement were defying racial, class, and gender roles, as they learned to stand up for themselves, breaking through patterns of passivity, they learned new-self respect in the process of defying racial oppression. They looked for mentoring relationships that constituted distinctive models for the unique challenges and questions they faced as women. Many young women moved in with surrogate parents like Carl and Anne Braden, who housed female activists and recreated domestic family relations within the movements structure. Such surrogate households provided stability for girls whose parents disagreed with their radicalism, and taught young women by example how to live lives with new models of gender equality. Evans showed that intergenerational mentorship operated through a form of fictive kinship, providing the groundwork and gender consciousness that allowed young women to recreate family bonds laterally, in the form of sisterhood and gender solidarity. In 1995, sixteen years after Evans examination of how the Civil Rights and New Left spurred Womens Liberation, Charles M. Paynes powerful social history, Ive Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle, made salient contributions to the history of women in the Civil Rights Movement. In his antecedent 1990 article, Men Led, but Women Organized: Movement Participation of Women in the Mississippi Delta, Payne identified religious womens ability to capitalize on existing social networks and their realignment of social infrastructures as a leading reason that Greenwood, Mississippi women (aged 30 to 50) exceeded the participation of men in the same region. With his books publication, Payne complicated his claim that men lead while women organized by focusing on the intergenerational mentorship of Mississippi men and women at the grassroots level, which, he argued, ultimately democratized leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. Ive Got the Light of Freedom expanded Evanss timeline by three decades, to a period from 1930 to 1970, and described how movement families, under the leadership of women, not only nurtured uprooted activists but raised activists from birth which also aided in the development of institutional organizations throughout the twentieth century. Between the publication of his article and book, Payne realized the answer to one of his main questions: How were a few organizers able to accomplish as much as they did in so short a time? In Greenwood and McComb, Mississippi, young activists built on the decades-long efforts of their female mentors to achieve their historic successes. Payne credited Ella Jo Baker and Septima Clark with transferring those ideas of collective leadership to the young militants of SNCC and CoFo. Intergenerational mentorship was crucial to the development of voter registration drives for two reasons: for one, young SNCC activists could use pre-established networks and plug into work that an older generation of activists had begun; secondly Clark and Baker helped lay the intellectual groundwork for the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement as early as the 1930s, by teaching everyday people leadership skills through Citizenship Schools and the Highlander Folk School (founded during the Great Depression). These educational initiatives raised consciousness of the movement and helped locals to pass literacy exams, register to vote, and communicate their struggles. That literacy became an important organizing tool for younger activists in Mississippi and virtually everywhere else in the South indicates both the successes of these women and the vital nature of their contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. Under the guidance of Baker and Clark, Highlander workshops taught the philosophy of collective leadership to emerging activists E.D. Nixon, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and Diane Nash. Payne argued that these women ultimately transformed political action throughout the 1960s. By concluding that women, not men, established the precedent that allowed Civil Rights to be successful, Ive Got the Light of Freedom presents a field-changing development in Civil Rights literature. Unlike Sara Evans, who described how mentorships and the unique set of challenges facing women prompted gender-motivated partnerships, Payne acknowledged that men and women instructed young activists differently, but did not explore the gendered motivations for doing so. Additionally, his focus on mentorship is limited to how leadership tactics, ideology, and information were passed down, creating a form of grassroots memory. Unlike Evans and Ransby, Payne did not explore how the lives of older female activists provided alternative lifestyles and models of womanhood for the 1960s generation. Payne contended that in its organizational structure, its program, its ideology, early SNCC was exactly the kind of organization Ella Baker had been trying to create for almost three decades. While Baker tried to mold a generation, her male colleagues looked for specific individuals to replace them. Baker recognized that early female activists found leading people to freedom as a contradiction; leadership should be a form of teaching, as Payne paraphrased Baker, where the leaders first responsibility is to develop the leadership potential in others. She was the first full-time executive director of the SCLC to unite sit-in activists and to encourage a democratic form of leadership, which she believed would sustain change at the grassroots level long after activists left town. Unlike Clark and Baker who were weary of top-down organizations and favored facilitation over leadership, prominent male activists believed dynamic figures were essential to the guidance of foot soldiers. Bakers male colleagues hand-selected specific protégés who came from similar, humble beginnings; this approach developed into an exclusive kind of father-son relationship, in Paynes words. Evans portrayal of the Civil Rights Movement almost exclusively looked at female activists; while Evans method brings new voices to the historiography of Civil Rights, Paynes writing structure shows side by side how women and men experienced the Civil Rights Movement in different ways, justifying a further look into the efforts of ordinary women at the grassroots level. By fleshing out the contributions of these men and women, Payne was one of the first major historians to expand the oversimplified Civil Rights Movement timeline (1954-1965) with the early efforts of female activists. Payne deemphasized cataclysmic events like the 1963 March on Washington and the integration of Mississippi universities, while demonstrating the importance of how womens behind-the-scenes work helped the movement to function. Payne stresses the longevity of intergenerational ideologies and their endurance through mentorship, as Depression-era and World War II activists brought newcomers into the infrastructure developed since the 1930s. Paynes narrative structure, centered on multiple biographies in a loose chronology, is one of the earliest articulations of the bifurcated timetables applicable to the classic movement: either it accelerated over two decades incrementally, or it was a convergence of efforts by generations of activists transferring knowledge to new participants through organizational networking and mentorship. Payne unquestionably aligns himself with the latter. He concluded that the SNCC and CoFo organizers who went door to door in the Deep South were heirs to a complex intellectual legacy shaped by older people whose thinking had been informed by lifetimes of practical experience, a legacy reaching at least as far back as Miss Bakers grandfathers farm. Like Evans, Payne explored how women organized with family structures. Evans tracked fictive kinships in which activists who welcomed marginalized white female activists into their homes. Conversely, in They Kept the Story Before Me: Families and Traditions, Payne studied how biological black movement families (such as the Johnsons, the McGhees, the Morgans, and the Greenes), often under the leadership of women, harbored race pride and groomed [their] members for roles of leadership. Movement families were crucial as local movements exploited communal and familial traditions and produced offspring who were dedicated to the cause. These households refused to see themselves as merely acted upon, and encouraged their childrenespecially femalesto believe that even within an oppressive social structure one retains some control over ones life. Paynes work on women in movement families is substantive as he restores the generational legacies these matriarchs produced for black freedom struggles, which history overlooked. Barbara Ransbys Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision bridges the historiographical fissure between biographies of famous male leaders and women at the grassroots. Ransby used Ella Bakers political life from 1930 to 1980 to show how womens lifelong activism connected through intergenerational Civil Rights organizations link together a long tradition of African American resistance. Baker, who advanced a radically democratic political tradition with women at its center, was a leading member in the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC. She pioneered new modes of political participation for black women in interracial organizations that were previously male-dominated, which provided an alternative model of womanhood for the young activists whom she mentored. Diane Nash, one of her mentees, rose from the head spokesperson for the sit-in movement in Nashville to an appointment by President John F. Kennedy to the committee to oversee the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While founding SNCC, Nash found but a few role models and was uncertain of her own abilities as a leader until she met Baker. Ransbys biography notes that a previously muted, black, female voice to the chorus of people from the past, is a crucial contribution to the field of womens history. By looking at Bakers life in historical context with a continued focus on intergenerational mentorship, Ransby extends the roots of womens participation in Civil Rights to the turn of the century, connecting the Old Left to the New Left, and Suffrage to the roots of Womens Liberation. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement highlights just how unconventional Bakers life truly was. As Baker maintained her maiden name, never gave birth, lived independently from her husband while traveling for her career, and then ultimately divorced, her significance as an alternative role model was more extensive than the organizational skills Payne argues she instilled. According to Ransby, Baker offered a different model of gender relations and a broader spectrum of gender identities. Ransby therefore focuses on how Bakers unorthodox example of womanhood develops Paynes realization that Baker was a role model and mentor for an entire generation of activists who came of age politically in the 1960s, while personifying how Civil Rights organizations such as the NAACP provided a social framework that gave women significant power as early as the 1930s. Ransby uses Ellas mentors to extend the Civil Rights organizing tradition timeline deep into the early twentieth century, with womens early involvement with the NAACP, the suffrage movement, and black womens clubs. While working at the New York NAACP branch during the 1930s, Baker found a political mentor in Daisy Lampkin. Walter White brought the two togetherhoping, in his words, that Baker could observe Daisys techniques in putting over a campaign. Vice President of the Pittsburgh Courier, Lampkin taught Baker organizing tactics to engage widespread political action by women, tactics which she perfected while working to promote the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. As an acclaimed suffragette who worked with the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), the National Council of Negro Women, and the NAACP, Lampkin taught Baker how to fundraise and organize women in local campaigns within a nationalized umbrella organization. As a role model for Baker when she was first hired, Lampkin exemplifies the striking continuity between black womens suffrage and Civil Rights tactics. Through intergenerational mentorship, Ransby illuminates how Bakers firm convictions of forming alliances across racial lines on pragmatic political grounds for sustained change stemmed from the organizing forms she learned from Lampkin in the early stages of the Civil Rights movement with the NAACP. Significantly, Baker went on to instill these principles of interracial alliance and political pragmatism in SNCC. As a result, SNCCs Freedom Rides, voter registration efforts, and Freedom Summer were successful in drawing national attention, in part due to the interracial element of the movement. The major job was getting people to understand that they had something within their power that they could use, and it could only be used if they understood what was happening and how group action could counter violence –Ella Jo Baker Shannon Frystaks 2009 Our Minds on Freedom: Women and the Struggle for Black Equality in Louisiana, 1924-1967returns to the nameless masses while in direct conversation with Evans and Payne. Frystaks interpretation of mentorship and female role models sought to revise Paynes argument that men led; women organized by broadening the definition of leadership. She also questioned Evanss emphasis on sexism in the Movement. Frystak viewed Payne as an intellectual pioneer for the ways he integrated women into the dominant narrative, but she contended that Paynes conception of leadership is long overdue for reassessment. Her innovative revision of Paynes family argument stresses that the most formative mentors in the movement were mothers, who set an example of dissent for their children. The chapter entitled Hardly the Southern Lady: Boycotts and the Vote chronicles how on 7 May 1954, a biracial New Orleans PTA, in conjunction with NAACP women, organized a massive boycott of the school systems annual McDonogh Day Paradea public celebration of a plantation owner notable for his benevolent treatment of slavesby educating families about the days heritage. Frystak read this successful boycott, which built biracial coalitions days before the Supreme Court (on paper, at least) desegregated schools nationally, as an example of how mothers mentored their children, teaching the younger generation in the Orleans Parish school system how to successfully challenge white supremacy through organization and protest. Using Susan Stall and Randy Stoeckers 1998 article, Community Organizing or Organizing Community? Gender and the Crafts of Empowerment, Frystak continued in the historiographys tradition of examining how women used family structures to mobilize. Women of color and low-income women expanded the boundaries of mothering and the private sphere beyond the private household; by extending familial networks they expanded community networks, as was the case in the successful PTA boycott which became the foundation for black womens activism. Juxtaposing this boycott with Brown in 1954, Frystak argues that the classic civil rights era is only definable as it made visible decades of incremental change in an era of mass victory, especially for legal cases and legislation. Frystak argues that as early as 1924, women became role models who formed the bedrock for the civil rights movement proper of the 1950s and the 1960s. Although Frystak notes that Louisiana did not colloquially use the term Civil Rights until the 1940s, her analysis indicates that the genesis of the Civil Rights Movement was in the Progressive Era, with the 1909 founding of the NAACP. The women role models who expanded legal precedent in this period provide further evidence for the expanded periodization; they created public sympathy for their cause, and their acts of bravery demonstrated how to resist discrimination in housing, education, voting, employment, and public transportation. Frystak, like Ransby, shows how the NAACP provided funding and framework that allowed women to emerge as Civil Rights leaders in Louisiana. Frystak covers a series of legal campaigns ranging from voting rights, equal pay for black teacher union members, and desegregating transportation in which women active in Progressive Era womens clubs organized, fundraised, and served as case studies to help advance Civil Rights legislation. Frystak notes that while considering women in legal case studies as role models and leaders, historians can find in the manuscript collections for biracial organizations (such as, the NAACP, CORE, the YWCA of New Orleans, and League of Women Voters), scores of early examples of Civil Rights activism by women, which reduces the necessity for oral history. Evans and Frystaks discussions of intergenerational mentorship led to divergent viewpoints on the role that sexism should play in the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement. Frystak identified Sara Evans as the most noteworthy proponent of focusing on sexism in Civil Rights scholarship as she argues that women experienced exclusion and limited participation of traditionally male-headed Civil Rights groups. Evans researched and wrote during Second Wave Feminism, and published in 1979; she placed her use of mentorship within the intergenerational roots of the Womens Liberation Movement in Freedom Summer. The SNCC Position Paper is crucial to Evanss argument, as it directly linked the Civil Rights Movement to Womens Liberation and provided eleven examples of womens relegation to menial work, from clerical tasks to cleaning, teaching, and barring from decision-making. Guided by this crucial source, Evans emphasized the historical significance of gender-segregated labor in the movement. Evanss focus on how Freedom Summer failed as a model for egalitarianism and democratic governance is crucial to the ways movement women recognized their exclusion from publicly representing SNCC in the media or the likelihood that they would teach, type, or sweep. These vestiges of outside societys gender-racial hierarchy influenced procedure within SNCC and helped women recognize their collective oppression in an environment that provided language to articulate their grievances. Comparing the assumption of male superiority to racial paternalism, Evans concludes, the analogy with black oppression worked once again. As prophesized by Hayden and King, the Civil Rights Movement would begin a plodding dialogue around gender in which women would gradually come to understand that this is no more a mans world than it is a white world. Frystak found the Evans focus on gender oppression within the movement to be heavy-handed and minimally productive. It is important to note, however, that since the SNCC Position Paper was created in Mississippi, Frystaks geographically limited Louisiana study allowed her to exclude it from her sources. Frystak opposes Evans analysis, which stressed internal movement sexism. Frystaks project used Louisiana to extend the chronology of the Civil Rights Movement by showing that women had always been leaders and the dominant force in Civil Rights as early as the 1920s. She aligned her research with sociologist M. Bahati Kuumba, whose 2001 study Gender and Social Movements argued that movement cultures are a societal mirror that reflects a gendered division of labor [where] women and men are not only assigned different roles and responsibilities, [but] these positionings are valued differently and placed in rank order. Frystak recognized that the Civil Rights Movement was gendered terrain, which resulted in inequality between men and women in recruitment and work placement. By contrast, Evans focused on the insular world of women activists in which the majority of females operated. Frystak argues that the most important mentors for women activists were their mothers. Loosely aligning herself with Payne, Frystak insists that with each generation, socially aware families raised incrementally more defiant women. This led to an overall shift in tone by women in the 1960s. Frystak suggests that due to family mentorswomen who had been involved in union and club organizingthese activists had been raised by strong, independent women who taught them and encouraged them to question the racial status quo while helping their daughters be less encumbered by their place in a traditionally narrowly defined gender framework. Like Frystak, Danielle L. McGuires At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance: A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power (2010), expanded the chronology of womens Civil Rights activism through an alternative understanding of leadership and family mentors. McGuire rewrote Rosa Parkss political life, highlighting the militancy she and husband Raymond Parks exercised as early as 1932, when they held secret, armed meetings in Montgomery to raise money for the Scottsboro Boys defense fund. As McGuire reveals, from 1943 onward Parks also had the job of investigating and publicizing rape cases while serving as the NAACP Montgomery branch secretary. Using Parks as an access point, McGuires significant intervention shows how sexualized violence and interracial rape were tools of racial oppression and a rallying point for activists. Surprisingly, previous studies have seldom examined or emphasized the role that sexual violence played in the history of womens involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. McGuire argues that between 1940 and 1975, sex became one crucial battleground upon which African Americans sought to destroy white supremacy and gain personal and political autonomy. At the Dark End of the Street extends the timeline of the Civil Rights narrative to 1940 by arguing that all of the major boycotts, sit-ins, and Civil Rights campaignsincluding Little Rock, Macon, Birmingham, Selma, and othershad roots in organized resistance to sexual violence and appeals for protection of black womanhood.” McGuire focuses on the 3 September 1944 gang rape of Recy Taylor; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the 2 May 1959 gang rape of Floridian Betty Jean Owens; the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Case; and the 1975 trial of Joan Little. Using these events, McGuire indicates how family mentors stemming back to Reconstruction taught offspring to reclaim control over their physical bodies by using oral public testimony (both in and out of court) as a form of direct non-violent action against white supremacy. In the 1940s, this tradition became an institutionalized facet of the Civil Rights Movement. McGuire retells the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a campaign for womens dignity; one successfully implemented by women organizers who had been active since the 1940s and had long experienced brutality and racialized sexual violence. McGuire argues that activists who cut their political teeth defending black women like Recy Taylor who were raped by white men in Alabama in the 1940s brought their experiences and organizational insight to other struggles for dignity and justice in the 1950s and 1960s. Leaders like E.D. Nixon, Rosa Parks, and JoAnn Robinson responded to Recys rape by forming the Committee for Equal Justice later reincarnated as the Montgomery Improvement Association); thus they became pillars of the modern Civil Rights Movement. It is curious, given McGuires profoundly useful argument centered around sex, that she portrayed the Montgomery boycott as a movement for dignity due to the perpetual humiliation and intimidation women experienced on transportation. The scores of interracial rapes she chronicles in Alabama (with the exception of Taylors) occurred while women were walking, which gives even more impetus to reclaim public transportation. McGuires focus on sexuality and the intergenerational transference of oral history reanimates Paynes research on Greenwood and Frystaks argument about mothers roles in creating a culture of dissent in McGuires chapter A Black Womans Body Was Never Hers Alone, derived from the motto instilled in Fannie Lou Hamer by family mentors. Hamer, a vocal Mississippi freedom fighter, was the recipient of embodied knowledge passed down from enslaved female ancestors via her grandmother, Liza Bramlett. Bramlett gave birth to twenty-three children; twenty were the product of interracial rape. Hamers mother carried a concealed gun while in the cotton fields to defend both herself and her children from sexually aggressive white men. Although her ancestors did not get vindication, the act of testifying and storytelling forced the recognition of their personhood in a political economy devised to treat women as profitable objects of exchange. Hamer emulated her foremothers and did not shy away from detailing the sexual aspects of her beating, which she told on national television during the 1964 Democratic National Convention. As she was childless, she handed down her stories to movement children she mentored, activists who in turn helped her use testimony in the Civil Rights Movement to counter white supremacistsnarratives of miscegenation, put segregationists on the defensive, and [which finally] helped convince President Lyndon B. Johnson to use the power of the federal government to protect civil rights activists. Ransbys portrayal of Ella Bakers upbringing reveals how elders who had lived during the Reconstruction era used testimony and the transference of storytelling to train grandchildren involved with the Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, McGuire uses Hammers devastating sterilization in 1961 (a practice so common that blacks often called it a Mississippi appendectomy), sexual harassment, and the childhood rape of Endesha Ida Mae Holland (a SNCC worker in Greenwood mentored by both Hamer and Bob Moses), to show how racialized sexual violence infused both Sunflower County and Greenwood, Mississippis Civil Rights organizing. In rural Mississippis dangerous sexually environment, white men used rape and lynching to both physically and psychologically torment men and women. McGuire shows that in addition to Paynes discoveries about womens social networks, racialized and class-based conceptions of gender itself could be a motivating factor for the amount of women between the ages of 30 and 50 who joined the movement, as they were habitually vulnerable to sexual exploitation and were discouraged by men. Black women were subject to a form of violence predicated on racialized understandings of gender and hyper-sexuality, to which their classlargely as uneducated sharecroppers and domesticsleft them chronically exposed. McGuires work reveals s that many of the women who participated in the early Civil Rights Movement recognized that they could testify and speak out on behalf of men who were subjected to racial violence on the pretense of sexual aggression. In her assertion that one of the culminating achievements of Civil Rights Movement and the intergenerational tradition of testimony amongst black women was the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case, McGuire provides a major turning point for Civil Rights historiography focused on genderand for Civil Rights historiography as a whole. The case decriminalized interracial marriage, as it uncoupled institutionalized sexual policing and terror from racial inequality. By identifying this pivotal decision as the concluding chapter in her study of the Movement, McGuire extends the classic milestones of Civil Rights beyond the 1965 National Voting Rights Act. This bookending also rightfully brings the historiography of anti-miscegenation laws closer to the core of Civil Rights historiography. At the Dark End of the Streetargues that sex composed the crux of the Souths gender-racial hierarchy, and that segregation functioned to prevent interracial marriage between white women and black men. Although McGuire does not directly mention this, Martha Hodes, Peggy Pascoe, Renee Romano, and Fay Botham have all argued to varying degrees that fear of amalgamation was consistently mobilized as a political tool in moments of post-emancipation racial progress; advances in the black freedom struggle or individuals economic mobility were often conflated with black male sexual prowess. Romano argued that the fear of interracial marriage steadily increased throughout the first half of the twentieth century, peaking with the desegregation of schools; this contention intersects with McGuires argument in Chapter 7 that southern politicians during the 1950s and 1960s increasingly used the rhetoric of miscegenation to bring white supremacists to the polls. McGuire reiterates that social equality became a euphemism for interracial sexuality, especially during Freedom Summer and the campaign for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The historiography of women in the Civil Rights between 1979 and 2010 has radically proven sociologists’ assertion that looking at women and gender in the Civil Rights Movement would be fertile. While not only producing an abundance of new primary sources in the form of oral history, adding new stories, relationships, and organizational tactics, they provide insight into how men and women experienced the Movement differently, and backdates the Civil Rights Movements origination, largely due to womens leadership efforts. At a minimal, this historiography forces us to recognize the extent to which grassroots female organizing that dates back to the Progressive Era, or arguably Reconstruction, continually challenged ideas about race, gender, and sex handed down from the nineteenth century and the legacy of slavery and emancipation. By looking at intergenerational mentorships, historians gained an understanding of how Suffrage and other women centered movements shaped the ways Civil Rights activists organized and set goalssuch as the use of family structures, boycotts, non-violent resistance, and a continued focus on voters registration. Movement Mamas played a pivotal part in sustaining the oral culture of resistance, cultivating intergenerational mentorships, preserving the tradition of testimony and serving as brave role models while participating in court case studies that laid the legal framework necessary for desegregation. Their participation in and establishment of organizational infrastructures such as the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC proved to be a vital foundation for the post-Brown era of nonviolent resistance. Historians have shown that there is a continued tension between writing about the brutality and oppression women experienced within the movement while arguing for their autonomous strength and leadership. A more nuanced and contextualized explanation for womens (initial) acceptance of Movement roles that did not tend to occupy strategic planning or leadership positions will be helpful. Historians need to integrate the historiography of sexuality, especially the history of anti-miscegenation between Reconstruction and 1967 with Civil Rights Movement scholarship to appreciate the highly sexualized nature of Jim Crow segregation that shaped black womens motivations for activism and the racial ideologies that fueled racial violence. Finally, historians need to challenge their geographic scope by trying to think about how women leaders were working within a local wing of the Civil Rights Movement situated within the international Cold War, anti-colonial, and counter culture movements.

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Design is powerful. The ways that buildings, products, processes, and even services are designed can include or exclude people. This toolkit offers suggestions for rethinking approaches to design and providing services in ways that are more inclusive. In this toolkit, we identify: - Common barriers to accessing mental health services - Ways to improve access through: - Design solutions - Use of technology As you explore these resources, consider this definition of disability that emerges from a social justice perspective of disability and access: In this toolkit, we use the term disability to describe this shared experience of exclusion. This experience is common to people with a wide variety of bodily conditions. People who are deaf, blind, who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices, people with intellectual disabilities, chronic illnesses, dyslexia, and speech-related conditions all share the common experience of being disabled by the design and perspectives of society. When we see disability in this way, we recognize that, as people who design and deliver services and processes, we can be a part of the problem of exclusion or a part of the solution of inclusion. We hope that this toolkit will provide you with the resources you need to create more inclusive mental health services. Barriers are often placed on disabled people due to the misinformation and misperceptions about disability held by those around them. As a result of these problematic perspectives, disabled people experience what is called ableism. Ableism is a type of prejudice and discrimination directed toward people with disabilities. It includes attitudes, beliefs, and practices that demonstrate a preference for being nondisabled. Some of the ways this manifests itself are described below. - Lack of knowledge of civil rights laws: Some service providers may view providing services to disabled people as a charitable act, rather than recognizing that access to the same services that other people take for granted is a civil right—a matter of social justice. - Inaccurate assumptions: Many people tend to make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do based on physical characteristics. These assumptions often lead people to act in ways that do not respect the person's autonomy. For example, a therapist may rely on family members or other service providers for information rather than communicating directly with the person seeking services. Or a service provider may make decisions for the person to "protect" them rather than providing the person with options. - Placing too much value on being non-disabled: People often think that being non-disabled is the preferred state over being disabled (i.e. walking is better than using a chair, speaking is better than ASL, etc). This perspective results in a focus on "fixing" the person rather than on removing the barriers that exist around them. - Mis-location of the barrier: People often assume that the bodily difference is a barrier, rather than recognizing that the problem is that processes, products and services are not designed with that difference in mind. - Unconscious or implicit bias: Biases that lie outside awareness are likely to impact interactions and treatment decisions. - Assuming the bodily difference is the presenting problem: Disabled people often have the experience of working with a therapist who focuses on the bodily difference as the problem, rather than recognizing that it is merely an aspect of the person and that the person is experiencing the same kinds of problems that other people face. Communication includes both face-to-face interactions as well as other ways that information is shared. The ADA specifically addresses communication and requires that communication with people with disabilities be equally effective to that with nondisabled people. Some of the barriers to effective communication are described below. - Inaccessible websites: Mental health agency websites may be inaccessible to people who use various types of assistive technologies. Videos posted on websites may not be captioned or audio described. - Inaccessible printed information: The typical intake process usually requires reading and signing forms. Most mental health agencies do not have these forms in a format that is accessible for people who are blind or those with dyslexia. - Lack of knowledge of video or message relay services: A mental health agency receiving a call from a Deaf person via video or message relay may not be familiar with the process and thus may not respond effectively. - Lack of readiness to provide access services: Deaf people are often denied services by mental health agencies because the agency staff do not realize it is their responsibility to provide sign language interpreters (or other kinds of access services). When there is recognition of their responsibility, the staff still may not have readily available a way to acquire such services upon request, resulting in delays in scheduling an appointment for the Deaf person. - Training in highly verbal therapeutic approaches: Most therapists engage in traditional talk therapy and may not have training that supports their ability to adapt their communication strategies or approaches as needed. - Lack of knowledge of accommodation strategies: Most mental health providers do not have training in or exposure to the kinds of accommodations that might remove barriers to access. - Inaccessibility of supplemental materials: Therapists often assign outside work such as reading or watching videos. These materials may not be available in accessible formats. - Ineffective and inaccessible evaluation and diagnostic tools: Disabled people often experience misdiagnosis due to the limitations of diagnostic tools. They are often not designed to be accessible and/or are normed in ways that make the results inaccurate for some people. In this section on physical barriers we refer to barriers resulting from the design of buildings, parking areas, sidewalks and other aspects of the built environment. - Lack of access to nearby public transportation: For some, public transportation is the only accessible transportation available. When services are difficult to reach with public transportation, this can present a barrier. - Inaccessible offices: Buildings housing mental health and related services may not be accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Restrooms are often not accessible. - Inaccessible office layout: Even when buildings themselves are built to meet ADA standards, individual therapists' offices may be configured in a way that makes it difficult or awkward for people who are wheelchair users to get in and out or position themselves in a comfortable way with the office space. - Inaccessible residential service facilities and housing: Programs that provide residential treatment are sometimes located in facilities that are not accessible to people who are wheelchair users or mobility devices. The focus of this section is on how policies or typical procedures may result in lack of access. - Policies that exclude: Some mental health providers mistakenly assume that they can deny services to disabled people due to the lack of expertise of staff, lack of funds for providing accommodations, or inaccessibility of their facility. - Lack of policies in place to facilitate access: People with disabilities may experience delays because those taking their requests for appointments are unaware of the process for providing access. - Lack of flexibility in appointment times and length: Since accommodated communication may take longer, it stands to reason that a longer appointment time would provide equal access to the therapeutic services, yet this flexibility is not always extended. - Lack of opportunity to connect with peers in group or psychosocial programs: In many therapeutic programs, interaction with and learning from peers is a major component of the therapeutic process. If accommodations are only provided during formal sessions, participants may miss out on critical aspects of the program. - Lack of access to community support programs: Many therapists refer people to community programs such as 12-step programs or grief support groups. These programs often are housed in inaccessible locations, do not provide accommodations, and those participating in and facilitating the programs may be prone to similar biases as discussed above. Creating an inclusive environment means that, to the extent possible, service providers take a proactive approach to providing access. This section will focus on changes that can be made proactively to remove the barriers identified in the previous section. - Disabled people deserve our pity. - People with disabilities are needy and require more time and attention than others. - Accommodations are expensive. - Disabled people are inspirational. Some people also tend to ascribe other stereotypes, making assumptions that all people with a specific condition are likely to be similar. Another societal response to disability is to doubt the existence of certain conditions, especially those that are not apparent such as a learning disability. It's important that mental health providers confront the biases that arise from growing up in a society where these perceptions are dominant. The ideas in the videos below challenge dominant perceptions of disability: It is also critical that all staff are aware that disabled people have a right to access services under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The following resources provide guidance on ensuring services are accessible: - Accessible Health Care [New Window] - Additional ADA Resources [New Window] - National Deaf Center: Mental Health Services Tip Sheet (PDF) [New Window] Consider inviting disability activists to present at your in-service training. When available, attend sessions that challenge perceptions of disability at professional conferences. Arkansas mental health providers are invited to contact the staff of the University of Arkansas - Partners for Inclusive Communities to present an in-service workshop. Contact information is available at the bottom of this page. As mentioned above, communication refers to face-to-face interactions as well as all of the other ways that information is exchanged. The ADA requires that businesses provide equally effective communication to people with vision, hearing and speech disabilities. In this section, we start with how people might learn about your services and then move into communication that occurs once services are initiated. Before people can access your services, they need to locate and learn about them. This may happen by calling the office or going to your website. To provide proactive access by phone and website, there are several things to consider. Access by Phone Deaf and hard of hearing people and people with speech-related conditions may use a telecommunications relay service to contact you by phone. The caller calls the relay service to request that the call be made. The communication assistant calls the other party and relays the message between the two parties. There are four types of relay services: - Text-to-Voice Relay Service (TRS): The caller calls a service using a TTY and types a message. The communication assistant (CA) reads the message to the other party and types what is spoken back to the caller. - Video Relay Service (VRS): A deaf caller who is an American Sign Language (ASL) user calls the relay service using a computer or video conferencing equipment. A sign language interpreter makes the call to the other party and voices what the deaf caller signs. The interpreter then signs back to the deaf caller what the speaker says. - Voice Carry Over (VCO): Callers who are deaf or hard of hearing but prefer to use their own voice can make the call and speak directly to the other party. What the other party says is typed and sent via text by the CA. - Speech-to-Speech Relay Service (STS Relay): The CAs providing this service are skilled in understanding people with speech-related conditions, listening to their message and re-voicing it for the other party. A deaf or hard of hearing person may also make a call using an interpreter that is in the same room with them. And a person with a speech-related disability may also call directly. It's important that those who answer the phones: - Understand that they may receive calls from these relay services and that they should not rush to hang up if there is a slight delay in response while the CA waits for the caller's response. - Recognize that speaking to the communication assistant does not violate confidentiality or HIPPA laws. The CA is bound by strict confidentiality rules. - Speak directly to the person who is calling rather than saying "tell her..." - Be prepared to respond to callers that may be difficult to understand and take the time necessary to understand the caller. More often, people who want to know about your services are likely to search the Internet and find your website. There are aspects of website design than can render the site inaccessible. Here are just a few things to consider to make sure your website is accessible. - Make sure that the site can be navigated using the keyboard alone (without a mouse). - Provide alternative text descriptions for images on the site. - Make sure that any documents provided on your website are accessible. - If you provide educational or orientation videos, make sure they are captioned and provide a transcript. Learn more about web accessibility: When someone initiates mental health services, there are typically several forms that are processed. One way to provide proactive access is to make sure that the commonly used forms, brochures and information sheets are available in accessible digital format. This will allow people who are blind, have low vision, or have learning disabilities to access these materials using assistive technology. Learn more about making your documents accessible: Readiness to Provide Access Services In order to avoid delays that may result when someone requests a sign language interpreter or other communication access services, it is important to have contact information for qualified service providers ready and available to appointment schedulers. These individuals also need to be made aware of and comfortable with the process of requesting and scheduling these service providers. In Arkansas, there are three interpreter referral agencies* that coordinate access services: - Communication Plus: 501-224-2521 - Communicating Hands: 501-374-5293 - Sign Language Interpreter Network of Northwest Arkansas: 479-268-2417 or email@example.com If you are outside of Arkansas, you can find an interpreter referral agency in your area by using the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Interpreter Agency/Referral Service search tool. If you are unable to locate a service using that tool, you may also contact your state school for the deaf or state vocational rehabilitation office. They will likely be able to connect you with an interpreter referral agency in your state. *Our purpose is not to promote a specific business. If you know of other interpreter referral agencies within Arkansas, please send a message to Melanie Thornton at firstname.lastname@example.org. When access is not achieved proactively through design of a product, process or service, individual accommodations provide an alternative means to achieve access. The ADA requires that businesses provide "reasonable modifications" and "auxiliary aids" when necessary so that everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from services and participate in programs. "Reasonable modification" and "auxiliary aids" can include: - Provision of access services such as a sign language interpreter - A modification of a typical process or procedure - A modification of a format - Use of communication tools and technologies to remove barriers to or enhance communication We have created a separate section focused on use of technology. Here we focus on the first three categories of accommodations listed above. These suggestions are not meant to be exhaustive. Accommodations should not be viewed as a laundry list of options or as formulaic but as solutions that remove barriers to access. Often the best solutions are suggested by the individual or arise out of a creative, interactive process between a service provider and the disabled person. - Sign Language Interpreters: People who are deaf or hard of hearing may use sign language as their preferred mode of communication. If the therapist is not fluent in sign language, a sign language interpreter facilitates access between the deaf or hard of hearing person and the therapist. - Sign Language Interpreters-Tactile or Close Proximity: People who are DeafBlind may use sign language as their preferred mode of communication. If the therapist is not fluent in sign language, a sign language interpreter facilitates access between the DeafBlind person and the therapist, either by signing in the DeafBlind person's hands or sitting very close and signing in the case of someone with low vision. - Oral Interpreters: Some people who are deaf communicate using speech and speech reading. When the deaf person has difficulty speech reading the therapist or other service provider, an oral interpreter may be provided to mouth the words that are being spoken in order to bridge that communication gap. - Speech-to-Text Providers: A speech-to-text provider facilitates communication access by typing what the therapist says so that the deaf person can read the text. - Re-voicers: When a client has a speech-related condition, and the therapist is unable to understand the person's speech, a person who is skilled at understanding that person's speech may re-voice what they say for the therapist. A re-voicer may also be used when a person is using a communication aid to communicate. In this case, the re-voicer speaks the message as the person expresses it using the technology. Considerations for choosing sign language interpreters: - Access service providers working in the mental health setting should have the highest level of credentials. - Using a family member or non-certified person who is able to sign as an interpreter is unethical and in states that have licensure laws (like Arkansas), illegal. - The interpreter referral agency can assist in making sure that the interpreter has the appropriate level of certification. - Certified interpreters are bound by a code of professional conduct which includes a commitment to confidentiality. - In the event that no interpreters are available in your area, there are also agencies that provide remote interpreting using video conferencing technology. This should be a back-up plan rather than the first choice. Considerations when choosing other access service providers: - The term speech-to-text services refers to three primary systems: Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), C-Print®, and TypeWell. - Certification levels exist for CART providers. - C-Print and Typewell providers complete a course that provides a certificate. Referral agencies will likely be able to ensure that the person has the skills necessary to perform the role for your agency. - There is no certification for re-voicers. When hiring a re-voicer, getting the client's recommendations and/or checking references are ways to ensure the professionalism of the service provider. - There is currently no pathway to certification on a national level for oral interpreters. Some may hold certifications from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf from previous years. In some states credentials for oral interpreters are offered on the state level. Using a communication access provider: - Make sure the seating configuration works to facilitate good access. - Speak naturally and directly to the person, not to the access provider. - Remember that the role of the access provider is to facilitate communication, not to assist the person. - Remember that the access provider will translate everything that is said when the deaf person is present. - National Deaf Center: Sign Language Interpreters: An Introduction (PDF) [New Window] - National Deaf Center: Hiring Qualified Interpreters (PDF) [New Window] - National Deaf Center: Sign Language Interpreters: An Introduction (PDF) [New Window] - National Deaf Center: Hiring Qualified Speech to Text Providers (PDF) [New Window] - Increased appointment length: If communication between the therapist and the client takes longer than is typical, it follows that a longer appointment time than the usual 45 to 60 minutes may be necessary in order to provide an equitable experience. - Meeting in an accessible location: If the mental health clinic is inaccessible, providing treatment services in another accessible location would be considered a reasonable accommodation. It's important to take into consideration that the location needs to provide the same level of respect for privacy as the office environment. - Access to forms: When the forms that have to be completed by a new client, for example, present a barrier, a reasonable accommodation would be to provide access through the provision of a reader, the use of assistive technology, or a modification of the form to make it more accessible. - Flexibility with and modification of therapeutic interventions: Occasionally the nature of a therapeutic intervention may present barriers. It will be important to think through the aspects of the therapeutic process and consider how to modify certain interventions or if there are others that would be more effective. For example, visualization activities where therapists use their voices to set a certain mood will be less effective with someone who doesn't hear the voice. Visualization activities can still be used, but they may need to be modified by teaching the strategy and allowing the person to do the visualization on their own or by using a relaxing video to set the tone between instructions. - Ensuring supplemental materials are accessible: Before assigning readings or suggesting videos to watch, make sure they will be accessible to the client. If not, a reasonable accommodation would be to create an accessible version or to suggest a similar alternative that is accessible. - Assessment and evaluation: The intersection of assessment and disability is a complex one that could require its own toolkit. In short, it's important to be aware that standardized assessments may not provide a valid picture of the person being tested if there are barriers inherent in the assessment's design. Some examples of typical barriers are: - A timed assessment scores a young man lower because he doesn't finish when the slower completion rate is due to a motor-related condition. - An assessment with elements that are purely visual and even when described verbally place a blind person at a disadvantage. - An assessment that includes figures of speech that would not be familiar to someone for whom English is not their first language—as in the case of a native sign language user. In such situations the evaluator will need to determine whether to provide an accommodation or eliminate the use of the instrument all together and identify alternative options. Technology provides solutions to a multitude of persistent barriers to access and has changed the design landscape. To recognize the difference that technology makes, consider this question: What if Stephen Hawking had been born before the computer technology were available that gave him the tools to communicate and record his ideas?We have chosen to provide a separate section focused on technology because technological solutions can be both design solutions and accommodations and there is quite a bit to cover related to technology. Generally, when discussing technology that removes barriers, the term assistive technology is used. Yet many of the technologies that accomplish the removal of barriers are used by non-disabled people as well. We also recognize that many mainstream technologies started out as access solutions before moving into the mainstream. Barrier removal, in fact, might be considered a propeller of innovation for technology. The line between what might be considered assistive technology and what is just technology is definitely not a solid line. We prefer, therefore, to simply address the topic of technology and how it can be used to solve access barriers. We will focus our discussion of technology on items or products that can be used to remove or reduce barriers to face-to-face communication. We will include items that are high tech or low tech and in between. The examples we provide are not intended to be exhaustive by any means. Where specific products are mentioned, it is not our intention to promote those products but to be concrete enough that the reader can find a product when needed. Spoken language may present a barrier when communication is taking place between a therapist and someone who is D/deaf or hard of hearing, DeafBlind, and or who has a condition that affects auditory processing. Possible solutions include: - Amplifying or increasing clarity of speech - Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) - Hearing Enhancement Apps - Use of an alternate form of communication - Two-Way Text Communication Devices and Apps - Alternative Communication Apps and Devices Note: None of the technology solutions described should be seen as alternatives to providing access services such as interpreters or CART providers when those are requested, but may be the preferred options for some and may be short-term solutions when access service providers are not available. The term Assistive Listening System (ALS) refers to a variety of systems that are used to amplify sound and reduce barriers that result from distance and extraneous noise. These systems vary from large systems in an auditorium to more personalized units.This technology can be used in conjunction with or without a hearing aid. For most therapy situations, the three types of systems that might be considered are: - FM Systems - Infrared Systems (IR) - Personal Amplifiers With both FM and IR systems, the speaker wears a clip-on mic that is connected to a transmitter. The listener wears a receiver that translates the signal and delivers it by way of the person's hearing aid or headphones. FM systems are preferred in situations where there is greater distance between the speaker and the listener, when the speaker is moving around and when there may be objects between the speaker and the listener. Infrared systems are preferred in situations where privacy is of utmost concern (since the signal cannot pass through walls) and when there is a direct line of sight between the two transmitter and receiver. When two people are communicating and can sit near each other, a personal amplifier may also be adequate. With these devices, the microphone and the receiver are both in the single device. The user points the microphone toward the speaker. Hearing aids are expensive and not everyone who needs a hearing aid is able to afford one. For people in this situation, hearing enhancement apps can provide a helpful alternative. These apps are available on Android and iOS devices. The user will need to spend a few minutes going through a "hearing test" to get the settings correct. After that, with earbuds connected to the device, the speaker's voice is directed and amplified to the listener. One example of such an app is Petralex. It is available at no cost for both Android and iOS devices. Two-Way Text Communication solutions provide options when spoken communication is a barrier both expressively and receptively. That is, both parties need to communicate via text. This would be most common when one person is D/deaf or hard of hearing and the other person does not know sign language. These technologies could also be classified as alternative communication but are separated out because of the fact that they resolve barriers to two-way communication. Writing notes back and forth would be considered a low tech solution when spoken language presents a barrier. With technology being more available, most people have put away the pen and paper begun to use computer and tablet technology to communicate. Here we introduce several two-way text solutions. FireChat App: A free app available on both Android and iOS devices. It allows two people to chat with each other in the same room by setting up chat profiles and connecting without using personal email or social networking accounts. There are other similar apps that are available for iOS only or Android only. This was the only app we found that was available on both. Flipwriter AAC: Currently available only on iOS devices, this app sells for approximately $50. One user types a message and it is displayed both for the user and outward-facing for the other person. Tap the message, and it reads it aloud (Text-to-Speech). Tap a microphone and the other person can respond by voice. The app translates the speech to text (though accuracy will vary and always needs to be monitored). The app also allows the user to store commonly used phrases. sComm Ubiduo: A high-end device, this product sells for $2000 and up. Two keyboards and screens are connected either wirelessly or wired and allow users to sit across from each other and type messages back and forth. The two pieces fit nicely together for traveling. Laptop or computer: Another simple solution would be to simply sit together in front of a computer screen and take turns typing back and forth. Though, with this set up, seeing facial expressions is difficult. Text-Based Systems: Text-based alternative communication applications may be on a computer, a stand-alone device or a tablet. Text input can be through a combination of typing and pointing to commonly used words and phrases. If typing or pointing with one's fingers is not possible, then a person may use alternative input devices such as an eye tracker, a mouth stick or a pointing device. Typically, the person inputs the phrase or sentence, then initiates the text-to-speech function so that the message is delivered by a synthesized voice. If a client doesn't already have access to a device, there are many low-cost apps that could be used in a therapy session. A few examples of these apps are ClaroCom (iOS, free or $16.99 for pro version), Verbally (iOS, $99), and Speech Assistant (Android, free). Picture-Based Systems: For children and adults who are not strong readers, a picture-based communication application may work best. These also may exist as a software application on a computer, a stand-alone device or an app on a tablet. A few examples include Avaz (iOS or Android, $40), Proloquo2Go (iOS, $250), and Sounding Board (iOS, free). The more sophisticated apps allow users to upload their own photos and images. Story Board Apps: Visual storytelling applications provide a way to communicate about a series of events that have taken place. Pictello (iOS, $18) is one example of an app that could be used to create a description of an experience that happened outside the therapy session, for example. Telehealth technology can provide access to mental health services for people who might face barriers with transportation or mobility, allowing them to connect to services remotely. At the same time, these technologies may also present barriers for others. When the COVID-19 outbreak forced providers to move all mental health services online, it became clear that some people did not have access to a reliable internet connection or to a device to allow them to continue their therapy sessions online. This points to the reality of the digital divide that exists. This move to providing services remotely also resulted in barriers for some people with disabilities. Planning ahead and providing access services can reduce these barriers. Choosing an Accessible Platform These questions will help you determine what platform will be most accessible. - Does the company that created the platform have information about accessibility? - Do they provide keyboard shortcuts? - Does the platform allow for captioning to be provided and/or includes a chat tool? - Does the platform have a chat feature for communicating during the session? - Does the platform allow for more than one video so that an interpreter can be added to the session? - Is the platform simple and intuitive for the client to use? Providing Communication Access Providing ASL Interpreters If a deaf client needs an interpreter, you will need to be able to provide access to an interpreter through the platform. If you have been using an interpreter for face to face sessions and change to providing therapy remotely, see if the interpreter you have been using can continue to provide services for you and your client. That will offer the best continuation of services. If for some reason the interpreter is not ablate do so, check with the interpreter referral agency you used to see if they have a recommendation. There are also companies that specialize in providing video remote interpreting (VRI) if your local providers do not have the equipment to do so. While talking to a client through telehealth or video conferencing technology does not require a lot of bandwidth, following an interpreter does. A client who is Deaf will need to have a good stable internet connection to follow the interpreter. Interruptions to the video feed can disrupt communication. Providing Access Through Captioning A hard of hearing client who was able to speech read you in person may have more difficulty doing so when using this technology. Real-time captions may need to be provided even if they were not needed in person. Check with your local interpreter referral agency to see if they can provide real-time captioning. If not, again, there are companies that specialize in doing so. If you are using a platform that has a chat feature and it is only you and your client in the session, they client may prefer that you simply type your message to them in the chat box and they respond by speaking. Providing Practice Sessions Clients who are new to connecting online in this way may benefit from having a practice session before the actual session. You might want to consider, if possible, having a staff member set up a session with the client in advance so they know what to expect and can make sure everything is working properly. This could be helpful also to people who use assistive technology. If you need additional information on this topic or would like to schedule training, please contact Melanie Thornton, Coordinator of Access and Equity Outreach at email@example.com for more information. Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center Learn Now Modules: The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center offers free easy-to-read online learning modules for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their family members, and their supporters, to learn more about mental health. There are also modules for mental health professionals, so they can better serve people with IDD.

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The word civilisation refers to an advanced and organised group of people or a society living at a place for a particular time. When we talk about ancient cultures, religions, political systems or family systems then one of the most organised, attractive and advanced civilisations, Egypt Civilisation. The Egypt civilisation developed along the River Nile in northeast Africa. The fertile soil and annual flooding of river water is one of the reasons in developing ancient Egypt civilisation there. Nile River played a vital role in developing agricultural and irrigation system at that time. The Egypt civilisation ruled for almost 30 centuries, from 3100 BC to 332 BC. This was a powerful and advanced civilisation of the history. They amazingly managed transportation, building materials, food, and many other things. The art and craft shows cultural values, daily life and routine. of the ancient Egypt. Timeline of the Ancient Egypt There are two types or ways to understand the history of the ancient Egyptians. The first way is by dynasties and the second one is by kingdom and periods. The word dynasty, commonly defined as “a succession of people from the same family who play a prominent role in business, politics, or another field.” The timeline of Egypt history can be first described by dynasties that ruled for 30 centuries. Family members passed the both religious and political power of the Pharaohs to the specific other family members. For 3000 years of Egypt history almost 30 dynasties ruled over ancient Egypt. The dynasties has following divisions to understand history of the ancient Egypt: - Early Dynastic Period (2950 -2575 BC) – Dynasties I-III - Old Kingdom (2575-2150 BC) – Dynasties IV-VIII - First Intermediate Period (2150-1975 BC) Dynasties IX-XI - Middle Kingdom (1975-1640 BC) Dynasties XI-XIV - Second Intermediate Period (1640-1520 BC) Dynasties XV-XVII - New Kingdom (1520-1075 BC) Dynasties XVIII-XX - Third Intermediate Period (1075 – 653 BC) Dynasties XXI-XXIV - Late Period (653 – 332 BC) Dynasties XXV-XXX - Ptolemaic dynasty Kingdoms and Periods Three basic kingdoms; the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom. After each kingdom there is an “intermediate” period. The old kingdom was considered as best time of Egypt history. Egyptians enjoyed a strong central government and a powerful economy over 400 years. The Egypt had many states, named as nomes. Every state had its own governor named nomarch who was responsible to report about every state affair to the Pharaoh. The state religion and political head, known as the Pharaoh. Vizir was at the second in hierarchy, they were responsible for running and reporting daily affairs to the great pharaoh. The old kingdom lasted from 2575 BC to 2150 BC. They built first pyramid during this time period. This kingdom was famous for building pyramids. Egyptians were economically strong enough to built Pyramid of Djoser, and the largest pyramid, the Great Pyramids at Giza during old kingdom. The Middle Kingdom is the second kingdom of Egypt history. This lasted from 1975 BC to 1640 BC. Single religious and political king ruled Egypt after facing political and central government fall of 150 years. The tenth dynasty ruled north Egypt and the eleventh dynasty ruled south Egypt during first intermediate Period. The King of Eleventh dynasty Mentuhotep II planned an attack on northern Egypt. This attack brought whole Egypt under one flag. Mentuhotep II became king of Egypt. Middle Kingdom, actually started after this time according to the historians. The Middle Kingdom, sometimes referred to as Egypt’s Classical Age or The Period of Reunification. Mentuhotep II gave all powers to the Pharaoh again, he set him as god of religion and politics. He himself ruled for 51 years as king of Egypt. Pharaoh Amenemhat III was the pharaoh of twelfth dynasty, he is memorable in history of Egypt, he ruled for almost 45 years. He played a vital role in establishing economic roots of Egypt. The twelfth dynasty did a great job in forming a strong army. The army was responsible for protecting borders of Egypt from foreigner forces. The New Kingdom, also known as the golden age of Egypt civilisation. It lasted from 1520 BC to 1075 BC. Egyptians were wealthy, politically strong and prosperous during this time. Ahmose I was a ten year old boy, he became king of Lower Egypt. He conquered northern Egypt from foreigner powers. Hyksos were ruling Egypt at that time. Egyptian Empire defeated a range of lands to its south and east. Kush and Nubia to the south and Israel, Syria and Lebanon to the east. Egyptians started trading with other nations and countries during the New Kingdom. They used gold mines of Nubia to earn money. Ramses II built the famous Abu Simbel temple during the New Kingdom. There were eleven pharaohs who had the name Ramesses or Ramses during the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties. The period sometimes called as the Ramesside period. Thutmose III, also known as Napoleon of Egypt. Egypt was at its largest during rule of this king. Hatshepsut is few of females who ruled over Egypt. She ruled for almost 20 years. Tutankhamun’s tomb, found in Valley of Kings. A lot of treasure, art work of his time and his mummy found in tomb. Akhenaten was famous for introducing a new god to Egyptians. The name of that god was Aten, he built a new capital city named Amarna in the honor of Aten. These are some of the famous Pharaohs of the New Kingdom. Culture of the Ancient Egypt The ancient Egypt civilisation is full of colourful cultural values and roots. It’s a deep sea of information to learn about ancient Egyptians. Life during ancient Egypt was considered so perfect, in fact, that the Egyptian afterlife was imagined as an eternal continuation of life on earth. Daily life of the ancient Egyptians Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile and the fertile land along its banks. The concept of harmony and balance was central to the Egyptians understanding of life. Egyptians of all social classes valued life and enjoyed themselves as often as they could. The children generally followed the occupation of their parents, usually the father. Women had almost equal rights to men in the ancient Egypt. No other civilisation of history could give that much equal rights to women as ancient Egyptians had given. They could run their own businesses, buy or sell their land, and their homes, could take divorce, have abortions, and dispose of their own property as they saw fit; this was a level of sexual equality. Marriages in the ancient Egypt believed as a religious affair. Parents of all classes, rich or elite arranged marriages of their children. Girls were usually married around the age of 12 and boys around age of 15. The bread was main food item of the ancient Egyptians. Fruits, vegetables, goats and lambs, were also included in food. Meat was very expensive, and usually only royalty could afford it. The barley beer was the common drink at that time. The ancient Egyptians were very particular not only about their dressing but about cleanliness as well. Both men and women took bath daily. They used perfumes and wore makeup to look presentable. They wore simple clothes, the hot climatic conditions did not favour them to wear variety of clothes. Plane white linen was the common dressing of people of ancient Egypt. Farmers grew flax plant to woven clothes. Working Men wore a short skirt like kilt of white linen. A rectangular shaped cloth, used to made kilts. It was wrapped with a belt on waist. Wealthy men wore knee-length shirts, loincloths or kilts. Working women wore long full length dress. Rich or Elite Women wore long full length dress decorated with beads or jewellery. High ranking priests and the Pharaohs sometimes wore leopard skin cloaks over their shoulders. The Egyptians considered the leopard an sacred animal. Children didn’t wear any clothing until they turned six years old. Although the dressing of ancient Egyptians was very simple but the jewellery was amazingly mind blowing. Both men and women wore jewellery. They decked the statues of gods and kings with lavish jewels. The ancient Egyptians used bracelets, earrings, armbands, neck collars, anklets, rings and necklace. The jewellery of rich people had Precious stones, precious metals and glass beads. Clay, stone, animal teeth and bones were used by poorer people to made jewellery for them. The jewellery was not only a fashion symbol but it was considered helpful against evil powers. They loved jewellery designed with scrolls, tigers, scarab beetles, winged birds, jackals, antelopes, and tigers. They used armbands from protection against evils. The neck collar was famous in elite class. Parents also had their children wear charms and amulets to protect them. They put charms with dead bodies to help them in afterlife. The crown of king and queens, gods and goddess were also decorated with snake shaped design. They believed that the snake will spit in evil eyes to protect them. The ancient Egyptians considered makeup as a symbol of holiness. They linked cosmetics with spiritual importance. Both men and women wore makeup. They carry their makeup cases with them. Some of the most important makeup items are: - Malachite; a copper ore, provided the green eye makeup colour. - Kohl; used to draw thick, distinctive black lines, giving an almond shape to the eyes. - Red ochre; used as lip colour. - Henna; used to paint their fingertips and toes. - Oils and perfumes were of great importance for the ancient Egyptians. - They coloured their cheeks with red ochre. Hair and Wigs The hair styles vary time to time. Women of old kingdom usually wore short hair. After that the long hair was in trend. The men normally had short hair cut or shave their head. The wigs were in fashion too. The wealthy people wore wigs to show their richness by decorating them with stones, feathers and beads. The Pharaohs kept their faces and head clean shaven, but they also wore fake beards for religious festivals or other purposes. Even the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut wore a fake beard while she ruled. The rich people wore sandals made of leather and the poor wore sandals made from woven grass. There are many different jobs which Egyptians did some of them are: As the ancient Egypt civilization was around the Nile river so they had fertile soil. Many people had occupation of farming at that time. They grew barley to make beer, wheat for bread, vegetables such as onions and cucumbers, and flax to make into linen. To keep record of different activities painting, sculpturing, wooden work was very common. The hard work and skills of a craftsman was key to success. The carpenter, weavers, jewelers, leather workers, and potters all were very skilled people. The Egyptian army had a well defined hierarchy. It was an honor to become a soldier. They also help in governmental affairs. Those who can write or read are known as scribes. Only the elite class or children of priests could become scribes at that time. It was long and time taking training. Priests and Priestesses They were responsible for the temples and held religious ceremonies. Priests could be male or female. Most of the villagers lived in small houses made of mud bricks.They painted their houses. Flat roofs of the houses were helpful and used to sleep during summer nights. King and his close ones lived in well decorated and luxurious place. Scribes lived in or the temples. Art and Craft Art and craft had a great importance in the history of ancient Egypt. Actually art is the main source to know about the ancient Egypt civilisation. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories and architecture. Their art changed very little over 3000 years. The ancient Egyptians made sculptures, most of the time they made for religious purposes, for decoration of the Pharaohs’ tombs and temples. The famous huge sized sculptures like the Great Sphinx of Giza and the statues of Ramses II at Abu Simbel temple found there . They used solid gold to made sculptures of their Pharaohs and other religious leaders. They made beautiful sculptures with stones and beads. The ancient Egyptians were fond of paintings. They used both sculptures and paintings to decorate their temples and tombs. Commonly used colours were red, blue, white, black, golden and green. The walls show paintings of different animals and birds, crop harvests, wine making, cattle herding, stone vessel carving and hunting. The Mayor of Thebes, Ramose, his tomb is the classic example of Egyptians paintings. The dry weather of Egypt helped to keep the paintings saved for a long time. In many cases, a final coating of protective material applied over the colour to seal out dampness. The ancient Egyptians contributed many new forms to architecture like columns, pylons and at least three kinds of decoration. The Great Pyramid and Karnak’s Temple are one of the examples of architectural achievements of Egypt civilisation. The coffins were of great importance for people at that time. The labours decorated them with their hard work. They made coffins of wealthy people with wood import from other countries. Furniture was also carved with that wood. Entertainment and Games The ancient Egyptians were very lively and joyful. They loved to celebrate festivals and functions. Not only the rich and wealthy people liked to entertain themselves but the poor were also enjoyed games and fun activities. The famous mind games of the ancient Egyptians were Senet and Mehen. Two board games were played. Senet is almost 5000 years old and it was played by the Pharaohs as the game was buried by many the Pharaoh. Mehen is played on a round board. Sports and Physical Activities As the ancient Egyptians were blessed with Nile River near them so most of the physical activities and festivals were related to swimming and agriculture. The ancient Egyptians were very good swimmers. Chariot racing helped to hone the skills of chariot drivers. Wrestling was also a common game at that time. Young boys showed interest in these kinds of games. Archery contests helped warriors improve their accuracy with the bow and arrow. Hunting was not the only source to get food but it was also a leisure time pass by elite class. They arranged hunting for fun and entertainment. Festivals and Parties The wealthy people held parties for friends and family members. Musicians and dancers were also part of these parties to entertain guests. The ancient Egyptians enjoyed many festivals, most of them were celebrated in honour of their gods. Some of the festivals are: - Wepet Renpet; meaning the opener of the year. The new year celebrations are named as Wepet Renpet. - The Festival of Opet; this festival lasts after three days, it is celebrated in honour of three gods. - Feast of Wagy; associated with the festival of Thoth. - Festival of Khoiak. Most of the Egyptians did not know how to write and read. The storytelling was an form of art at that time. People used to listen to others very carefully about things they do not know. One of the example of storytelling is the King Khufu, he entertained his sons by telling them about stories from past. Activities for Kids Kids were encouraged to play games that developed strength and agility. They played with marbles, balls, spinning tops and toy lions etc. Hieroglyphics is the formal writing system used in the ancient Egypt. We know more about Egyptian society than most other ancient cultures. Hieroglyphs were called, by the Egyptians, the words of God and were used mainly by the priests. The symbols were used for decorating the walls of temples but for conducting daily activities there was another way, known as hieratic. This was a handwriting in which the picture signs were abbreviated to the point of abstraction. Hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns and can be read from left to right or from right to left or top to bottom. Types of Hieroglyphics Signs It’s a very complicated way of writing involving 1000s of symbols. These signs are divided into four categories: - Alphabetic signs - Syllabic signs - Word signs The reading and writing was not common for poor people.Only the kids of priests and rich people could learn how to read and write. It took a long time to learn hieroglyphs. The people who trained to write were called scribes. The ancient Egypt mostly wrote on walls or stones but that was not the only way they used. Papyrus is a tall reed like plant which was used by the ancient Egyptians to write. The stem of the plant was used to make paper, they first put a strip vertical and then a horizontal strip on it, these strips were covered with a linen cloth and then put under a stone or some heavy object. Then a sheet like paper would make by binding strips together. Without the Rosetta stone, we would know nothing of the ancient Egyptians, and the details of their three thousand years of history would remain a mystery. The Rosetta stone is written in two languages; Egyptian and Greek and three writing systems; hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. It was discovered by a French captain named Pierre Bouchard in AD 1799, during the Napoleonic wars. Major god and goddess Religion played a vital role in the history of the ancient Egyptians. Some the well known god and goddess are: - Ra; was the sun god. It was believed that he created all forms of life and the ruler of the gods. - Isis; was the mother goddess. She was believed to help and protect in time of grief. - Osiris; was the god of dead. He was ruler of afterlife and husband of goddess Isis. - Horus; was the god of sky. He was son of goddess Isis and god Osiris. The Pharaohs were believed to be the living version of god Horus. - Thoth; was the god of knowledge and the moon. The knowledge of writing, medicine, and mathematics was a blessing of god Thoth. Egyptian Mummies and Pyramids They used process of mummification to bury their Pharaohs, religious leaders, priests or other powerful personalities. They believed on two things about life and death, the life, named as Ka; the body and the afterlife, named as Ba; the soul. They preserved body so both the Ka and Ba will meet each other again in afterlife. This is the best way to keep a dead body preserved for a long time. The key component to preserve the body, is reunion. The Egyptians used the embalming process, or mummification, to preserve the dead. They decorated coffin of a dead body with paintings, pictures and writings. As the ancient Egyptians believed afterlife so all the necessary things were there for the dead body. Mummies, buried with scrolls called the book of the dead, which explained how to go through the underworld and what spells and chants to use. The process of mummifying and burying a body, believed to help the person travel successfully through the underworld, which would get them to the afterlife and the god Osiris, who was king of the underworld. Canopic jars, used to keep internal organs of a dead body preserved for afterlife. It was an expensive way of burying a dead body, so only people who could afford it were mummified. Estimated two months required to make mummy. Mummies of animals such as cats, dogs and even bulls and crocodiles also found there. These type of animals are mummified to please their gods. Why did they build the pyramids? They built pyramids to bury the Pharaohs, the ancient Egyptians considered them their gods so it was a part of religious belief to keep all sorts of items and treasure that they may need to survive in the afterlife. Pyramids took a long time to build, so work would start on them while the pharaoh was still alive. There were different chambers that held things for the king . Pyramids also included shafts that pointed upwards, so the soul could escape. The Pharaoh in Egyptian Society Egypt enjoyed tremendous economic prosperity and stability. The pharaohs; the kings and queens of Egypt, were gods for the ancient Egyptians. Somewhere in between human and divine, they believed to chosen by the gods themselves to serve as their mediators on earth. The Pharaohs wore a crown that had an image of the cobra goddess. Some of the famous Pharaohs of the ancient Egypt are: - Djoser; the most famous third dynasty Pharaoh. He built the famous step pyramid at Saqqara. - Khufu; a fourth dynasty Pharaoh. He had the Great Pyramid at Giza built, one of the seven wonders of the world. - Hatshepsut; she was the wife of Thutmose II. She took to the role of pharaoh and proved an accomplished ruler. - Thutmose III; he never lost a battle. Some Egyptologists refer to him as the Napoleon of Egypt. - Amenhotep III; he largely presided over a peaceful and prosperous Egypt. - Akhenaten; was famous for saying there was only one god, the sun god. He ruled with his wife, Nefertiti. - Tutankhamun; he became king at the age of 9 only. - Ramses II; he was a very successful pharaoh. He helped Egypt prosper, and ruled for a long time. - Cleopatra; the last pharaoh, and known for being very beautiful and very smart. Types of pyramids The ancient Egyptians used their knowledge of math to shape well and position properly, the pyramids. Two main types of pyramids are: - Bent Pyramid; pyramids, which looked like a staircase with different levels. - Red Pyramid; pyramids which have smooth, perfectly angled sides. The Early Pyramids During the early time of the ancient Egyptians buried the Pharaohs in tombs called mastabas. They had tombs beautifully painted and designed with all luxury items. Mastabas, the tombs carved into rocks and covered with a rectangular shaped flat roof structure. The Pharaoh Djoser, buried in a flat-roofed structure with sloping sides on top of one another, creating the very first step pyramid. The pyramid includes a recessed limestone wall, a temple, and a statue of King Djoser. Imhotep, the vizier of the Pharaoh built the pyramid. After Djoser, the stepped pyramid became the norm for royal burials. Sneferu, the one who made three attempts to build pyramids after pyramid of Djoser. The second pyramid of Egyptians history, the Medium Pyramid, also known as the collapsed pyramid. The Bent Pyramid, the second attempt of the Pharaoh Sneferu, almost succeed to build the first smooth sided pyramid. The Red Pyramid, also known as the North Pyramid, is the third of Sneferu’s pyramids, it is the third largest pyramid in Egypt. The Great Pyramids of Giza These massive monuments remains unsurpassed in height for thousands of years after their construction. The three pyramids on Giza built over the period of three generations by the rulers Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. The Pharaoh Khufu began the first Giza pyramid. The sides of the pyramid’s base average 755.75 feet, and its original height was 481.4 feet. It is the largest pyramid in the world. Khufu’s three queens found, buried around his pyramid. His mother, Queen Hetepheres, also buried nearby. Khufu’s tomb, surrounded by rows of mastabas, where relatives or officials of the king buried. The Pharaoh Khafre, son of the Pharaoh Khufu, buried in middle pyramid of Giza. The Pyramid of Khafre is the second tallest pyramid at Giza. His pyramid also includes the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and a pharaoh’s head. They considered the huge statue a sign of power against evils. It was the largest statue in the ancient world, measuring 240 feet long and 66 feet high. The Pharaoh Menkaure, he built the third pyramid of Giza. He is son of the Pharaoh Khafre. It is the shortest of the three pyramids at the Giza. Its height is almost 218 feet long. In addition to these major structures, several smaller pyramids belonging to queens also found there. Who Built The Pyramids? The construction of these pyramids is still a mystery. Despite of many theories no one is sure how exactly this construction had happened. Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone about 2.5 tons had cut, transported and then assembled to build Khufu’s Great Pyramid. They had skilled and well-trained Egyptian workers and builders . The scientists believed that thousands of workers and slaves worked; cut up the large blocks then slowly move them up the pyramid. They built pyramids slowly, one block at a time. Most of the Pharaohs started building of tombs or pyramids during their lives. Scientists estimate it took at least 20,000 workers over 23 years to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. What is the book of the dead? The book which contains spell and some magics or formulas to help the person for afterlife. They felt that the spells contained in the Book of the Dead would help protect them from demons. The book have some chapters written on papyrus. There were at least 190 different chapters of the Book of the Dead. The scribes wrote those books. Not every dead body contains this only the rich people who can afford a scribe to write the book for themselves had this book. The book of length 100 feet is also found. Valley of the Kings The place where many great Pharaohs buried after 1500 BC. The time when Pharaohs rejected the idea of building pyramids for themselves and selected this place for their burial. Kings were buried in different tombs in the valley of the Kings. There are many tombs which vary from each other. Some are so small like a hole in the ground and others are larger enough with 1oo chambers in them. There are over 60 tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Robbers had stolen almost all treasure from tombs. The one tomb discovered with much of the treasure and tomb still there, that of Tutankhamun. It was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and had been largely untouched by thieves and vandals. Carter found the tomb under the remains of some workmen’s huts. The tomb contained several chambers including the burial chamber, antechamber, treasure chamber, and annex. Columns and pillars in the temples had design in the shape of sacred plants such as papyrus and lotus. The temples grew in size over time as new pharaohs added to them. The temples employed thousands of workers to supply food, jewelry, and clothing for the offerings as well as the many priests. Some of the famous temples of the ancient Egyptians religious and political powers are: - Karnak; located in the ancient city of Thebes. Almost thirty Pharaohs took part in its construction as it’s the most largest and visited temple. - Luxor; located on the east bank of the Nile River. Amun, his wife and son built that for themselves. - Abu Simbel; located on the southern border of Egypt. The Pharaoh Ramesses II built this. - Temple of Edfu; located on the west bank of the Nile River. - Temple of Hatshepsut; located to the northeast of the city of Luxor, for the female Pharaoh. - Temple of Seti I; constructed in the shape of an “L” and has shrines dedicated to six Egyptian gods. Famous Cities of the ancient Egypt There were two types of cities, capital cities were near the central government and important officials. The cities of religious importance were near to the temples. Some of the famous cities of the Egypt are: - Memphis; the capital and administrative city for a very long time. It has many temples. It was the main city of the ancient Egyptian empire while Thebes was the religious center. - Thebes; present day Luxor. was the religious capital of Egypt and the center of power. It included the area occupied by Karnak and Luxor. - Alexandria; the city became the capital when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and one of his generals established the Ptolemy Dynasty. Alexandria remained the capital for nearly a thousand years. - Amarna; the city built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten in honour of a new god Aten. - Abydos; the holy city of the Egypt because they believed that the god Osiris burial place is that city. The city had many temples and tombs of the Pharaohs. - Hermopolis; the city was famous because of belief that the sun god was first appeared there. They worshiped god Thoth for a long time. The city was a wealthy resort. - Crocodilopolis; the city was the place for god of crocodile. - Elephantine; they worshiped god of water khnum. It was famous as defensive fort and trade center. - Kom Ombo; the city was a trade center of trade routes, Nubia to the rest of Egypt. The city later became famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. Inventions of the ancient Egypt Some of the great inventions are following: - Papyrus Sheet - Ship building - Toothbrush and toothpaste - Large door locks - Wooden boats - Cargo ships - Funeral Boats I hope you enjoyed these interesting facts about Egypt. You would may also like. We are sorry that this post was not useful for you! Let us improve this post! Tell us how we can improve this post?

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Technology Integration In K12 Education/Digital Storytelling in Social Studies Introduction[edit | edit source] "We must teach communication comprehensively, in all its forms. Today we work with the written or spoken word as the primary form of communication. But we also need to understand the importance of graphics, music, and cinema, which are just as powerful and in some ways more deeply intertwined with young people's culture. We live and work in a visually sophisticated world, so we must be sophisticated in using all the forms of communication, not just the written word. When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not being so much about who has access to what technology as who knows how to create and express themselves in this new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?" -Filmmaker George Lucas School children today are bombarded with images, video, sound and other media from a variety of sources including television, radio, the world wide web, and even their own cell phones. The current generation of school aged children are consumers of media in unprecedented means and amounts (Cuban, 2001.) Digital storytelling in the classroom offers potential for teachers to combine content learning, various discipline-specific processes (revising, editing, inquiry, analysis, etc.) and 21st century skills in student-centered engaging ways. Challenging students to demonstrate their understanding of a course topic through the creation of digital movies not only engages them in the "language of their generation," but also shifts children from consumer of media to producer (Hofer & Swan, 2006). Digital storytelling allows students to learn with technology. According to Hofer and Swan, "[in] contrast to using technology as a tutor or practice partner, digital storytelling utilizes technology as a means for students to demonstrate and share their understanding, empowering learners in engaging and authentic ways. The creation of digital stories can give students voice in ways that are not possible without the technology. Rather than limiting students to static expression of understanding, the creation of digital stories provides students with opportunities to leverage the use of images, music, video, and perhaps most importantly, their own voice through narration to tell their story." Digital storytelling gives students a chance to use their creativity and own voice when developing a story. It can also be used in the classroom as an open-ended, divergent means for students to share their understanding of course content (Hofer & Swan, 2006). Digital storytelling is not a new concept in education and no longer only accessible to affluent school districts as it was in the past. The advancements in technology today have made creating digital narratives available and affordable for many school districts. The level of difficulty in creating these narratives has also decreased making it very user friendly. Educators, who are looking at new ways to engage and motivate today’s digital natives, find digital storytelling a powerful tool to reach students, especially those who may be turned off by traditional text-based learning. Students learn to write, research, collaborate with others and express themselves creatively through these narratives. By incorporating these digital tools into their lessons, teachers are energizing their lessons and preparing children with the necessary information and communication skills they will need for everyday life and future careers. What is Digital Storytelling?[edit | edit source] Digital storytelling is much like traditional storytelling but with a multimedia twist. According to the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS), a digital story is a short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds. It incorporates the traditional writing processes of selecting a topic, conducting research, writing a script and developing an interesting story. The person then uses software such as Animoto, Movie Maker or PhotoStory to create a short movie by utilizing photos, digital scans, movie clips, music, voice recordings, etc. which can be viewed by computer, uploaded to a website or burned on a DVD. A good digital story typically has a strong emotional component. In order to create a successful digital story, seven elements must be present: point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, the gift of one’s voice, the power of the sound track, economy and pacing. Elements of a Good Digital Story Originally described by Joe Lambert in his Digital Storytelling Cookbook and summarized by Bull and Kadjer (2004), the seven main elements of digital stories can be described as follows: - Point of View: "... the goal of digital storytelling is to allow a writer to experience the power of personal expression. Therefore, students' digital stories need to be constructed from their own experience and understanding. Using the first-person pronoun "I" rather than the more distant third-person point of view is essential." - A Dramatic Question: "A story that holds the attention of the audience has a dramatic question that is resolved by the end of the story. This characteristic distinguishes the digital story from a travelogue. Narratives that lead the reader to become invested typically pursue a compelling question that evokes interest and commitment." - Emotional Content: "The most effective digital stories evoke an emotion from the audience. We often see laughter, tears, and expressions of pleasure from the audience when digital stories are screened. This can be tremendously rewarding to student writers, validating the effort and investment they have made." - The Gift of your Voice: "The pitch, inflection, and timbre of the storyteller's voice convey meaning and intent in a very personal way. This has proven to be one of the most essential elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a digital story. There is no substitute for using your own voice to tell your story." - The Power of the Soundtrack: "Properly employed music can enhance and underscore the accompanying story, adding complexity and depth to the narrative." - Economy: "Modern digital editors offer a plethora of special effects and transitions. It can be tempting to replicate the visual onslaught of music videos on MTV. We have found that the effective digital story uses only a few images, a few words, and even fewer special effects to clearly and powerfully communicate intended meaning." - Pacing: "Monotonous refers to an unvaried inflection and pace. The word has become synonymous with boring because an unvaried pace will not hold the audience's attention. For student writers, pacing means pulling back or racing forward when the story calls for it, as opposed to when the time limit approaches." Another determination of a good digital story comes from Take Six: Elements of Good Digital Storytelling (Porter, 2004). According to Porter, a good digital story includes: - Living Inside Your Story—The perspective of each story is told in first person using your own storytelling voice to narrate the tale. Rather than a detached telling that this happened and that happened, viewers experience you living inside this story. - Unfolding Lessons Learned—One of the most unique features of this specific digital storytelling style is the expectation that each story express a personal meaning or insight about how a particular event or situation touches you, your community, or humanity. - Developing Creative Tension—A good story creates intrigue or tension around a situation that is posed at the beginning of the story and resolved at the end, sometimes with an unexpected twist. The tension of an unresolved or curious situation engages and holds the viewer until reaching a memorable end. - Economizing the Story Told—A good story has a destination—a point to make—and seeks the shortest path to its destination. The art of shortening a story lies in preserving the essence of the tale—using the fewest words along with images and sound to make your point. - Showing Not Telling—Unlike traditional oral or written stories, images, sound, and music can be used to show a part of the context, create setting, give story information, and provide emotional meaning not provided by words. Both words and media need to reveal through details rather than named or simply stated. - Developing Craftsmanship—A good story incorporates technology in artful ways, demonstrating craftsmanship in communicating with images, sound, voice, color, white space, animations, design, transitions, and special effects. Ask yourself whether your media resources are decorating, illustrating, or illuminating. Types of Digital Stories There are three types of digital stories: personal narratives, stories that inform/instruct, and stories that examine historical themes and events. Personal narratives allow educators to tap into each of their students' personal experiences and can take many forms. One form of personal narrative, as described by the CDS, is a character story. This type of narrative "explore[s] how we love, who we are inspired by, and the importance of finding meaning in our relationships" (Robin, 2008.) A second type of personal narrative is a memorial story. In this form of storytelling, students "deal with memories of people who are no longer with us. These stories are often difficult but are emotionally powerful and can help with the grieving process" (Robin, 2008.) Stories about events in our lives is a third style of personal narrative an educator can use in the classroom. These types of stories can come in two varieties. Adventure stories revolve around places we visit and the adventures we experience in our travels. Accomplishment stories deal with achieving goals and understanding the defining moments in our lives (Robin, 2008.) A fourth type of personal narrative is a story about places in our lives. In these type of stories, students "examine the important places in our lives: our homes, our towns, and our experiences that connect us to our communities" (Robin, 2008.) A fifth type of personal narrative is a story about what we do. These stories "allow us to talk about our jobs, professions, and careers in terms of how we value and find meaning in the work we do" (Robin, 2008.) Other personal narratives that can be explored using digital storytelling include recovery stories that deal with how we overcome obstacles and challenges in our lives; love stories that provide us with an opportunity to share some of the most meaningful parts of our lives with the people we most cherish; and discovery stories that let us reflect on what we have learned and illustrate our journeys of discovery (Robin, 2008.) A second type of digital story is one that can be created to deliver instructional content on many different topics. This instructional flexibility allows for digital stories that inform or instruct to be used in a wide range of classrooms, from mathematics and science, to history and literacy. These digital stories allow students the opportunity to present an extensive variety of content in an entertaining, multimedia format. A third type of digital story is an examination of historical themes and events. Hofer and Swan (2006) describe guidelines for digital stories that examine historical themes and events that state they need to be based on material students explore, need to facilitate research and organizational skills, and need to go beyond the digitized "MTV video" or the "Encyclopedia Entry". Even though digital storytelling has been around for awhile, it is a great way to grab student’s attention, increase their interest in new information, enhance current lessons and incorporate 21st century information literacy skills. History[edit | edit source] Digital storytelling was created in the late 1980s by Joe Lambert and Dana Atchley. As cofounders of the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) in Berkeley, California, they assisted people who were interested in creating their own personal narratives. They also developed the Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling which are still used today to help guide people through the process of creating a digital story. Technology has changed dramatically since those early days and has also become more affordable for the average person. Software programs can be downloaded freely from the internet. New devices such as digital cameras, microphones, computers, scanners, etc. are readily available to the public. New Web 2.0 technologies are also accessible via the internet and can be incorporated into digital stories such as Voki, Wordle, Wikis and Animoto. Digital storytelling is becoming more popular in education because of these reasons, but it also fits perfectly in today’s curriculum in providing students with the information literacy skills they need to be a citizen in the 21st century. Advantages/Disadvantages[edit | edit source] Using digital storytelling in the classroom has numerous advantages. The greatest tangible benefit of digital storytelling is seen in terms of student engagement. Research (Hofer & Swan, 2006) in both elementary and college classrooms has shown that students enthusiastically surpassed teacher expectations. Students spent much more time than was required working on their digital story, the effects, and the overall aesthetic of their projects. Student engagement was not only limited to the moviemaking process, however. Engagement in the course content itself was improved as a result of the digital stories. Teachers reported that students did more detailed, broad research for these projects than they did for other course assignments. When presented with an engaging question, students went far beyond the textbook in researching and telling their stories. Students in these projects went beyond the textbooks not only because they were encouraged to by their teacher, but also because they were more heavily invested in their stories than other previous classroom projects. "Designing and communicating information requires students to deepen their understanding of content while increasing visual, sound, oral language, creativity, and thinking skills" (Porter, 2004). Yet another benefit of digital storytelling is the creativity they stimulate in students. Unlike many other student-centered projects, students are not limited to mainly text and images. Rather, digital stories offer a multi-modal, open-ended forum for students to present their understanding. Just as in a well-crafted film, student digital storytelling products are far more than the sum of their parts. The choices students employ create a synergistic effect in which the multiple forms of media amplify the message and leverage the dual coding nature of how people learn (Clark & Paivio, 1991). When used in education, digital storytelling can be a wonderfully motivating, creative, instructional tool for students. Today’s Generation Z students (1990s-2000) are the first generation born into the digital age. They utilize technology on a daily basis with their cellphones, iPods, computers, and socialnetworking sites. This generation is a very visual generation and digital storytelling is a very powerful tool for educators to promote higher level thinking skills, collaboration among students and creativity. - motivates students in new ways versus a traditional research paper - helps improve writing skills by having students learn how to write from a certain point of view - encourages research skills - helps develop organizational skills - leads to deeper understanding of the material being taught - can be used with many different learning styles - incorporates 21st century information skills Digital storytelling is not without its drawbacks. According to Hofer and Swan, pedagogical challenges have the greatest impact in determining the success of a project. They argue "[the] way a digital storytelling project is framed will help determine the quality, focus, and direction of student products. It is essential, given the divergent and open-ended nature of digital storytelling, that the teacher carefully frame the activity and explicitly tie the project to the core content and process goals encompassed in the curriculum... The challenge is for teachers to frame the exercise in an engaging way that leads to the kinds of knowledge, understanding, and experiences desired." Another aspect to take into consideration is how to support the wide range of abilities present in the classroom. "Oftentimes digital storytelling projects encompass a range of skills, processes, and content goals... [Students] had to undertake research, engage in creative writing, editing and revision, and consider the potential and impact of images, music, and narration on the mood and tone of their stories. And this all had to take place before ever actually sitting down at the computer to create their digital [stories]" (Hofer & Swan, 2006) Teachers need to provide the proper pedagogical scaffolding to ensure all students can succeed. In addition, teachers need to present a clear and concise assessment tool of student learning. The best form of assessment for digital stories is a rubric that clearly states the requirements of the project. The constraints of the modern classroom must also be considered. More and more teachers are feeling pressure to "cover" course content and ensure student mastery of course material. Time is at a premium for teachers and extended projects can be difficult to work into the unit plan. As a result, it is important to design digital storytelling projects in such a way that they align closely with state standards and encourage mastery of the content in a reasonable time frame. According to Bernard Robin at the University of Houston there are some disadvantages of digital narratives that educators may encounter with their students. Educators should involve their ITs or Library Media Specialists if possible, when planning their digital storytelling projects. Being proactive and knowledgeable about their systems and digital tools would help alleviate difficulties during the project development. Educators need to be aware that their students may have: - difficulty formulating a sound argument - more interest in the technology and not the storytelling - access to technology hardware and software - limited ability to save from the internet - time consuming - copyright and intellectual property issues Issues/Problems[edit | edit source] One of the main issues in creating a digital story is the lack of training for educators utilizing these technologies. Many educators are uncomfortable with technology and lack confidence in applying it to their lessons. They also feel that they do not have the extra time to incorporate such technology into their curriculum because they need to cover materials for standardized testing. Digital storytelling is a very time consuming process and can take up to an entire school year to complete, if done properly. In conjunction with the lack of training, teachers also need to have support from their school districts on how to use these technologies with their students and make it meaningful in their curriculum. Another issue is the lack of current technology and “tools” for students to use. School districts across the nation are suffering from various budget issues and many times hard choices have to be made between eliminating teaching staff and technology budgets. On the other hand some school districts purchase new technologies ( iPods, iPads), but then do not utilize them in their curriculum. Technology can present its own set of problems while creating digital storytelling projects. Even though most of the software used to create these projects is free to download, the programs are impressive enough to lead to a problem of excess. The programs contain so many options and capabilities that students can get bogged down in small details like transitions between images and developing the perfect Ken Burns zoom effect as opposed to focusing on content. Hofer and Swan found that "[while] the aesthetic value in both student and audience engagement cannot be disputed, there is a delicate balance between incorporating effects and elements that enhance a movie and those that either add no value or even distract from the story ... It is a challenge for the teacher to select the software to be used in the project to provide enough, but not too many, features for students to create their movies." File management and storage and management is another issue to consider when starting a digital storytelling project. Managing the multitude of image and sound files can be difficult. Once students begin constructing their projects, file sizes become quite large, often requiring devices with large storage capacities. Finally, teachers need to keep copyright laws in mind when students are searching the world wide web for media to be utilized in their digital storytelling projects. Uses[edit | edit source] Digital storytelling can be used in many subject areas and for various activities. A good starting point for educators interested in using digital narratives in their classrooms would be The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website through the University of Houston (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html). This website has a plethora of information from hardware/software usage to assessment. It sorts digital stories into three major categories: personal/narrative stories, stories that inform/instruct and stories that document historical events. Here educators can view examples how other students and teachers K-12 globally are using the technologies in their classrooms. It is not only a great resource for planning a project, but the examples are an excellent way to hook students on the creative possibilities through storytelling. Conclusion[edit | edit source] The benefits of digital storytelling far outweigh the disadvantages. Educators and students who have participated in creating digital narratives in the classroom find it to be a powerful communication tool. Such projects not only reinforce writing and research skills, but help students to work together, critique one another’s work through discussion and help students gain 21st century literacy skills by utilizing today’s latest technologies. In doing so, educators are not only engaging their students on multiple levels, but also preparing them with the skills for the world beyond their K-12 education. References[edit | edit source] Bull, G. & Kajder, S. (2004). Digital Storytelling in the Language Arts Classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32 (4), 46-49. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.digitalstoryteller.org/docs/DigitalStorytelling.pdf Center for Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). Center for Digital Storytelling. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://www.storycenter.org/ Clark, J. & Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory and education. Educational Psychology Review, 3 (3), 149-170. Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html Hofer, M. and Swan, K.O. (2006). Digital Storytelling: Moving From Promise to Practice. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://www.umbc.edu/oit/newmedia/studio/digitalstories/documents/Dig_Story_Promise_to_Practice.pdf Kieler, L. (2010). Trials in Using Digital Storytelling Effectively With the Gifted. Gifted Child Today, 33(3), 49-52. Marrion, E. (2010). Capturing Moments in Time: Student-Produced Digital Stories. Library Media Connection, August/September, 52-53. Payne, A. (n.d.). The Digitization of Learning -- THE Journal. THE Journal: Technological Horizons in Education -- THE Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2005/06/01/The-Digitization-of-Learning.aspx?p=1 Porter, B. (2004). The Art of Digital Storytelling- Part I: Becoming 21st-Century Storykeepers. The Creative Educator. Retrieved on November 23, 2010, from http://www.digitales.us/files/ArtOfStorytelling.pdf Riedel, C. (n.d.). 5 Ways To Enhance Instruction with Digital Narratives -- THE Journal. THE Journal: Technological Horizons in Education -- THE Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/01/27/5-ways-to-enhance-instruction-with-digital-narratives.aspx?sc_lang=en Robin, B.R. (2008). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling PowerPoint Presentation. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/powerpoint.html Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47, 220-228. Sheneman, L. (2010). Digital Storytelling: How to Get the Best Results. School Library Monthly, XXVII(September-October), 40-42. Vandenbroek, A. (2010). Rtl: The Librarian's Fairy Tale?. Library Media Connection, October, 48-50.

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The power of social media in contemporary society cannot be ignored. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, among others, provide a space in which society can communicate freely and cheaply, articulating their divergent viewpoints. Social media can be used to promote peace and tolerance if used carefully. However, academics have noted that social media can also have destructive consequences for society, such as heightened conflicts and hatred, due to the spread of “fake” information from various sectors of society. There is empirical evidence showing how social media has been used as a tool to promote hate speech and the isolation of certain groups in society. When parties with divergent viewpoints take their conflict into the offline sphere, it can lead to bloodshed and death. This article provides examples of movements on Facebook and Twitter, which show how social media is a place for both good and destructive conflict resolution. “Good” refers to the idea that social media can give marginalised groups voice and help protesters acquire solidarity with the international community, resulting in policy change and action from government and other stakeholders. “Destructive” refers to the idea that social media can be used to create tensions and spread “fake news” with the intention to mislead, thereby inciting conflict and violence. The internet and social media are a huge part of our lives, and they feature prominently in our social and political lives. They affect how we do business, share information and knowledge and how we relate to other people in the local and global contexts. Social media refers to “specific sets of internet-based and networked communication platforms enabling a convergence of public and personal communication”.1 Social media is also defined as referring to the content posted on various social platforms.2 This content ranges from images, videos and texts about personal, social and political lives posted and shared on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others. Other scholarly definitions emphasise how information and ideas are shared within an online community via mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers, among other tools, if they are connected to the internet.3 The power of social media in raising awareness helps issues get out into the global public arena. The explosion of online political groups and activism across the world shows how citizens use social media to air their grievances, which extends their participation in the social and political spheres,4 or their participation in the Habermasian public sphere,5 which refers to the social spaces where individuals gather to discuss their common public affairs. “Digital storytelling and the internet thus provide a powerful counterpoint to mainstream, or political narratives and act as conduits for stimulating dialogue amongst ordinary citizens and influencing change.”6 There has been an increase in the number of online protests, as citizens continue to clamour for the respect of human rights and the rule of law the world over. Through social media, citizens are able to freely express themselves on social and political issues. Scholars argue that “the internet is seen as helping marginalised groups develop their own deliberative forums, link up, and subsequently contest dominant meanings and practices” through the creation and exchange of user-generated content.7 The role of alternative media in reinforcing the ability of subaltern groups to challenge dominant power structures is made evident.8 On the other hand, scholars have noted that there are negative uses of social media by citizens that have detrimental results. People use social media to attack the reputation of others, to post inflammatory and digressive messages, and to persecute others. This is evident in the spread of hate speech for the promotion of violent agendas, and the spread of fake news with the deliberate intention to mislead.9 Social media is used by some as weapons of war to discredit and fight the “enemy” through fake news.10 Fake news and online misinformation are serious problems across the world.11 Bots and the rise of artificial intelligence are contributing to the spread of false content via fake user accounts, making conflict inevitable. With the opening of the democratic space, more fake news is being circulated online, which undermines trust in mainstream media, builds and feeds on community divisions, and distorts democratic processes.12 False news spreads fast on social media, and those behind it do it knowingly or unknowingly.13 The British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) research project on fake news in India, Kenya and Nigeria in 2018 showed that health, religion and terrorism were among the issues circulated under the banner of fake news, with the intention to create scares and fuel hate speech, leading to violence and death.14 Protest movements in Africa and across the world Through social media, society has witnessed the communication, organisation and mobilisation of various kinds of protests including the Arab Spring (2011), #BlackLivesMatter (2013), #BringBackOurGirls (2014) and #MeToo (2017), among others. Through these protest movements, oppressed groups were able to share their grievances and find support in the global world15 via social media platforms. The #BringBackOurGirls16 campaign, which started in 2014 after more than 200 girls were kidnapped by the Boko Haram insurgent group from Chibok Secondary School in north-east Nigeria, shows how tweets from a few Nigerians gave birth to a global response in support of the cause.17 As soon as the cause spread on social media, it became one of international importance. Social media played a key role in forcing the issue onto the international agenda as millions, including the former first lady of the United States of America (USA), Michelle Obama, posted images of themselves in support of the cause.18 However, without real action on the ground, hashtags, likes and shares cannot bring real meaningful change, as some scholars argue. The advantage of social media in this movement is seen in how “the spotlight continues to shine on the plight of the Chibok girls, years after the kidnapping”.19 However, others argue that the Nigerian government did not do enough to address this challenge, as kidnappings by Boko Haram continued.20 Online campaigns only helped campaigners and journalists put pressure on the Nigerian government, but nothing much changed. The Women’s March in 2017 in the USA and #MeToo movements began on Facebook and gathered international support. These movements also demonstrated the blurred line between the online and offline worlds. In the USA, women protested policies such as reproductive rights, immigration and civil rights, and police violence immediately after President Donald Trump took office in 2017.21 The marches, across the different states, involved hundreds of thousands of women with support from influential personalities, such as former first lady Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren, and many celebrities. The #MeToo movement involved millions of individuals around the world, who used the #MeToo hashtag in support of survivors of sexual harassment and violence in the wake of sexual harassment and assault allegations against high-profile Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein.22 The mass sharing of the #MeToo hashtag in 24 hours made apparent the magnitude of sexual harassment against women across the world, as it gave rise to further movements by women in different parts of the world (China, Spain, Italy and Argentina, among others). It also helped women establish a community of survivors, and is seen as a historic milestone in the fight for women’s rights. In Africa, #MeToo took its own form as African women held marches in various places. Social media23 is thus empowering women and other marginalised groups in society, enabling them to voice their grievances. In South Africa, thousands of women embarked on marches in 2019 “at the government’s failure to deal with rising violence against women in the wake of a string of brutal attacks that shocked the country”.24 The protest, organised by WomenProtestSA, saw local celebrities and thousands of people take to social media to express their anger and frustrations about gender violence under the hashtags #NotInMyName, #AmINext and #SAShutDown. Before the protest, women used social media to share images of women who were murdered by their partners and were often victims of rape.25 There was anger over the state’s failure to protect women and children. The protest was an indication that there is a crisis of gender-based violence in the country that needs urgent action. In Zimbabwe, a movement by citizens started on Facebook enabled them to challenge late former president Robert Mugabe’s power in 2016–2017. The #ThisFlag movement, which was started accidentally on Facebook by Pastor Evan Mawarire, attracted tens of thousands of hits and went viral. Local citizens in public and private institutions, together with those in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and in the wider diaspora, joined in the protest when they demonstrated at various Zimbabwean consulate offices, demanding that Mugabe and his government step down. Mawarire’s Facebook video and subsequent posts on Twitter helped set the stage for the biggest protest against the government. The movement, which became known as #ShutdownZimbabwe, came in the wake of a deepening economic crisis in the country that had resulted in failure by the government to pay civil servants on time.26 Increasing levels of unemployment among graduates, corruption and police brutality, among others, were on the list of problems cited by aggrieved protesters. Restricted democratic space has spawned a multiplicity of alternative public spheres that give groups and individuals the power to participate and engage in debates on the Zimbabwean crises and resistance to state propaganda churned out through the mainstream media.27 The #ThisFlag movement gained international sympathy and support, and influenced the global and regional news media agenda when large media organisations such as Cable News Network (CNN), the BBC, Africa News Network (ANN7), South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Al Jazeera and Sky News, among others, reported these events, thus placing Zimbabwe in the international spotlight and putting pressure on Mugabe’s government to introduce reforms. The Zimbabwe media, which was largely pro-government, attempted to play down the movement, but it was difficult because it had already gathered momentum and become a global spectacle, with mounting pressure for Mugabe and his government to step down coming from within and outside Zimbabwe. In response to the protest, Mugabe’s government reduced the number of police officers on the streets and provided salary payment dates for civil servants, but the government also intensified efforts to regulate social media. Social media has become a focal point for uniting individuals, regardless of their personal experiences, cultural differences and geographic location. The importance of social media in enabling citizens to organise themselves and garner support on a national and international scale is evident in the many examples of protests. The downside of social media is evident in its use to propagate fake news and hate speech with the intention of creating instability and conflict. Fake news is being used as a political weapon in conflict. A Reuters investigation28 exposed more than 1 000 examples of hateful posts, images and comments against the Muslim community in Myanmar. For example, Twitter was used to spread hate speech against the Rohingya. Examples from the Reuters report indicate that posts referred to the Rohingya as “dogs, maggots, rapists and that they should be fed to pigs, be shot and exterminated”, among others.29 The same tools used in the previously mentioned protests that galvanised people for a common good cause can also be used to promote hate and isolation. As social media’s presence in our society grows, there is more fear of increasing polarisation, hate speech and fake news, which all fuel conflict.30 Facebook was blamed for failing to control the crisis in Myanmar. An analyst from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting who led a two-year study of hate speech in Myanmar, Alan Davis, said that in the months before August 2017, he noticed posts on Facebook becoming “more organised and odious, and more militarised”.31 Similarly, in the 2019 xenophobic attacks against migrants in South Africa, which led to thousands being displaced and several dying, social media was used by perpetrators of violence to circulate misinformation and rumours to foster panic and confusion. “Anti-migrant rhetoric had been circulating on social media among groups alleging immigrants cheat their customers with out-of-date produce in their shops, take jobs from locals and defraud the state.”32 During the attacks, old videos and photos of violence from other countries were circulated online and passed off as recent footage, which provoked outrage in South Africa and outside the country.33 Some individuals in other countries such as Nigeria, who saw the images and videos, began attacking South Africans in their country.34 Scholars have highlighted that in conflict, the spread of information on social media is increased, making it difficult to control. It is clear that social media can be used by people as a tool for good and bad. Some of the good or positive uses are when users share their grievances online with the potential of getting national and international support. This puts pressure on local governments to introduce reforms to help solve problems. On the negative side, people use social media to spread hate speech, fake news and propaganda, which incites conflict and violence and can result in death. While both the positive and negative examples of social media in conflict have been discussed, the positive uses of social media in conflict resolution should be encouraged among people. Social media can be used to prevent conflict if users share constructive messages and create peace campaigns..35 Social media can play a huge role in emancipating and giving voice to those who otherwise may not be heard, with the potential to become a significant factor in conflict resolution. - Meikle, Graham (2016) Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility. New York: Routledge. p. x. - Miller, Daniel; Costa, Elisabetta; Haynes, Nell; McDonald, Tom; Nicolescu, Razvan; Sinanan, Jolynna; Spyer, Juliano; Venkatraman, Shriram and Wang, Xinyuan (2016) How the World Changed Social Media. London: UCL. pp. 1–20. - Castells, Manuel (2013) Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. xxi–xxv. - Bowen, Charles (1996) Modem Nation: The Handbook of Grassroots American Activism. New York: Random House, pp. 1–25. - Papacharissi, Zizi (2002) The Virtual Sphere: The Internet as a Public Sphere. New Media and Society 4 (1), pp. 9–27. - Bohler-Muller, Narnia and Van Der Merwe, Charl (2011) Technosociality: When Technology Meets our Social Behaviour. Rhodes Journalism Review, pp. 27–28. - Sen, A. Fuyla (2012) The Social Media as a Public Sphere: The Rise of Social Opposition. International Conference on Communication, Media, Technology and Design (ICCMTD). Istanbul: Fırat Universitesi, p. 490. - Downing, John (2001) Radical Media: Rebellious Communication and Social Movements. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, pp. 1–22. - Zeitzoff, Thomas (2017) How Social Media is Changing Conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61 (9) pp. 1970–1991. - Singer, Peter W. and Brooking, Emerson T. (2018) LikeWar: The Weaponisation of Social Media. New York: Harcourt, pp. 1–22. - Chiluwa, Innocent E and Samoilenko, Sergei A. (n.d.) Handbook of Research on Deception, Fake News, and Misinformation Online. IGI Global, p. xxiii. - British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2018) ‘What We’ve Learnt about Fake News in Africa’, BBC News, 12 November, Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46138284> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Graham, David A. (2019) ‘Some Real News about Fake News’, The Atlantic, 7 June, Available at: <https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/fake-news-republicans-democrats/591211/> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Raleva, Ralitsa (2018) ‘Social Media: A Place for Good and Evil in Conflict Resolution’, Shout Out UK, 27 December, Available at: <https://www.shoutoutuk.org/2018/12/27/social-media-a-place-for-good-and-evil-in-conflict-resolution/> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Holpuch, Amanda (2018) ‘Stolen Daughters: What Happened after #BringBackOurGirls?’, The Guardian, 22 October, Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/oct/22/bring-back-our-girls-documentary-stolen-daughters-kidnapped-boko-haram> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Collins, Matt (2014) ‘#BringBackOurGirls: The Power of a Social Media Campaign’, The Guardian, 9 May, Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector network/2014/may/09/bringbackourgirls-power-of-social-media> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Olson, Candi Carter (2016) #BringBackOurGirls: Digital Communities Supporting Real-world Change and Influencing Mainstream Media Agendas. Feminist Media Studies, 16 (5), pp. 77–787. - Holpuch, Amanda (2018) op. cit. - Shearlaw, Maeve (2015) ‘Did the #bringbackourgirls Campaign Make a Difference in Nigeria?’, The Guardian, 14 April, Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/nigeria-bringbackourgirls-campaign-one-year-on> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Hartocollis, Anemona and Alcindor, Yamiche (2017) ‘Women’s March Highlights as Huge Crowds Protest Trump: “We’re Not Going Away”, The New York Times, 21 January, <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/womens-march.html> [Accessed 12 January 2020]. - Fileborn, Bianca and Loney-Howes, Rachel (2019) #MeToo and the Politics of Social Change. Cham: Palgrave and Macmillan, pp. 1–11. - Hillstrom, Laurie Collier (2019) The #MeToo Movement. 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Creativity is only partly recognised in education. A recent meta-analysis estimated a correlation of Keywords: CreativityeducationwritingConsensual Assessment Technique Creativity has positive associations in contemporary societies. For example, creativity is essential for new ideas and innovations in business, and it is regarded as a central facet in art and design. In recent decades, the role of creativity has also been emphasised in the educational discourse (Craft, 2003). For example, recognition of creativity is listed as one of the aims of the National Curriculum in the UK (Department of Education, UK, 1994). Creative idea production is recognised as being an outcome of both divergent and convergent thinking (e.g. Cropley, 2006). However, the education system in the UK emphasises convergent thinking skills (Wilson, 2014). Convergent thinking is characterised by having one correct solution to a clearly defined problem (Guilford, 1957). Most cognitive ability tests, as well as many exams in primary education, measure convergent thinking skills (Chamorro-Premuzic & Reichenbacher, 2008; Cropley, 1967). In contrast, divergent thinking tests have dominated the field of creativity assessment for decades (Runco & Acar, 2012). Divergent thinking involves producing multiple answers or alternative answers from available information, as well as making unexpected combinations, remote associations and transforming information (Cropley, 2006). Divergent thinking is associated with exploratory learning style (Dirkes, 1978). For example, Montessori schools emphasise creative learning through activities based on imagination (Besançon & Lubart, 2008). Research has also highlighted the teachers’ role as facilitators of creative learning (Jeffrey, 2006). However, more research is needed in order to establish the ideal circumstances in education for creativity to flourish. The assessment or evaluation of creativity in education is not easy, since there are many different ways to define creativity (Plucker, Beghetto & Dow, 2004). This problem was demonstrated in a recent meta-analysis on creativity and educational achievement. The meta-analysis concluded that the differences between studies in which creativity measures were used were reflected in differences across the studies in the strength of associations between creativity and educational achievement (Gajda, Karwowski & Beghetto, 2016). In other words, different creativity measures do not correlate highly among themselves, tapping into largely different aspects of creativity. The combined, overall effect size for all different creativity measures and educational achievement in the meta-analysis was r = .2 (Gajda et al., 2016). The creativity measures used in the meta-analysis included self-evaluations of one’s own creativity, frequency of taking part to creative activities, divergent thinking and insight tasks (Gajda et al., 2016). Insight tasks present participants with unusual problems that require an alternative, new way of addressing a problem. Arriving at the solution of an insight task is associated with a sudden and clear solution through insight, the ‘A-ha’ or ‘Eureka’ moment (Bowden et al., 2005). Insight tasks correlate poorly with other creativity measures (e.g. divergent thinking and behavioural measures), and they are conceptually very similar to many convergent thinking tasks (Beaty, Nusbaum, & Silvia, 2014). The most commonly used divergent thinking task is the Alternative Uses Task, such as the Torrance tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance, Ball, & Safter, 2003). These tasks require participants to come up with alternative uses to a shown object, such as brick or newspaper. These tasks typically require external, subjective evaluations to score the answers based on their creativity. The Torrance Tests may measure divergent thinking ability in certain specific domains, but they should not be interpreted as measures of creativity in general (Baer, 2011). As the score is based on frequency of the answers, it can be considered a measure of verbal fluency, not necessarily of creativity (Silvia et al., 2008). Overall, divergent thinking tasks measure only a very limited aspect of creativity, and therefore their relevance in education has been questioned (Barbot, Besancon, & Lubart, 2015; Zeng, Proctor, & Salvendy, 2011). In addition to the measures of creativity as an individual’s ability or potential (e.g. self-evaluations, divergent thinking and insight tasks), creativity can also be measured in a product, such as creativity of a novel. Assessing creativity of a product instead of focusing on individual’s ability or potential may be particularly applicable in education (Barbot, Besancon, & Lubart, 2015). Creative outcome, such as a short story or picture, is not only a product of creative potential but also reflects other factors, such as intrinsic motivation and domain-specific skills (Amabile, 1983). Previous research on the relationship between creativity and educational achievement has focused on creative potential measures, namely divergent thinking (see meta-analysis, Gajda et al., 2016). Creative potential measures assess individual’s ability, not creative behaviours or outcomes. This study will use Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT; Amabile, 1982) to estimate the creativity of a product, namely written stories. The use of CAT to evaluate creativity in written texts has demonstrated high inter-rater reliability in a previous study (Baer, Kaufman, & Gentile, 2004). Most of the previous studies on creativity and education have applied a cross-sectional design. The longitudinal nature of the current study is a particular strength. The availability of diverse measures in our study sample also allows us to investigate the role of creativity in educational achievement in addition to intelligence and personality. Also, the stories were written at children’s homes, not in the school environment, which may influence the creative expressiveness in the stories. 1. Can CAT be used as a method to estimate creativity inchildren’s written stories at age 9? 2. Does story creativityat age 9 predict educational achievement in English, and/or in Maths at age 16 over intelligence, previous school achievement and personality measures associated with creativity? Purpose of the Study This study will add incremental knowledge on the use of CAT to evaluate creativity in written children’s stories. Furthermore, this study will investigate whether creativity in writing can already be detected in primary schooland whetherit relates to further educational achievement. A randomly selected subsample of 60 twins from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) was used in this study. TEDS is a large, longitudinal twin sample that includes more than 13,000 twin pairs, born between 1994 and 1996, representative of the population of England and Wales (Haworth et al., 2013). Only one twin per pair was selected to eliminate the effect of the shared home environment. Data from one participant was excluded from further analyses due to poor handwriting that made it impossible to transcribe the story. The final sample consisted of 40 females and 19 males. The measures were collected in two different data collection waves at ages 9 and 16. Written stories at 9 Stories were written at age 9. The children were shown three coloured pictures of animals and buildings at a farm. They were then instructed to write a story that was creative. The pictures and instructions for the task are shown below in Figure The Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1983) is widely used, reliable and validated creativity evaluation technique. It is based on the assumption that a group of independent judges are best able to make evaluations on the creativity of a product (Hennessey & Amabile, 1999). Creativity may be difficult to define and characterise, but as demonstrated by CAT, people can recognise and agree on it (Hennessey & Amabile, 1999). CAT has been used in different domains among primary school children, such as on musical compositions and drawings (Hickey, 2001; Lubart et al., 2010). CAT has also previously been used to evaluate creativity in children’s orally told stories (Hennessey & Amabile, 1988). In the present study, six independent judges coded the stories for 10 different dimensions each on a 5-point Likert-scale using their own subjective interpretation of creativity. As instructed by the method of CAT, no fixed criteria were presented to judges on which their scoring should be based (Amabile, 1983). The judges were instructed to evaluate creativity in the stories as follows: “Please evaluate the creativity of the story on this page in relation to the other 58 stories. Use your own subjective assessment of creativity”. Nine other dimensions that the judges were asked to evaluate in the stories were: Liking, Novelty, Imagination, Logic, Emotion, Grammar, Detail, Vocabulary and Straightforwardness (Hennessey & Amabile, 1988). Three of the judges were primary school teachers, three undergraduate Psychology students. All the judges were females. General cognitive ability at 9 General cognitive ability at age 9 was a combination of two non-verbal tests and two verbal tests. The non-verbal Puzzle and Shapes tests are part of the Cognitive Abilities Test 3(CAT3; Smith, Fernandez, & Strand, 2001). Verbal ability at age 9 was assessed using the vocabulary and general knowledge tests (WISC-III-UK; Wechsler, 1992). English and Maths at 9 English and Maths at age 9 were standardised teacher-reported scores, each based on three different evaluations per subject. The three components evaluated in English were Speaking and Listening, Reading, and Writing. In Maths they were Using and Applying Mathematics, Numbers, and Shapes, Space and Measures. Openness to Experience and Extraversion at 16 Openness to Experience and Extraversion were measured as part of 30-item personality scale (Mullins-Sweatt et al., 2006) based on the Five-Factor Model of personality. Each personality factor was assessed by 6 items. English and Maths at 16 English and Maths scores at 16 are based on the results of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), a standardised end of the school exam in the UK. English grade is the average of Language and Literature; Maths grade is the average of Maths, Statistics and Additional Maths. The inter-rater reliabilities between the six judges for all the story dimensions were high (α = .76 - .95). The total score for each of the ten dimensions was calculated as a sum of the scores from all six judges. All the total dimension scores were normally distributed. To establish clusters between the ten dimensions, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was run with a Varimax rotation. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was high (KMO = .90) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicated that the correlations between the coded dimensions in the stories were sufficient for PCA (χ2(45) = 851.55, p < .001). The factor loadings are presented in Table Note.n = 59 The factor loadings revealed two separate factors: Creative Expressiveness and Logic. Factor scores for these two factors were created by combining the scores from the dimensions that had factor loading higher than 0.7 (see bolded valued in Table To investigate whether the Creative Expressiveness factor score explains variance in Maths and/or English at age 16, hierarchical linear regressions were run. General cognitive ability score at age 9 was entered as a first step into the regression model, followed by previous academic achievement at age 9 (English or Math) in the second step. In the third step, Openness to Experience and Extraversion scores at age 16 were entered to the model. In the fourth and last step, Creative Expressiveness and Logic factor scores were entered into the regression model predicting either English or Maths score at age 16. The results from the hierarchical regression predicting English achievement at age 16 are presented in Table The hierarchical multiple regression revealed that at the first step, general cognitive ability contributed significantly to the regression model (F(1,58) = 12.52, p < .01) and accounted for 18% of the variance in English results at age 16. Includingthe previous achievement measure, English at age 9, explained an additional 12% of the variance (F(2,58) = 12.01, p < .01). Personality measures of Openness to Experience and Extraversion were not individually significant predictors of English at 16. In the last step, adding Creative Expressiveness and Logic factor scores into the model explained an additional 7% of the variance was in the English score at 16 (F(6,58) = 7.19, p < .01). Only the Creative Expressiveness, and not the Logic, was a significant predictor. In the regression model explaining variance in Maths grade at 16, general cognitive ability (F(1,58) = 12.52, p < .01) accounted for 21% of the variation in Maths results at age 16. Including the Maths score at age 9, explained an additional 30% of the variation (F(2,58) = 12.01, p < .01). Out of the two personality measures, only Openness to Experience was a significant (negative) predictor of Maths score at 16 (F(1,58) = 12.52, p < .01). Creative Expressiveness and Logic factor scores did not explain any additional variance in the model when added in the last step. The present study set to test the robustness of the Consensual Assessment Technique as a method to evaluate children’s written stories at age 9. Our results showed that CAT is a reliable measure of creativity in the children’s written stories. The inter-rater reliability for the Creativity dimension was the highest out of all coded ten dimensions. Further factor analysis on the ten dimensions revealed that Creativity loaded onto a single factor along with Imagination, Novelty, Liking, Detail, Emotion and Vocabulary (Creative Expressiveness factor). Straightforwardness, Grammar and Logic formed a second, separate factor (Logic factor). Additionally, we aimed to investigate whether creativity, measured by CAT, is associated with later educational achievement at age 16. Our results showed that the Creative Expressiveness factor score explained an additional 7% of variance in English GCSE grade at age 16, above and beyond intelligence and English grade measured at age 9. This suggests that marking criteria in English at age 16 includes both, technical knowledge(spelling, grammar, etc.), as reflected in the English grade at age 9; and creativity (explicitly or implicitly), captured by our Creative Expressiveness measure.Our results suggest that creativity in writing is overlooked in the UK primary education marking criteria, as creativity was not captured by the English grade at age 9. It is possible that primary education focuses more on convergent and technical skills, or at least did at the time of the data collection (the stories were written in 2003-2005). Future studies are needed to explore how to apply the CAT in the evaluation of creative expressiveness in writing, as well as other domains, such as music and arts, in children of different ages. Further research is needed to establish how the evaluation of creativity in primary education, as guided by CAT, can be done in practice. Having independent judges evaluating children’s work may not be easy to organise, but the observed high level of agreement among judges suggests that, with some calibration, single judges may provide accurate evaluations. Additionally, using a bigger sample, we plan to investigatewhether intrinsic motivation and/or enjoyment of writing moderate the relationship between creative expressiveness in written stories and further educational achievement. In conclusion, CAT is a promising direction for measuring creativity in children, with implications for both creativity research and educational practice. We gratefully acknowledge the on-going contribution of the participants in the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) and their families. TEDS is supported by a program grant from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M021475/1 and previously G0901245). TT is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/J500124/1]. 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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. About this article 18 December 2019 Print ISBN (optional) Cognitive theory, educational equipment, educational technology, computer-aided learning (CAL), psycholinguistics Cite this article as: Toivainen, T., Malanchini, M., Oliver, B. R., & Kovas, Y. (2019). Creative Storytelling In Childhood Is Related To Exam Performance At Age 16. In S. B. Malykh, & E. V. Nikulchev (Eds.), Psychology and Education - ICPE 2017, vol 33. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 375-384). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2017.12.40

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1 Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Students understand dance forms and styles from a diverse range of cultural environments of past and present society. They know the contributions of significant choreographers, dancers and dance organizations to dance heritage. Students analyze the philosophical beliefs, social systems and movement norms that influence the function and role of dance in the lives of people. Benchmark A: Perform and describe dances from various cultures and historical periods with emphasis on cultures addressed in social studies. 1. Identify and demonstrate the spatial formations (e.g., circle, line and couple) in dances from various cultures. 2. Perform simple movement combinations from one or more theatrical dance styles. 3. Discuss the central concepts and themes expressed in traditional, social and theatrical dances from various time periods. Benchmark B: Explain the social and historical contexts that influence the development of dance in a culture. 4. Identify cultural practices observed in selected dances. Benchmark C: Research a recognized contributor to dance (e.g., choreographer, dancer or educator) and trace the development of the individual's work to its historical and cultural influences. 5. Explore the kinds of artistic problems that dancers and choreographers solve. 2 Creative Expression and Communication Students create, interpret and perform dances to demonstrate understanding of choreographic principles, processes and structures. They understand how to use dance and movement to express ideas and to make meaning of their world. Benchmark A: Perform basic dance movements, body positions and spatial patterns from one or more dance styles or traditions. 1. Demonstrate the use of compositional structures in a dance (e.g., ABA form, chance and canon). Benchmark B: Reflect on, evaluate and refine choreographic, rehearsal and performance processes. 2. Develop and demonstrate a sense of personal discipline in rehearsal and performance processes. Benchmark C: Perform a full dance that demonstrates artistic expression and performance skill for a peer audience. 3. Demonstrate movement skill, focus and kinesthetic awareness in a dance rehearsal. 4. Create original material for a short dance study that expresses a theme or concept. 3 Analyzing and Responding Students express orally and in writing their interpretations and evaluations of dances they observe and perform. They understand and use the vocabulary of art criticism to discuss their responses to a variety of dance forms and styles. Benchmark A: Demonstrate knowledge of different approaches to art criticism when analyzing and interpreting dance performances. 1. Articulate an understanding of several ideas or images communicated by a dance performance. Benchmark B: Analyze how dance elements are used to convey concepts or themes in dance performances. 2. Use the vocabulary of art criticism to analyze how the elements of dance are organized in a performance to communicate a theme or concept. Benchmark C: Apply knowledge of dance elements, techniques, styles and choreographic forms to critique dances using defined criteria. 3. Develop criteria for evaluating dance performances and their choreographic styles. 4 Valuing the Arts/Aesthetic Reflection Students inquire about the nature and experience of dance in their lives. They reflect on the significance and value of dances they observe and perform. Students present points of view about dance and respond thoughtfully to others' points of view. Benchmark A: Articulate their viewpoints about the merits of selected dances and explain the basis for their views. 1. Explore questions about the merits of a dance work. Benchmark B: Demonstrate reasoning skills when engaging in inquiry about dance. 2. Ask clarifying questions about different reactions to the same dance and determine how varying opinions have value. 5 Connections, Relationships and Applications Students apply their knowledge of dance to the study of other arts areas and disciplines outside the arts. Students make connections between dance and healthful living. Benchmark A: Demonstrate the inter-relationship of dance content and skills to those in other academic disciplines. 1. Discuss how aspects (e.g., costumes, music, set design and text) of other art disciplines are integrated into dance performance. 2. Discuss how dance relates to and enhances the study of other content areas. Benchmark B: Identify and compare how learning strategies (e.g., collaboration, consensus building, decision making, risk taking) acquired in dance are used in dance and non-dance careers. 3. Discuss how the processes of collaboration, consensus building, decision making and risk taking are used in dance and other professions. Benchmark C: Create and demonstrate correct warm-up activities independently and in a group. 4. Discuss the benefits and importance of proper warm-up for preparation and safety in dance or exercise. 6 Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Students understand and appreciate the historical, social, political and cultural contexts of drama/theatre in societies both past and present. Students identify significant contributions of playwrights, actors, designers, technicians, composers/lyricists, choreographers, directors, producing organizations and inventors to dramatic/theatrical heritage. Students analyze the social and political forces that have influenced and do influence the function and role of drama/theatre in the lives of people. Benchmark A: Explain the style of a dramatic/theatrical work in historical or cultural context. 1. Identify production styles. 2. Research and explain where, when and how dramatic/theatrical activities occurred in a specific time period. 3. Investigate how drama/theatre and storytelling forms past and present of various cultural groups may reflect their beliefs and traditions. Benchmark B: Compare and contrast playwrights and/or screenwriters from various time periods. 4. Discuss contributions to theatre arts of a playwright or screenwriter from a specific time period. 7 Creative Expression and Communication Students improvise, create, produce and perform dramatic/theatrical works. Students experiment with dramatic/theatrical processes, develop dramatic/theatrical skills and participate in drama/theatre. Benchmark A: Use basic acting skills (e.g., voice, posture, movement, language) to develop characterizations. 1. Create the movement and voice of a character in both comedic and dramatic situations. 2. Use sensory and memorization skills to create a character. Benchmark B: Explain the functions and interrelated nature of scenery, props, lighting, sound, costumes and makeup to create an environment appropriate for drama. 3. Analyze various design components used in a dramatic/theatrical event. Benchmark C: Explore the roles and responsibilities of various theatrical personnel. 4. Explain the roles and responsibilities of a director, stage manager and business manager. Benchmark D: Create scripted scenes based on personal experience and heritage. 5. Write a scripted scene from a prompt that provides exposition, consistent point of view, sensory details and dialogue. 8 Analyzing and Responding Standard Students respond to dramatic/theatrical texts, experiences and performances by describing the distinguishing characteristics and interpreting meaning, themes and moods. Students analyze the creative techniques used in creating and performing dramatic/theatrical works and evaluate dramatic/theatrical works using appropriate criteria. Benchmark A: Use appropriate dramatic/theatrical vocabulary, elements and principles. 1. Use appropriate dramatic/theatrical vocabulary to describe dramatic/ theatrical experiences. 2. Use script-writing techniques including stage directions. 3. Identify character types and relationships. Benchmark B: Discuss the collaborative nature of drama/theatre as a vehicle for the expression of ideas. 4. Explain how the setting of a dramatic/theatrical work affects characterization. 5. Explain the use of a production concept in a dramatic/theatrical work. 6. Differentiate among the unique characteristics of live theatre, film/video and broadcast media. Benchmark C: Articulate opinions about dramatic/theatrical work using established criteria. 7. Justify a presentation form (i.e., live theatre, film/video and broadcast media) to communicate an idea or message. 8. Critique a dramatic/theatrical performance. 9 Valuing Drama/Theatre/Aesthetic Reflection Students demonstrate an understanding of reasons why people value drama/theatre and a respect for diverse opinions regarding dramatic/theatrical preferences. Students develop personal drama/theatre philosophies and articulate the significance of drama/theatre in their lives. Benchmark A: Defend personal responses to a drama/theatre event. 1. Describe ways that drama/theatre, film/video and broadcast media express the artist's perspective and evoke a personal response. Benchmark B: Compare their personal responses to a drama/theatre event with the response of another person. 2. Identify factors that cause diverse opinions about a drama/theatre work or experience. 10 Connections, Relationships and Applications Students identify similarities and differences between drama/theatre and other art forms. Students recognize the relationship between concepts and skills learned through drama/theatre with knowledge learned in other curricular subjects, life experiences and potential careers in and outside the arts. Students recognize the benefits of lifelong learning in drama/theatre. Benchmark A: Discover the interdependence of theatre and other art forms. 1. Combine art forms to create a dramatic/theatrical experience. Benchmark B: Explain the relationship between concepts and skills used in drama/theatre with other curricular subjects. 2. Use problem-solving and cooperative skills to dramatize a story, current event or a concept from another content area. Benchmark C: Identify recurring drama/theatre ideas and concepts that occur across time periods and/or cultures. 3. Identify the cultural characteristics in selected drama/theatre performances from other countries. Benchmark D: Discuss drama/theatre skills as a foundation for lifelong learning and potential employment. 4. Work cooperatively in different roles/jobs within a dramatic/theatrical experience. 11 Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a variety of music styles and cultures and the context of musical expression or events, both past and present. Students identify significant contributions of composers and performers to music heritage. Students analyze the historical, social and political forces that have influenced the function and role of music in the lives of people. Benchmark A: Compare and contrast styles and forms of music from various historical periods. 1. Recognize, identify and demonstrate theme and variations in the music of various cultures and/or historical periods. 2. Compare and contrast opera and American music theatre. 3. Research and identify music instruments from different historical periods and world cultures. Benchmark B: Identify composers and classify them according to chronological historical periods. 4. Identify, listen and respond to music of different composers. Benchmark C: Describe how events during various historical periods have influenced the development of music. 5. Recognize and discuss the influence of American history on the development of folk music. 6. Describe conditions under which music is created and performed in various cultures. 12 Creative Expression and Communication Students sing, play instruments, improvise, compose, read and notate music. Benchmark A: Perform a piece of music, independently or in a group, with technical accuracy and expression. 1. Sing and/or play, alone and with others, using good posture and breath control, a varied repertoire of music representing diverse genres and cultures with appropriate dynamics, expression and tempo for the work being performed. 2. Play a variety of instruments independently and with other contrasting parts. 3. Respond appropriately to the cues of a conductor. Benchmark B: Improvise or compose a short melody that includes key signature and meter signature with proper notation in treble or bass clef. 4. Create short melodies using traditional notation. 5. Improvise melodies in a call-and-response setting. 6. Read, write and perform rhythm patterns (in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meter) using sixteenth through whole notes including dotted half-note and syncopated rhythms. 7. Read, write and perform diatonic melodies with fa and ti and the major scale on the treble staff in G-do using a system (e.g., solfege, numbers or letters). Benchmark C: Identify and recognize in a piece of music the following: clef, key signature, meter signature, tempo, dynamic markings and note values. 8. Identify key signatures. 13 Analyzing and Responding Students listen to a varied repertoire of music and respond by analyzing and describing music using correct terminology. Students evaluate the creating and performing of music by using appropriate criteria. Benchmark A: Describe and evaluate a piece of music using developed criteria based on elements of music and music vocabulary. 1. Identify dynamics, tempo, meter and tonality in various pieces of music aurally. 2. Identify terms related to form (e.g., DC al Fine; DC dal segno; DS al Coda; repeat signs, first and second endings). 3. Identify selected electronic and world music instruments. Benchmark B: Analyze the structure of larger music works and the sections comprised within. 4. Analyze a piece of music using music vocabulary. Benchmark C: Apply appropriate criteria to support personal preferences for music choice and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of a music performance. 5. Evaluate and describe individual and group performances. 6. Differentiate between melody and harmony. 14 Valuing Music/Aesthetic Reflection Students demonstrate an understanding of reasons why people value music and a respect for diverse opinions regarding music preferences. Students articulate the significance of music in their lives. Benchmark A: Reflect on and describe how music performance and settings affect audience response. 1. Describe audience etiquette associated with various music performances and settings. Benchmark B: Reflect on why others may have different music preferences. 2. Identify and discuss aesthetic qualities in their performances and in the performances of others. 3. Demonstrate how music communicates meaning through text, feelings, moods or images. 4. Identify elements of music that contribute to aesthetic qualities in a specific music work. Benchmark C: Justify one's personal preference of music choice using music vocabulary. 5. Explain how expressive music elements determine the quality of a composition. 6. Develop and apply criteria to support personal preferences for specific music works. 15 Connections, Relationships and Applications Students identify similarities and differences between music and other arts disciplines. Students recognize the relationship between concepts and skills learned through music with knowledge learned in other curricular subjects, life experiences and potential careers in and outside the arts. Students develop a desire for lifelong learning in music. Benchmark A: Compare and contrast common terms used in and for the interpretation of music and other arts disciplines. 1. Interpret music through dance, drama and visual art. 2. Identify the use of similar elements in music and other art forms and compare how ideas and emotions are expressed in each art form using the same elements. 3. Define basic arts terms (e.g., texture, color, form, movement) associated with various art forms and use them to describe music events. Benchmark B: Demonstrate ways that subject matter of other disciplines is interrelated with that of music. 4. Describe how knowledge of music connects to learning in other subject areas. Benchmark C: Identify various ways music affects their lives. 5. Discuss how culture influences music. Benchmark D: Identify various careers in music. 6. Identify the specific skills needed to be a musician. 16 Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Students understand the impact of visual art on the history, culture and society from which it emanates. They understand the cultural, social and political forces that, in turn, shape visual art communication and expression. Students identify the significant contributions of visual artists to cultural heritage. They analyze the historical, cultural, social and political contexts that influence the function and role of visual art in the lives of people. Benchmark A: Compare and contrast the distinctive characteristics of art forms from various cultural, historical and social contexts. 1. Identify visual forms of expression found in different cultures. 2. Compare and contrast art forms from various regions and cultural traditions of North America. Benchmark B: Create a work of art which incorporates the style or characteristics of artwork from a culture other than their own. 3. Compare and contrast the artistic styles observed in artwork from various cultures. 4. Demonstrate the way art materials are used by artists to create different styles (e.g., paint applied spontaneously in expressionism and more carefully in minimalism). Benchmark C: Demonstrate knowledge of historical influences on contemporary works of art and make predictions about influences on the future of visual art. 5. Examine how social, environmental or political issues affect design choices (e.g., architecture, public art and fashion). Benchmark D: Research culturally or historically significant works of art and discuss their roles in society, history, culture or politics. 17 6. Explain how art galleries, museums and public art contribute to the documentation and preservation of art history. 7. Describe the lives, works and impact of key visual artists in a selected period of United States History. 18 Creative Expression and Communication Students create artworks that demonstrate understanding of materials, processes, tools, media, techniques and available technology. They understand how to use art elements, principles and images to communicate their ideas in a variety of visual forms. Benchmark A: Apply knowledge of materials, tools, media, techniques and processes to communicate subject matter, themes or ideas in a variety of visual forms. 1. Use observational and technical skills to achieve the illusion of depth in two-dimensional space (e.g., value, perspective and placement of objects). 2. Explore different approaches to creating art (e.g., by artist, style or historical period). Benchmark B: Create two- and three-dimensional original artwork that demonstrates personal visual expression and communication. 3. Identify and communicate sources of ideas (e.g., personal experience, interests, nature or common objects) for their artworks. Benchmark C: Achieve artistic purpose and communicate intent by selection and use of appropriate media. 4. Apply problem-solving strategies to improve the creation of artwork. Benchmark D: Use current, available technology to refine an idea and create an original, imaginative work of art. 5. Use current, available technology to explore imagery and create visual effects. Benchmark E: Identify and explain reasons to support artistic decisions in the creation of art work. 6. Identify reasons for personal, artistic decisions. 19 Analyzing and Responding Students identify and discriminate themes, media, subject matter and formal technical and expressive aspects in works of art. They understand and use the vocabulary of art criticism to describe visual features, analyze relationships and interpret meanings in works of art. Students make judgments about the quality of works of art using the appropriate criteria. Benchmark A: Apply the strategies of art criticism to describe, analyze and interpret selected works of art. 1. Compare and analyze how art elements and principles are used for expressive purposes (e.g., strong mood, explosive shapes and rhythmic patterns). 2. Compare the works of different artists on the basis of purpose and style (e.g., functional/nonfunctional and representational/abstract). 3. Explain and discuss multiple meanings in selected artworks. Benchmark B: Present and support an individual interpretation of a work of art. 4. Apply observation and analysis skills to derive meaning in a selected artwork and explain their thought processes. Benchmark C: Establish and use criteria for making judgments about works of art. 5. Use specific criteria individually and in groups to assess works of art. 20 Valuing the Arts/Aesthetic Reflection Students understand why people value visual art. They present their beliefs about the nature and significance of selected artworks and the reasons for holding these beliefs. Students reflect on and respect diverse points of view about artworks and artifacts. Benchmark A: Demonstrate aesthetic inquiry and reflection skills when participating in discussions about the nature and value of art. 1. Pose questions that can be answered by an aesthetic study of artworks. 2. Recognize that different assumptions and theories of art lead to different interpretations of artworks. Benchmark B: Analyze diverse points of view about artworks and explain the factors that shape various perspectives. 3. Explain how personal experience can influence choosing one artwork over another. 21 Connections, Relationships and Applications Students connect and apply their learning of visual art to the study of other arts areas and disciplines outside the arts. They understand relationships between and among concepts and ideas that are common across subjects in the curriculum. Students recognize the importance of lifelong learning and experience in visual art. Benchmark A: Demonstrate the role of visual art in solving an interdisciplinary problem. 1. Compare and contrast how visual art is used in musical, theatrical or dance productions and provide examples. Benchmark B: Apply and combine visual art, research and technology skills to communicate ideas in visual form. 2. Use technology to conduct information searches, research topics and explore connections to visual art. Benchmark C: Use key concepts, issues and themes to connect visual art to various content areas. 3. Use artwork to communicate and enhance understanding of concepts in other subject areas (e.g., science, English language arts, mathematics and social studies). Benchmark D: Use words and images to explain the role of visual art in community and cultural traditions and events. 4. Investigate the types of cultural objects artists create and their role in everyday environment.

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Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us Part Two of Five /authors/id./author_detail.aspGilbert T. Sewall May 13, 2008 ISLAM'S FOUNDATIONS AND PAST Seventh-grade world history textbooks introduce Islam's origins, creeds, and core beliefs as a blend of history and scripture, weaving together revelation, legend, and fact. "Muslims believe that God had spoken to Muhammad through the angel," says the Holt book before going on to explain that "Muhammad reported new revelations about rules for Muslim government, society, and worship. God told Muhammad that Muslims should face Mecca when they pray." Teachers' Curriculum Institute's History Alive! features a passage set off in large print and italics, a Muslim prayer from the Qur'an: Recite - in the name of thy Lord! Who created man from blood coagulated. Recite! Thy Lord is wondrous kind, Who by the pen has taught mankind things they knew not. In its narration of Islam's foundation story, the Prentice Hall volume concludes with a variant translation of the same extract, this time set off in heavy boldface type: Seeking peace of mind, Muhammad retreated to a cave to think and reflect. One night in 610, according to Islamic beliefs, Muhammad had a vision and began to receive revelations. The angel Gabriel appeared before him and told him to spread God's word: Proclaim in the name of your Lord who created! Created man from a clot of blood. Proclaim: Your Lord is the Most Generous, Who teaches by the pen; Teaches man what he knew not. (Qur'an 96:1-3) To set the scene of the origins of Islam and the teachings of Muhammad, the McDougal Littell volume features a lavishly illustrated page. Its central organizing motif is an inspirational but fictionalized tale about a seventh-century Muslim family traveling on the first hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca and the religious experience of two seventh-century children, Ayesha and Yazid. It states, "Nearly 100,000 have gathered for the journey." The very size of the pilgrimage is a gross exaggeration. "Ayesha and Yazid stand with their parents for hours, praying in the blistering sun. But that memory soon fades when the sister and brother learn that they will spend the evening camping under the stars." Ayesha and Yazid camping under the stars, under the watchful eye of the Prophet. The children later "agree with their parents that being near Muhammad was especially meaningful." The enthusiasm of this invented story contrasts with standard textbook diction, which rarely expresses much emotion. TCI's lessons on Islam's foundations are more wordy, detailed, and complex, containing stilted language that seem scripted or borrowed from devotional, not historical, material. The chapter entitled "The Prophet Muhammad" begins with the story of Abraham and Hagar in the desert: Makkah (Mecca) was an ancient place of worship. According to Arab and Muslim tradition, many centuries before Muhammad was born, it was here that God tested the faith of the prophet Abraham by commanding that he leave his wife Hagar and baby Ishmael in a desolate valley. As Abraham's wife desperately searched for water, a miracle happened. A spring bubbled up at her son's feet. The spring became known as Zamzam. Over time, people settled near it, and Abraham built a house of worship called the Ka'ba. Such detail runs through entire chapters of History Alive! Seventeen pages after this passage, the book reminds students of this foundation story in an extensive section on the Five Pillars. It continues its storytelling in ornate, enthusiastic language: The Fifth Pillar of Faith is hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah. . . . Upon arrival, Muslims announce their presence with these words: "Here I am, O God, at thy command!" They go to the great Mosque, which houses the Ka'ba. . . . Muslims believe that Abraham built the Ka'ba as a shrine to honor God. The pilgrims circle the Ka'ba seven times, which is a ritual mentioned in the Qur'an. Next, they run along a passage between two small hills, as did Hagar, Abraham's wife, when she searched for water for her baby Ishmael. As you may remember, Muslims believe that a spring called Zamzam miraculously appeared at Hagar's feet. The pilgrims drink from the Zamzam well. In the Holt seventh-grade volume two pages highlight a long prayer from the Qur'an to Allah "the Merciful." The format is identical to that used on pages in the Holt sixth-grade volume that cover the Bible. This device typifies the ruling editorial principle of cultural equivalency: equal time for equal faiths, two pages each, using the same layout. One aspect of the scriptural quotations is strikingly different. The biblical passages are ethical teachings canonical in the Western tradition. The Qur'anic passage is poetic and devotional, more like the Lord's Prayer or Apostles Creed. It begins: In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful It is the Merciful who has taught the Qur'an. He created man and taught him articulate speech. The sun and the moon pursue their ordered course. The plants and the trees bow down in adoration. In Islam this prayer serves a purpose different from ethical teaching - veneration and adoration of the Prophet -a difference that textbooks leave unexamined and unstated. Among the textbooks examined, the editorial caution that marks coverage of Christian and Jewish beliefs vanishes in presenting Islam's foundations. With material laden with angels, revelations, miracles, prayers, and sacred exclamations; the story of the Zamzam well; and the titles "Messenger of God" and "Prophet of Islam," the seventh-grade textbooks cross the line into something other than history, that is, scripture or myth. Lavish textbook praise of Islam continues after the presentation of these foundation stories. Some textbooks provide glowing declarations of Muslim social conscience. The Holt volume, trying to summarize Islam's organizing principle, says: "People should help the poor." It adds: "Helping and caring for others is important in Islam." Muhammad "taught equality," says Teachers' Curriculum Institute's History Alive! "He told followers to share their wealth and to care for the less fortunate in society." The Holt seventh-grade volume says, "Fasting also reminds Muslims of people in the world who struggle to get enough food." TCI says, "Muhammad told his followers to make sure their guests never left a table hungry." The textbook continues, noting that Muhammad learned "about Arab traditions, such as being kind to strangers and helping orphans, widows, and other needy members of society." These effusive formulations stop just short of invention and raise questions about the sources of information. The textbooks feature manifold contributions of Islam to the arts and science, expanding coverage to a degree that seems out of proportion to the relative slimness of the material that the same volumes dedicate to European achievements. TCI devotes thirteen text-heavy pages to textiles, calligraphy, design, books, city building, architecture, mathematics, medicine, polo, and chess, some of it spun like cotton candy: Singing was an essential part of Muslim Spain's musical culture. Musicians and poets worked together to create songs about love, nature, and the glory of the empire. Vocalists performed the songs accompanied by such instruments as drums, flutes, and lutes. Although this music is lost today, it undoubtedly influenced later musical forms in Europe and North Africa. Undoubtedly, the TCI volume declares. Yet the book acknowledges that the music is lost and the claims are speculative. Empty text dilates Islamic achievements. The seventh-grade world history textbooks reviewed avoid all conflict and bloodshed in describing Islam's push out of Arabia and rapid conquest of most of the Mediterranean world. They fail to explain how Islam spread in the seventh and eighth centuries. Islam appears out of nowhere, spreads smoothly and by implication without conflict. Once it was common to state that Islam was spread by the sword. Now, textbooks imply, it moves peacefully with traders. Islam is "brought" to apparently willing populations. People adopt it freely. TCI says, "An Arab man named Muhammad introduced Islam to the people of the Arabian peninsula." The book continues, "Although the first Muslims lived in Arabia, Islam spread through the Middle East." But non-Arabs did not passively "become" Muslim. They were conquered. Islam did not just spread. The Arab-Islamic conquest ended many centuries of Greek culture and Christian worship in the eastern Mediterranean. Sudden Muslim control of Syria, Egypt, and Persia was followed by the Muslim conquest of western Africa, Spain, and the Indus Valley. Textbooks are trying, perhaps, to correct a misconception. Historically, as a conqueror, Islam was no crueler than its many adversaries. The notion that Mohammedanism was a "religion of the sword" forced upon the masses by bloodthirsty fanatics is based on a false reading of history that was discredited fifty years ago and is a view rejected by contemporary specialists. Michel Gurfinkiel of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute notes that the Islamic empire that swept beyond Arabia and quickly overran the mightiest powers of the day, Byzantium (Greece) and Persia, did so through alliances with religious rebels and internal political factions that did not share the beliefs of the regime. In Islam's history the slaughter of conquered infidels was discouraged. Sometimes the fate of the conquered was slavery. Sometimes it was limited tolerance by the Islamic regime. In Islam's early conquests Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were to be the tax base of the state. One reason that conquered non-Arabic people became Muslims was to avoid being taken as slaves or to have preferential rights under Muslim law. Conversion gradually became a problem for the state as its tax base declined. Yet the idea of Islamic belligerence has lingering currency, not without reason. Efraim Karsh of King's College London documents the long history of warring inclination and territorial ambition that makes Islam unique among the world's major faiths, and the Economist magazine wonders, "Why is Islam involved in quite so many modern wars of religion?" Students receive a different message from textbooks, one that points in another direction. As in the McDougal Littell volume, they read, "There was much blending of cultures under Muslim rule. Over time, many peoples in Muslim-ruled territories converted to Islam. They were attracted by Islam's message of equality and hope for salvation." McDougal Littell's Teacher's Annotated Edition reiterates this theme, telling instructors to stress that "many conquered people became Muslims [because] they found Islam's message of equality and hope attractive." What, exactly, was this "message of equality" and hope that teachers are told to stress? In explaining jihad, several textbooks make an effort to cleanse it of belligerence. Defining jihad is admittedly difficult, as definitions in circulation vary radically. The common assertion now is that translating jihad as "holy war" is entirely wrong and that old translations are incorrect. But in fact, authorities and scholarship of varying perspectives conceive jihad to be a sacred obligation to extend Islam's power - religious and territorial - by persuasion or force. Jihad is "sacred" or "holy" struggle. Jihad is also a "just struggle" against the disbeliever. It is a religious struggle. A religion professor and college textbook author, Jamal J. Elias, says, "The concept of jihad covers all activities that either defend Islam or else further its cause." Jihad is constructed as a "holy war" in much Muslim scripture. Historically, jihad involves efforts to subjugate or convert, impose sharia, and take political and military control over non-Muslim territory. Today, in government circles, in the foreign policy establishment, in the international community, among newswriters and editorialists and academics, that is how the word jihad is used. It is how Middle Eastern terrorists and Al Qaeda use the term. When Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006, his final words were: "I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in jihad and fighting aggression." Islamic scripture is inconsistent toward infidels, but a harsh, punitive, and aggressive voice, not a charitable or kindly one, prevails. Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, observes that punishment and humiliation are leitmotifs in Qur'anic scripture. Given radical Islam's mind-set, and observing the contemporary clash of the Sunni and Shia sects, Harris wonders why U.S. religious moderates and cultural leaders refuse to look critically at the element of violence inherent in the Islamic project. The idea that Islam is a peaceful religion merely hijacked by a few extremists, Harris and others warn, is a dangerous fantasy. "Fighting is prescribed for you" (2:216) and "Slay the infidel wherever you find them" (4:89) are only two of many suras that suggest a degree of intolerance and aggression. Yet the Islamic organizations that act as academic reviewers for textbook publishers assure editors that jihad is something entirely different. It is a struggle against evil impulses, they say, misunderstood by the rest of us and in no way bellicose. To characterize jihad as holy war, they insist, would be a grave textbook error, yet a 2007 Pentagon-based study shows almost conclusively that Islamic law sanctions violence and that the Islamist threat to world security has a doctrinal basis. New definitions of jihad started to circulate in U.S. history textbooks and classrooms in the 1990s. The engine was a 1994 Council on Islamic Education "guide" for publishers that maintained jihad meant "‘to exert oneself' or ‘to strive.' Other meanings include ‘endeavor, strain, effort, diligence, struggle. . . .' It should not be understood to mean ‘holy war,' a common misrepresentation." Soon, jihad underwent a definitional overhaul. In this amazing cultural reorchestration, the pioneer was a Houghton Mifflin world history textbook, Across the Centuries, still firmly established in junior high schools. Across the Centuries said jihad is a struggle "to do one's best to resist temptation and overcome evil." Jihad was reimagined as an "inner struggle" and element of Muslim self-improvement. These changes reflected the intersection of multiculturalism, suddenly a trendy social studies construct, and Houghton Mifflin's commercial ambitions in social studies. Then and later, appearing from nowhere, the California-based Council on Islamic Education would become a fixture on the textbook scene. Change was soon evident as well among high school textbooks. From 2001 on, Connections to Today, Prentice Hall's market-dominant high school world history then and now, and several spin-off versions customized for California and other states, listed Shabbir Mansuri and Susan Douglass of the Council on Islamic Education as academic reviewers. The textbook says: "Some Muslims look on jihad, or effort in God's service, as another duty. Jihad has often been mistakenly translated simply as ‘holy war.' In fact, it may include acts of charity or an inner struggle to achieve spiritual peace, as well as any battle in defense of Islam." As early as 2002 another high-profile textbook, Patterns of Interaction, a high school world history textbook published by Houghton Mifflin under the McDougal Littell imprint, did not mention jihad. Houghton Mifflin's multigrade series then dropped jihad from textbooks; by 2005 Houghton Mifflin had apparently removed jihad from its entire series of social studies textbooks. The advisory role of the Council on Islamic Education in making these editorial decisions remains unclear. But this was only the beginning. Among the history textbooks adopted by California in 2005, some definitions of jihad are more extreme and less valid. History Alive, the TCI textbook that Lodi and Scottsdale parents so objected to, provides the most detailed - and misleading - definition of jihad among seventh-grade textbooks reviewed: The word jihad means "to strive." Jihad represents the human struggle to overcome difficulties and do things that are pleasing to God. Muslims strive to respond positively to personal difficulties as well as worldly challenges. For instance, they might work to become better people, reform society, or correct injustice. Then, in the next paragraph, which differentiates the "lesser" and "greater" jihad, the textbook tangles the subject and also seems slightly deceptive: Jihad has always been an important Islamic concept. One hadith, or account of Muhammad, tells about the prophet's return from a battle. He declared that he and his men had carried out the "lesser jihad," the external struggle against oppression. The "greater jihad," he said, was the fight against evil within oneself. Examples of the greater jihad include working hard for a goal, giving up a bad habit, getting an education, or obeying your parents when you may not want to. Continuing the definition, TCI lapses into florid prose that invites questions about textual sources and scripting: Another hadith says that Muslims should fulfill jihad with the heart, tongue, and hand. Muslims use the heart in their struggle to resist evil. The tongue may convince others to take up worthy causes, such as funding medical research. Hands may perform good works and correct wrongs. Then it continues: Sometimes, however, jihad becomes a physical struggle. The Qur'an tells Muslims to fight to protect themselves from those who would do them harm or to right a terrible wrong. TCI leaves "those who would do them harm" and "right a terrible wrong" to the reader's imagination. The textbook's chapter summary reads: "Muslims also have the duty of jihad, or striving to overcome challenges as they strive to please God." Since TCI describes jihad as being "the struggle against oppression," students who hear of repeated Islamic calls to jihad against Christians and Jews that include the destruction of the United States and Israel must wonder who and what is at fault. Other seventh-grade textbook definitions of jihad are ambivalent. The Holt volume defines jihad most accurately among the textbooks reviewed as "to make an effort, or to struggle. Jihad refers to the inner struggle people go through in their effort to obey God and behave according to Islamic ways. Jihad can also mean the struggle to defend the Muslim community, or, historically, to convert people to Islam. The word has also been translated as holy war." The Prentice Hall volume offers a more acceptable and informative passage despite the unadorned declaration of Islamic tolerance: The successful spread of Islam and Muslim rule was based on several factors. One was the decline of the Byzantine and Persian empires. Years of warfare had left these empires weak and vulnerable. A second factor in the Muslims' success was the skill of Arab armies. They were expert in the use of soldiers on horseback. They struck quickly and with deadly force in harsh desert environments. A third factor was the energy and religious zeal of Arab warriors. They fought under the banner of jihad or "holy struggle." In Arabic, jihad refers to striving hard in God's cause. Sometimes it means a person's internal struggle to live by Muslim principles. But it can also mean waging war to spread the Islamic faith. Another factor helping the Arabs was their tolerance for other religions. A final factor in the Muslim's success was the rapid appeal of Islam itself. Islam offered followers a direct path to God and salvation. The Holt and Prentice Hall definitions of jihad may be imperfect, yet they provide essential definitions that the Glencoe and McDougal Littell seventh-grade volumes do not. These two latter volumes fail to acknowledge jihad. The material has simply been deleted. This deliberate omission required editorial self-censorship at McGraw-Hill, and at Houghton Mifflin, where editors had previously whitewashed the definition of jihad in Across the Centuries. Part Three will continue the focus on Islam's Foundations and Past. You can find this online at: http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.86/pub_detail.asp COPYRIGHT 2008 FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS INC. Please report any broken links to Copyright © 1988-2012 irfi.org. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer

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The constructivist teaching experiment is used in formulating explanations of children’s mathematical behavior. Essentially, a teaching experiment consists of a series of teaching episodes and individual interviews that covers an extended period of time—anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 years. The explanations we formulate consist of models—constellations of theoretical constructs—that represent our understanding of children’s mathematical realities. However, the models must be distinguished from what might go on in children’s heads. They are formulated in the context of intensive interactions with children. Our emphasis on the researcher as teacher stems from our view that children’s construction of mathematical knowledge is greatly influenced by the experience they gain through interaction with their teacher. Although some of the researchers might not teach, all must act as model builders to ensure that the models reflect the teacher’s understanding of the children. KeywordsConstructivist teaching experiment-Model building-Clinical interview-Teaching episode-Counting scheme-Teacher as researcher A total of 602 students (59.5% female) from academically selected schools in Germany were tested at three time points--end of Grade 7, end of Grade 10, and middle of Grade 12--in order to investigate the relationships between academic interest and achievement in mathematics. In addition, sex differences in achievement, interest, and course selection were analyzed. At the end of Grade 10, students opted for either a basic or an advanced mathematics course. Data analyses revealed sex differences in favor of boys in mathematics achievement, interest, and opting for an advanced mathematics course. Further analyses by means of structural equation modeling show that interest had no significant effect on learning from Grade 7 to Grade 10, but did affect course selection--that is, highly interested students were more likely to choose an advanced course. Furthermore, interest at the end of Grade 10 had a direct and an indirect effect (via course selection) on achievement in upper secondary school. In addition, results suggest that, at least from Grade 7 to Grade 10, achievement affected interest--that is, high achievers expressed more interest than low achievers. Findings underline the importance of interest for academic choices and for self-regulated learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) A yearlong experimental study showed positive effects of a professional development project that involved 19 urban elementary schools, 180 teachers, and 3735 students from one of the lowest performing school districts in California. Algebraic reasoning as generalized arithmetic and the study of relations was used as the centerpiece for work with teachers in Grades 1-5. Participating teachers generated a wider variety of student strategies, including more strategies that reflected the use of relational thinking, than did nonparticipating teachers. Students in participating classes showed significantly better understanding of the equal sign and used significantly more strategies reflecting relational thinking during interviews than did students in classes of nonparticipating teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) Solving arithmetic and algebraic word problems is a key component of the Singapore elementary mathematics curriculum. One heuristic taught, the model method, involves drawing a diagram to represent key information in the problem. We describe the model method and a three-phase theoretical framework supporting its use. We conducted 2 studies to examine teachers' perceptions and children's application of the model method. The subjects were 14 primary teachers from 4 schools and 151 Primary 5 children. The model method affords higher ability children without access to letter-symbolic algebra a means to represent and solve algebraic word problems. Partly correct solutions suggest that representation is not an all-or-nothing process in which model drawing is either completely correct or completely incorrect. Instead, an incorrect solution could be the consequence of misrepresentation of a single piece of information. Our findings offer avenues of support in word problem solving to children of average ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) The purpose of this article is to sketch a hypothetical descriptive framework of statistical knowledge for teaching. Because statistics is a discipline in its own right rather than a branch of mathematics, the knowledge needed to teach statistics is likely to differ from the knowledge needed to teach mathematics. Doing statistics involves many primarily nonmathematical activities, such as building meaning for data by examining the context and choosing appropriate study designs to answer questions of interest. Although there are differences between mathematics and statistics, the two disciplines do share common ground in that statistics utilizes mathematics. This connection suggests that existing research on mathematical knowledge for teaching can help inform research on statistical knowledge for teaching. I propose the use of research from the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) project to help shape the discussion. I conclude by identifying areas of needed research and suggesting directions for teacher education efforts in statistics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) In this rejoinder to Baroody and colleagues (2007) (see record 2007-03311-003), I point out that there are several areas of agreement between my position and that of Baroody et al.--most notably that both procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge are of critical importance in students' learning of mathematics. However, there are issues on which Baroody et al. and I do not agree. In particular, I elaborate on the idea that procedures can be known deeply, flexibly, and with critical judgment--positive learning outcomes that are exclusively about students' knowledge of procedures and not necessarily a result of connections to conceptual knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) This editorial written by Steve Williams is about research articles in the JRME. The author comments that as difficult as it can be (and usually is), he nevertheless feels strongly that there is great value in shortening, tightening, and focusing a research report before submitting it. It benefits editors, reviewers, readers, and authors, and results in more timely and interesting publications. Moreover, the author wants to assure readers that he feels your pain. He is currently in the process of reducing an accepted manuscript by 1,000 words of his choice, at the suggestion of a kind editor who he realizes (despite his occasional grumbling) has the best interests of him, the manuscript, and its readers at heart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) There has been increased engagement in studying discourse in the field of mathematics education. But what exactly is a discourse, and how do researchers go about analyzing discourses? This study examines 108 articles from 6 international journals in mathematics education by asking questions such as these: In which traditions and in relation to which kinds of epistemological assumptions are the articles situated? How is the concept of discourse used and defined? How are mathematical aspects of the discourse accentuated? The results of this study show that a variety of conceptualizations are used for analyzing discourses but also that many articles would benefit from strengthening those conceptualizations by explicitly defining the concept of discourse, situating the article in relation to epistemological assumptions, and relating the work to other discourse studies in mathematics education. (Contains 14 footnotes and 7 tables.) Overall scale scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that there was only minimal improvement in the mathematics performance of high school students between 1978 and 2004. Using recently released data from the Long-Term Trend (LTT) NAEP, this study describes the content covered on the LTT NAEP and the performance of 17-year-old students on that content. In addition, it demonstrates that although overall gains in performance were small, there were areas within mathematics in which performance improved substantially and others in which students in 2004 did not do as well as their counterparts of the 1970s and 1980s. Specifically, performance on 3 items involving multiplication of whole numbers by fractions deteriorated but performance improved on most tasks involving percents and geometry. Performance was stable on most items assessing algebraic reasoning and logical reasoning and was stable or improved modestly on items assessing estimation, interpretation of tables and graphs, and understanding of integers. (Contains 3 figures, 8 tables, and 9 footnotes.) This bibliography provides information and brief annotations for 148 papers reporting research into the effectiveness of self-paced instruction in mathematics. The citations are organized into three major categories: research summaries (8 papers), studies comparing the effectiveness of self-paced programs with that of more traditional programs (101 papers), and studies designed to analyze or evaluate specific components of self-paced programs (39 papers). The papers annotated deal with mathematics instruction at all levels from the primary grades through college, and with a variety of cognitive and affective criteria for judging the effectiveness of instruction. Each annotation notes the grade levels at which the study was performed and summarizes the major findings. (SD) This listing of research related to mathematics education provides brief annotations for articles and dissertations (K-12) published in 1975. Studies on college-level and other post-secondary school levels are also listed, but without annotations. (SD) This is the seventh annual listing of research on mathematics education published in JRME . The research for K–12 is organized alphabetically by author(s) within three categories—research summaries, journal-published reports, and dissertation abstracts. The subset of Piagetian-oriented research is listed separately in each of the latter two divisions. The K–12 listing is followed by references to articles and dissertations at the college and other postsecondary levels. All entries are annotated this year. An annual annotated listing of research on mathematics education is presented. The research is organized alphabetically by author(s) within three categories (research summaries, journal-published reports, and dissertation abstracts). Grade and age levels are indicated for each reference. An index of general topics is appended to help readers locate studies of particular interest. Included in the listing are studies in which mathematics education was not the sole or primary focus of the research. While most of these peripheral studies are not annotated, those studies specific to mathematics are annotated, and most annotations indicate one principal finding of the study. (MK) This is the 12th annual listing of research on mathematics education. The research noted is alphabetically organized by author(s) within the following three categories: (1) research summaries; (2) journal-published reports; and (3) dissertation abstracts. Grade or age level is indicated for each reference. Included in the listing are studies in which mathematics education was not the sole or primary focus of research. While most of these peripheral studies are not annotated, those specific to mathematics are. Most annotations indicate one principle finding of the study. A list of the journals searched is provided, and the number of references from each cited journal is noted. An index of general topics is appended to help readers locate studies of particular interest. (MP) This is the 13th annual listing of research on mathematics education. Annotated references are organized alphabetically by author within three categories: (1) research summaries; (2) journal-published reports; and (3) dissertation abstracts. An index is also provided to help locate references to designated mathematical topics. Topic areas include: achievement; algebra; arithmetic operations; attitudes/anxiety; calculators and computers; cognitive style; diagnosis and remediation; ethnic and social variables; geometry and measurement; learning; learning disabilities; mathematics materials; number and numeration; organizing for instruction; problem-solving; sequencing; sex differences; and test analysis. Accompanying the author's name in this index is a grade-level designation. In addition, each annotation listed in the three major categories also includes a grade-level (or age-level) designation. Annotations generally indicate one principal finding of a study, although most have additional findings. Therefore, the original report should be checked for other results as well as for limitations affecting the validity of the findings. Several studies in which mathematics education was not the primary focus are also included. Such studies are usually not annotated. (JN) Lists references of 16 research summaries, 152 articles, and 220 dissertations alphabetically by author within each category. Provides the grade or age level for each reference. A brief abstract is presented for most of the references. Journals searched and author index by content are included. (YP) Debates about the future of school mathematics in the United States often center on whether standards-based instruction is improving or undermining students' achievement. Critical for making progress in these debates is information about the actual nature of classroom practice in U.S. classrooms. This article focuses on one key element of classroom practice--teaching--and presents the results of two studies of randomly selected, nationally representative U.S. eighth-grade mathematics lessons that were videotaped as part of the TIMSS 1995 and 1999 Video Studies. (Contains 4 figures, 6 tables and 11 footnotes.) California is one of 4 states that have accelerated addition and subtraction basic-facts memorization. This article reports on teacher practices, first-grade achievement of the standard, and a broader conception of basic-facts competence. Even among students from the highest performing schools, fewer than 11% made progress toward the memorization standard equivalent to their progress through the school year. Several negative correlations between instructional strategies and student retrieval suggest that teachers may benefit from professional development targeted at basic-facts teaching and learning. Textbook reliance was negatively correlated with basic-facts retrieval, suggesting that educators and policymakers may want to reexamine assumptions about the efficacy of traditional first-grade textbooks. This study's findings may prove useful to teachers, professional development trainers, and textbook publishers as they consider ways to improve basic-facts learning among early elementary children. (Contains 5 figures, 11 tables and 12 footnotes.) This article is about 8 African American middle school boys who have experienced success in mathematics. Working within a phenomenological methodological framework, the researcher investigated the limitations these students encounter and the compensating factors they experience. Critical race theory was the theoretical framework for this study; counter-storytelling was utilized to capture the boys' experiences, which is in stark contrast to the dominant literature concerning African American males and mathematics. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) early educational experiences, (b) recognition of abilities and how it was achieved, (c) support systems, (d) positive mathematical and academic identity, and (e) alternative identities. Each of 20 high school algebra teachers taught a lesson on direct variation to one first-year algebra class. The students (N=455) had not previously been taught this topic in class. Before the lessons were taught, each teacher was given a list of lesson objectives. Immediately after each lesson, a posttest that focused on the lesson objectives was administered. The teachers were not shown the posttest before they taught their lessons. Correlations were found between the mean posttest scores for the classes and several variables pertaining to teacher discourse. A substantial amount of research in mathematics education seeks to document disparities in achievement between middle-class White students and students who are Black, Latina/Latino, First Nations, English language learners, or working class. I outline the dangers in maintaining an achievement-gap focus. These dangers include offering little more than a static picture of inequities, supporting deficit thinking and negative narratives about students of color and working-class students, perpetuating the myth that the problem (and therefore solution) is a technical one, and promoting a narrow definition of learning and equity. (Contains 1 footnote.) Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), we examined the extent to which students' mathematics coursework regulates (influences) the rate of growth in mathematics achievement during middle and high school. Graphical analysis showed that students who started middle school with higher achievement took individual mathematics courses earlier than those with lower achievement. Immediate improvement in mathematics achievement was observed right after taking particular mathematics courses (regular mathematics, prealgebra, algebra I, trigonometry, and calculus). Statistical analysis showed that all mathematics courses added significantly to growth in mathematics achievement, although this added growth varied significantly across students. Regular mathematics courses demonstrated the least regulating power, whereas advanced mathematics courses (trigonometry, precalculus, and calculus) demonstrated the greatest regulating power. Regular mathematics, prealgebra, algebra I, geometry, and trigonometry were important to growth in mathematics achievement even after adjusting for more advanced courses taken later in the sequence of students' mathematics coursework. (Contains 4 tables, 8 figures, and 7 footnotes.) Materials were written for an entire year's course in geometry in which transformations were used to develop the concepts of congruence, similarity, and symmetry, as well as being a vehicle for proof. This paper presents a study involving 413 students using these materials and 483 control students, comparing performance on standard geometry content and attitudes. Preliminary studies were done on perceptual, arithmetic, and algebraic skills. Student comprehension of transformation-related concepts, the problem of implementation, and attitudes of teachers were informally studied. While the data indicated that the experimental Ss could learn the material, few differences were detected with the measures employed--a significant difference ($p) in favor of the C group was found on the posttest of standard geometry content. Pre- (September) and posttest (June) student attitude data indicated a change in mean score, less positive, for both E and C groups ($p for the C group). Attitude differences between E and C were not significant. Informal feedback from a teacher questionnaire indicated a favorable reaction to the experimental materials. In this article we describe gender gaps in mathematics achievement and attitude as measured by the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) from 1990 to 2003. Analyzing relationships among achievement and mathematical content, student proficiency and percentile levels, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), we found that gender gaps favoring males (1) were generally small but had not diminished across reporting years, (2) were largest in the areas of measurement, number and operations (in Grades 8 and 12) and geometry (in Grade 12), (3) tended to be concentrated at the upper end of the score distributions, and (4) were most consistent for White, high-SES students and non-existent for Black students. In addition, we found that female students' attitudes and self-concepts related to mathematics continued to be more negative than those of male students. (Contains 6 footnotes, 3 figures, and 4 tables.) This retrospective study examined the impact of prior mathematics achievement on the relationship between high school mathematics curricula and student postsecondary mathematics performance. The sample (N = 4,144 from 266 high schools) was partitioned into 3 strata by ACT mathematics scores. Students completing 3 or more years of a commercially developed curriculum, the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project curriculum, or National Science Foundation-funded curriculum comprised the sample. Of interest were comparisons of the difficulty level and grade in their initial and subsequent college mathematics courses, and the number of mathematics courses completed over 8 semesters of college work. In general, high school curriculum was not differentially related to the pattern of mathematics grades that students earned over time or to the difficulty levels of the students' mathematics course-taking patterns. There also was no relationship between high school curricula and the number of college mathematics courses completed. (Contains 9 tables and 1 footnote.) The article discusses the ways that less successful mathematics students used graphing software with capabilities similar to a basic graphing calculator to solve algebra problems in context. The study is based on interviewing students who learned algebra for 3 years in an environment where software tools were always present. We found differences between the work of these less successful students and the traditional problem-solving patterns of less successful students. These less successful students used the graphing software to obtain a broader view, to confirm conjectures, and to complete difficult operations. However, they delayed using symbolic formalism, and most of their solution attempts focused on numeric and graphic representations. Their process of reaching a solution was found to be relatively long, and the graphing software tool was often not used at all because it did not support symbolic formulation and manipulations. (Contains 12 figures and 1 table.) Currently, there are more theories of learning in use in mathematics education research than ever before (Lerman & Tsatsaroni, 2004). Although this is a positive sign for the field, it also has brought with it a set of challenges. In this article, I identify some of these challenges and consider how mathematics education researchers might think about, and work with, the multiple theories available. I present alternatives to views of the competition or supersession of theories and indicate the kinds of discussions that will support effective theory use in mathematics education research. I describe the potential for mathematics education researchers to make informed, justified choices of a theory or theories to address particular research agendas. (Contains 10 footnotes.) Although students of all levels of education face serious difficulties with proof, there is limited research knowledge about how instruction can help students overcome these difficulties. In this article, we discuss the theoretical foundation and implementation of an instructional sequence that aimed to help students begin to realize the limitations of empirical arguments as methods for validating mathematical generalizations and see an intellectual need to learn about secure methods for validation (i.e., proofs). The development of the instructional sequence was part of a 4-year design experiment that we conducted in an undergraduate mathematics course, prerequisite for admission to an elementary (Grades K-6) teaching certification program. We focus on the implementation of the instructional sequence in the last of 5 research cycles of our design experiment to exemplify our theoretical framework (in which cognitive conflict played a major role) and to discuss the promise of the sequence to support the intended learning goals. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures, and 15 footnotes.) In this article, we use data from a large-scale Brazilian national assessment to discuss the relation between reform teaching and equity in mathematics education. We study the dimensionality of teaching style to better qualify what reform teaching means. We then use hierarchical linear models to explore whether reform teaching is associated with student achievement in mathematics and with student socioeconomic status (SES). Our results indicate that reform and traditional teaching are not opposite sides of a one-dimensional axis. They also emphasize both that reform teaching is related to higher school average achievement in mathematics and that the dissemination of reform teaching contributes to minimize the achievement gap between students who attend schools with low average SES and students who attend schools with high average SES. However, our results also show that reform is associated with an increase in within-school inequality in the social distribution of achievement. This article reports on an investigation of how teachers of geometry perceived an episode of instruction presented to them as a case of engaging students in proving. Confirming what was hypothesized, participants found it remarkable that a teacher would allow a student to make an assumption while proving. But they perceived this episode in various ways, casting the episode as one of as many as 10 different stories. Those different castings of the episode make use of intellectual resources for professional practice that practitioners could use to negotiate the norms of a situation in which they had made a tactical but problematic move. This collection of stories attests to the effectiveness of the technique used for eliciting the rationality of mathematics teaching: By confronting practitioners with episodes of teaching in which some norms have been breached, one can learn about the rationality underlying the norms of customary teaching. ["Seeing a Colleague Encourage a Student to Make an Assumption while Proving: What Teachers Put in Play when Casting an Episode of Instruction" was written with Gloriana Gonzalez.] (Contains 14 footnotes and 3 figures.) The Mathematics Attitude Inventory, designed to measure the attitudes toward mathematics of secondary students, and its accompanying user's manual, are described. The six scales measure perception of mathematics teachers, value of mathematics, self-concept in mathematics, and anxiety toward, enjoyment of, and motivation in mathematics. (MK) Response to an earlier article in JRME in which the authors propose a constructivist alternative to the representational view of mind. Argues that the original article misinterprets the postepistemological perspective, confuses ontological and epistemological issues, and mistakes the pragmatic force of the constructivist argument. (45 references) (Author/MKR) In this experimental study, prospective elementary school teachers enrolled in a mathematics course were randomly assigned to (a) concurrently learn about children's mathematical thinking by watching children on video or working directly with children, (b) concurrently visit elementary school classrooms of conveniently located or specially selected teachers, or (c) a control group. Those who studied children's mathematical thinking while learning mathematics developed more sophisticated beliefs about mathematics, teaching, and learning and improved their mathematical content knowledge more than those who did not. (Contains 5 figures, 6 footnotes and 6 tables. Appended are: IMAP's Seven Beliefs Assessed; and Odds Ratios.) Remarks adapted from the Presidential Address at the 74th Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in April 1996 charge educators with believing that every student can learn mathematics, every teacher must have adequate support and professional development opportunities, and every parent must have a vested interest in achieving higher standards for mathematics education. (AIM) Eight sixth-grade students received individualized instruction on the addition and subtraction of fractions in a one-to-one setting for 6 weeks. Instruction was specifically designed to build upon the student's prior knowledge of fractions. It was determined that all students possessed a rich store of prior knowledge about parts of wholes in real world situations based upon whole numbers. Students related fraction symbols and procedures to prior knowledge in ways that were meaningful to them; however, there was a danger of this prior knowledge interfering when it reflected algorithmic procedures rather than fraction ideas in real world situations. (Author/PK) This article examines a calculus graphing schema and the triad stages of schema development from Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS) theory. Previously, the authors studied the underlying structures necessary for students to process concepts and enrich their knowledge, thus demonstrating various levels of understanding via the calculus graphing schema. This investigation built on this previous work by focusing on the thematization of the schema with the intent to expose those possible structures acquired at the most sophisticated stages of schema development. Results of the analyses showed that these successful calculus students, who appeared to be operating at varying stages of development of their calculus graphing schemata, illustrated the complexity involved in achieving thematization of the schema, thus demonstrating that thematization was possible. This article discusses the challenge of improving the interrelationships between research and practice in mathematics education, and it outlines actions being taking to respond to that challenge. The need for improvement is bidirectional. The practice of classroom mathematics teaching needs to be better informed by an understanding of the implications of existing bodies of research, and researchers need to learn more from the insights and knowledge of practitioners. Building on its series of initiatives designed to use research to guide mathematics teaching and learning, NCTM has made a new commitment to a flexible, nimble, and sustainable initiative that will strengthen the bidirectional link between research and practice. This initiative includes the development of Research Analyses, Briefs, and Clips (ABCs), research syntheses designed through collaboration of teacher leaders and researchers to inform instructional leaders and policymakers about research perspectives on critical issues of practice. (Contains 1 figure and 8 footnotes.) The recent releases of two major international comparative studies that addressed mathematics--the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 (TIMSS 2003) and the Program for International Student Assessment 2003 (PISA 2003)--provide opportunities and challenges for mathematics education researchers interested in using the findings, instruments, and conceptual and theoretical perspectives of these studies as catalysts for secondary analysis and additional research. In particular, a number of important questions in mathematics education in the United States can be pursued, using various resources from these studies as a base, by mathematics education researchers and mathematicians collaborating with statisticians and assessment experts. We highlight some of the main findings of TIMSS 2003 and PISA 2003, and suggest how some of the instruments that were used in these studies, as well as the conceptual frameworks and priorities that guided them, might be beneficial in pursuing pressing questions in such areas as the role of curriculum in mathematics performance, the ways in which social contextual variables interact with mathematics learning, and the challenges in measuring the ability to use mathematics in real-world situations. Presents remarks from the Presidential Address at the 75th Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held in Minneapolis in April, 1997. Two major challenges addressed were the need to change classroom practice and the need to rethink the definition of "basic". (AIM) This case-study research investigated changing teacher roles associated with two teachers' use of innovative mathematics materials at Grade 6. Using daily participant observation and regular interviews with the teachers and the project staff member responsible for providing in-school support, a picture emerged of changing teacher roles and of those factors influencing the process of change. One teacher demonstrated little change in either espoused beliefs or observed practice over the course of the study. The second teacher demonstrated increasing comfort with posing nonroutine problems to students and allowing them to struggle together toward a solution, without suggesting procedures by which the problems could be solved. He also increasingly provided structured opportunities for students' reflection on activities and learning. Major influences on this teacher's professional growth appeared to be the provision of the innovative materials and the daily opportunity to reflect on classroom events in conversations and interviews with the researcher. The major objective of this study was to investigate differential performances among 5-year-old children when using transitivity of matching relations. Instruments were constructed to measure the subjects' (1) knowledge of matching relations, (2) ability to conserve the relations, and (3) proficiency in making inferences using the transitive property of the relations. Three specially designed tests, administered individually to 21 boys and 21 girls, assessed knowledge of relational terminology, level of conservation and performance on manipulative tasks (matching, comparing, judging quantitative relations among objects). A surprising result of this investigation was that subjects in the high category of conservation did not perform significantly better on transitivity than subjects in the low category of conservation for each relation. In general, differential performance on transitivity between equivalence and order relational groups occurred only within the high conservation level. An extensive comparison is made between present results and Smedslund's (1963a) data for conservation and transitivity of discontinuous quantity. (WY) Twelve middle school students working in pairs used a computer microworld to explore an introductory curriculum in transformation geometry. The microworld linked a symbolic representation (a set of simple Logo commands) with a visual display that showed the effects of each transformation. Worksheets were designed with the objective of encouraging the students to find and express mathematical patterns in the domain. The students were successful in constructing an accurate working understanding of the transformations. There was a tendency for symbolic overgeneralization in some activities, but the students were able to use visual feedback from the microworld and discussions with their partners to correct their own errors. The study investigated the strategies that 7- to 12-year-old children spontaneously apply to the solution of novel combinatorial problems. The children were individually administered a set of six problems involving the dressing of toy bears in all possible combinations of tops and pants (twodimensional) or tops, pants, and tennis rackets (three-dimensional). Two sets of solution procedures were identified, each comprising a series of five increasingly complex strategies ranging from trial-and-error approaches to sophisticated odometer procedures. Results suggested that experience with the two-dimensional problems enabled children to adopt and subsequently transform their efficient 2-D odometer strategy (where one item is held constant) into the most sophisticated 3-D odometer strategy, which involved working simultaneously with two constant items. The study highlights the importance of discrete mathematics as a source of problem-solving activities in which children are motivated to create, modify, and extend their own theories. In this study, a researcher-teacher examined seventh-graders' experiences with a problem-centered curriculum and pedagogy. Analyses of interviews, surveys, teaching journal entries, and audio recordings focused on differences between lower- and higher-socioeconomic status (SES) students' reactions to learning mathematics through problem solving. While higher-SES students displayed confidence and solved problems with an eye toward the intended mathematical ideas, the lower-SES students preferred more external direction and sometimes approached problems in a way that allowed them to miss their intended mathematical point. The lower-SES students more often became "stuck" in the open and contextualized nature of the problems. An examination of sociological literature revealed ways in which these patterns in the data could be related to more than individual differences in temperament or achievement between the children. This study suggests that class cultural differences could relate to students' approaches to learning mathematics through solving open, contextualized problems. This paper discusses equity-related challenges to be faced as well as interventions that could be helpful in our attempts to center mathematics instruction around problem solving. Contains 32 references. (Author) The purpose of this study was to compare the classroom processes of girls and boys who differed in confidence in their ability to learn mathematics. The students were observed daily during their seventh-grade mathematics classes for 3 to 4 weeks. All 93 students observed (i.e., the target students) scored at or above the mean on a standardized test of mathematics achievement. Trained observers recorded characteristics of each verbal interaction between a target student and the teacher and the amount of time each target student spent on task in mathematics. Boys were involved in more public interactions with their teacher than girls were. High- and low-confidence students differed very little in their interactions with the teacher. Differences between boys and girls in their interactions with the teacher varied from classroom to classroom. This article reports on models of teaching that developed as outgrowths of a study of middle-grades mathematics classes. Grounded theory methodology and sociolinguistic tools were used to move from classroom observations and interviews to line-by-line coding of classroom discourse, to mapping the flow of talk and verbal assessment moves, to a multilevel analysis of the relationships of forms of talk and verbal assessment, and, ultimately, to models of teaching that promote discourse on a continuum from univocal (conveying meaning) to dialogic (constructing meaning through dialogue). Three specific cases are highlighted that represent deductive (associated with univocal), inductive (associated with dialogic), and mixed (a hybrid of deductive and inductive) models of teaching. Teaching practices associated with each model are illustrated and discussed. Examines the changes that have been evolving in teaching and learning practices in mathematics classrooms by reflecting on issues in the past and present. Discusses what should be done in order to prepare students for the future. Contains 16 references. (ASK) This article considers the question of what specific actions a teacher might take to create a culture of inquiry in a secondary school mathematics classroom. Sociocultural theories of learning provide the framework for examining teaching and learning practices in a single classroom over a two-year period. The notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is invoked as a fundamental framework for explaining learning as increasing participation in a community of practice characterized by mathematical inquiry. The analysis draws on classroom observation and interviews with students and the teacher to show how the teacher established norms and practices that emphasized mathematical sense-making and justification of ideas and arguments and to illustrate the learning practices that students developed in response to these expectations. Mathematics teachers' selection and implementation of instructional tasks were analyzed before, during, and after their participation in a professional development initiative that focused on selecting and enacting cognitively challenging mathematical tasks. Data collected from 18 secondary mathematics teacher participants included tasks and student work from teachers' classrooms, lesson observations, and interviews. Ten secondary mathematics teachers who did not participate in the professional development initiative served as the contrast group and participated in 1 lesson observation each. Analysis of the data indicated that, following their participation in the professional development initiative, project teachers more frequently selected high-level tasks as the main instructional tasks in their classrooms and had improved the maintenance of high-level cognitive demands. Significant differences existed between project teachers and the contrast group in task selection and implementation. These differences were not influenced by the use of Standards-based or conventional curricula in project teachers' classrooms. (Contains 1 footnote, 8 tables, and 3 figures.) This study investigated introductory calculus students' spontaneous reasoning about limit concepts guided by an interactionist theory of metaphorical reasoning developed by Max Black. In this perspective, strong metaphors are ontologically creative by virtue of their emphasis (commitment by the producer) and resonance (support for high degrees of elaborative implication). Analysis of 120 students' written and verbal descriptions of their thinking about challenging limit concepts resulted in the characterization of 5 clusters of strong metaphors. These clusters were based on the objects, relationships, and logic related to intuitions about (a) a collapse in dimension, (b) approximation and error analyses, (c) proximity in a space of point-locations, (d) a small physical scale beyond which nothing exists, and (e) the treatment of infinity as a number. Students' reasoning with these metaphors had significant implications for the images they formed and the claims and justifications they provided about multiple limit concepts. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

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Here is a list of activities and resources we are using for a unit on Ancient African Kingdoms that I am co-teaching for a group of homeschoolers, ages eight through ten. The class is a sixteen-week unit that explores the history and culture of eleven kingdoms. We are using the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa and the PBS series Wonders of the African World as the primary guides for exploration of Ancient Africa, but we are reading broadly as well. The class is a field trip heavy, and during the field trips we will learn about and experience the dance, food, and art of various African cultures, both old and new. And a few of us will cap off the semester with a trip to Ghana. This may be our best unit yet! Throughout the course, we will focus on cultivating the following habits of mind: - Exploring African history from an Afro-centric rather than Euro-centric perspective, and thinking about how perspective effects interpretation. - Understanding and valuing the role of oral history. - Privileging artifacts and primary resources over interpretation. - Exploring art as a unique expression of the culture (by looking at epic poetry, dance, sculpture, and architecture). Week 1: Introduction Before class, students were instructed to complete or begin: - Read three folktales from Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales: “The Great Thirst;” “Mmadipetsane;” and “The Mother Who Turned to Dust.” - Watch four episodes of Tinga Tinga Tales, from the BBC: “Why Baboon Has a Bare Bottom;” “Why Lion Roars;” and “Why Giraffe Has A Long Neck.” They can be seen on YouTube. - Read Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid (due on Week 3). Activity 1: Map (20 minutes) Before class, blow up and laminate a large map of Africa, a map that shows the physical features of Africa without country borders. Have it displayed where students can see it. As students walked in, they should find a spot around the table and began to work on a map of Africa. African Physical Map from World Reference Maps and Forms, page 64. Give them a direction list like the one on page 36. As students are working, they can look at the laminated map and compare maps with one another. Wander around to make sure they are doing it accurately. After they finish, ask them what they notice about the maps. The key thing you want them to come away with is that the Earth did not come with country lines drawn in. That humans did that for lots of reasons, which is what we’re going to be studying this semester. Activity 2: Get-To-Know-You Memory Game (20 minutes) Do you remember the Memory Card Game, where you flip cards that are face down in an attempt to find matching pairs? In this game, the students will create cards that describe themselves to the group. To begin, give each student eight index cards, cut in half. They should write their name on all eight cards, and then write the following on each of four pairs: favorite food, favorite book, future job, and a fear (like spiders or lightening). Collect all the cards, shuffle them, and place them face down on the table. Take turns trying to find matches until all the cards have been turned over. Activity 3: KWL Chart (15 minutes) On a sheet of newsprint, draw a KWL chart. (It’s three columns, with the words Know, Want to Know, and Learned on top of the columns.) Tell students that you are going to fill in the first two columns today, and that you’ll fill in the last column during the last class. Begin by asking students what they know about ancient Africa. Don’t worry if they say things that aren’t true. When you review the chart at the end of the semester, you can come back to the list to see if they should cross things off. If several students disagree about something on the list, you can add the dispute to the Want to Know list. Activity 4: Timeline (15 minutes) Before class, make a 4.56 meter timeline that you can post along a wall of the room. Begin on the right of your timeline and mark “Today.” Mark each centimeter to the left of today, where each centimeter is 10 million years. The far right mark of your timeline will be 4.56 billion years ago, when scientists believe the Earth was formed. Show the students the timeline and make sure that they understand the scale. Next, To lay out on the table sheets of paper with the following terms on them: Earth formed (4.56 billion years ago), First evidence of life on Earth (3.8 billion years ago), First dinosaurs roam the Earth (250 million years ago), Last of the dinosaurs die out (65 million years ago), Primates originate in Africa (40 million years ago), First hominids, like Neanderthal man, originate (7.5 million years ago), Early homo sapiens (like Cro-Magnons, orginate (250,000 years ago), Modern homo sapiens develop, marked by things like their use of language (50,000 years ago), Farming begins in places like China and along the Nile (10,000 years ago), Pyramids built (2,600 bc), American Revolution begins (1776), We land on the moon (1969), Nina was born (2009). Go through each one, asking students to place it correctly on the timeline. “What’s the problem?” Human history is so recent that all of it fits into the tiniest little slice on the 4.5 meter-long timeline. Remind students that when we talk about ancient Africa, or any ancient civilization, it really wasn’t that long ago. Tell them that next week, we’ll have a timeline of the last 5,000 years, to which we will add events as we go through the course. Click here to see the master timeline that we are using for the semester. Activity 5: Folktales (15 minutes) Ask students to reflect for a few minutes on all of the folktales they watched or read for homework. What did they have in common? What were some differences? Why do the students thing the folktales were written? (Help them come up with three common purposes for folktales: 1) morality tales to encourage good behavior, 2) creation myths, 3) stories to explain natural phenomena. Homework Due Next Week: - Choose an animal for which you will write a folktale similar to one of the Tinga Tinga episodes. What trait of the animal will you explain with your folktale? Homework Due In Two Weeks: - Watch Episode 1, Series 1 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Nubia. - Watch Episode 1 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: Black Kingdoms of the Nile. - Read from Kids Discover: African Kingdoms magazine: pages 2-5. - Finish Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid. - Read African Voice: Northern Edition. Make a list of 3 questions that you don’t think most grown ups could answer whose answers can be found in this week’s homework. - Complete the vocabulary packet (which you can buy from Kids Discover here). Week 2: Museum of Fine Arts Field Trip The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston offers these great classes for kids, Artful Adventures. The three-week unit will look at both ancient and modern art from around Africa. Each week, we will spend a forty minutes in the galleries, learning about art from different ancient cultures in Africa. Then we’ll spend an hour in the studio working on painting a Tinga Tinga-style cover for a folktale each student will write. Homework: Finish the homework assigned last week. Week 3: Nubia Activity 1: Kushite Deities and Reading/Writing (10 minutes) The following two activities will be layed out on the table for students to work on when they come in: Some of these were the asme as ancient Egyptian deities while others belonged only to Kush. Many of them had the head of an animal on the body of a man or woman. Students will read descriptions of Kushite gods and goddesses and match them to pictures. We got this activity from pages 6 & 7 of Step Back in Time to Ancient Kush. Kush differed from many ancient cultures in that many people from all strata of life could read and write. Students will read a paragraph about the their writing system, which today is called Meroitic, and will try to find three mistakes in a picture of Kushite children learning to read and write. We got this activity from pages 16 & 17 of Step Back in Time to Ancient Kush. Activity 2: Artifact Exploration (30 minutes) In groups of two or three, students will look at pictures we printed from the artifact gallery from the online Nubia collection of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Each group will have two or three pictures to look at and try to develop ideas about what they were used for and what the culture was like that used them. To guide their exploration, they will fill in a worksheet, which you can see here soon. Activity 3: Dice Game For Red Pyramid (30 minutes) We prepared six categories of questions, and laid them out on the table under colored index cards, labeled: 1) True/False, 2) Fill In The Blank, 3) Book Review, 4) Literary Elements, 5) Book-to-Book, and 6) Book-to-Life. Book Review questions ask them to analyze the writing, make predictions, and focus on what makes a book work or not work. Book-to-Book questions ask them to make connections between the book and other books they’ve read. And Book-to-Life questions ask them to make connections between the book and their life. Click here soon for a list of questions. To play, a student rolls the dice to see which type of question to answer. They can decide whether to answer the question themselves or ask everyone else to answer. Again, making it a game somehow makes it fun to have a relatively advanced discussion of literature. - Watch Episode 3, Series 2 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: The Berber Kingdom of Morocco. - Read “The Clever Snake Charmer” in Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales. - Complete map worksheet. - Complete the folktale outline. Week 4: Berber Kingdom of Morocco Activity 1: Animals on the Map (25 minutes) We will describe three types of environments in Africa: Grasslands – dry, inland savannas with short grasses and thorn trees, home to many of the largest and fastest animals; Tropical forests – which are hot, wet, swamps, rivers, and small mountain ranges; Deserts – dry and barren with scrub and grass suitable only for pasture part of the time, where animals can live without water for several days. Students will take pictures of various animals and try to tape them on a large laminated physical map of Africa. After we get them all in the right places, we’ll talk about how the animals are adapted to those environments. You can find a list of animals used on page 9 of Hands On Heritage Africa Activity Book. Activity 2: Vocabulary Maps (25 minutes) Using the vocabulary words from the homework, we will make extensive word webs. We’ll put one word, like conquer, in the middle of a large sheet of newsprint and then see how many more of the words from the vocabulary list we can connect to it. So we might draw a line from conquer to wealth, noting that groups often conquer other groups to gain wealth. Then we could draw a line from wealth to archeologist, noting that an archeologist might find Roman money in Ancient Egypt and conclude that Rome had conquered Egypt. We’ll also draw green lines out from each word and add words that have the same root. So we might add conquistadors and conquest. We’ll draw purple lines from each word to words that are synonyms, like dominate or defeat, and red lines to antonyms like lose to or liberate. Finally, students will write two sentences that each use three or more words from the board. Activity 3: Headbanz (30 minutes) We own the game Hedbanz, and have enough bands for each child. Before class, we’ll prepare cards with the names of kingdoms, fictional characters, and historical figures that we have studied this far. All students put on a head band and place a card in it without looking. The first child begins by asking YES/NO questions in attempt to guess their character before the timer runs out. If they do so, they get a token for the students. If there is still time, they can take another card and ask questions until the time runs out. If time runs out before the player guesses their character, the teacher gets a token and the card remains in the band until Round 2. After every player has a turn, round 1 is over. Play for two rounds and count up the points to see of the teacher or the students with the game. Activity 4: Eating Out We’ll head to Baraka Café for a lunch of Tunisian food. - Episode 2, Series 1 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Ethiopia. - Watch Episode 4 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: The Holy Land. Read African Voice: Eastern Edition. - Write intro paragraph to folktale. - Complete independent project planning project. - Start reading Trouble in Timbuktu, by Cristina Kessler (due Week 8). Week 5: Ethiopia Activity 1: Make a Mancala board (45 minutes) Among the earliest evidence of the game Mancala are fragments of a pottery board and several rock cuts found in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia and which are dated by archaeologists to between the 6th and 7th century AD, but many believe that it is much older than that. Using egg cartons, paint and beans, the students will make a simple mankala board, learn the rules, and play the game. Directions can be found on page 72 of Africa for Kids: Exploring a Vibrant Continent. Activity 2: Timeline (15 minutes) We will add important dates from Egyptian, Kush, Berber, and Ethiopian kingdoms to the classroom timeline. Activity 3: Matching Game (20 minutes) Before class, we will fill two trashcans with 20 inflated balloons in each. 10 of the balloons will have descriptions written on slips of paper and taped to the balloons. Ten of the balloons will have the names of the cultures, people, or events described on the first ten balloons. Students will form two teams. When I say go, the first person from each team will run to the trash can, pull out a balloon and bring it back to their team. When they tag the next person, that person will go to the can and pull out a balloon. This continues until they find have all twenty balloons. While the team is getting balloons, members who are not running can pull off the slips of paper, and begin matching them to other slips. They will tape the matching slips of paper next to one another on a poster board. The first team to correctly complete their timeline wins. Activity 4: Eating Out We’ll head to Asmara for Ethiopian/Eritrean food. - Watch Episode 1 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: The Swahili Coast. - Read the folktales “The Enchanting Song of the Magical Bird” and “The Lion, The Hare, and the Hyena” in Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales. - Write draft of folktale. - Fill in independent project calendar. - Continue reading Trouble in Timbuktu, by Cristina Kessler (due Week 8). Week 6: The Swahili Coast Activity 1: Scrapbook Page (40 minutes) Before class, we will print out lots of pictures of Swahili coast (animals, buildings, beaches, etc) for scrapbook pages. We‘ll have a ton of scrapbooking materials available and pictures of Tanzania and Kenya. Students can make one or two scrapbook pages that depict aspects of ancient Eastern Africa. We’ll encourage them to write descriptive captions. Activity 2: Bowl Game (30 minutes) Before class, we’ll fill a bowl with 20 slips of paper. Each kid pulls out a slip and gives as many verbal clues as needed for the other kids to guess the person, character, kingdom, or event on the slip. Next, we put all of the slips back in the bowl. In round two, when they pull out a slip, they have to act it out with no words. The people and events on the slips: Activity 4: Salt experiment to get ready for West Africa (20 minutes) Salt was a highly valuable commodity in the ancient world. It can be mined from seawater that lies in shallow ponds. To see how it works, students will set up the following experiment and take it home to observe it for two weeks: Each student should fill a small mason jar with hot water and stir in salt, one tablespoon at at time, until the salt will no longer dissolve. Tie one of a string to a nail and the other end to the middle of a pencil. Lay the pencil across the mouth of the jar so that the string hangs down but the nail does not touch the bottom of the jar. They should bring the jars home (they can put a lid on it to get it home and place the string in it once they get it home) and place in a warm place. They should write down an observation every day for two weeks. Homework (All of this homework is due Week 8): - Fill out independent study project. - Read “Sakunaka” in Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales. - Fill out salt observation sheet. - Finish reading Trouble in Timbuktu, by Cristina Kessler. - Watch Episode 4, Series 1 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: West Africa. - Watch Episode 5 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: The Road to TImbuktu. - Read from Kids Discover: African Kingdoms magazine: pages 6-13. - Read The African Voice: Western Edition. - Read Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, Burns picture book. Week 7: Dance Complex Field Trip We’re working with an artist in residence at MIT. He is from Senegal, and is from a family of griots. He will lead two workshops on dance, drumming, and storytelling. Homework: Finish homework assigned last week. Week 8: West Africa, Part i Activity 1: Check in on Independent Projects (30 minutes) Have each student talk about their independent study projects. Other students can ask questions or make suggestions. Activity 2: Report on Salt Experiments (10 minutes) Have students share what they observed. How do they think this might have applied to ancient Mali? Activity 3: Cup of Doom for Road to Timbuktu (50 minutes) Find an old soccer ball and in each hexagon, write a discussion question with a permanent marker. Have students sit in a circle and tell them that you are going to throw the ball to someone. You will say his or her name before you throw the ball. When the student catches it, he or she has to read and answer whatever question is under the left thumb. After answer the question, students say the name of another student and throw them the ball. Eventually, you can click here to see the questions I wrote on the soccer ball. If students don’t answer a question correctly or well, they have to draw a popsicle stick from the Cup of Doom. Each stick has a different ‘punishment,’ like doing 10 pushups or dancing like a chicken for 30 seconds. (Be prepared for kids to throw the question so that they can pick from the Cup of Doom. They love it!) - Work on independent study project. - Revise folktale. Week 9: MFA2 Field Trip We will continue our three-week unit at the Museum of Fine Arts. - Work on independent study project. - Revise folktale. Week 10: Dance/Drumming II - Work on independent study project. - Start reading Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Angola (Due week 13). Week 11: Crocodile River Field Trip Through several interactive activities, students will explore the art and music of two West African kingdoms. They will also explore how West African music has influenced musical styles around the globe. Homework (Due in two weeks, Week 13): - Episode 1, Series 2 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: The Kingdom of Asante. - Watch Episode 3 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: The Slave Kingdoms. - Read from Kids Discover: African Kingdoms magazine: pages 14-15. - Work on independent study project. - Make final edits to the folktale. - Finish reading Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Angola. Week 12: MFA 3 We will continue our three-week unit at the Museum of Fine Arts. - Finish homework assigned last week. Week 13: West Africa, Part II Activity 1: West African meal with member of the Asante people (20 minutes) We will make jollof rice and banana cake, from pages 16-17 in Hands-on Heritage Africa Activity Book. It will be ready by the end of class, when we will eat with a member of the Asante people. Activity 2: Adinkra Stamping (40 minutes) Working with a local artist, and using traditional adinkra designs from Ghana, we will make our own stamps to keep, and create a personal cloth, or join together as a group to make a large cloth. We will also use real adinkra stamps carved from gourds in Ghana. Activity 3: Skit Charades (30 minutes) Before class, make a list of 7 or 8 scences from the Nzinga book, write them on slips of paper, and place them in a bowl. Place students in groups of two or three and have one person from each group come up and pull out a slip from the bowl. Then they’ll have five minutes to prepare their charade. Finally, groups will act out the scenes without talking and the rest of the class will guess. There may be time to chose another scene and do it again. - Watch Episode 3, Series 1 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Great Zimbabwe. - Watch Episode 6 of the PBS series Wonders of the African World: Lost Cities of the South. - Read from Kids Discover: African Kingdoms magazine: pages 16-17. - Read The African Voice: Southern Edition. Week 14: Great Zimbabwe Activity 1 – Folktales (45 minutes) In groups of 3 or 4 (with one adult) students will read the folktales they’ve worked on all semester. After each student reads, we will give them warm and cool feedback. For warm feedback they can start with: “I really liked it when…” and “A detail that I really appreciated was _____ because it made me ___________.” For cool feedback they can start with: “I would have liked to hear more about…” and “A detail that was confusing/distracting to me was….” Activity 2 – Pop Quiz on Great Zimbabwe (15 minutes) Students will take a “pop quiz” on great Zimbabwe. Then have a discussion about testing, and how it’s just a way to discover what you’ve learned. “What’s the difference between the pop quiz and the bowl game or the soccer ball game?” Eventually, you can click here to see the quiz. Activity 3: “Bingo” (30 minutes) We created Bingo-type cards, with the names of: Kingdoms, Characters, People, Geography, and Artifacts & Buildings. I put clues on slips of paper, and pulled them out of a bowl. Students used highlighters to fill in their cards. We played until someone had a bingo. Eventually, you can click here to see the cards and clues. Homework: Finish independent study projects Week 15: Presentation/Celebration Students will set up stations with the work from their independent study as well as other work from the semester of which they are particularly proud. Half the students will stand by their stations while all of the parents, friends, and the other half of the students walk around with clipboards and fill out feedback sheets. At the midway point, we’ll switch the presenters. Eventually, you can click here to see the feedback sheets. Every family will bring a traditional dish, food, or drink from an ancient or modern African culture or country. We’ll party! - Watch Episode 2, Series 2 of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa: The Zulu Kingdom. Week 16: Zulu Activity 1: Review Activities (15 minutes) Students will complete the review activities in Kids Discover: African Kingdoms magazine: pages 18-19: 1) They fill in a timeline, placing eight kingdoms in the order in which they were in power. 2) They match the kingdoms with something for which they are known. And they do a word search with the names of nine ancient African rulers. Activity 2: Dolls, Shields, and Spears (50 minutes) Sotho brides carry a beaded doll, which they name. They then use that name for their first child. The Zulu tribe makes long painted shields covered with goat hide. The spears of Maasai warriors can be used as peace symbols when a black ostrich feather is attached to the tip of the spear with a string of beads. Students can make a version of either a bridal doll, a shield, or a spear using instructions from pages 26-29 of Hands on Heritage Affrica Activity Handbook. Activity 3: KWL (25 minutes) We will revisit our KWL chart from the first day. Were there things we thought we knew that were wrong? Did we learn everything they wanted to learn? What else did they learn? What might they continue to learn about? If you want to read more about some of the ideas on this page, you may want to read these posts:

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Written by Deanna Stefanyshyn and Julie Kendell Technology has the power to affect not only education but also culture, religion and personal thoughts and beliefs. While the world population is continually growing, our global world seems to be getting smaller as we are able to connect to people in a way that was never imagined. Radio and television were among the early contributors to this new form of mass media and played a role in affecting world political views and religious beliefs as well as changing how we view literacy in an educational setting. While these technologies started off as a form of entertainment, people quickly began to see the advancements and benefits that these technologies could bring to an educational setting. As with any new technology, the use of radio and television in the classroom faced resistance and limitations that set a pattern for inclusion of advancements even in today’s educational world. The earliest known media available to teachers were termed ‘visual education’ or ‘visual instruction’ because they did not yet combine the advancement of sound. For example, silent films were used in the classroom along with photographs, well before films with sound and audio recordings gained popularity (Cortez, 2009). In fact, silent films showed so much promise in the educational world that Thomas A. Edison predicted “Books will soon be obsolete in schools …. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years” (Saettler 1968, p. ). However, it was found that especially in the beginning of film use, teachers were only using it occasionally in their classrooms. Some reasons that were recorded were “teachers’ lack of skill in using equipment and film; the cost of films, equipment, and upkeep; inaccessibility of equipment when it was needed; and the time involved in finding the right film for each class” (Mehlinger, n.d.). What is not surprising is that these specific roadblocks are often the same reasons given by teachers today when discussing their use of 21st century technology. School museums were a popular venue for the first visual instructional materials and allowed for distribution of portable exhibits including slides, films and study prints to schools (Saettler, 1968). In order to gain respect from teachers, it was very important that these materials were viewed as supplementary curriculum materials that would enhance lessons rather than replace the teacher entirely. Even today teachers continue to fight for their standing as the primary source of instruction while maintaining autonomy in their use of media. This very idea has brought forth professionals in the field to argue that: “(a) teachers should be viewed on an equal footing with instructional media-as just one of many possible means of presenting instruction, and (b) teachers should not be given sole authority for deciding what instructional media will be employed in classrooms ” (Reiser, 2001, p. 55). Considering this has been an issue in education for the past 90 years, there does not appear to be a definitive answer that will come anytime soon. “Radio broadcasting is one of the greatest educational tools which has ever been placed at the disposal of civilized man. It is an instantaneous, universal means of communication. It is not a new art, but is a means of multiplying the efficiency of oral communication just as the printing press multiplied the effectiveness of the written word. In addition to that, it has certain decided advantages over the printed page which it in part supplants and in part supplements” (Tyler, 1935. p.115). While, the invention of radio dates all the way back to the 1820’s when Hans Christian Orsted discovered the relationship between electricity and magnetism, it wasn’t until between 1916 and 1920 that the first known radio news program was broadcast (Wikipedia, 2012) . As time went on the world of radio grew in both scope and popularity, and many broadcasts began to hit the radio waves. Radio became a new form of communication and entertainment. Between the 1920’s and 1950’s many radio shows were broadcast, and gathering around the radio in the evening was a common form of entertainment. People, regardless of where they were located and what class they belonged to, could tune in to listen to news, sports broadcasts, comedy shows, dramas, live music and political addresses. Radio was a way for people to escape the care of their everyday lives. The world began to become a much smaller place in the minds of many people as they began to see that we were all, in a way, interconnected. Radios grew even more in popularity during the late 1920’s and early 1930’s due to the Great Depression. While most other forms of entertainment were expensive, the radio provided entertainment free of charge right in your own home. Radio became a vital link to information and had the power to influence people’s opinions in a way that had never been seen before. People could find out what was happening in the world quickly after it happened and it was much faster than waiting for the newspapers to print a story. The invention of the radio also had an effect on religion as religious broadcasting was born. Benjamin Armstrong, former president of the National Religious Broadcasters, described radio and other electronic media as the “new Pentecost that communicates religious belief directly to the homes and hearts of individual listeners and viewers” (Armstrong, 1979, p. 7). While radios became commonplace in most homes in the United States during the 1920’s and 1930’s, radio also began to gain popularity in the area of education. Many felt that radio had the power to bring the world to the classroom, and that radio programs could be presented as if they were textbooks of the air (Lindgren, 2004). While textbooks were the most common place to gain understanding and information at this time, it quickly became clear that other mediums could be beneficial if used properly. Usually the radio programs that were created were in line with the general classroom curriculum. However, studies have revealed that there were major contrasts between the content of schoolbooks and the content that was on the radio (Lindgren, 2004). Radio programs opened up the arena to discussing contemporary progressive ideas and political notions. These progressive ways of thinking were not readily available to students in a classroom. Children who listened to educational radio encountered views of society that were much different than the views that were shown in their school books (Lindgren, 2004). Beginning in 1920, the Canadian National Railway, a non-educational agency, invested in radio infrastructure and saw the need for educational radio. The CNR used radios as a form of entertainment for their passengers; however, the president of the CNR Sir Henry Thorton saw both the social and commercial value in providing educational programming as a public service (Buck, 2006). Beginning in 1925, educational programs were broadcast in Canada. Success of the CNR’s educational broadcasts encouraged Thornton and the CNR to expand educational offerings, and they began to use this technology to reach the learning disabled. In 1926 broadcasts from the CNR were created for reception at the Point Grey School for Deaf and Blind in Vancouver (Buck, 2006). People believed that broadcasts of music and storytelling could help stimulate the brains of these students. This signified the first use of radio in Canada in the field of special education. By the end of 1926 there were broadcasts on a regular basis that were intended for schools. Lectures, recitations and music were popular but other broadcasts, which included activity sessions, were also gaining popularity. These broadcasts gave students instructions on how to create projects and the students could then follow along. Due to the successful example of the CNR educational broadcasts, several provincial educational broadcasts began in the late 1920’s. The University of Alberta’s CKUA began broadcasting in 1927 and Nova Scotia’s broadcasts at CMHS station in 1928. Although some of the broadcasts from these stations were specific to the province from which they were created, the national broadcaster, the CBC, carried some of the programs that were developed. They also broadcast some more generic programs that could be used in all provinces and continued to offer educational broadcasts for adult learners. An example of an adult educational broadcast was “Enquiry into Co-operation” where current affairs were discussed. The longest-lived adult educational program was “The National Farm Forum” which ran from 1941 – 1964. The CBC still provides educational materials today. They have a large digital archive with many radio and video clips that have been used to create a variety of lessons and projects for students. As well as these archives, they continue to broadcast radio programs on topics ranging from music appreciation to current events. “The audiovisual era reinforced a principle that developed during the preceding visual instruction movement: Visual aids can teach more people more things in less time” (Cortez, 2009, p. 4). Radio paved the way to bring mass media into the educational setting, but many people saw the limitations of only using hearing as a teaching tool. The idea that videos and television could reach the same number of people and incorporate sight, started the rise in educational television and audiovisual education. In the 1920’s sound began to be combined with film therefore coining the terms ‘audiovisual education’, ‘audiovisual instruction’, and ‘audiovisual devices’. However, the transition was not a smooth one as many resistant teachers had just began to buy into the advantages of silent film. Furthermore, educators were concerned that their silent film equipment would become obsolete; a pattern that has repeated itself over the decades as more and more technology is introduced. However, the actual introduction of audiovisual materials would have to wait until the Great Depression was over before it really saw its rise throughout the education system (Treat, 2006). WW2 provided a desperate need to educate many people in a short amount of time. This was the kind of movement audiovisual education required to gain the momentum needed in order to necessitate the funding to create videos for training military personnel. Not only did they need to educate a large number of military recruits, there was also a need to educate new industrial workers to replace them while they went off to war. A quick solution to train people quickly resulted in the opportunity to test out the new forms of media during the war. After the war there was a transition to use these types of materials in schools (Treat, 2006). “No teacher in our schools can teach with full effectiveness unless he has a keen understanding of the role of the mass media in the life of his students” (Dale, 1954, p. 8). Radio allowed information to be distributed to a much larger audience. Radio as an educational tool became popular and many studies proved its effectiveness, especially in the area of distance education. It was the hope that “competent and imaginative teachers in any community can and do use teaching aids such as school broadcasts to stimulate and vivify the classroom experiences of youngsters” (Reid, p.146). Using radios in education allowed students to see a broader spectrum of the world around them. They were introduced to more worldly views and had access to much more information. While educational broadcasts began at first as mere listening activities, they later became an interactive experience where students worked with the information that was presented to them in a variety of ways. During WW2 many people believed that America’s victory was attributed to the their ability to understand and use audiovisual equipment with great success (Reiser, 1987). It is no surprise then that many of the first studies done on the benefits of audio visual materials were done using military instruction techniques. Studies done in the 1950’s surrounding military instruction looked at the effectiveness of TV, kinescope recordings and regular classroom instruction. It found TV and TV recordings to be superior to regular classroom instruction (Rock, n.d.). In a separate study by Rock et al. (1959) it was found that TV instruction was at least as effective as regular instruction and more effective for learning challenged groups. However, Reiser (2002) did a review of many of the different studies involving a comparison of learning using different mediums for instruction delivery. He found that regardless of the method of instruction all participants learned similarly (Reiser, 2002). The discrepancy among these research findings may have come about for several different reasons. With the introduction of audiovisual materials, teachers began to feel threatened in their role as educators. Some believed that videos would take over as the main means of instruction therefore rendering many teachers obsolete. Furthermore, many of the first studies involving audiovisual education were funded by government agencies in specialized situations. The requirements of educating military personal are different from educating students in a regular classroom. It was obvious that during the time of TV instruction, advocates wanted the research to prove that their work in bringing audiovisual materials to the classroom was warranted. Finally, the actual ability to deliver the lesson by any of the mediums could impact the ability to learn. Just as a poorly created computer program may not benefit instruction, so might an ill prepared or unenthusiastic teacher. Therefore, in these studies, there are many variables that can impact the findings, resulting in no definite answer as to the exact educational benefits of audiovisual materials, especially in its infancy. However, in terms of teacher satisfaction, one study did a comprehensive survey of teachers in elementary and secondary schools using in-school TV lessons in Science, Music, French, and Spanish. It found that 89% of teachers found it valuable enough to continue (Hansen, 1953). While the resistance towards obtaining devices and materials needed to incorporate audiovisual in education was present, it is clear that there was some movement towards integration of audiovisual into lessons from both learning and teaching perspectives. Criticism and Limitations There were some limitations to the use of educational radio in Canada. In rural areas sufficient power could often become an issue and weak signals were also a challenge. Radio receivers were still expensive, and not all schools had the funds to invest in the technology needed to participate in radio broadcasts. Because there were no recording abilities at this time, students and teachers had to be available at the time of the broadcast or else they would miss out. Some people also worried about the advertisements that came with educational programming. There were limitations to simply broadcasting information to a passive audience so shows began to become more interactive. Audiences began to become more involved in broadcasts which resulted in a higher number of listeners with sustained listener attention. Audience participation was encouraged in most programs and this resulted in a larger variety of content and presenters. Just like radio, the introduction of audiovisual education came with its fair share of issues. During the 1920’s there were two emerging sides to the audiovisual educational debate. While some educators embraced the need for instructional films to keep up with increased school enrollments, others shied away with the misperception that they were too complicated, that teachers would become robotic, or that commercialization would take over (Cortez, 2009). Furthermore, television and other technological advancements have brought about many critiques from researchers including one by Neil Postman in his book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” He put forth the idea that television has turned our society into an audience that is dependent on the need for constant entertainment. In fact, he suggests that “television is altering the meaning of ‘being informed’ by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information – misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information – information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing” (Postman, 2006, p. 106) Furthermore, he uses Sesame Street as an example to demonstrate how parents used it to excuse themselves from the guilt of having their children watch TV arguing that it was actually benefiting them by teaching their children to read. However he argues that “we now know that “Sesame Street” encourages children to love school only if school is like “Sesame Street.” Which is to say, we now know that “Sesame Street” undermines what the traditional idea of schooling represents” (Postman, 2006, p.143). This new idea that teachers needed to be aware of how and where students might be able to obtain information, called for a change in the definition of what was once clearly defined as literacy. Audiovisual materials did not alter the concept of literacy; they in fact forced experts to create a new form of literacy. This new term ‘media literacy’ is defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms (Aufderheide 1993). In earlier times students had limited information available to them. They were able to obtain information from their textbooks or from oral conversations with others. However, new technologies such as the radio and various audio visual materials, such as films and television, provided new ways of thinking about the world around them. Students were no longer at the mercy of their teacher to be the bearer of all things educational. They could learn on their own through these new types of mass media. Students needed to learn how to understand and use the mass media that was being introduced in many classrooms and in their homes. Students needed to become critical thinkers as the media began to shape students understanding of their environment in a way that was never accessible before. While educational technology began as silent films in museums, it quickly transitioned to include radio broadcasts and audiovisual materials. As technology advanced, the ability to deliver mass media changed the way information was delivered and began the shift away from the teacher being the bearer of all information. While many saw the benefits of being able to educate more people in a shorter amount of time, there was also a lot of criticism and limitations that hindered its progress. However, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks and eventually technology prevailed forcing educators to adapt to a new form of literacy in the classroom. Once again history demonstrated its ability to repeat itself, as many of the issues that were raised with the introduction of radio and audiovisual are parallel to those issues teachers currently face with internet and other technologies of the 21st century. Aufderheide, P. (1993). National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy. Conference Report. Washington,DC: Aspen Institute. Bagley, W. C. (1930). Radio in the Schools. The Elementary School Journal, 31(4), 256-258. doi: 10.2307/996158. Buck, G. H. (2006). The First Wave: The Beginnings of Radio in Canadian Distance Education. Journal of Distance Education, 21(1), 76. Cook, D. C., & Nemzek, C. L. (1939). The Effectiveness of Teaching by Radio. The Journal of Educational Research, 33(2), 105-109. Cortez, J. (2009). Audiovisual Education, History of. In E. Provenzo, & A. Provenzo (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education. (pp. 62-64). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Dale, E. (1954). Introduction. In N.B. Henry (Ed.), Mass Media and Education. The Fifty Third Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education Part II (pp. 1–9).Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education. Hansen, C. F. (1953) Teaching by TV in the Washington, D. C., Public Schools Washington, D. C.: Board of Education Kanner, J. H.; Runyon, R. P .; and Desiderato, O. (1954) Television in Army Training: Evaluation of Television in Army Basic Training. Technical Report 14. Washington, D. C.: George Washington University, Human Resources Research Office, p.76 Lewis, T. (1992). “A Godlike presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s. Magazine of History, 6(4), 26-33. doi: 10.2307/25154082. Lindgren, A. (2004). ”Radio” Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, (2), 707-709. Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Radio.html Mehlinger, H. D., & Powers, S. M. (n.d.). Technology in Education – School. Retrieved from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2495/Technology-in-Education-SCHOOL.html Postman, N. (2006). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books. Reid, S. (1942). Radio in the Schools of Ohio. Educational Research Bulletin, 21(5), 115-148. doi: 10.2307/1473784. Retreived from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/1473784 Reiser, R. A. (2001). A History of Instructional Design and Technology: Part I: A History of Instructional Media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), pp. 53-64. Rock, R. T., Duva, J. S., Murray, J. E., & Fordham University Bronx NY Department of Phsychology. (1959) The Comparative Effectiveness of Instruction by Television, Television Recordings, and Conventional Classroom Procedures. Saettler, P. (1968). A History of Instructional Technology. New York: McGraw Hill. Treat, A., Wang Y., Chadha R., Dixon M.H.m (2006, September). Major Developments in Instructional Technology: During the 20th Century. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/~idt/shortpapers/documents/ITduring20.html Tyler, T.F. (1935). Radio and Education. The Phi Delta Kappan, 17(4), 115-117. Retreived from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20258384 . Wertheim, A. F. (1976). Relieving Social Tensions: Radio Comedy and the Great Depression. The Journal of Popular Culture, X: 501–519. doi: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (2012, Oct 25). Invention of Radio. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_radio Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (2012, Oct 26) . Radio Broadcasting. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_broadcasting

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Perspective writing is an aspect of narration many writers struggle with. Yet point of view is an important element of storytelling. Read a complete guide to point of view including first person, second and third, plus objective point of view, with definitions and examples: Contents of this POV guide In this guide, we’ll begin by exploring what point of view is and involved vs objective narrators. From there, we’ll discuss ten tips to use point of view in your story like a pro. What is point of view? Point of view means the perspective from which a story is told. For example, a first person narrator shares their perspective of events using the pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’. What is a viewpoint narrator? Viewpoint narrator means the character whose perspective we are currently reading (or group of characters). For example, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951), narrates the opening chapter (and the rest of the story). He is thus the viewpoint narrator (no other character gives their own perspective, except via what Holden shares). Reading a story via a character’s point of view helps us understand them, through what they say (and what they leave out) and experience. As Harper Lee says in To Kill a Mockingbird: You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (J. B. Lippincott & Co, 1960), p. 36 Points of view and the meaning of ‘person’ ‘Person’ in grammar is what helps us understand who is speaking, who is being spoken to or about, and who is neither speaking nor being spoken about. For example, if I say ‘I’ll give the letter to him’ to someone, the person I’m speaking to (the addressee) knows I will not give the letter to them, because I did not say ‘to you’. In narration, person helps us understand the connection between characters and the action – for example, whether the person narrating the story is directly involved in the action or the narrator is standing outside the action, looking in (more on involved vs objective narrators below). The most often used person in point of view (according to several blogs and other sources) is third-person POV (where narration uses he/she/they or gender-neutral, third-person pronouns). He had to walk with care. The stone steps were ancient, worn smooth, their valleyed centres ready to trip him up.Karen Jennings, An Island (Karavan Press, 2020), p. 3. Read our interview with the author here. The argument for why this is the most common, is, according to The Balance Careers, that it provides the most options. It allows female narrators, male narrators, gender-neutral narrators. The non-human ‘it’. Groups or individuals. A story restricted to a single perspective or switching between characters’ private viewpoints and experiences. Points of view and persons |First person||I/we||I wandered, lonely as a cloud.| |Second person||You (s. or pl.)||You turn the page, and suddenly…| |Third person||She/he/they/neutral||They said that they were gender non-binary. She told them she was going to get their pronouns right.| Per the table above, English grammar has three persons (first, second, third) whereas other languages (for example Gujarati) have different forms of ‘we’ depending on whether the word ‘we’ includes or does not include the people being addressed. See Quora for more about differences between languages and grammatical persons. Examples of books in each point of view What is first person point of view used for? It is the most common POV used in stories that are written as fictional autobiographies. For example, coming-of-age novels where the narrator is closely involved in the events of the story such as Charles Dickens’ classic, David Copperfield. First person POV example: I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith’s novel I Capture the Castle (1948) about a 17-year-old coming of age during wartime, begins, ‘I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.’ Second person POV example: If on a winter’s night a traveler Second person novels are much more uncommon, due to the ‘choose your own adventure’ effect of addressing the reader as ‘you’. The reader, in effect, becomes a character in the story. Italo Calvino uses this viewpoint to whimsical effect in If on a winter’s night a traveler, where you, the reader, go to a book shop and buy the book you are reading at the start of the story: In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven’t Read, which are frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow you…And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered.Italo Calvino, If on a winter’s night a traveler (1981). Another use of ‘you’ is slightly different – ‘you’, the intended recipient of a letter. If you write a chapter (or a whole book) in letters, you might write your character addressing another character as ‘you’. For example: When you wrote to me about air raids back home, I couldn’t sleep for weeks. You must keep safe, and have courage that this time will pass. Third person POV example: A Game of Thrones Examples of books written in third person POV are everywhere. The first book in George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, A Game of Thrones (1996), is written in third person limited. This means one character’s perspective is given at a time, in third person, with the narration limited to what they know, see, think and feel. There are eight different viewpoint narrators in A Game of Thrones who take up the story at different points over its course. It reads as though the narrator is a camera following each viewpoint character, seeing what they see: Will could see the tightness around Gared’s mouth, the barely suppressed anger in his eyes under the thick black hood of his cloak.George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (Bantam Spectra, 1996), p. 3. Objective point of view vs involved Before we continue with tips on using point of view, it is useful to explore two types of POV: Objective point of view and involved. What is objective point of view? In an objective point of view, the narrator is not involved in the action of the story. Like a fly on the wall, they might report characters’ actions, words, and expressions, yet the narrator cannot tell the reader exactly what any one character is thinking or feeling. This point of view relies heavily on inference. If you want to tell your reader a character is angry, for example, your narrator has to show this through characters’ words, expressions and gestures. Think of this POV like a CCTV camera – simply recording events within its field of view, without any emotional or interpretive partiality. Example of objective POV In her excellent writing manual Steering the Craft, Ursula K. Le Guin has a detailed chapter on POV. Here, she also refers to objective point of view as ‘detached author’, ‘fly on the wall’, ‘camera eye’ and ‘objective narrator’. Le Guin says: The author never enters a character’s mind. People and places may be exactly described, but values and judgments can be implied only indirectly. A popular voice around 1900 and in “minimalist” and “brand-name” fiction, it is the most covertly manipulative of the points of view.Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft: Exercises and discussions on story writing for the lone navigator or the mutinous crew (The Eighth Mountain Press, 1998), p. 88. Le Guin says Raymond Chandler is a good example of an author who frequently uses this POV, and gives her own example of objective POV, in third person: The princess from Tufar entered the room followed closely by the big man from Hemm. She walked with long steps, her arms close to her sides and her shoulders hunched.Le Guin, p. 88. Note how the princess’ hunched shoulders and arms close to her sides suggest a controlled, anxious quality, but the narrator in objective POV cannot say ‘she was anxious’. Description in objective POV does all the telling. What is involved POV? Involved POV or an involved narrator is a narrator who is involved in the action of the story. Unlike an objective narrator, they can access what characters are thinking or pass judgments on characters’ actions. Le Guin uses the term ‘involved author’ as a synonym for the omniscient narrator. Says Le Guin: [In involved author the] story is not told from within any single character. There may be numerous viewpoint characters, and the narrative voice may change at any time from one to another character within the story, or to a view, perception, analysis or prediction that only the author could make […] The writer may tell us what anyone is thinking and feeling, interpret behavior for us, and even make judgments on characters.Le Guin, pp. 86-87. Example of involved POV Le Guin uses the same example of the girl from Tufar to show how omniscient narrators are able to tell us what characters are feeling, or interpret what their movement, expressions, or gestures mean: The Tufarian girl entered the room hesitantly, her arms close to her sides, her shoulders hunched; she looked both frightened and indifferent, like a captured wild animal. The big Hemmian ushered her in with a proprietary air…Le Guin, p. 87. Le Guin contrasts omniscient narration with limited third person, describing limited third as ‘the predominant modern fictional voice’. She suggests that this is because modern authors moved away from uses of POV in Victorian fiction such as narrators breaking the fourth wall to address the reader and share asides or moralize. To modern readers, an omniscient narrator who addresses the reader directly can read as the author being overly or preciously involved in the reader’s progress through the story. Yet, as Le Guin says, omniscient or ‘involved author’ is also a highly flexible POV option for narration. Omniscient narrators also do not have to address the reader directly, necessarily. Brainstorm Viewpoint Characters Find each of your viewpoint narrators’ personalities and attributes in structured steps to build your story outline.START Point of view tips: Choosing, changing and more To use point of view in your story well: - Ensure who narrates is clear - Use caution with major POV changes - Note how point of view impacts structure - Let genre guide POV choices - Have a clear reason for each viewpoint - Ask – can my reader trust this narrator? - Use character voice for deeper POV - Reserve first person thoughts in third for key moments - Study books with multiple viewpoint narrators Let’s explore point of view further: Ensure who narrates is clear Clarity is the largest challenge in using points of view, especially when there are multiple viewpoint narrators in your story. If you have have two or more viewpoint narrators, consider using the name of the viewpoint narrator who tells a chapter either beneath the chapter number or instead of it. William Faulkner does this in his novella As I Lay Dying (which has 15 narrators in total!). Faulkner simply prefaces each chapter, each POV change, with the next narrator’s name. If you are changing POV within a chapter, consider using a dinkus or asterisk to set apart different viewpoint narrators’ sections clearly. If you want points of view to switch with less interruption, make sure you use transitional phrases, for example, ‘Meanwhile, on the other side of town…’ to show the cut, the scene change, one would see in a film or TV show. Dom observed the guards’ routes on the sly, dressed in rags, mingling with the usual beggars on the square. Right under your noses, he thought, smirking. Meanwhile, across town, his accomplice Sol inspected their plan again, brow furrowed as he tried to imagine every possible surprise. Use caution with major POV changes In stories with multiple perspectives sharing the telling, POV changes are inevitable. Think carefully, however, about: - How often the POV changes (how often will your reader have to readjust to who’s narrating?) - Changes from one person to another (e.g. from a first person narrator to a third person POV) The bigger the change or leap, the more of an adjustment it is for your reader. Your reader may also wonder who is the main character if, for example, one character has a smaller part in first person (which reads more immediate) and then you give other characters each their own POVs which tell the lion’s share of the story. On major POV changes, Le Guin says: Any shift from one of the five POVs outlined above [first person, limited third person, omniscient/involved author, objective/detached author, observer-narrator] to another one is a dangerous one. It’s a major change of voice to go from first to third person, or from involved author to observer-narrator. The shift will affect the whole tone and structure of your narrative.Le Guin, p. 90 If you are writing a story with, for example, four narrators, it may make the most sense to write all four using the same person (first or third) unless you have a very good reason to ask your reader to make a greater adjustment whenever you switch POVs. Note how POV impacts structure As Le Guin cautions in the extract from Steering the Craft above, shifts in point of view affect the tone and structure of your story. Point of view case study: Using multiple viewpoint narrators For example, a client for a manuscript evaluation had written a psychological thriller about a protagonist caught between two antagonists. Part of the challenge in the narration identified in the evaluation lay in the choice to give both antagonists’ perspectives with each having their own viewpoint chapters. Although this was an interesting (and typically modern) approach to narration, it created structural challenges: - The POV departed from the main character who the reader would likely be rooting for (and most emotionally invested) in for long stretches of time - The antagonists’ viewpoint chapters often recapped the same events from each other’s contrasting perspectives, which diluted narrative suspense as the reader knew what would happen already in the next narrator’s section - The antagonists were not as likeable as the protagonist, so the reader could grow impatient to return to the character they could empathize with In this scenario, the point of view recommendations were: - To cut between the antagonist’s viewpoints more frequently, even combining them within the same chapter to give both perspectives, so that the narrative could return to the protagonist at more regular intervals to maintain suspense and a sense of their own progress - To not recap events whose outcomes the reader already knew unless the recap provided new information that moved the story forwards Let genre guide POV choices How do you choose the right POV for your story? Genre is a helpful guide. For example, according to editor Kathryn Lye writing for Harlequin: The recommended POV [for publishing romance with Harlequin] is third person with some first person thoughts included as well, usually in key moments. More Harlequin series romance books have been written entirely in first person the past five years, so it’s not off the table if the author thinks the POV serves the story better.Kathryn Lye, ‘Back to Basics: POV Tips from Editor Kathryn Lye’, Harlequin, February 24 2022. Read widely (and recently) in your genre. What are the most common POVs? You may find readers expect a specific POV simply because it’s what they’re used to. A reader had very strong words on the Now Novel blog for a post that suggested anything other than third person POV was acceptable in any story. Point of view raises strong feelings in some readers. Have a clear reason for each viewpoint If you are going to mix persons in a multi-character novel where you use several points of view, make sure you have a clear reason for this choice. If, for example, you have two narrating characters who both seem equally important to the story’s events, your reader may well wonder why one tells their story in first person while the other’s perspective uses third person limited, with third person pronouns. The third person viewpoint narrator may have, for example, a dissociative personality condition where they think of themselves more like a character, from outside. Or they struggle to gain subjectivity, a sense of self. Unless the reason for the mix is self-evident, using the same person viewpoints in a multi-narrator story is advisable for the smoothest transitions between POVs. Ask – can my reader trust this narrator? Another interesting aspect of point of view in stories is the idea of the unreliable narrator. Do each of your narrators tell the complete, unvarnished truth? Do some embellish, lie, distort or manipulate the reader? Or simply not fully understand what they’re seeing or experiencing? This is a very modern aspect of POV, with the rise of the anti-hero-as-narrator (think of the serial killer character Dexter, for example) in the 21st Century. This is particularly interesting to think about in terms of deception (of self and other) as well as the limitation on what individual narrators see and understand. In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, for example, one of the viewpoint narrators is a child member of an American missionary family who relocates to Central Africa. Because the narrator is a child, she misreads the visual signs of malnutrition as children having full bellies. A gripping point of view often reveals both what a narrator knows and is able to understand, and the limits of their knowledge, awareness, or development. Use character voice for deeper POV What is deep POV in narration? It is narration which shows your reader how your characters think, feel and perceive by getting right into their heads. Deep POV is of course impossible in objective narration, because the narrator can only show the signs of what characters think or feel. In this example of deep POV, by contrast, every passing feeling influences the way a character tells the story, the words they choose (and their positive/negative subtext or inference): Oh my God! The exam venue’s doors (the shitty, rundown PE hall at the bottom of campus) are about to close as I squeeze through at the last second. My elation quickly becomes despair when I see the questions they’ve set. There goes my average. Use of exclamations, informal language, sarcasm, etc. creates a deeper POV here than if you were to write, ‘I was running late for my exam but got there just in time…’ A cooler, more removed POV may reflect a calmer demeanor, though deep POV gets to the heart of emotion and reaction, putting your reader inside your character’s mind. Reserve first person thoughts in third for key moments What about when you’re writing in a specific point of view and want to insert another, for example, a character’s thoughts within third person? The convention is to italicize to make in-the-moment thoughts distinct from surrounding ordinary narration. For example: What on earth, she thought. That wasn’t there when last I looked. As editor Kathryn Lye in the article quoted above for Harlequin says, it is best to add first person thoughts ‘in key moments’. Use this device too often and it becomes distracting for the reader, to have to adjust between first and third continuously. Study books with multiple viewpoint narrators How do you master point of view and changing points of view within a story unobtrusively, without drawing attention to narrative devices? Read widely and read books written in POVs you may be less familiar with. Even if you stick with the ‘modern’, widely-used limited third person, knowing how to write in first or how to write omniscient narration adds another tool in your narratorial kit. Try practicing rewriting a short scene in different points of view – first person, second person, third, objective or involved – to get a handle on the effect each has on structure and tone. Need help cleaning up your POV use? Get a quote for professional fiction editing services today.

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Representation of Marginalized Groups in American Culture and Literature When it first appeared in 1450, the word “representation” was defined as “something which stands for or denotes another symbolically; an image, a symbol, a sign” (“representation”). Since then, it has been used in the context of law, art, and even mathematics. In 1553, that shifted to include the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of “the act of putting forward an account of something discursively; a spoken or written statement, esp. one which conveys or intends to create a particular view or impression” (“representation”). To “create a particular view or impression” has gained value in American culture and literature over the years as the ability to represent oneself or another in a just and faithful way has become a point of an issue when it comes to marginalized groups, minorities in particular (“representation”). Without the ability to put forth a true image of a person, group, or institution, the threat of misrepresentation becomes apparent, leading to the chance of such marginalized groups becoming stereotyped, overlooked, and cast off without the true information. With instances of this happening all over the country, people from marginalized and minority groups are using literature to stake their claims over their own groups and cultures and represent themselves. Authors and poets Langston Hughes and Louise Erdrich have done just that with the poem “Visitors to the Black Belt” written in 1949 and the novel Love Medicine written in 1984. In eighteen lines, Hughes relays his disdain for “you,” the “visitor” that does not truly see what his experiences in life are. By calling his audience “visitors” in the title, Hughes is implying that there are those that only visit long enough to receive the surface-level gist of his home in Harlem. They see that he lives “across the tracks” and the jazz movement that started there, but they do not see the “hell” that it truly is. These oversights come from a lack of correct representation. The same theme of misrepresentation carries over into Erdrich’s novel as it tracks a slew of Chippewa narrators spanning fifty years. The reader follows as experiences jump from person to person, year to year, putting together a storyline from multiple perspectives. As different people tell their stories and the stories of others, the lives of two Native American families are faced with death, falling in and out of love, the effects of conflict, and “love medicine,” or special gifts. The novel offers layers upon layers of narration through a non-linear narrative structure that leaves pockets open not only for the characters but for the author to craft a true depiction of her Native American culture in the way that she wishes to present it. The concept of true representation in literature has been a topic of debate in recent years, and Robert Warrior states in his Keywords essay “Indian” that, while the Native American “experience” has been overlooked and misunderstood, it is not enough to create “[inclusivity]” by “creating a new branch” for it in academia. He further supports this claim by quoting Craig Womack who states that “[w]ithout Native American literature, there is no American canon. Let the Americanists struggle for their place in the canon”. The idea that Native American culture is the foundation of all American culture, including literature and art, does hold value, especially when one takes the colonization of these groups into account. There is much room for speculation about what would have happened had the Americas not been colonized, but the fact remains that, as of 2014, only approximately two percent of the United States population was of Native American descent (US Census). That leaves the rest of the population with limited access to a small group of people, further exposing the risk of misrepresentation in the media, arts, and literature. In that case, having tribal literature at the base of the American canon could increase the amount and reach of proper representation before misrepresentation. Though Warrior and Womack made these claims with Native Americans in mind, the idea of the American canon not only belonging to Americanists can have a positive impact on other misrepresented groups, such as the black Americans that Hughes wrote about. In the first stanza of his poem “Visitors to the Black Belt,” Hughes picks apart the geographical and metaphorical line in which he and his community are stereotyped and disregarded. His distinction between the “visitors” that talk about “across the railroad tracks” and his experience “here/ On his side of the tracks” is a play on the idiom “right side of the tracks”. In her American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, author Christine Ammer defines the idiom as “the desirable part of town,” leaving the opposing “wrong side of the tracks” to be undesirable or unattractive. The example given for the undesirable part of town is as follows: “The children from the wrong side of the tracks often came to school without having eaten breakfast,” suggesting that the “other side” could be experiencing poverty or food shortage. This trope has become common and also implies that people from the wrong side of the tracks are dangerous, criminals, dirty, or have other negative characteristics. The line “to me it’s here” indicates that Hughes knows of the distance between his life and the life that the outsiders are seeing, while he is also attempting to make it clear that what he is being forced to contend with is happening as he experiences them much differently than the others. While the misrepresentation of lifestyle and home is explored in Hughes’ work, it is the misrepresentation of individuals and their families that is showcased in Erdrich’s novel. For example, Maria Lazarre and her family act as the people from the wrong side of the tracks in Love Medicine. Her family members are described as dirty, “horse-thieving drunks” who are “so low that you cannot even think they are in the same class as Kashpaws”. Because of these stereotypes that perpetrate almost all areas of her life, Marie spends the rest of it trying to live above what others think about her. Even when she is grown with children of her own, Marie’s thought process when she visits a nun she knew when she was a teenager reveals her ever-significant need to prove others wrong and present herself in ways that she believes she deserves. “ by now I was a solid class. Nector was a tribal chairman. My children were well behaved, and they were educated too,” she says, describing a life that is a far cry from alcoholism and thievery. This situation lends itself to overcompensation, as Marie’s actions show that she believes her life and accomplishments must be bigger and better than what she had before in order to receive respect, acceptance, or any other positive attributes. Much like Hughes, the ways in which she was unjustly described impact how she interacts with others and how their opinions impact such communication. In both situations, residents of the Black Belt and members of a family that is looked down upon must fight to present themselves as they truly are. In the same breath, the second stanza in Hughes’ poem simply explains that visiting Harlem will not constitute the full extent of the experiences living there. To the visitors and tourists, to see Harlem as “up” there is looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, whether what they see it as good or not. To Hughes, “here” in Harlem may have been a different world. Take the Harlem Riots of 1943, for example. After a black soldier attempted to intervene in the arrest of two black women, white policemen shot him. The false news of his death caused an uproar in the city and a riot ensued, ending with six deaths, hundreds of arrests and injuries, and thousands of dollars in damages. Though the conditions that surrounded and sparked the riot were based on an inflated cost of living, food shortages, and “racial discrimination,” among other things that predominantly impacted black Americans, the news did not accurately depict that. A 1943 article from the New York Times stated that spokesmen for “Negro organizations” agreed that “the disturbances in Harlem were not race riots but outbreaks of hoodlumism” a day before another article stated that stores were closed after the riot “because they were wrecked by hoodlums”. In the event of an outsider reading this news, Harlem may look like an area that was run and wrecked by such “hoodlums,” rather than by people who fought against unsatisfactory living conditions. To the outsider, Harlem may have looked like removed chaos, while it was much more involved and real for Hughes. This limiting act of misrepresentation not only twists the truth but also contradicts Hughes’ attempt at accurately presenting himself and others through his literature. The act of telling another person’s stories and experiences also has significance in Love Medicine, though it is in a more relaxed and conversational way as opposed to news articles. Though many of the active characters in the novel tell their own stories, some leave the representation of their lives and personalities in the hands of others. Characters like Moses Pillager are spoken of in biased ways by those that already have certain opinions of them, leaving the reader to accept that or stipulate about the legitimacy of such claims and stories. Rushes Bear becomes one of these characters, and her progression from a mean-spirited woman with “hardened lips” and a face like a “wedge of steel” to someone who was hardened by life and softened by loneliness is only shown by someone who had a much better opinion of her than the first. The reader, who was introduced to the Rushes Bear that was to be avoided by Lulu only finds that in her later years, she was stuck with Marie, who reveals the true nature of her character. Without Marie’s testimony, Rushes Bear would have lived and died as the villainous mother, her loneliness and pain unknown; without Lulu’s stories, her cruelty would have less weight. It is only the joining of the two that gives the reader the most well-rounded sense of who Rushes Bear was. The opposite of unloading the truth is covering it up, and in the third stanza of “Visitors to the Black Belt,” Hughes describes the ways in which jazz is making Harlem’s visitors overlook the “hell” that he is experiencing. By only using the two words to represent his experience with the South Side, Hughes could be implying an all-or-nothing mentality, meaning that, while he and his community are suffering in the cold, the visitors are only seeing a musical movement that has liberated and entertained. In Robert Mcruler’s Keywords essay on “Normal,” he states that “racialized populations” like Hughes in Harlem are among those that do not count as “normal”. After that distinction, he claims that “[l]ives lived beyond the confines of the normal have been marked as illegitimate and targeted for surveillance, control, correction, confinement, and even elimination”. While there is evidence to support that claim, Hughes’ situation may add another action to groups living outside of normalcy: actively ignoring the abnormal. When a stranger visits Harlem and sees the bright and lively jazz community, they may overlook what is going on beneath the layer of goodness rather than seeing the plight of a space’s residents. If that is the case, the act of proper representation becomes that much more difficult when members of a different group cannot or will not look at or search for the truth. In his closing lines, Hughes takes the reins and actively moves from calling the visitor “you,” to “outsider,” suggesting that he is holding his ground and taking ownership of his home. In doing so, he is giving his home and peers value, making the visitor the minority, and making himself a priority. The next and final line suggests the same notion of Hughes taking matters into his own hands when he says “ask me who am I”. By inviting the outsider to inquire about his life rather than creating opinions based on location and what he’s known for, Hughes is setting the stage for his own chosen representation. Hughes’ act of asking for the chance at self-representation is one of the obvious ways to take control of the presentation of his life, though the mere presence as a misunderstood group in literature also has significance. As a Native American author writing about Native American life, Erdrich enters as a part of the latter group. Though she is not writing a dictionary about everything needed to know in order to truly understand Native Americans, her portrayal of members of that group in all of their glory adds to the true American canon mentioned previously. By not sugar-coating her culture and recognizing that there are Native Americans that commit adultery, drink too much, have mental illnesses, and so on, Erdrich is arguably posing a more accurate depiction of what she knows of her culture. Out of context, the representation of less-than-perfect people from marginalized groups may not be beneficial, but when looking at what representation Native Americans have, anything is more substantial than one-dimensional sports mascots and stereotypical Indians in headdresses and loincloths that act as the face of some consumer goods. In that situation, authors like Erdrich who write such cultures into representation are needed alongside groups that fight for the same proper exemplification such as the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media (NCARSM) that was formed five years after Love Medicine was first published. According to their website, “the impetus which formed the NCARSM was the … media coupling imagery with widely held misconceptions of American Indians in the form of sports team identities resulting in … stereotyping”. The formation of the NCARSM at that time groups Erdrich’s novel with the fight to reclaim Native American identity, culture, and representation in a correct and faithful way, showcasing that authors and poets are not the only ones fighting for accurate depictions. When it comes down to the writers as individuals, both have been put into separate categories of literary movements because of their ethnicities, further widening the gap of representation in American literature. Langston Hughes, who is one of the faces of the Harlem Renaissance, is technically a modernist, but his work is also classified as Black Modernism. Author Adrienne J. Gosselin states in her article “Beyond the Harlem Renaissance: The Case for Black Modernist Writers” that “American literary history views Modernism as largely a European movement,” often citing literature such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, and “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound as significant to the time. She continues to claim that “while American Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance both share such primary Modernist concerns as alienation, primitivism, and experimental form,” black writers from that time are often classified simply as Harlem Renaissance writers instead of black modernists or modernists in general. Hughes exemplifies such models of Modernism as “Visitors to the Black Belt” which illustrates the separation and isolation that he experiences as a black man in Harlem while also straying from the traditional poetic form by switching lines in the middle of sentences and foregoing verse. The act of separating him based on race and not writing style or themes thus creates an atmosphere not conducive to proper representation as his participation in such literary movements is not inclusive nor all-encompassing. Though Louise Erdrich’s novel is a Postmodern text, her Native American heritage puts her in the Native American Renaissance movement. As she is also taking part in a sector of literature that boxes her by ethnicity before the text, Erdrich earns her place as a postmodernist by writing outside of the traditional novel form with unreliable narrators, disconnected plot lines, and breaks from reality that the reader must unpack themselves. In a sense, her postmodern writing is similar to Hughes’s but more potent. As Michael Bérubé is quoted in Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology, he states that postmodernism is “30% more Modernism for your money”. Erdrich’s use of the non-linear narrative strategy mentioned previously and themes surrounding magic-like powers, isolation, and the breakdown of character’s lives over time stretch into postmodern criticism and commentary of how identity is formed through culture and experiences, the disjointed society that people are living in, and an escape to the deconstruction of words and reality that Ihab Hassan attributes to the movement. Such characteristics of writing have been seen in other celebrated Postmodern works such as Beloved by Toni Morrison and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut that challenge the ways in which the truth is found and perceived. In spite of the similarities in these pieces, Erdrich’s place in the Native American Renaissance creates a barrier between searching for and finding postmodern literature that represents an array of cultures and groups. When isolated, “Visitors to the Black Belt” and Love Medicine may act as works for entertainment purposes or a general commentary on society, while there is something much bigger than that happening underneath the surface. The stereotypical ways in which the marginalized groups in both pieces are presented in the media, arts, literature, and every other part of society are often uncontested or inaccurate, making the act of true representation that much more important. In order to create a climate that caters to all Americans and their right to show themselves as they truly are, it is up to the members of such misrepresented groups and faithful allies to push that into the spotlight. The use of literature offers another point of view and looks into such groups, giving this issue in American culture an avenue to be resolved or lightened, and Hughes and Erdrich have used their writing to become participants in that. While Hughes’s poem has a direct correlation to the inaccurate representations that he experiences, Erdrich’s writing proved to be multifaceted in its exploration of the misrepresentations of characters while also becoming a source of information about the Native American culture that she knows. Despite their efforts, the amount of time between the conception of both texts proves that the fight for representation was and continues to be an ongoing battle, and similar contributions to American literature will pick up where they left off. - “ABOUT.” Coalition Against Racism, www.coalitionagainstracism.org/about. - Ammer, Christine. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997 - Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Harlem Race Riot of 1943.” Encyclopædia - Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 July 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Harlem-race-riot-of-1943. - ‘CURFEW IN HARLEM RELAXED TO 11:30: BUT BAN ON LIQUOR SALES WILL STAY - UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE — NORMAL TRAFFIC DUE TODAY MAYOR PRAISES POLICE STORES REOPEN IN BLITZ-LIKE ATMOSPHERE — $1,000 LOOT RECOVERED IN APARTMENT.’ New York Times (1923-Current file), Aug 04, 1943, pp. 8. - Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. HarperCollins Publishers, 2009. - Geyh, Paula et al. (eds). Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology. WW Norton & Co., 1997. - Gosselin, Adrienne Johnson. “Beyond the Harlem Renaissance: The Case for Black Modernist Writers.” Modern Language Studies, vol. 26, no. 4, 1996, pp. 37–45. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3195322. - Hassan, Ihab. The Postmodern Turn: Essays in Postmodern Theory and Culture. Columbus, 1987. - McRuler, Robert. “Normal.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies, edited by Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler, New York University Press, 2014, pp. 184-187. - ‘RACE BIAS DENIED AS RIOTING FACTOR: SPOKESMEN FOR NEGRO GROUPS LAY - HARLEM DISORDERS TO SPORADIC HOODLUMISM AUTHORITIES ARE PRAISED APPEALS ARE MADE TO ALL OF RESIDENTS TO UNITE IN AIDING RESTORATION OF ORDER.’ New York Times (1923-Current file), Aug 03, 1943, pp. 11 - ‘representation, n.1.’ OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/162997. Accessed 2 June 2019. - Warrior, Robert. “Indian.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies, edited by Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler, New York University Press, 2014, pp. 130-132. - US Census Bureau. “American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2015.” American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2015, 3 Aug. 2018, www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2015/cb15-ff22.html. ⚠️ Remember: This essay was written and uploaded by an average student. It does not reflect the quality of papers completed by our expert essay writers. To get a custom and plagiarism-free essay click here.

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We had planned to post this on 9/11 as a remembrance, but we keep hearing that teachers are looking for resources and Lesley has them here. We will repost on this Friday as well. Examining the Events of September 11th through MG/YA Novels by Lesley Roessing No historical event may be as unique and complicated to discuss and teach as the events of September 11, 2001, the day terrorists crashed planes into, and destroyed, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. At the time of this event no child in our present K-12 educational system was yet born, but, in most cases, their parents and educators would have been old enough to have some knowledge of, and even personal experience with, these events, making this a very difficult historic event for many to teach. However, with the devastation and impact of these events on our past, present, and future and as ingrained a part of history these events are, they need to be discussed and understood as much as possible. This has been a challenging year; there have been countless complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, some more tragic than others, but all distressing and disappointing. For the last 18 years, the Tribute in Light has marked the anniversary of the events of September 11th. However, the pandemic has forced the tribute’s organizers to cancel this year’s Tribute in Light as well as the reading of victims’ names by family members. But there are ways we can mark this anniversary, honor the victims, and tribute the history of this event. I have found the most effective way to confront difficult topics while still presenting a variety of perspectives and differentiated reading experiences for our diverse readers is through reading in book clubs. When classes read 5-6 novels about 9/11 where small groups of students are collaboratively reading, they can access differing perspectives to a story and generate important conversations within each book club and between book clubs. A complete unit on this topic for English-Language Arts and Social Studies classes is outlined—with daily focus lessons and student examples—in chapter 10 of Talking Texts: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum. 16+ Books; 16 Perspectives Nine Ten: A September 11 Story is another novel effective in introducing young adolescent students to the many events of September 11, 2001. Nora Raleigh Baskin’s novel is set during the days leading up to 9/11—in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Columbus, and Shanksvlle, Pennsylvania, where readers follow four diverse middle-grade students affected by the events of 9/11. Sergio, Naheed, Aimee, and Will first cross paths in the O’Hare Airport on September 9. The four young adolescents are Black, White, Jewish, and Muslim and are collectively surviving loss, guilt, poverty, parental absence, neglectful fathers, bullying, the navigation of peer relationships, as well as the angst of middle school, “…everything felt different, as if you suddenly realized you had been coming to school in your pajamas and you had to figure out a way to hide this fact before anyone else noticed.” (p. 48). In their own ways they are each affected by 9/11, and on September 11, 2002, these four and their families again converge at Ground Zero, each there for different reasons, but this time their paths back together have meaning. There are a multitude of important conversations to be generated by this little novel, a story of Before and After. I was especially grateful that the events and heroes of Shanksville were memorialized. In fact there are many aspects of heroism brought forth in the novel to discuss. But Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story is the story of people and three days in their lives, “Because in the end it was just about people…Because the world changed that day, slowly and then all at once.” (p. 176). On her first birthday Abbi was saved by a worker in her World Trade Center complex daycare center. As she is carried out, wearing a crown and holding a red balloon, the South Tower collapsing behind, a photographer takes the picture that has branded her Baby Hope, the symbol of resilience. Abbi spends her childhood and adolescence in relative fame; strangers hug and cry, share their stories with her, frame and hang the photograph in their homes, and news outlets hold “Where is Baby Hope Now” stories. Noah was a baby in the hospital, fighting for his life, on 9/11 when his father went back to his office in the World Trade Center for his lucky hat, never to return home. He and his mother now live with her new husband and Noah is obsessed with comedy. At age 15, Abbi is experiencing a suspicious cough, keeping it a secret from her parents and grandmother. Connie, the daycare worker, has recently died from cancer, most likely 9/11 syndrome, and Abbi takes a job as a camp counselor in a nearby town, looking for some anonymity and a chance at a “happily ever after” to the story that began with “Once upon a time” (9/11). Unfortunately, Noah, a fellow counselor, recognizes her and blackmails her into helping him interview the four other people in the iconic Baby Hope picture, convinced that the man in background wearing a Michigan cap is his father and also convinced, since his mother won’t talk about him, that his father chose not to come home after escaping from the Tower. This is a novel about 9/11, one that presents yet more facets than many other 9/11 novels, such as 9/11 syndrome which is affecting many of those who were at Ground Zero, heroism and sacrifice, survivor guilt, and “[What] happens when the story you tell yourself turns out not to be your story at all.” (280) This is primarily a novel about relationships—shifting relationships with family, friends, ex-friends, strangers, and romantic partners. I absolutely adored these characters—Noah and Abbi especially (and their evolving relationship) and Noah’s BFF Jack, Abbi’s divorced-but-best-friends-and-maybe-more parents, her grandmother who is experiencing the onset of dementia, and even Noah’s stepfather who learns to make jokes. I was sorry when the novel ended, not that the story was unfinished but my relationship with the characters was. But then the events of September 11, 2001, occurred, and Martians did invade the earth, only they looked like Sam and his family—Muslim. Because one of the terrorists had lived in their neighborhood and was a client at the bank where Mr. Madina worked, Sam’s father comes under FBI surveillance, and the neighborhood divides in their support. Not Jake, though. He believes in his friend and his friend’s family, physically fighting the school bully who refers to Sam as a “towelhead” and arguing with his own mother whose own grief keeps her from supporting their neighbors. When his father is taken into custody, Sam refuses to attend school, abandons his cross-country team, and distances himself from Jake, taking a new interest in the Islam religion. But Jake does not give up, and the boys reconnect to peacefully stop their racist classmates, Bobby and Rigo, from attacking the local mosque. Afterwards, Jake realizes that they both have been affected by 9/11; he has learned that you can be both scared and brave at the same time, but he has also has learned that adversity can be defeated peacefully. And Jake realizes that Sam is now different. “For the first time I see Sam, a Muslim. An American Muslim. But he is still just Sam, no matter what.” When fifth-grader Ema and her mother go to live with Ema’s very traditional Japanese grandparents during a difficult pregnancy, author Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu’s verse novel takes the reader through six months (June 21, 2001-January 2, 2002) of customs, rituals, and holidays, both Japanese and American. There are challenges, such a choosing a name for the new baby that brings good luck in Japan and that both sets of grandparents can pronounce. Ema celebrates American Independence Day and Japanese Sea Day, and she now views some days, such as August 15 Victory Over Japan Day from diverse perspectives. On September 11, 2001 Ema experiences both two typhoons in her town and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in America—on television. As the reader traverses the intricacies of two fusing two distinct cultures with Emi and her family, our knowledge of others is doubled The attacks of September 11, 2001, affected our country as a whole, but it is even harder to imagine the effect on those who lived in NYC. Claire, Peter, and Jasper are three teenagers living in NYC on that date. Claire leaves her high school to pick up her brother from his elementary school; Peter has already left school and is at the record store, thinking about his impending date with Jasper; and Jasper is at home alone, his parents visiting their native Korea, before he leaves for college. None of the three are directly affected—none of their parents worked in the World Trade Center, none of their friends or relatives were killed; they were not physically hurt—but the events of this day color the year following. “I want to know why this is so much a part of me. I want to know why this thing that happened to other people has happened so much to me.” (104) Readers view the day through their alternating perspectives. We view the constructive acts of strangers as Claire observes, “There are skyscrapers collapsing behind us, and nobody is pushing, nobody is yelling. When people see we’re a school group, they’re careful not to separate us. Stores are not only giving away sneakers, but some are handing out water to people who need it. You’d think they’d take advantage and raise the prices. But no. That’s not what happens.” (14) and Peter reflects, “And the people I care about, suddenly I care about them a little more, in this existential way.” (82) Even though Peter and Jason’s date does not go well, another ramification of the day, the three become friends, especially Claire and Peter who attend high school together, Jason returning to college. And the year continues, each is a little changed. As Peter observes, “ If you start the day reading the obituaries, you live your day a little differently.” (123) By December Jasper observes that he has finally gone an entire day without thinking of 9/11 but then wonders what that means. Claire feels the weight of the day lighten a little, but “It is still strange to see the skyline. I have never seen an absence that it so physical.” (126) On the anniversary of 9/11 Claire retraces the steps she took on that day, and Peter and Jason finally have a second date. On March 19, 2003, the day of the United States invasion of Iraq, the three reunite, and Claire observes, “And we are so different from who we were on September 10th. And also different from who we were on the 11th. And the 12th. And yesterday.” (163) Together they have found the “antidote” to the fear and uncertainty; they have each other as they individually navigate the world and remember what matters. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming statistics generated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan—nearly 16,000 deaths and 3,000 people missing—the event becomes even more intense and compelling as author Leza Lowitz relates the story of one town and one boy and the resilience of many. The story begins on March 11 when Kai, a half Japanese, half American 17-year-old and his teachers and classmates experience the “jolting of the earth,” and as trained, they evacuate, running for their lives, looking for the highest place, as their town is destroyed. Written powerfully in free verse, the reader feels the fury of nature as the water “churns,” “thrashes,” “surges,” “sweeps,” “charges.” Kai ends up in a shelter having lost his mother, his grandparents, and one of his best friends. His father left years before to return to America. Faced with overwhelming loss and trauma, Kai walks into the ocean but is saved by one of his classmates and convinced to accept the opportunity to go to New York City on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 where he will spend some time with young adults who lost their parents as teens in the 9/11 attacks. At Ground Zero, Fia tells him, “Bravery means being scared and going forward anyway.” Kai hopes to find his father in NYC but returns to his village to help the young adolescents who lost their families and to rebuild his town. “I want to be/ like that tree/ deep roots/ making it strong/ keeping it/ standing tall.” And it is to his roots Kai returns and stays—“The quake moved the earth/ ten inches/ on its axis./ I guess/I shifted,” too.” Up from the Sea, well-written as a verse novel (a format that engages many reluctant readers), would serve as an effective continuation to a 9/11 study. Readers should already be aware of the events of 9/11 to understand the connection between Kai and Tom but will comprehend the trauma and loss experienced, and resilience that is required, by anyone who faces adversity. The reader learns about the close relationship between 13-year-old Wendy and her mother through flashbacks: her mother's divorce, the sporadic visits of her father, her mother's marriage to her "other dad," and the birth of her half-brother. And then her mother goes to work at her job at the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001—and does not return. Wendy’s world changes. “Then September happened and the planet she lived on had seemed more like a meteor, spinning and falling” (p. 175). The reader experiences not only Wendy's (and Josh's and Louie's) loss but the suffering and uncertainty of those left behind. Could her mother be walking around, not remembering who she is? As the family hangs signs, we learn how different this loss was for many people who held out hope for a long time without a sense of closure. And this loss was different because it was experienced by many—an entire country in a way. “Instead of just dealing with your own heart getting ripped into pieces, wherever you looked you knew there were other people dealing with the same thing. You couldn’t even be alone with it” (p. 95). We see the loss through the eyes and hearts of a daughter, a very young son, and a desperately-in-love husband. Wendy leaves Brooklyn and goes to her biological father’s in California. Among strangers, she re-invents her life. As those she meets help fill the hole in her life, she fills the hole in theirs. Books also help her to heal. Even though there are quite a few characters in this novel, but they all are well-developed, and I found myself becoming involved in all their lives, not only Wendy, Josh, and Louie and even his father Garrett, but Wendy’s new friends—Carolyn, Alan, Todd, Violet… On some level they all have experienced trauma and loss, and within these relationships, Wendy is able to heal and return to rebuild her family. Although I did not want this novel to end and to leave these characters, this well-written novel taught me more about the effects of September 11, loss, and the importance of relationships and added a new perspective to my collection of 9/11 novels. All We Have Left was so compelling that I read from dawn to dusk and did not put the book down until I finished. The novel intertwines two stories, that of 18-year-old Travis and sixteen-year-old Alia who were in the Towers as they fell and the story of Travis’ sister, Jesse, who, fifteen years later, is part of a dysfunctional family whose lives are still overwhelmingly affected by That Day and Travis’ death. Seventeen year old Jesse is not sure who she is, who she should be, who she should hate, and who she can love. Her life is overshadowed by 9/11, her mother’s mourning, and her father’s hate. But both Alia in 2001, and Jesse in 2016, learn that “Faith and strength aren’t something that you wear like some sort of costume; they come from inside you” (p.329) as does love. And Jesse realizes that she has to work on “treasuring right here, right now, because that’s important.” As one character says but all the characters learn, “You can fill that void inside you with anger, or you can fill it with the love for the ones who remain beside you, with hope for the future.” What I appreciated about this novel is that is shows yet another side of how 9/11 affected people, especially adolescents, those adolescents who populate American schools everywhere. I strongly feel that students should not only be learning about the events and effects of 9/11, but that, through novels, readers learn more about how events affect people and especially children their ages. “Things get a little more complicated when you know somebody’s story.…It’s hard to fear someone, or be cruel to them, when you know their story.” The majority of the 21.3 million refugees worldwide in 2016 were from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. The United States resettled 84,994 refugees. Together with immigrants, refugee children make up one in five children in the U.S. More than half the Syrian refugees who were resettled in the U.S. between October 2010 and November 2015 are under the age of 20. In Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian, narrator Tom Bouchard is a high school senior. He is a soccer player, top of his class academically, and well-liked. He lives in Maine in a town that has become a secondary migration location for Somali refugees. These Somali students are trying to navigate high school without many benefits, including the English language. They face hostility from many of their fellow classmates and the townspeople, including the mayor; one teacher, at the request of students, permits only English to be spoken in her classroom. When four Somali boys join the soccer team, turning it into a winning team, and when he is forced to complete volunteer hours at the K Street Center where he tutors a young Somali boy and works with a female Somali classmate, Tom learns at least a part of their stories. Tom fights bigotry, especially that of his girlfriend—now ex-girlfriend, but he still doesn’t comprehend the complexity of the beliefs, customs, and traditions of his new friends, and his actions have negative consequences for all involved. While trying to defend the truth, Tom learns a valuable lesson, “Truth is a difficult word. One person’s truth is another person’s falsehood. People believe what appears to be true and what they feel is true.” Author Gae Polisner wrote The Memory of Things in alternating narratives—Kyle's in prose, the girl writes in free verse—the two characters sharing their stories and perspectives, introducing adolescent readers, many of whom had were not alive during 9/11, to the effects of this tragedy in their own ways. The 5th grade characters explore “What does it mean to be an American?” as well as why history is relevant, alive, and, especially, personal as three students—one Black, one White, one Muslim—explore the effects of the events of 9/11 on each of their families. Déja’s “journey of discovery” about the falling of the Towers helps her father work through his connection to the event and his resulting PTSD. “Sometimes when a terrible thing happens, it can make a beautiful thing seem even more precious.” Eleven is the story of Alex who is turning 11 on September 11, 2001. I was concerned that the character would be too young for this topic. I also thought that, the character age’s implied that the novel wouldn’t contain the complexity the topic deserves. but, boy, was I wrong! I was hooked with the complexity of the first 2-page chapter. I wasn’t sure what was happening in this introductory chapter, but it was not a feeling of confusion as much as “It could be this; no, it could be this…” and inference and interpretation, even visualization. I also forgot that New York City kids grow up faster, taking public transportation throughout the city, but more importantly, I forgot that when you need or expect a young adolescent to rise to the occasion, he will. Alex loves airplanes and dogs—and he doesn’t realize it, but he loves his little sister Nunu who is relegated to her side of the bedroom they share by a black and yellow “flight line” down the middle of the room. And he loves his father, even though Alex told him, “I hate you,” the night before 9/11. When the Towers fall, Alex rises to the occasion, taking care of his little sister and an abandoned dog, making the sacrifice to return the dog he has always wanted to his owners when the vet finds a chip, facing bullies, making “deals” in the hopes these deals and good works will offset what he said to his father and ascertain his return from the Towers, and comforting Mac, a lonely man who is awaiting his only son’s return from the Towers. In Eleven author Tom Rogers builds a character who is authentic, a kid who events serve to turn into a young man. Alex’s mother had said to him, “I need you to be grown up today” and, even though he was focusing on his misdeeds of the day, he did. “I’m proud of you, young man…. Young Man. Alex liked how that sounded.” This book is not graphic but does not skirt the events. Readers hear the news announcement about the four airplanes and, more chilling, a description of an empty hospital—“There were no gurneys rolling through to the ER, no sick and wounded in pain. There wasn’t a patient in sight. And he knew then that none would be coming.” A powerful examination of the events of 9/11 and how they affected ordinary people—and one boy’s birthday. Dawn is a foster teen who runs away to New York City and becomes affected by the events of 9/11. As she plays her flute on the streets near Ground Zero to earn money for food, she is approached by families of victims who ask her to play for them and the memories of their loved ones. As Dawn comes to believe this is her mission, she teaches herself music she feels appropriate for those of many cultures and stages of life. In doing so, she opens up to strangers and new friends, something she couldn't do with her foster mother. Johar is an Afghani teenager, weaver, and poet. His father is killed by the Taliban, his mother is killed by a land mine, his older brother joins the Taliban, and his aunt is missing, leaving Johar to care for his three-year-old cousin. He and his cousin flee to a refugee camp in Pakistan where he works for the Red Cross doctor, Dawn's foster mother, another person who must learn to show love. Dawn and Johar connect through phone calls and emails, and as they all work toward forming a family—one that spans the globe—the reader learns how war, the U.S. involvement, and the events of 9/11 affected those in many countries. This would be a book I would recommend for proficient readers with an interest in war or history. P.S. After I read this book and posted my original Goodreads review, I was listening to a discussion about the days following 9/11 in the Middle East on NPR and found that I could actually follow it; therefore, I realize that I learned more than I thought from this novel. As the son of a firefighter, Lucas was aware of the effects of danger and disasters. His father had been severely injured in a warehouse fire and was still not himself (“It turned him quiet.”). It had been a while since they had worked together on the firetruck model in the basement. But it was another tragedy that brought them back together as a family. Lucas had sneaked into NYC that September 11 morning to ask his uncle to intercede on his behalf. After three concussions in two years of football, his parents and doctor were taking him off the team, and Lucas loved being on a team, a team of two with his father, his dad and uncle’s Ladder 177 firehouse, and especially his football team. Lucas was near Ground Zero when the planes hit the Towers, and when his father went looking for him, they were able to make it safely back to the fire station, helping others along the way. Readers view the attacks of 9/11 up close and personal through Lucas’ eyes; they experience his loss, the heroism of the firefighters, and the resilience of his father. We feel the dust of the falling Towers, see the sky fogged with dust and ashes. “It wasn’t like regular dust. Some of the grains were jagged—bits of ground glass.… The dust, Lucas realized. That was the tower. It was practically all that was left.” The story ends on a realistic but positive note with Lucas, not a player, but still a valued member of the football team. “Nothing would ever be the same again.” But his father told him, as time passed, it would get, not easy, but easier. This was the first book in Tarshis’ I Survived series that I have read, and I was impressed with the writing, development of the main character, and the complexity of ideas presented in such a short text. This novel could be employed for MG or YA readers who are less proficient or more reluctant readers; English Language Learners who may not be ready for a longer or more complicated text; students who are short on time through absences, trips, or other obligations or who joined the class during the unit; or as a quick whole-class read for background before students break into book clubs to read one of the other 9/11 novels. With Their Eyes was written from not only a unique perspective—those who watched the attack on the World Trade Center and the fall of the towers from their vantage point at Stuyvesant High School, a mere four blocks from Ground Zero, but in a unique format. Inspired by the work of Anna Deavere Smith whose work combines interviews of subjects with performance to interpret their words, English teacher Annie Thoms led one student director, two student producers, and ten student cast members in the creation—the writing and performance—of this play. The students interviewed members of the Stuyvesant High study body, faculty, administration, and staff and turned their stories of the historic day and the days that followed into poem-monologues. They transcribed and edited these interviews, keeping close to the interviewees’ words and speech patterns because “each individual has a particular story to tell and the story is more than words: the story is its rhythms and its breaths.” (xiv) They next rehearsed the monologues, each actor playing a variety of roles. Although cast members were chosen from all four grades and to represent the school’s diversity, actors did not necessarily match the culture of their interviewees. They next planned the order of the stories to speak to each other, “paint a picture of anger and panic, of hope and strength, of humor and resilience” (7), rehearsed, and presented two performances in February 2002. With Their Eyes presents the stories of those affected by the events of 9/11 in diverse ways. It shares the stories of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, special education students, an English teacher, a Social Studies teacher, the School Safety Agent, the Building Coordinator, a dining hall worker, a custodian, an assistant principal, and more, some male, some female, some named, others remain anonymous. Written as a play, readers are given a description of each character. Read and performed as a play, readers will experience the effect of Nine Eleven on others, actual people who lived that day and persisted in those days that followed, sharing their big moments and little thoughts. “the air felt on the outside like something that you might smell at a, or feel at a barbecue, but it didn’t, it…it hurt you. It hurt your windpipe. I could feel like, things collecting on my esophagus or on my lungs, and I don’t think that is something that I will ever forget.” (44) “and you know what an odd thing this is a peculiar little odd thing just a little quirk, just an odd thing, but, ah, the day before on Monday evening I had taken the time to shine my shoes. ‘cause it’s kind of weird I took the time to shine my shoes and I did a good job, right, and then Tuesday morning it was a beautiful sunny day and as I was dusting myself off from the debris of the north tower I—I shook my clothes off and then I looked down at my shoes and my shoes were a whole ‘nother color they were completely covered and I thought to myself ‘I just shined them yesterday’…” (102) And the pregnant English teacher who said, “…during that time of feeling afraid I felt like I was crazy to be in New York… and I had lots of conversations with my friends about whether or not we would… we would consider, you know, just completely changing our lives and leaving New York So far I don’t know anyone who has done that. But do I plan to raise my child in New York? Yes.” (90) You know, I really believe in healing And I believe that, the city will I think you have to believe that.” (93) With Their Eyes was written with the thoughts and pens of a school community. The day was September 11, 2001, a teacher meeting day during which students at Will’s high school were to shadow their parents at their workplaces. Ninth-grader William’s father John worked in international trade in the World Trade Center. Upon arrival, father and son went to the 107th floor Observation Deck for a quick tour and history of the Center and view of the city. “Maybe my father was right and the World Trade Center and all the money that passed through here each day really did represent the United States.” (42) At 8:46, shortly after arriving at John’s office on the 85th floor of the South Tower, they felt the force of an explosion. And as he looked out the window Will saw a gaping hole in the North Tower, billowing smoke, thousands of pieces of paper—some on fire—and, before he could look away, he was horrified to notice a man and woman jumping from windows of the building. Will’s father, as acting head of his office and fire warden for the floor, demanded that his staff and other businesses on the floor close and evacuate for the day. But at 9:03, just before John and Will were able to leave, the second plane hit the South Tower. Readers follow the father and son as they make the harrowing journey down 85 floors through heat and smoke, formulating split-second decisions and stopping to rescue and carry an injured woman, only to experience the collapse of the building as they reach the lobby. A quick but dramatic read, Eric Walters’ novel lets readers experience a close-up account of the day and the panic and fear and heroism of ordinary people—John and Will, the men carrying a man in a wheelchair, the firemen and police—as Will discovers another side of his father and John realizes how much time he has devoted to his job rather than to his family. The title derives from the children’s rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie,” a song that is actually about the Black Death during the Dark Ages. Will learns this in history class on the previous school day, a foreshadowing of events to occur. A middle school and high school teacher for twenty years, Lesley Roessing was the Founding Director of the Coastal Savannah Writing Project at Georgia Southern University (formerly Armstrong State University) where she was also a Senior Lecturer in the College of Education. In 2018-19 she served as a Literacy Consultant with a K-8 school. Lesley served as past editor of Connections, the award-winning journal of the Georgia Council of Teachers of English. As a columnist for AMLE Magazine, she shared before, during, and after-reading response strategies across the curriculum through ten “Writing to Learn” columns. She now works independently, writing, providing professional development in literacy to schools, and visiting classrooms to facilitate reading and writing lessons. She can be contacted at email@example.com or through Facebook Messenger. Lesley is the author of - Bridging the Gap: Reading Critically & Writing Meaningfully to Get to the Core - Comma Quest: The Rules They Followed. The Sentences They Saved - No More “Us” & “Them: Classroom Lessons and Activities to Promote Peer Respect - The Write to Read: Response Journals That Increase Comprehension - Talking Texts: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum - and has contributed chapters to - Young Adult Literature in a Digital World: Textual Engagement though Visual Literacy - Queer Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the English Language Arts Curriculum - Story Frames for Teaching Literacy: Enhancing Student Learning through the Power of Storytelling (in press)

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Dear Miss Rae, How can I help a student who has ZERO coping skills? My student is a sweet girl who greets her teacher with a hug every day. She can follow routines. She rarely shuts down in class, but when she does it is around academics. When things are hard for her, she completely gives up. Her shutting down is crying and quiet. She will cover her face with her hair, but she does not ask for help. She does NOT like making mistakes. Help me so I can help her! Because the truth is I don’t know how to help her! Approximately 4.4 million students, aged 3-17 years, have been diagnosed with anxiety (Ghandour, et al., 2018). So teaching coping skills in schools is a must! Coping means to make a conscious effort to solve problems and master, minimize, and handle stress or conflict! Here are some coping strategies that I teach to my students: ONE: Deep Breathing! Oxygen helps our bodies relax. Have students breathe in through their nose, expand their bellies, and then, breath out. Try using a pinwheel or bubbles! As students breathe out, get the pinwheel to spin or make some bubbles float into the air! TWO: WRITE ABOUT FEELINGS! Writing helps students get their feelings out and learn from them. Give students time to free write about their feelings. This is a private place to confess how they feel. Writing down anxious thoughts helps take them away and allows students a chance to vent their frustrations. Through writing, students are able to connect and listen to themselves as well. This self-reflection allows them to evolve and gain control over their own thoughts. Try these writing activities for stress: *Keep a worry journal. Have students write down the worries they are feeling, but then, end with one positive feeling. This helps to break the negative thinking cycle! *Start a feelings journal. Students write one feeling (i.e. happy, mad, sad, scared) on a page. Students should then think of something that gave them this feeling. Write or draw about what happened. *Write and Rip! In this activity, students write or draw their worries on a piece of paper. They can read them to themselves, a teacher, counselor, or peer (if they choose). Then, rip up the paper and throw it away. *Use a question and answer activity to help students process and reflect on their stress experiences. Three: FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE! Get students to change their thinking! Oftentimes, when we are anxious, we engage in negative self-talk. How we talk to ourselves affects our outlook on the world. So help students change their mindset! Teach positive self-talk! Brainstorm ways to revise negative talk. I can’t make this any better. What can I improve? I can’t do this. I have to practice. This is too hard. This may take some time. I’m never going to get this. I’ll use a different strategy. I made a mistake. Mistakes help me learn. Create lists! Students can create gratitude lists of things they are thankful for. They can also create favorite lists. Creating a list of things students love to do gives them choices when they are stressed out. Four: GET MOVING! Exercise releases endorphins. These are natural painkillers that the brain releases. This helps to reduce stress. So get your kiddos moving! Students can walk in place, run in place, dance, do jumping jacks, stretch, take a walk, or do some yoga all in their classroom! Relaxing helps students to calm their minds and thus, regulate their emotions. Create a calming corner within the classroom. This gives students a place to go to for some relaxation time. Students can ask to go to this safe space within the classroom. Once there, they can use a sand timer to track the length of their stay. Then, they can engage in relaxing activities that are all available within the calming space. This could be fidgets, coloring books, clay, books, a mini sandbox, and more. Teach your students how to use these tools to relax prior to introducing the space. Teach students a trick to release this stress from their bodies: Tense all of your muscles in your body (really tight...make fists even). Hold your muscles tight for five seconds. Release. Notice how you feel. Repeat two to five times. You can also teach tensing one muscle group at a time, holding for five seconds, releasing, pause to notice how you feel, and then, moving to the next group. Let students create a character that represents their anxiety. Have them talk to their character about ways to feel strong and deal with their anxiety. Practice visualizing talking to this character. This will help students use this strategy in a moment of anxiety. Have your students create video game remote controls for their anxiety. Each button can be a strategy that works for the student. Practice pressing a button and using this strategy. Create a worry box for the classroom. Decorate a box for the classroom. Students can write their worries on a piece of paper and place them in the box. Seven: TRACK THE DATA! We use data to motivate our students in their academics so why don’t we do this with their stress. Students can track their stress in a notebook in order to analyze it. Does their stress have a pattern? Conference with your students to help them gain a deeper understanding of their stress. What was the catalyst for the student’s stress? What was the antecedent to the stress? What was the consequence of the stress? What can a student do to prevent this pattern from continuing For the most severe cases of students who lack coping skills, teachers can help them by creating IEP goals for them! Sample IEP Goal: Given direct instruction, XXX will develop coping skills and strategies to manage frustrations in 3 out of 5 observable opportunities. 1. XXX will be able to use calming strategies when frustrated (breathing exercise or counting backwards) in 3 out of 5 observable opportunities. 2. XXX will be able to verbalize difficulties and accept when no further help can be offered for completing tasks or tests in 3 out of 5 observable opportunities. 3. XXX will put forth effort when confronted with perceived difficult tasks in 3 out of 5 observable opportunities. Coping skills are skills that our students need to be successful in life - no matter where their journey takes them. Let’s help them to have success in life! By: Miss Rae Ghandour RM, Sherman LJ, Vladutiu CJ, Ali MM, Lynch SE, Bitsko RH, Blumberg SJ. Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in U.S. children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2018. Published online before print October 12, 2018 TEACHER SELF CARE GUIDE When students push, give them a hug. The first day I met Jon, he entered my class followed by one of the school’s many Crisis Interventions. After exchanging some words, it appeared that Jon had not followed an instruction that he was given. The Crisis Interventionist was clearly angry, and Jon was clearly not. And most obvious to me was that Jon was in control of the entire situation. He made the situation go the way he wanted. I respected him for that. I saw the leader in him. I also saw the challenge of fostering the POSITIVE leader in him. Over the next few months, Jon and I fostered a strong relationship. He was a positive leader in our classroom community. I made sure to allow him to always feel safe and in control when he could be. But then, one day, everything changed. He walked into class, told me he hated me, and then, proceeded to do everything in his power to show me how much he hated me. Jon had been diagnosed with something called Reactive Attachment Disorder or RAD, as it’s known. RAD is a condition characterized by markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate ways of relating socially in most contexts When a baby is repeatedly comforted and cared for, an attachment forms with the caregivers. Baby’s who have their needs met learn to love and trust others, develop healthy relationships, regulate emotional responses to situations, be aware of others’ emotions and needs, and have a positive self-image. On the other hand, when a baby experiences abuse and neglect at the hands of caregivers, attachments do not form. Failure to establish these expected bonds negatively impacts children, leading to possible depression, irritability, and mistrust and/or fear of trusting adults or peers. Repeated abuse and neglect can leave children at-risk for RAD. The signs and symptoms of RAD include the following… -Failure to reach out when picked up or interest in peek-a-boo -Unexplained withdrawal, fear, sadness or irritability -Sad and listless appearance -Not seeking comfort or showing no response when comfort is given -Failure to smile -Watching others closely but not engaging in social interaction -Failing to ask for support or assistance But RAD is a rare disorder. The majority of children who experience repeated abuse and neglect, including those that have been bounced around to multiple caregivers and experienced abuse and neglect with each, do not develop RAD. Wait! What?! How is it rare when I can think of at least 3 students in my classroom that exhibit these symptoms?! Modern-day students make this disorder feel like the norm, right?! Some of our students have been hurt and let down by adults in the past. When something happens to someone over and over, it becomes an expected behavior. So instead of being let down by another adult who you have started to care about, why not push them away? Isn't that easier? Then, that adult can't hurt you. That adult can let you down like all of the others have. Not only did Jon state in front of the whole class how much he hated me, he also continued to tell them why he hated me, including my stupidity and ugly appearance in his tirade. He refused to participate in morning meeting, getting two others to follow his choice after explaining how boring morning meeting is. During reading, he broke the picture of my puppy on my desk and twenty minutes later, threw a chair at me. And at the end of the day, I told him that I didn’t know what I had done to upset him, but I couldn’t change unless he told me. I also told him that I cared for him, I didn’t like to see him this upset, and tomorrow is a new day! The next day he came in and quietly observed the class for the day, never once speaking to me. At the end of the day, I told him that I was happy to see that he seemed less angry, but I missed the old Jon. Tomorrow would be a new day. After that, Jon acted as if those two days never happened. He did push again at times, but never so intensely. Trauma leaves an impact. No matter the trauma, a person’s brain is essentially altered in terms of thinking, emotional regulation, and response to fears. So when a student pushes you away, don't let them. Instead, let them know that you are not like the other adults who have let them down in the past. Let them know that you are not going anywhere. They aren't going to be able to push you away - just give it up, kid When students push, give them a hug. By: Miss Rae Calling all teachers!!!! Does this sound familiar??? “Suzy isn’t friends with me anymore. She called me a bad name at lunch.” ...or... “Boys and girls, we have been so chatty in our groups that we are not finishing our work.” ...or how about... “Johnny keeps cutting me in line.” ...or... “Class, the rule is that we are silent when we travel as a class in the hallway. We have been late to lunch all week because our line has to keep stopping and waiting for students to stop talking.” And how about these??? “I read this math problem. Now what? How do I solve this math problem?” “Why did the American Revolution happen? I don’t see where it says it in the text.” “Who knows why the character chose to do that? What was she thinking?” And then, there are the questions we ask ourselves: How do we teach our students to independently problem solve??? How do we teach them how to solve their social conflicts??? How do we teach them to challenge themselves in their own learning in order to grow as a learner??? Our students do not know how to solve problems! They have not learned how to analyze problems before jumping right in! So, here is what I do! I use the Analyzing a Problem Classroom Protocol! And I use it in my academic content area instruction AND for solving classroom management issues! Analyzing a Problem Classroom Protocol includes a step-by-step structured approach for students for analyzing problems prior to attempting to solve them! This protocol gives educators an approach to follow to work together in order to solve classroom community and academic problems! Analyzing a Problem Classroom Protocol: -Presenter describes the problem and asks a focus question. -Group members ask clarifying questions. -The Facilitator facilitates Response Rounds, eliciting responses from each group member to the presented problem. -The Presenter should take notes throughout the process and then reads the notes aloud. -The Presenter asks “What options for solution did our group present?” -Make a list of the solutions. Optional: Debrief the team process: What were the team’s strengths? Difficulties? What helped the team work together? How can difficulties be improved next time? Happy problem solving! By Miss Rae You might also like... Humans are rooted in emotion so let's build the roots of our education by teaching and supporting emotional learning! ...but how can we possibly add another content area into our day??? How about we infuse Social Emotional Learning into our already existing curriculum?! One way I infuse SEL into my read alouds! Self-Management - ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, stress, impulses, & behaviors in different situations & work toward personal & academic goals Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban Middle School/High School: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Fast Break by Mike Lupica Self-Awareness - ability to assess one’s strengths & challenges & correctly identify one’s own emotions & how they influence situations & others The Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble Carla’s Sandwich by Debbie Herman Middle School/High School: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan Responsible Decision-Making - ability to make constructive, socially acceptable, & ethical choices about personal behavior & social interactions Hooper Humperdink..? Not Him! By Dr. Seuss The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson Middle School/High School: House Arrest by K.A. Holt Parrot in the Oven: Mi vida by Victor Martinez Relationship Skills - ability to establish & maintain healthy & positive relationships with diverse groups through clear communication, good listening skills, positive collaboration, & conflict resolution A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead Hooray for Hat by Brian Won Middle School/High School: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Crossover by Kwame Alexander Social-Awareness - ability to take the perspective of & empathize with others, including people from diverse backgrounds & cultures The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson Middle School/High School: Freak the Mighty by W. Rodman Philbrick The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros And the core SEL skill that I also like to teach… Say Something - empowerment to protect one’s communities & other individuals from negative influences Say Something by Peggy Moss Mary Wrightly, So Politely by Shirin Yim Bridges and Maria Monescillo Middle School/High School: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Monster by Walter Dean Myers The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Whatever you choose to read, learn from it as a classroom community! By Miss Rae The news has never been my happy place, but it's been especially upsetting in 2018. From mass shootings in places of worship and schools to mail bombings, our world is a scary place. And obviously, we are all very upset about this. But why are we not addressing mental illness in this country?! Sometimes I feel like screaming. There is never enough time in the day to get everything I need to get done. I'm literally running at my highest capacity every minute of every day. I've never felt so stressed in my life. We are all running on high all day; intensifying and exhausting our emotional and mental capacities. Our students are feeling the same. And now, we are both forced into the integrated experience of the classroom, where naturally, our actions and words affect the actions and words of others within the same microcosm of the classroom. Previously, students could be targeted and remediated on a case by case basis, but with today's prevalence, SUPPORTS MUST BE MAINSTREAMED. And those supports MUST address our students mental health needs. Okay, so this isn't going to be simple. And we can start with baby steps. In moments of heightened anxiety, we can stop, breathe, and re-center ourselves. Similarly, if we insert these moments, forcibly, into our day, including our time with students, where we stop and breathe (i.e. a mindfulness activity, yoga, go noodle, etc.), we can stop running at such a high level, and perhaps, we begin to regulate our emotions as well. We need to teach this to our students because it does not come naturally anymore. This is the world now. This is us. These are our students. 1. Build a Classroom Community A classroom community means that students trust and support each other. They feel safe to accept and give feedback and take risks. Spend the first month and some time each week throughout the year playing a classroom-based community-building game to build trust and problem-solving and cooperative learning skills. 2. Address SE (social emotional) needs Start your Mondays off right - by addressing your students' social emotional needs! Welcome them into the week with a friendly morning greeting! Ease them back with some conversation to set the tone... What's one thing you are looking forward to this week? What's one thing that will make you happy this week? What is your goal for this week? 3. Infuse SEL (social emotional learning) into our current content We barely have time in the day to use the restroom, right?! How could we possibly fit another block of time into our day to teach SEL? Well, you don't have to. Much of our current curriculum lends itself to SE learning skills. Stories in history and ELA, games in Math, giving and receiving feedback, and working collaboratively in the science lab all lend themselves to SE skills. What we do need, then, is professional development on SE skills! Are you listening higher ups? 4. Explicitly Teach Pro-Social Skills Teach expected behaviors and do it explicitly. State the rule, role play what the rule looks like and doesn't look like, discuss the rule, praise students you see displaying the rule, etc. AND hold students accountable. Consequences are a natural part of life. Develop reasonable consequences that match infractions AND make sure they are enforceable. Consequences must abide by the school rules, but they also have to be consequences that you are willing to implement. If you say a student is going to stay in for recess, does the school allow this AND are you willing to give up your time to be inside with this student? 5. Make Teacher Self Care a Priority You are good to your students. Be good to yourself! The saying is true - you cannot pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first! ~By Miss Rae One of the most important factors in behavior management is data tracking! Without the data, interventions are just an opinion! How do we know what’s working and what’s not working without the data? We track the data! Tracking the data is the way to change the behavior! Let me give you an example of data tracking with a common classroom issue - How do you handle a student who swears in your classroom? For the minor offense (i.e. it slips out in conversation or out of frustration), I acknowledge it and I redirect... “Let’s watch our language as that is inappropriate for school.” (As with all redirections of behavior, you want to make sure you explain why you are asking for the behavior to be corrected. Answer the question: What is the behavior’s negative impact?) With a major swearing offended, you are going to take a different approach. A student who chooses to swear or swears multiple times in one period is a major offender. With these major offenders, DO NOT acknowledge the swear! And I repeat - DO NOT! By acknowledging the swear, you are actually reinforcing swearing. start by obtaining a baseline. You will get this if you have tracked the data or by tracking the data! Example: Cam swears 20 times in 60 minutes on average… Next, have an honest conversation with your student... "Your goal is to swear less and here’s why we need to reduce your swearing..." Then, implement the intervention! AND begin tracking the data! The intervention is to reinforce the expected behavior. When the student doesn’t swear... "Oh good job, Cam! Here's a merit for not swearing in the last 5 minutes." Build the time frame of the reinforcer! Depending on baseline data and continued progress monitoring data, the reinforcer (i.e.merits) can build toward a bigger reinforcer (i.e. lunch with the teacher, homework pass). The reinforcer should be something reinforcing BUT within reason! Over time, the reinforcer fades as the behavior is phased out! ~By Miss Rae Back to School Icebreaker Set a tone for your school year! Icebreakers are effective and interactive team-building activities that typically precede the big event, and in our case, the big event is class! They enable students to get to know each other in a relaxed setting and buy into the purpose of the event - learning! They also allow for diverse learning styles and opportunities to help each other. Research has demonstrated that students will learn when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally involved. Games allow educators to meet these needs. Icebreakers convey a tone of working together through communication, support, and laughter. Here is an example of a back to school icebreaker: The Name Game! Materials: soft tossable object, timer (optional) Students stand in a line or sit in a circle. The first person says their name and a favorite thing. The second person then says their name and a favorite thing, as well as the name and thing of the person before them. Each person after that adds the names and items of all of the people before them. ★ Have students say their name only ★ Do not time the students. Simply use it for learning each others’ names. Variation for the School Year: •Instead of names, have students wear index cards or stickers… ••with sight words, vocabulary words, etc. on them. Students will have to read and/or spell the word they are tossing to. ••with a math fact on them. Students can say the fact and answer before tossing the object. ••with names of items in a sequence (think ABCs, planets, life cycles, events on a timeline, etc.) that students are learning about. Students have to toss the object in the correct sequence. Get a free pdf version HERE! This activity and more can be found in my Back to School Small Group Activities resource! Have fun breaking the ice this year! ~ By Miss Rae On May 16, 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly referred to as the CDC, released a report compiling estimates of the number of children living in the U.S. with specific mental health disorders. The report asserted 13 to 20 percent of children suffer a mental disorder in a one year time period. The most prevalent parent-reported social emotional related diagnosis of children ages 3 to 17 years were as follows: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (6.8 percent), behavioral or conduct problems (3.5 percent), anxiety (3.0 percent), and depression (2.1 percent). Based upon the collected information completed during 1994 through 2011, the CDC’s report indicated an expected increase in the predominance of such conditions. Negative emotions are correlated to lower levels of student engagement (Reschly, et al., 2008). These negative emotions can stifle learners. Negative emotions can result in emotional deficiencies, and such deficiencies can result in academic derailment. Positive emotions, on the other hand, were found to be correlated to adaptive behaviors. This results in increased student engagement. As a result, adaptive behaviors, then, in turn, promote positive emotional skills such as an ability to handle change, work with a team, and improve interpersonal relationships. The reality is that today's educators don't have a choice. We MUST address our students' Social Emotional needs. The second reality is that educators do not always know where to begin to even address such skills. The budgets of school systems are bursting at the seams; finding the funds to provide professional development and a Social Emotional curriculum can be a moot point. So what's the answer? We must infuse Social Emotional Learning into the curriculum, using our content as a springboard! And here are some ways to do that! Use the lessons, morals, character development, plot, theme, etc. to drive Social Emotional Learning conversations! Check out my Social Emotional: Short Story Empathy to learn how to teach Social Emotional Learning with texts! Stories can provide a basis to prompt discussions and to determine a life lesson to be learned! 2. ADVENTURE GAMES Connect learning goals to cooperative learning games. Think a Tug of War game to model the Revolutionary War AND elicit discussion around Social Emotional goals (i.e. How did the sides feel?) Check out my Social Emotional Classroom Adventure Game: Goal Setting to learn how to teach Social Emotional Learning with games! Games can prompt discussions around teamwork, setting goals, adjusting goals, and MORE! Work hard, play hard, learn hard! ~ By Miss Rae Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005–2011]. MMWR 2013;62(Suppl 2). Reschly, A. L., Huebner, E., Appleton, J. J., & Antaramian, S. (2008). Engagement as flourishing: The contribution of positive emotions and coping to adolescents’ engagement at school and with learning. Psychology In The Schools, 45(5), 419-431. doi:10.1002/pits.20306 All Back To School Behavior Calming Toolbox Sequence Classroom Management Conflict Resolution Coping Skills Coronavirus Flu Fighting Posters COVID-19 & Schools Data Tracking Distance Learning Diversity Dropout Prevention EB/BD EBD Emotional Intelligence Feedback FREEBIES Glitter Jar Goal Setting Learning Disability Mental Health Positive Affirmations Problem Solving Reading School Re-Opening SEL And LD Self Care SEL Game SEL IEP Goals SEL Story Social Emotional Social Emotional Learning

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Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American to gain national eminence as a poet. Born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio, he was the son of ex-slaves and classmate to Orville Wright of aviation fame. Although he lived to be only 33 years old, Dunbar was prolific, writing short stories, novels, table de pythagore (multiplications), librettos, plays, songs and essays as well as the poetry for which he became well known. He was popular with black and white readers of his day, and his works are celebrated today by scholars and school children alike. His style encompasses two distinct voices – the standard English of the classical poet and the evocative dialect of the turn-of-the-century black community in America. He was gifted in poetry – the way that Mark Twain was in prose – in using dialect to convey character. Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872, Dunbar penned a large body of dialect poems, standard English poems, essays, novels and short stories before he died at the age of 33. His work often addressed the difficulties encountered by members of his race and the efforts of African-Americans to achieve equality in America. He was praised both by the prominent literary critics of his time and his literary contemporaries. Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872, to Matilda and Joshua Dunbar, both natives of Kentucky. His mother was a former slave and his father had escaped from slavery and served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Calvary Regiment during the Civil War. Matilda and Joshua had two children before separating in 1874. Matilda also had two children from a previous marriage. The family was poor, and after Joshua left, Matilda supported her children by working in Dayton as a washerwoman. One of the families she worked for was the family of Orville and Wilbur Wright, with whom her son attended Dayton’s Central High School. Though the Dunbar family had little material wealth, Matilda, always a great support to Dunbar as his literary stature grew, taught her children a love of songs and storytelling. Having heard poems read by the family she worked for when she was a slave, Matilda loved poetry and encouraged her children to read. Dunbar was inspired by his mother, and he began reciting and writing poetry as early as age 6. Dunbar was the only African-American in his class at Dayton Central High, and while he often had difficulty finding employment because of his race, he rose to great heights in school. He was a member of the debating society, editor of the school paper and president of the school’s literary society. He also wrote for Dayton community newspapers. He worked as an elevator operator in Dayton’s Callahan Building until he established himself locally and nationally as a writer. He published an African-American newsletter in Dayton, the Dayton Tattler, with help from the Wright brothers. His first public reading was on his birthday in 1892. A former teacher arranged for him to give the welcoming address to the Western Association of Writers when the organization met in Dayton. James Newton Matthews became a friend of Dunbar’s and wrote to an Illinois paper praising Dunbar’s work. The letter was reprinted in several papers across the country, and the accolade drew regional attention to Dunbar; James Whitcomb Riley, a poet whose works were written almost entirely in dialect, read Matthew’s letter and acquainted himself with Dunbar’s work. With literary figures beginning to take notice, Dunbar decided to publish a book of poems. Oak and Ivy, his first collection, was published in 1892. Though his book was received well locally, Dunbar still had to work as an elevator operator to help pay off his debt to his publisher. He sold his book for a dollar to people who rode the elevator. As more people came in contact with his work, however, his reputation spread. In 1893, he was invited to recite at the World’s Fair, where he met Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist who rose from slavery to political and literary prominence in America. Douglass called Dunbar “the most promising young colored man in America.” Dunbar moved to Toledo, Ohio, in 1895, with help from attorney Charles A. Thatcher and psychiatrist Henry A. Tobey. Both were fans of Dunbar’s work, and they arranged for him to recite his poems at local libraries and literary gatherings. Tobey and Thatcher also funded the publication of Dunbar’s second book, Majors and Minors. It was Dunbar’s second book that propelled him to national fame. William Dean Howells, a novelist and widely respected literary critic who edited Harper’s Weekly, praised Dunbar’s book in one of his weekly columns and launched Dunbar’s name into the most respected literary circles across the country. A New York publishing firm, Dodd Mead and Co., combined Dunbar’s first two books and published them as Lyrics of a Lowly Life. The book included an introduction written by Howells. In 1897, Dunbar traveled to England to recite his works on the London literary circuit. His national fame had spilled across the Atlantic. After returning from England, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore, a young writer, teacher and proponent of racial and gender equality who had a master’s degree from Cornell University. Dunbar took a job at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He found the work tiresome, however, and it is believed the library’s dust contributed to his worsening case of tuberculosis. He worked there for only a year before quitting to write and recite full time. In 1902, Dunbar and his wife separated. Depression stemming from the end of his marriage and declining health drove him to a dependence on alcohol, which further damaged his health. He continued to write, however. He ultimately produced 12 books of poetry, four books of short stories, a play and five novels. His work appeared in Harper’s Weekly, the Sunday Evening Post, the Denver Post, Current Literature and a number of other magazines and journals. He traveled to Colorado and visited his half-brother in Chicago before returning to his mother in Dayton in 1904. He died there on Feb. 9, 1906. Herbert Woodward Martin, University of Dayton professor emeritus, is an acclaimed scholar and interpreter of Dunbar’s works. Join audiences around the world in celebrating the beauty of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s words, embodied by Martin. Download RealPlayer. Poems newly recorded by Herbert Martin: After a Visit Ante-Bellum Sermon, An Death Song, A Easy Goin’ Feller, An Farm House by the River, The Haunted Oak, The He Had His Dream In the Morning Invitation to Love Little Brown Baby Making Up, The Negro Love Song, A Not They Who Soar Ode for Memorial Day Ode to Ethiopia Poet and His Song, The Right to Die, The Toast to Dayton We Wear The Mask When Dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers When Malindy Sings For printed volumes of Dunbar’s work, see: The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar Edited by Joanne M. Braxton (University Press of Virginia, 1993) In His Own Voice: The Dramatic and Other Uncollected Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar Edited by Herbert Woodward Martin & Ronald Primeau (Ohio University Press, 2002) With help from Herbert Woodward Martin, the Dayton Opera commissioned the new one-act production, “Paul Laurence Dunbar: Common Ground,” and hosted a lavish premiere Feb. 10, 1995, in the fully restored Victoria Theatre in Dayton. He wrote of little brown babies and a man who had his dream. He revealed the mask worn by many and penned an ode to Ethiopia. Paul Laurence Dunbar, a native Daytonian and the first black American to gain national prominence as a poet, ignited the literary world with his turn-of-the-century works and now has inspired two contemporary university professors to celebrate his poetry with operatic splendor. “Be proud, my Race, in mind and soul; Thy name is writ on Glory’s scroll In characters of fire.” So begins the new opera, with stanzas from “Ode to Ethiopia” and “Compensation,” which give “a sense of striving for that which is worthwhile,” says the librettist. Dayton Opera commissioned the new one-act production, “Paul Laurence Dunbar: Common Ground,” and hosted a lavish premiere Feb. 10 in the fully restored Victoria Theatre in Dayton. Over the next three months, the four cast members took the 35-minute production to about 70 junior and senior high schools in an 11-county area surrounding Dayton, introducing students to Dunbar and the art of opera. An additional 40 performances were given for community groups. Herbert Woodward Martin, English professor and poet-in-residence at the University of Dayton, selected the 12 poems to be included in the opera and wrote the libretto. Dialogue is delivered in between the poems to provide a narrative thread, and it links the works to Dunbar’s life, calling attention to the guidance offered by his parents, his love for his wife, Alice, and the tragedy of his death at the age of 33 in 1906. “The poetry is extraordinarily singable. There’s an inordinate amount of music already in the poems,” Martin says. He calls the opera “charming and quite delightful. I think it’s accessible, that it’s a cohesive piece that makes sense right away.” The opera’s composer is Adolphus Hailstork, professor of composition at Norfolk State University. “When I discovered Dunbar’s work, I realized that he was my artistic ancestor, because I write music that reflects a double cultural experience, that of my standard European-oriented education and that of my ethnic heritage.” Hailstork blended the two influences in the opera, using standard harmonic and melodic styles for some pieces while choosing a musical style reflective of African-American blues and gospel in others. “A Love Letter” and “A Frolic” are light-hearted poems written in African-American dialect, the form that brought Dunbar his initial fame. They set up a courtship theme that dominates the middle of the production and are followed by two serious and heartfelt love lyrics written in standard English, “The Awakening” and “Thou Art My Lute.” Designed to fit easily into schoolday schedules, the production is also extremely portable, with only costumes and folding screens to set the mood on stage. Props such as chairs and podiums were borrowed from each school, and conductor Jeffrey Powell provided piano accompaniment. Powell and sopranos Marcia Porter and Angela Powell, tenor Ray M. Wade Jr. and baritone Kirk A.Walker answered questions from the audience following each school performance. “Little Brown Baby,” one of Dunbar’s best-known dialect poems, reintroduces a playful note to the opera, portraying a father alternately teasing and cuddling his young son, “pappy’s pa’dner an’ playmate an’ joy” for whom he wishes “ease an cleah skies.” Is the opera successful in teaching a new generation about Dunbar? Yes, says the librettist. “The person who is unfamiliar with Dunbar sees how clever he was and how ingenious he was,” says Martin, a Dunbar scholar who dresses in period clothes and takes on the voice of the poet for readings in some of his UD classes as well as for local, regional, national and international groups. “The person who is already familiar with Dunbar sees again the lasting effects he’s created, how well he created his characters and how alive they all are. Each group comes away with something quite marvelous.” Tender teasing quickly gives way to good-hearted goading in “A Negro Love Song” for the two men in the cast and nosy inquisitiveness in “Discovered” for the two women. The poems are energetic and humorous and showcase Dunbar’s genius for relating human nature. “Dunbar’s characters are all different, they all have an individuality that comes across as being real and vibrant,” Martin says. He does not claim to have contributed the definitive work on Dunbar, though. “Every generation has to find out how he or she can read Shakespeare or Chaucer, and I think Dunbar falls into that category too,” Martin says. “I’m sure that there are other ways of looking at those poems and finding another sense of humor in them, another sense of seriousness in them, and that’s okay.” “What we tried to do is suggest that there is a kind of common pursuit and struggle that’s related to everyone’s life,” Martin says. “We wanted to capture the atmosphere and the tone of Dunbar’s reaction to the world around him.” “Accountability” sets the stage for the reverent passion of “A Hymn” and “An Ante-Bellum Sermon,” leading to the prophetic “He Had His Dream.” At the end, the singers offer a reprise of “Ode to Ethiopia” and “Compensation,” strong voices and lyrics interwoven in a powerful wall of sound that begins at the stage and rolls outward, embracing the audience. “Because I had loved so deeply, Because I had loved so long, God in His great compassion Gave me the gift of song.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, the nation’s leading higher education periodical, profiles Herbert Woodward Martin performing as Paul Laurence Dunbar. Enter the Paul Laurence Dunbar House here and you will find the original Remington typewriter that the turn-of-the-century black writer used to pound out his poetry, scraps of time-worn paper on which are scrawled early drafts of his 100-year-old poems, and a bicycle he purchased from his childhood friends, the Wright brothers. Every so often, you may also discover in the house a man, wearing a morning coat and striped trousers, who bears a striking resemblance to the dead poet. But Herbert W. Martin, a professor of English at the University of Dayton and a poet himself, is not Paul Laurence Dunbar; he just plays him on television – in an educational video – and in a one-man show for audiences at countless schools, clubs, and libraries across Ohio and the rest of the country. Dressed in late-19th-century-garb, Mr. Martin recites the poet’s work, including his popular dialect poems, and brings Dunbar vibrantly to life. ‘A star professor’ As a child, Mr. Martin often was teased by fellow classmates about his eerie likeness to the poet. But it wasn’t until Mr. Martin came to the University of Dayton in 1970 that his fascination with the city’s favorite hometown poet began. Mr. Martin’s performances, which have made him a local celebrity or, according to the April 1992 Ohio Magazine, a “star professor,” have also allowed him to get some exposure for his own work. “I’ve made a rule that I will read maybe 35 minutes of Dunbar and during maybe the last 10 or 15 minutes, I will read two or three of my own poems, before answering questions about Dunbar,” he says. “So I feel that it has been of some kind of a benefit for the both of us.” Mr. Martin does not mind that he has become better known for reciting Dunbar’s poetry than for his own. “I don’t feel like I’m in competition with him, and I don’t feel overshadowed by him, and certainly do not envy his short life,” he says. Dunbar died of tuberculosis in 1906 at the age of 33. But in his brief life, Dunbar, who is widely regarded as the first black person to achieve national eminence as a poet, was very prolific, publishing six volumes of poetry as well as short stories, novels, librettos, songs, and essays. Mr. Martin recently found an original manuscript of a three-act play of Dunbar’s that has never been published. As a poet himself, Mr. Martin has had his successes. He has published four books of poetry, including the latest in 1980. The books focus on diverse subjects – from the loneliness of the city to racism and the frustrations of being black in America to sexuality and love. Mr. Martin has continued writing and has succeeded in publishing many individual poems, but he has had little luck lately getting his works published as books. “It has been a difficult time for poets to get books in print, especially with the recessed economy,” says Mr. Martin, adding, “It would take a very long time to find somebody who spends their extra money on a book of poetry.” Competing for recognition To get books published these days, he notes, poets must enter contests, competing with hundreds of others for recognition. “The whole market seems to have swung to contests, so that means, in a small contest, they are likely to get anywhere from 200 to 500 entries, and only one book can win, when there are probably at least 10 there that would be good,” he says. It is a very different time from the 1960s when poets, including Mr. Martin, flooded the coffeehouses of New York City’s Greenwich Village for public poetry readings. Then, publishers like Broadside Press hunted down young, aspiring black poets with the goal of getting them into print. It was an exciting time, says Mr. Martin, who worked some of the same clubs as Bob Dylan. “The poets took to the streets, and they captured the American imagination,” he says, putting their “pulse” on the concerns of their audiences. “And people started buying books of poetry like they hadn’t done since anybody could tell in a month of Sundays.” Since then, he says, poets have generally focused more on the personal than on the political. And the public, he says, has generally lost interest in what poets have to say. Still, Mr. Martin loves to write and feels that his next book contract is not too far away. He says he never lets himself get discouraged: “I think you are called to be a poet, like ministers are called to be ministers, and doctors are called to be physicians. Something touches you and says this you can do, and you can do it well.” What would Dunbar think? He has been shopping around three manuscripts for books: one about a man dying of AIDS, another about his mother’s battle with cancer and a third titled The Log of the Vigilante, which chronicles the voyages of a slave-trade ship. Sitting in the study of the Dunbar House, the room in which Dunbar composed much of his poetry, Mr. Martin wonders out loud what the famous poet would have thought of his poems. “I would hope that he would like my poetry, but beyond that there’s no guessing. Even if he liked only one or two, that would be OK,” he says. “I guess I’m the only one who’s supposed to like them all, since they are my children. Some are more successful than others, some are better constructed than others, some have excellent bodies, and no ideas, some have excellent ideas, and no bodies, so you have to take it like you catch it, as Dunbar said in one of his poems.” (Nov. 3, 1993) Copyright 1997, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Posted with permission on the University of Dayton’s Paul Laurence Dunbar Web site, http://www.plethoreum.org/dunbar/. This article may not be published, reposted, or distributed without permission from The Chronicle of Higher Education. A UD professor breathes life into Dunbar’s poetry with passionate study and performance. A poet himself, Herbert Woodward Martin “borrows” Dunbar’s voice to recreate the fury, humor and rhythm of his works. When Herbert Martin was a child growing up in Birmingham, Ala., his classmates taunted him when he read aloud Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry. The youth bore an uncanny resemblance to Dunbar, a Dayton native and the first black American to achieve national eminence as a poet. Because the schoolchildren had to memorize Dunbar’s works, “they took out their dislike for poetry on me,” remembers Martin. “Either I’ve repressed that or gotten over it.” Now himself a poet, Martin hears only applause when he reads Dunbar’s work today. Well, “reads” is not exactly the right word. Dressed in a turn-of-the-century morning coat and striped trousers, Martin “borrows” Dunbar’s voice to bring the poet’s verse to life. At times, he exhibits the spiritual frenzy of a black preacher in a folk sermon. In other moments, he delivers Dunbar’s humorous refrains with the rat-a-tat speed and perfect timing of a successful late-night TV comedian. “I try to show that the dialect poems are accessible,” says Martin, who became seriously interested in Dunbar’s work in 1972 when he organized a centennial birthday celebration in the poet’s honor at the University of Dayton. “Looking at his poems on the page, they seem really kind of difficult to read. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, there is a feeling in this country that dialect means that you are uneducated and unintelligent and to use it or speak it somehow makes you second rate or second class. (Mark) Twain has gotten away with it, but I think black people have been embarrassed by dialect.” The son of ex-slaves, Dunbar stepped in and out of dialect for effect, never losing his distinctly black voice. “In ‘An Ante-Bellum Sermon,’ he presents ideas about freedom in a very humorous, satirical way, but when he is extraordinarily furious, he moves just slightly to the right of dialect. He plays both sides of the fence it seems to me. He involves the reader in such a way that you cannot miss the point.” Juggling two “acting” engagements per week on top of his teaching load in the University’s English department Martin has taken his one-man show to schools, libraries, and clubs around the state. He’s even performed for the official Paul Laurence Dunbar Reading Club in New Castle, Pa., and one Fortune 500 company – the Mead Corp. Black Entertainment Television, a national cable station, has featured Martin as “English professor by day, Paul Laurence Dunbar by night.” Like Dunbar, whose notebooks contained several drafts of the same poem, Martin incessantly revises his work. The creative process starts before dawn. Arising early “before the house wakes,” he scribbles out poems in longhand and slowly punches them into a word processor. Then he revises and revises and revises. The University of Dayton’s poet-in-residence for over two decades, Martin has published four books of poetry and a monograph on Paul Laurence Dunbar and is trying to interest a publisher in a book-length collection of poems about people with AIDS and a long series of poems called “Final W” about his mother dying from cancer. His poems have been published in academic publications and such national magazines as Poetry and the George Washington Review. The words don’t come easy: “When you look at that flat sheet of paper, it’s pretty fearsome and awful to think that you’re trying to create a world on a sheet of paper that’s 8 1/2 by 11 to bring it (the poem) to life so that the reader feels the emotion,” says Martin. “All of that is pretty worrisome, especially if you’re calling yourself a professional. When one of my books comes out, I always think, ‘well, here I am being foolish in print again.’” Martin, also an accomplished Shakespearean and musical theater performer, says he often feels the same way when he’s behind the footlights. Whether performing or writing he tries to rely on what he calls a sense of youthful arrogance. “If you begin to have serious and second doubts as you go on the stage, the audience is not going to believe that you are who you say you are,” he observes. “I think readers can also recognize that lapse and falseness in tone.” At Scott High School in Toledo, Martin remembers writing a series of “really dreadful” poems that he claims to have “burned by my own hand and destroyed so they can’t come back and haunt me.” In the '60s he began reading his poetry in New York coffee houses. His work has run the gamut from militant themes to unrequited love, and he says he’s still trying to find his own “voice.” At first, he says, "(TS) Eliot and (Ezra) Pound held sway. Everything I wrote in the early days had that echo. Slowly I began to write poems that could not have Eliot’s or Pound’s or anyone else’s perspective. “The voice I’m still trying to find is occasionally humorous, maybe even has a twinkle in it somewhere. It’s serious, I would hope that it’s highly lyrical and that much of my voice is informed by music and that it is in some ways elevated, not out of the reach of the general public, but not so low and mundane that everybody just sort of tramples on it and takes it for granted,” he muses. Not surprisingly, Dunbar, too, heard music in poetry. Says Martin, “It echoed in his work.” See suggestions for teaching using Dunbar’s poetry in middle and secondary schools. See information on video and audio tapes of Herbert Woodward Martin performing as Dunbar. To learn more about Dunbar’s home in Dayton, visit the Paul Laurence Dunbar House The Paul Laurence Dunbar House was awarded a grant worth nearly $117,030 by President Clinton’s Save America’s Treasures program. For more information click here. Wright State University in Dayton has an experimental database of Dunbar’s works. William Grant Still, an African-American composer, set some of Dunbar’s poem to music. To read about the Afro-American Symphony, see this Duke University site. To learn more about African-American history and literature, visit Keele University’s American literature site, which includes information about other African-American writers and links to other African-American literature sites. The Black Collegian, a career and self-development site, has compiled a list of African-American writers, artists, activists, scholars and politicians with links to profiles of these important historical figures. Mark Twain, a contemporaty of Dunbar’s, also used dialect in his extraordinary writings of American life. To learn more about Twain and his unique style, see this comprehensive site, which includes excerpts and critcal essays. To learn more about Dunbar’s life and career, see The Modern American Poetry’s Paul Laurence Dunbar page, which includes literary criticism and examples of Dunbar’s illustrated poems. University of Dayton University of Dayton Quarterly, an eclectic look at UD University of Dayton admission information UD professor, Herbert Woodward Martin sits at Paul Laurence Dunbar’s desk. The historic home of Paul Laurence Dunbar located in Dayton, Ohio. Paul Laurence Dunbar Herbert Woodward Martin Paul Laurence Dunbar’s desk at his Dayton home. The Paul Laurence Dunbar Web site is a project of the Public Relations office of the University of Dayton. Send comments to firstname.lastname@example.org.

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Celebrating Women’s History Month for Kids through Resources on Important Women in History March is Women’s History Month where we pay special attention to women who have broken from the status quo in order to make progress in their fields, improve the lives of women, or simply change the world. However, we can and should celebrate these women and their accomplishments any time! Who are these women? Some women make every list while others are on some lists and not others. If you are looking for a way to create a unit study on important women in history for kids, we are here to help. Check out these resources: |Some Important Women in History for Kids| |Books about Extraordinary Women in History for Kids||Lesson Plans and Activities about Women and Their Accomplishments for Kids| *Although most of the resources listed here are free, those marked with a $ have a cost or require a fee/subscription in order to access the full range of materials. Facts about Famous Women in History for Kids If you are just starting on your exploration of important historical women for kids, you may want to begin with some general resources. These sites provide trends, discuss the groundbreaking achievements of women in certain fields, and highlight the accomplishments of featured women. Try these resources as you begin your unit study: 11 Women Who Did Groundbreaking Things that Men Got the Credit for | HuffPost “This goes out to all the ladies who’ve ever had their ideas mansplained back to them.” Read about these eleven women who never really got credit for their accomplishments. 20 Famous Women in History for Kids | Lottie Here are brief summaries, links to biographies, and free printable coloring pages for learning about women like Kim Campbell, first Prime Minister of Canada; Deborah Sampson, American Revolutionary War heroine; and Jeanette Rankin, first woman elected to the US Congress. 4000 Years of Women in Science Explore this collection of women in science that spans over 4000 years. Read biographies, browse photographs, or use the reference list for further research. Biographies of Famous Canadian Women Search through the biographies of famous women leaders across politics and law, entertainment, sports, journalism, and more. Celebrating America’s Women Physicians This site “celebrates the lives and careers of some of America’s extraordinary women physicians. Their stories begin in the 19th century. Their impact transcends time. Each woman has a unique story to share.” Learn “about their lives—what inspired them to become doctors, who their mentors were, and why medicine is important to them.” Early Women in Broadcasting | University of Maryland “A number of talented women rose to the upper echelons of their fields in the early years of broadcasting. World War II had a significant impact on some women’s opportunities, as many stations on the “home front” found themselves suddenly dependent on female labor. After the war was over, many of these women were able to retain their jobs, or to move on to others in the field, based upon the abilities and the skills that they had acquired.” Read about four of these famous women here. Featured Angels | My Hero Stories Enjoy this feel-good collection that uses media “to celebrate the best of humanity.” While there are also men featured on this spot, you will find many, many women and young girls who have been inspirational, affected the lives of others, or even changed the world. Notable Women of Early America | Varsity Tutors Featured here are brief biographies of Abigail Adams, Catherine Ferguson, Dolly Madison, Lucretia Mott, Mary Philipse, Molly Pitcher, Betsy Ross, Catherine Sedgwick, Mercy Warren, Martha Washington, Mary Ball Washington, and Phillis Wheatley. Women and the Holocaust – A Cyberspace of Their Own For mature students only…. This is a site that is dedicated to the women who were lost or who persevered through the horrific period of the Holocaust. While their bravery needs to be celebrated, the descriptions are graphic, so please avoid sharing with young children. Women in Aviation History “Since the Wright Brothers took flight in 1903, women have made a significant contribution to aviation. The following is just a small sampling of the contributions women have made to the field of aviation.” Women’s History | National Women’s History Museum This comprehensive site will keep you busy for hours! Browse through biographies, view original documents, enjoy online exhibits, or listen to songs and speeches. You can even set up a virtual field trip. Some Important Women in History for Kids Let’s meet some of these game-changing historical women! Included in this list are autobiographies from some of our famous women because what better way to learn about them than through their own words. Perhaps your homeschooler will pick one or two to research, or the two of you may want to jump around and learn a little about each together. Of course, you may also have your favorites or discover a new incredible woman who should be on this list. We couldn’t include them all (and mean nothing by any exclusions!), but please add your ideas in the comments. Here is simply a start: Abigail Adams | National First Ladies’ Library Read about this famous homeschooler and first lady, the first to live in the White House. Wife of John Adams, Abigail Adams accomplished much on her own. Find out more here by reading this juvenile/educational biography designed for younger readers. Ada Lovelace | Computer History Museum Read about this famous mathematician and “first programmer.” She was the first person “to express the potential for computers outside mathematics.” Amelia Earhart | This is Amelia: Read the Story of Amelia Earhart (Time for Kids) Amelia Earhart traveled the world as a child and built her own roller coaster before she was 10. No wonder she was destined to fly! Read her fascinating story here. Anne Frank | Anne Frank House Discover the story of Anne Frank during the Holocaust and read about the Secret Annex and her now internationally-known diary. Catherine the Great | Britannica Kids Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, Catherine the Great remains one of the most famous monarchs ever. Read this short biography for kids. For a longer biography for older children, click on “students.” “Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century and a leader of the Chicano civil rights movement.” “Dorothy Vaughan was a mathematician, a human computer, and an electronic computing pioneer who helped send satellites into space and put the first man on the moon.” Haben Girma | Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law $ Audiobook Read by Haben Girma (Author) “Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people. Haben pioneered her way through obstacles, graduated from Harvard Law, and now uses her talents to advocate for people with disabilities. Haben takes listeners through a thrilling game of blind hide-and-seek in Louisiana, a treacherous climb up an iceberg in Alaska, and a magical moment with President Obama at the White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating memoir is a testament to one woman’s determination to find the keys to connection.” Helen Keller | The Story of My Life $ Audiobook by Helen Keller (Author), Cindy Hardin Killavey (Narrator) “Before she was two years old, a serious illness destroyed Helen Keller’s sight and hearing. At seven, alone and withdrawn, she was rescued by Ann Sullivan, her teacher and friend. By the time she was 16, Helen could speak well enough to attend preparatory school. Later she went to Radcliffe, from which she graduated with honors in 1904. Enthusiastic and untiring, Helen Keller’s life is deservedly inspirational and stands before all of us as an example of what we can accomplish, given fortitude and purpose.” Helen Keller | Helen Keller Kids Museum Online Learn about Helen Keller’s childhood, education, life as a young woman, and work as a champion of the blind and world leader. Hillary Clinton | Living History $ Audiobook by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Author, Narrator) “The only First Lady to play a major role in shaping domestic legislation, Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled tirelessly around the country to champion health care, expand economic and educational opportunity and promote the needs of children and families, and she criss-crossed the globe on behalf of women’s rights, human rights and democracy. She redefined the position of First Lady, and helped save the presidency from an unconstitutional, politically motivated impeachment. Intimate, powerful and inspiring, Living History captures the essence of one of the most remarkable women of our time and the challenging process by which she came to define herself and find her own voice – as a woman and as a formidable figure in American politics.” Hillary Clinton | National First Ladies’ Library Read about Hillary Clinton’s life as both a first lady and politician in her own right. Discover a timeline, lesson plans, and a bibliography focusing on this famous lady. Ida B. Wells | Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells $ By Ida B. Wells (Author) “Ida B. Wells is an American icon of truth telling. Born to slaves, she was a pioneer of investigative journalism, a crusader against lynching, and a tireless advocate for suffrage, both for women and for African Americans. She co-founded the NAACP, started the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago, and was a leader in the early civil rights movement, working alongside W. E. B. Du Bois, Madam C. J. Walker, Mary Church Terrell, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony. This engaging memoir, originally published 1970, relates Wells’ private life as a mother as well as her public activities as a teacher, lecturer, and journalist in her fight for equality and justice.” Indira Gandhi | Biography (Mocomi) “Indira Gandhi was a famous Indian politician and the third Prime Minister of India. She was the daughter of the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru. Her charismatic personality and intelligence made her a powerful statesperson and extremely popular amongst the common people.” Read about her life and successes here. Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis| National First Ladies’ Library Here is a biography of the famous first lady, and you can also find links to a timeline of her life, lesson plans, and a bibliography. Joan of Arc | Activity Village Joan of Arc led the French against the English at the age of 17! Learn some fun facts, read a short biography, and then grab some Joan of Arc printables. Kamala Harris | The Truths We Hold (Young Readers Edition): An American Journey $ Audiobook by Kamala Harris (Author), Robin Miles (Narrator) “With her election to the vice presidency, her election to the US Senate, and her position as attorney general of California, Kamala Harris has blazed trails throughout her entire political career…. In this young readers edition of Kamala Harris’ memoir, we learn about the impact that her family and community had on her life and see what led her to discover her own sense of self and purpose. The Truths We Hold traces her journey as she explored the values she holds most dear – those of community, equality, and justice. An inspiring and empowering memoir, this book challenges us to become leaders in our own lives and shows us that with determination and perseverance all dreams are possible.” “Katherine Johnson loved math. Early in her career, she was called a “computer.” She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around Earth. And then she helped put a man on the Moon.” Madam C. J. Walker “Sarah Breedlove–who later would come to be known as Madam C. J. Walker–was born on December 23, 1867 on the same Delta, Louisiana plantation where her parents, Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove, had been enslaved before the end of the Civil War. This child of sharecroppers transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into one of the twentieth century’s most successful, self-made women entrepreneurs.” “Learn how Malala began her fight for girls—from an education activist in Pakistan to the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate—and how she continues her campaign through Malala Fund.” Margaret Bourke-White | Portrait of Myself $ By Margaret Bourke-White (Author) “This is the story of the internationally acclaimed American woman Margaret Bourke-White, who for over thirty years made photographic history: as the first photographer to see the artistic and storytelling possibilities in American industry, as the first to write social criticism with a lens, and as the most distinguished and venturesome foreign correspondent-with-a-camera to report wars, politics and social and political revolution on three continents.” Margaret Sanger | The Autobiography of Margaret Sanger $ By Margaret Sanger (Author) “While working as a nurse amid the squalor of New York’s Lower East Side in the early twentieth century, Margaret Sanger witnessed the devastating effects of unwanted pregnancies. Women already overwhelmed by the burdens of poverty had no recourse; their doctors were either ignorant of effective methods of birth control or were unwilling to risk defying the law. Sanger resolved to dedicate her life to establishing birth control as a basic human right. Her battles brought a world of troubles — arrest, indictment, and exile among them — but ultimately she triumphed, opening the first American birth control clinic in 1916 and serving as the first president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in 1953.” Margaret Thatcher | Margaret Thatcher: Britain’s ‘Iron Lady’ (Social Studies for Kids) Great Britain’s first female Prime Minister of Britain, she served for eleven years. Discover her story here. Marie Curie | Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity Maria Sklodowska-Curie became the first person from Poland to receive a Nobel Prize. She discovered the element radium, which changed the way scientists thought about matter and energy. Read all about her life and accomplishments. Mary Winston Jackson “Mary Winston Jackson was an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.” She then became NASA’s first black female engineer in 1958. Michelle Obama | Becoming $ Audiobook by Michelle Obama (Author, Narrator) “In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As first lady of the United States of America – the first African American to serve in that role – she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the US and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.” Michelle Obama | National First Ladies’ Library Learn about this first lady’s life and accomplishments, and access lesson plans and a bibliography specific for further study of this famous woman. Mileva Marić Einstein | The Forgotten Life of Einstein’s First Wife “She was a physicist, too—and there is evidence that she contributed significantly to his groundbreaking science.” Find out about her work and how it was overshadowed by the work of her husband. Olympe de Gouges | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The “only woman executed for her political writings during the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouges wrote The Rights of Women, also known as The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, in 1791. Learn about her early life, intellectual pursuits, and legacy. Oprah Winfrey | Kids Fun Facts What do you know about this famous American female talk show host? Discover 15 fun facts you might not know! Rosa Parks| Rosa Parks: My Story $ By Rosa Parks (Author), Jim Haskins (Author) “Rosa Parks is best known for the day she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus, sparking the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. Yet there is much more to her story than this one act of defiance. In this straightforward, compelling autobiography, Rosa Parks talks candidly about the civil rights movement and her active role in it. Her dedication is inspiring; her story is unforgettable.” Rosa Parks: How I Fought for Civil Rights In this teacher’s activity guide for grades 7-8, “Rosa Parks, ‘The Mother of the Modern-day Civil Rights Movement,’ describes her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helps students understand the importance of every individual citizen in a democracy.” Sacagawea | Lewis and Clark History Discover information about “the only Native American woman who served as an interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and 1806.” Shirley Chisholm | Unbought & Unbossed $ By Shirley Chisholm (Author) “Unbought and Unbossed is Shirley Chisholm’s account of her remarkable rise from young girl in Brooklyn to America’s first African-American Congresswoman. She shares how she took on an entrenched system, gave a public voice to millions, and sets the stage for her trailblazing bid to be the first woman and first African-American President of the United States. By daring to be herself, Shirley Chisholm shows us how she forever changed the status quo.” Sojourner Truth | History for Kids Read about this important advocate for slaves and women. Discover how her life became the basis for her activism. Sophie Germain | Math’s Hidden Woman (NOVA PBS) Here is the true story of mathematician, Sophie Germain, “an 18th-century woman who assumed a man’s identity in order to pursue her passion — attempting to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem.” Valentina Tereshkova | The First Lady of Space: In Her Own Words $ By Valentina Tereshkova (Author) “Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to travel into space, spending almost three days piloting Vostok 6 in 1963—twenty years before Sally Ride became the first American woman to reach orbit…. She spent almost three days in space, orbiting the Earth 48 times. During this single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. She became an inspiration to millions of women and was designated a ‘Hero of the Soviet Union.’ Inside is her story, told to us in her own words.” Books about Extraordinary Women for Kids Great books can make learning about famous historical women for kids easy. Just drop one of these into your ELA lessons! Read the books, discuss, and then do some writing about a favorite. There are so many choices; here are just a few: 100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable Women Who Shaped Our World $ By DK (Authors) “Get ready to meet some of history’s wonder women. From super scientists like Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin to clued-up creatives like Emily Dickinson and J.K Rowling. Celebrate centuries of brave and brilliant women with this visual educational book.” Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World $ By Cynthia Chin-Lee (Author), Megan Halsey (Illustrator), Sean Addy (Illustrator) “Twenty-six amazing women; twenty-six amazing stories. From writers to scientists, sports figures to politicians, this diverse collection highlights women who changed the world. Celebrating twenty-six unique voices, visions, and victories, Amelia to Zora, introduces children to the scope of both the struggles and the achievements of women historically and globally. Beautiful and intricate collages bring these women’s stories and message to life in this collection that will bring young readers inspiration in each turn of the page.” The Book of Awesome Women: Boundary Breakers, Freedom Fighters, Sheroes, & Female Firsts $ By Becca Anderson (Author) “From the foremothers who blazed trails and broke barriers, to today’s women warriors from sports, science, cyberspace, city hall, the lecture hall, and the silver screen, The Book of Awesome Women paints 200 portraits of powerful and inspiring role models for women and girls poised to become super women of the future.” Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World $ By Kate Pankhurst (Author) “Discover fascinating facts about some of the most amazing women who changed the world we live in. Fly through the sky with the incredible explorer Amelia Earhart, and read all about the Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole with this fantastic full colour book. Bursting full of beautiful illustrations and astounding facts, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is the perfect introduction to just a few of the most incredible women who helped shaped the world we live in.” Get the corresponding activity book to make this a real learning experience. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women $ By Catherine Thimmesh (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator) “In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have invented ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better. Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie). What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities?” Her Story: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World $ By Katherine Halligan (Author), Sarah Walsh (Illustrator) “In this uplifting and inspiring book, follow the stories of fifty powerhouse women from around the world and across time who each managed to change the world as they knew it forever…. From astronauts to activists, musicians to mathematicians, these women are sure to motivate young readers of all backgrounds to focus not on the can’ts and shouldn’ts, but on what they can do: anything!” Hidden Figures: Young Readers’ Editions $ By Margot Lee Shetterly (Author) “This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It’s the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program.” Hidden Figures: The True story of Four Black Women and the Space Race $ By Margot Lee Shetterly (Author), Laura Freeman (Illustrator) “Based on the New York Times bestselling book and the Academy Award–nominated movie, author Margot Lee Shetterly and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award winner Laura Freeman bring the incredibly inspiring true story of four black women who helped NASA launch men into space to picture book readers!” Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World $ By Susan Hood (Author) “In this book of poems, you will find Mary Anning, who was just thirteen when she unearthed a prehistoric fossil. You’ll meet Ruby Bridges, the brave six year old who helped end segregation in the South. And Maya Lin, who at twenty-one won a competition to create a war memorial, and then had to appear before Congress to defend her right to create…. Readers will also hear about Molly Williams, Annette Kellerman, Nellie Bly, Pura Belpré, Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, Frances Moore Lappé, Mae Jemison, Angela Zhang, and Malala Yousafzai—all whose stories will enthrall and inspire.” Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World $ By Rachel Ignotofsky (Author) “A charmingly illustrated and inspiring book, Women in Art highlights the achievements and stories of 50 notable women in the arts–from well-known figures like painters Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe, to lesser-known names like 19th-century African American quilter Harriet Powers and Hopi-Tewa ceramic artist Nampeyo. Covering a wide array of artistic mediums, this fascinating collection also contains infographics about artistic movements throughout history, statistics about women’s representation in museums, and notable works by women.” Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World $ By Rachel Ignotofsky (Author) “A charmingly illustrated and educational book, New York Times best seller Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world…. The trailblazing women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.” Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win $ By Rachel Ignotofsky (Author) “A richly illustrated and inspiring book, Women in Sports highlights the achievements and stories of fifty notable women athletes from the 1800s to today, including trailblazers, Olympians, and record-breakers in more than forty sports. The athletes featured include well-known figures like tennis player Billie Jean King and gymnast Simone Biles, as well as lesser-known champions like Toni Stone, the first woman to play baseball in a professional men’s league, and skateboarding pioneer Patti McGee.” Lesson Plans and Activities about Women and Their Accomplishments for Kids When you want something a bit more structured, you may want to use pre-planned lesson plans and other activities. Luckily, there are plenty of these on the Internet, too. Here are some to get you started: 14 of Our Favorite Women’s History Month Activities | We Are Teachers This is a goldmine of engaging activities that honors women like Kate Sessions, the tree-loving woman who changed a city, and Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space. Discover resources like a PBS Makers video series and great books about women from history. Celebrating Great Women in History in March | Time4Learning Learn about great women in history with activities for various grade levels. Also includes a free printable with related Women’s History Month lesson plans across Time4Learning curriculum. Celebrate Women’s History Collection | We Teach NYC Find lessons, tasks and online exhibits, primary sources, activities, interviews, and articles designed to teach your homeschooler about key figures, events, and legislation related to the equal rights movement. Digital Classroom Resources | National Women’s History Museum This is a comprehensive collection of resources for you as you plan your lessons. Browse through lesson plans, biographies, primary sources, posters, videos, and more! First Ladies Lesson Plans | National First Ladies’ Library Find lots of resources here for teaching about any of America’s first ladies. Search a name and pick an age group. Then let the learning begin! Top 15 Women’s History Month Activities | TeacherVision Find lessons and activities to learn about Malala Yousafzai, Susan B. Anthony, Sally Ride and Christa McAuliffe, Nikki Giovanni, and more. Also find book discussion guides to Shaking Things Up and Amelia to Zora, among other activities. What Did You Do in the War, Grandma? Not all sheroes are famous throughout the world. Read these stories, written by high school students in Rhode Island, and then have your homeschooler interview a grandmother and write up her story. Women in World History Curriculum This is a great site to find educational materials for your middle/high school student. The collection includes lessons, thematic units, biographies, essays, and links to video documentaries and other resources. Women’s History Month Lesson Plans and Activities | Education World Try lessons on Honoring the American Woman, activities focused on important women in history, an Internet scavenger hunt or webquest, and more. Women’s History Month Lesson Plans and Activities: Elementary and Middle School | HMH Check out these six learning experiences like Power of Persuasion (using the words of Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony) and Lights, Camera, Action! (fusing research and art related to voting rights sheroes, female firsts, and women in STEM). Women’s History Month Lesson Plans & Resources | Share My Lesson Find an entire curated collection of related lesson plans, including Women as Aeronauts and Dolores Huerta: A Civil Rights Icon. There are also supporting materials on how to make Women’s History Month relevant and other topics. Just sign up for free access. Women’s History Quizzes | National Women’s History Alliance Finish your unit study on Women’s History with these quizzes: Women’s History Month Quiz, Women Who Worked for Peace Quiz, Women in Math and Science Quiz, Test Your Women’s IQ Quiz, Men Who Supported Women’s Rights Quiz, Black Women’s History 40-Question Challenge, and NWHP Women’s Equality Day Quiz. Have a favorite important woman in history? Know some other resources about famous women in history for kids? Please share with us and with other families in the comments below….

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Workshop 6 July 2021 Whether you’ve been writing stories for a while or are a relative newcomer, you will probably have come across the phrase UNRELIABLE NARRATOR. In this Workshop, I’m going to try to explain what this is, why it is used, when and how you might want to incorporate the device into your own writing. There are quite a few definitions of an UNRELIABLE NARRATOR. Here are some of them: - A narrator whose credibility is compromised. - A narrator who is not trustworthy. - A narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly - A narrator whose perception is immature or limited through their point of view. - A narrator whose account of events appears to be faulty, misleadingly biased or otherwise distorted. - A character whose telling of the story is not completely accurate or credible due to problems with the character’s mental state or maturity. So, basically, it’s a story being told by a character who isn’t telling the whole truth. The trouble is, I could believe that of every character we read and write about and, indeed, about some of the people we meet! If we want our characters to be realistic, then they are not going to be perfect. And from the definitions above, sometimes the character knows he/she is being untruthful, but perhaps on other occasions, they are unaware that they are not telling the truth. For example, take the case of an eyewitness to an accident. Lawyers do not like eyewitnesses. Surprising, you may think. But research has found that eyewitnesses can be extremely unreliable. They may be totally convinced that their version of events is exactly what happened. But the human memory is fallible, and a person’s viewpoint can be swayed, often subconsciously, by their age, gender, background, education, prejudices and mental state. There is a well-known film clip used to illustrate the unreliability of someone witnessing an incident. This was used in a Guardian advert in 1986. A businessman is walking along the pavement, carrying a briefcase. Suddenly, we see a young man rushing up behind him and pushing him. - He could be going to snatch the briefcase. - Actually, he is pushing him out of the way of falling scaffolding. A narrator taking the first point of view here is making assumptions, probably based on what they see and hear on the news, and maybe based on age and their own prejudices. How wrong can they be? A narrator using the second scenario has taken in the whole picture. Why use an UNRELIABLE NARRATOR? - To create tension, suspense or intrigue in a story. - To create a story with multi layers. - To keep the reader guessing as to who is telling the truth. - To create complex characters. All those reasons are perfectly viable and can be used to great effect in fiction writing. I have just read, coincidentally, TWO books that both used the unreliable narrator. I can’t tell you which books they were because that would be giving the game away! They were both written by well-known writers and in both stories, SECRETS and REVELATIONS were left quite late, well into the second half of the books. They also employed a lot of FLASHBACKS, in both cases employing three different time settings: just a little bit confusing until I got into each book. If not done well, an unreliable narrator can: - confuse the reader and - leave the reader feeling they have been misled or cheated. UNRELIABLE NARRATORS are most frequently written in the first person ie the closest point of view which gets the readers right into the mind of the character. So, when the secrets, lies and revelations are revealed, it is as though a close friend has not been telling you the truth! Unreliable narrators can be written in the third person, but then it’s a narrator telling the story of an unreliable narrator ie a step further away from the intimacy of the first person. So, could an UNRELIABLE NARRATOR work for your stories? Yes, if you have a story that involves intrigue, suspense, secrets and lies, and complex characters. I would recommend you: - PLOT your story well before starting and - CREATE detailed PROFILES for the characters you want to be unreliable. I would also recommend : - Practising and getting feedback from a writing buddy, writing group or tutor. - Reading books that have one, or more, unreliable narrators to see how the authors blend truth and lies. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a really good example. - If you’re reading a novel with an UNRELIABLE NARRATOR, make notes as to where different secrets or revelations are placed. Are there are any clues before those revelations? - Write a conversation between two people, one of whom has a secret that the other is trying to prise out of them. - Write a scene, similar to the Guardian’s POV film, where someone’s actions are misconstrued. If you’d like to send me up to 450 words on one of these exercises, please do: firstname.lastname@example.org Workshop 5 June 2021 Let’s start by remembering one thing – every writer is different. - Some will have the ending to their story crystal clear in their mind (or on paper) before they write their first sentence. - Others start writing without any idea of how their story will end. - And others, mostly crime writers, plot their stories in reverse – knowing when, where and how the murderer is caught, and then working backwards in order to place all the clues and red herrings in the right place! So, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to how and when you write the last lines of your story, whether it’s a short story or a novel. And. of course, you are not going to please all your readers all of the time with your endings. As a self-confessed PLANNER, I tend to favour the first option above. But even if that’s not your preferred method, I hope I can give you a few ideas to make endings a little easier. (1) REALISTIC, BELIEVABLE and SATISFYING. It probably goes without saying that the conclusion of your story should be realistic and believable – if not, then your reader is certainly going to feel cheated. And they should also be satisfying. That doesn’t mean that every story has to end happily-ever-after. Nor does it mean that everything has to be neatly tied up. One of my writer friends says she loves it when a story finishes open-ended ie without a specific resolution. She likes thinking about the story and deciding for herself what might have happened, giving her a choice of endings! Other people I know find that sort of ending most frustrating, even calling the writer lazy and indecisive! But even if you decide to have an “open” ending, you must still be true to your readers and give them all the information they need to construct their own version of a realistic and believable ending. (2) Endings should answer the QUESTION set by your protagonist’s driving motivation eg Did Romeo get Juliet? Did Scarlet get Ashley and save Tara? Does the hero get his revenge? Does the heroine find true love? Does the businessman secure that lucrative deal? If you are a non-planner, you might get near the end of your story and discover you don’t have an over-riding question to answer. Go back to the beginning and set your protagonist a goal.This does NOT mean your protagonist has to achieve their goal. Apart from the open ending, there are four outcomes to any story: The protagonist achieves their goal and realises it is not what they wanted or needed The protagonist achieves their goal and is happy The protagonist doesn’t achieve their goal and is happy The protagonist doesn’t achieve their goal and realises it is not what they wanted or needed (3) Endings should complete the NARRATIVE ARC of the protagonist. Has your main character CHANGED during the course of the story? Has your main character been ACTIVE throughout the story? Does the ending fit your character’s PERSONALITY? (profiling helps here). (4) As a writer, you want your reader to remember your story and one of the best ways to do that is to end with a strong IMAGE. Lovers holding hands on the beach in the setting sun is a cliché. But I think you get my drift! (5) Short stories can be very effective if they have a CIRCULAR structure ie beginning and ending in the same way. An example would be starting with your protagonist starting a new job at the beginning of the year – and finishing it with another new job, in a year’s time. Or your main character decides to leave home but actually ends up back at home, hopefully happier! Or a Christmas gathering that sets off the plot and ends the following Christmas. (6) NEVER EVER USE DEUS EX MACHINA In Ancient Greek theatre, a popular, and accepted, technique was,whenever everything looked hopeless for the characters, to have a god come down from on high (by a special device/machine) and solve all the problems of the play in a split second. You might think this would be a totally outmoded technique but, sadly, COINCIDENCE is the modern equivalent. AVOID. DO NOT USE. BANNED! (7) THE LAST 20 MINUTES There’s a saying in Hollywood that “movies are about their last 20 minutes”. I’m quoting from Robert McKee’s epic book Story in which he says for a film to have a chance in the world “the last act and its climax must be the most satisfying experience of all. For no matter what the first ninety minutes have achieved, if the final movement fails, the film will die over its opening weekend.” Translating that to fiction writing, it means that the end of your story needs to be the most dramatic and conclusive, otherwise the story will have failed. In a short story of 3000 words, that’s the final 300 words. (8) DON’T LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS William Golding, who wrote Lord of the Flies, said “the key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants but not in the way it expects.” And Mary Flannery O’Connor (American novelist, short story writer and essayist) said endings should be totally right and totally unexpected. Your reader should not be able to identify the ending too early in the story. In a murder mystery, there will be clues and red herrings, but the final outcome should not be too predictable. In a psychological thriller, we sometimes know who the killer is and the story is then all about the WHY? There’s a Quiz this month on Last Words. Click here. See if you can match the endings of those well-known novels to one or more of the ideas above. - Have a go at creating a new ending for a well-known fairy story, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, the Pied Piper etc. - Take a look through some of your own stories. Can you improve on any of the endings? - Try the reverse approach! Think of an ending and work backwards. - Have a closer look at the endings of books that you have read recently. Do they meet some of the above criteria? Are they satisfactory for you? - Does your ending answer your protagonist’s question/problem/goal? - Is it realistic and believable? - Can the reader see that your protagonist has changed? - Have you left your reader with a lasting image? Dominoes!Have you ever noticed how, in life, something always leads to something else? You break the speed limit, the cameras catch you and you are fined! It’s a bit like a conversation: one person says something, and another person responds to what they have just said. Whether it’s actions or words, this is known as CAUSE and EFFECT and it’s a really good device to use when writing stories. It’s also known as CAUSALITY or CAUSATION or, my favourite, THE ZIG-ZAG. But I think DOMINOES works really well too! You’ve probably heard this example before: The King died and the Queen died. That’s not a story, merely a statement of two events. The King died and the Queen died of a broken heart is CAUSE and EFFECT. There’s an old proverb that illustrates this really well: For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For the want of a horse, a rider was lost. For the want of a rider, the message was lost. For the want of the message, the battle was lost. For the want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. Another example is There’s a hole in my bucket, but you can Google that for yourselves! In Will Storr’s excellent book The Science of Storytelling*, he says: Cause and effect is the natural language of the brain. It is how we make sense of our world. Something happens and as a result of that, something else happens. The first thing that happens in your story is the inciting incident which should dramatically affect your protagonist. The effect of the inciting incident on your protagonist MUST be immediately clear to your readers. Otherwise, why should they be interested? This will then be followed by a chain of events that are all linked by CAUSE and EFFECT. The Pulitzer prize-winning playwright David Mamet was involved with the TV drama The Unit. He became frustrated with his writers producing scenes with no cause and effect – scenes were there simply to deliver information. His memo: Any scene which does not both advance the plot and stand alone is either superfluous or incorrectly written. The scene must be dramatic. It must start because the hero has a problem, and it must culminate with hero finding himself either thwarted or realising that another way exists. Quite often, when I ask a writer what their story is about, I get a long, involved explanation that has plenty of … and then this happens, and then that happens, and then … Instead of and then, we need “because”. Another way of thinking about CAUSE and EFFECT, is always to think WHY? something is happening. For example: a car breaks down as a couple are escaping from the spooky castle. Coincidence? No! The reader should already know that the car has been tampered with, or the couple cancelled the annual car service so they had money to go on holiday. If things just happen in isolation, they are not realistic and won’t sit well with your reader. So, keep asking WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY? For example: - Patti didn’t set the alarm that night. - What happened? She was late for work. - And what happened because she was late for work? - She was ticked off by her team leader. - And what happened because of that? - A co-worker came to sympathise and asked her out for a drink! In this example, you can also work backwards by asking the question WHY? - Why didn’t Patti set the alarm? - Because she’d had too much to drink. - Why had she had too much to drink? - Because she’d had a row with her boyfriend. - Why had she rowed with her boyfriend? …….. As above, work on one of the scenarios below, going forwards in time but also backwards. When practising, the more bizarre the better! Free your mind! - Billy brings home the class hamster for the holidays - There’s a power-cut at 3pm at the office (or school) - It rains on her wedding day - She leaves her phone at home - The new boy at school is a rebel - The new boss likes a drink - He puts the decimal point in the wrong place - His/her mother has a stroke This device can also be used if you get stuck in a story. Instead of thinking of just ONE cause or ONE effect, make a list of four, five or more reasons why or consequences eg Billy brings home the class hamster for the holidays: Why? - Because he was naughty, and the teacher said it was a punishment. - Because he has a crush on his teacher, and he was the first to volunteer. - Because his younger brother is at home ill and he wants to cheer him up. - Because he likes a girl down the street who likes animals. - Because he’s lonely in the holidays and needs a friend I can’t guarantee that Line of Duty uses this method 😊 but, there was a lot of CAUSE and EFFECT there too! As you get out and about a bit more now, notice how CAUSE and EFFECT works in everyday life. Then use it for your stories! *The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr is currently £7.59 on Amazon. It’s quite a deep & hefty read, but if you like reading about writing, it’s one of the best books I’ve found. How close is your reader? I’m sure, like me, you’ve read books in which you are absolutely fixated on what the protagonist (hero or heroine) is going to do next. You are living the action with them, in their head, urging them to do this or that, not following in their footsteps but actually in their shoes! When it comes to your own writing, is that the feeling YOUR readers get? Our aim as writers should be to create an empathy between your reader and your protagonist. You want your reader to care enough about your protagonist to go on reading, right to the end. The lawyer, Atticus Finch, summed it up well in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” To create this empathy, I recommend using: Deep Point of View This is where a story is written as though the reader is the main character. Deep point of view ignores the narrator’s voice, experiencing everything as though they were the main character. This works whether you are writing in the first person or the third: I’ll be giving examples here in the third person. For Deep POV to work really well, you need to know EVERYTHING about your protagonist, particularly what their goals in life are and what drives them. These features will form part of a CHARACTER PROFILE. (I’ll be looking at CHARACTER PROFILING in a future workshop. In the meantime, there is a whole chapter on the subject in my book 😊) - Avoid using dialogue tags. When we write: He said we are telling the reader that someone has said something. It’s far better to show the person in question doing something as he/she is speaking. For example: “I don’t want to go out with you,” Maria said, clearly exasperated at his persistence. Instead: “I don’t want to go out with you.” Maria turned her back on him. Hadn’t he got the message yet? - Use internal dialogue. You can get into the head of your point-of-view character so that the reader knows exactly what they are thinking. This is shown in the example above: Hadn’t he got the message yet? This could be carried on: Didn’t he realise he was the class dork and that no-one wanted to be his prom date? Well, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. She already had a date, the captain of the school rugger team! - Don’t name emotions. That is telling the reader what emotion a character is exhibiting. Far better to show. For example: John was furious: that was the third time this year he’d been passed over for promotion. Instead: John screwed the memo into a ball and chucked it towards the bin; it missed. Three times this year he’d been overlooked. And now that idiot was going to be his team leader. - Avoid filter words. A bit like he said, she said, filter words are those used by a writer to tell a reader what is going on in a character’s head. For example: As she reached into her handbag, Penny realised she had left her phone at home. Instead: Penny scrambled in her handbag. Where was it? Oh, no! Fiddlesticks! She’d left her phone at home. - Other filter words to avoid: noticed, felt, saw, heard, smelled, thought, knew, noted, wondered. For example: How was it, Patsy wondered, that Maggie always got picked as team captain? Instead: Once again Maggie had been chosen as team captain: Patsy was going to find out why. - Use your character’s voice, not yours. Each person’s vocabulary is different, depending on such factors as age, gender, culture, background, class, education, environment and situation. A teacher, for example, will use different tones and vocabulary when talking to her students than when she is talking to her younger children A detective will use different words when talking to his colleagues, talking to a victim’s family and talking to a criminal. - When describing people, places, objects and events, use words that your character would use, not you or a narrator. Be as specific as you can. For example: Jill couldn’t stop looking at him. He was the best-looking bloke in the room. He was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a smart suit, his shoes shining. He was just the sort of man she was looking for. Instead: She must stop staring. Someone was going to notice. But she couldn’t. He was Brad Pitt gorgeous, in an Armani suit and St Laurent shoes – ostrich leather, weren’t they? As far as she was concerned, he was IT. If you’d like to look at this topic in greater detail, I recommend The Writer’s Guide to Deep POV by S. A. Soule, currently available from Amazon for £5.13 on Kindle and £12.85 paperback and from e-Bay and Abe books from £7+. Exercises on Deep POV - Take a look at one of your recent stories or flash fiction. Can you get rid of dialogue tags, emotion words and filter words? Can your descriptions be more specific? Are you using your character’s vocabulary rather than yours? Rewrite all or part of your story and then READ IT OUT ALOUD. You will hear the difference. - Write a story (or part of a story) in 450 words, using one of the following scenarios and Deep POV (a) A student nurse seeing someone faint in a supermarket. (b) A police officer, on the verge of retirement, facing a man with a gun. (c) A woman (or man) catching their partner kissing someone else. (d) A teenager being offered drugs. If you’d like your story posted for feedback, or if you’d like a paragraph from me, please do send (no more than 450 words) to email@example.com The workshop for March is all about TIME. - Think of three or more reasons why a Flashback might be used in a story, - and two ways in which a Flashback might not work. Part 1: What is your story’s Time Frame? Novels, particularly sagas, can cover hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years. James Michener’s epic history Hawaii begins when the earth was formed by volcanic activity, thousands of years before people came along. And they say writers should introduce their protagonist as soon as possible! Short stories, though, are a completely different matter as far as Time is concerned. By short stories here, I’m talking about both Flash Fiction, which can be anything from 100 to 800 words and short stories which can vary from 1000 words to 8,000+. In a short story, it is advised that you keep your time frame short, continuous, and the plot limited to a single conflict. For example, an incident at a party (wedding, funeral, meeting etc); someone achieving their goal in the course of a single day (yes, I know James Joyce’s Ulysses at 265,000 words takes place in one day!). This can be expanded to a week or two weeks but, for the sake of clarity for the reader, it’s not recommended you take any more time. Occasionally you may read phrases like later that summer or the next Christmas. And you might be tempted to cover a greater time frame with four years later he got his expected first at Oxford and landed the job he’d always wanted. But people, and characters, change over the course of a year or more and realistically capturing such changes cannot be done well in a short story. I remember a story written by a member of one of my writing groups a few years ago. It all took place in an auction room, in the space of just one item being sold. The story was structured around each successive bid for the item, with backstory and character development inbetween. Clever. (I think that was yours, TS. Hope you are well and still writing). A limited time frame can be used this way as a device to ratch up tension and suspense, such as knowing the bomb will go off in four hours, or the train leaves in an hour, or it’s a week til the wedding. So, you’ve decided on your time frame but find you still need to let your readers know something of what happened to your protagonist, or antagonist, in the past. Which brings us to … Part 2: The Flashback This is a section of a story that goes back in time. It is also known as ANALEPSIS. Looking forward, like a prophecy, is known as PROLEPSIS. A flashback should only be used to add information that is important/vital to the PRESENT-DAY STORY, such as: - to show and develop your protagonist’s character; - to give backstory that is vital to the present-day story; - to add tension/suspense to the present-day story. Flashbacks, wrongly used, can: - stop the flow of the main story which can be anything from mildly annoying to really intrusive; - overshadow the main story; - confuse (or bore) the reader. In novels, flashbacks can be anything from one or two pages up to chapter length. In short stories, they can be one or two sentences long, or a section, such as five or six paragraphs. They must be relevant and interesting, but don’t let them take your reader away for too long from the main, present-day story. In order to make it clear when your story is going back in time, it is a good idea to use TRIGGERS. These are something that the protagonist comes across that reminds them of a memorable time in the past. Triggers are often related to our senses. Think of three triggers that take you back to different memories in your past. Mine: The smell of vanilla essence takes me back to my mother teaching me to make a Victoria sponge; the smell of autumn always reminds me of Ireland and the sight, smell and taste of snails takes me back to a day-trip to Paris! Use a trigger to take your protagonist back in time and, if at all possible, use the same trigger to bring them back to the present day. One more thing to watch when you write flashbacks – the tense of the verbs. If your main story is in the present tense, then the flashback is written in the simple past tense. Jimmy hears the whistle of the train and it takes him back to the time when he missed the train by seconds and he never saw his dad again. If the main story is in the past, then the flashback should be in the pluperfect tense ie the smell of an open fire brought back memories of when he had been a child, when he had played with his friends in the woods, when he had seen the two men fight. Unfortunately, this tends to result in rather ‘clunky’ writing with lots of repetition of the word had. What you can do, especially if you have a longish flashback, is to use the pluperfect just a couple of times and then slip into the simple perfect: Jimmy heard the whistle of the train and it took him back to the time when he had missed the train and he had never seen his dad again. His childhood was tough. He was teased for not having a dad around, bullied even. They called him a Mummy’s boy and he was often in trouble for fighting. As the whistle sounded again, he knew he wasn’t going to let his son suffer the same way. He got on the train – he was going back to make sure. Try this exercise, choosing one of the scenarios below. Initially, just make notes on: - A present-day story for the main character; - A trigger to take them back in time; - Back in time when something important happened; - A trigger back to the present day. If you’d like to expand your idea, write up to 450 words and mail it (in the email, not as an attachment, please) to firstname.lastname@example.org. I will send you a paragraph of feedback and, if you want me to, post it on this website. - A bride on her wedding day remembers playing weddings with her parents as a child. - A teacher remembers his own teacher recognising he was being abused at home. - An elderly woman remembers the first time she met the love of her life. - A police officer remembers what a tearaway he had been as a teenager. January Workshop: SETTING Warmup exercise, no more than three or four minutes. - Think of three places where you feel comfortable or happy or confident. Why have you chosen those? - Think of three places where you feel uncomfortable or unhappy or shy or nervous. Why do you feel like that in those places? Now read my article. If you’re with a writing buddy or in a group, you could have a discussion before going onto the exercises. WHERE you set your story is just as important as your characters and their conflicts. If you get the setting wrong, it could, and probably will, detract from the characters and their story. If you get it right, your readers con’t notice as it will seamlessly blend with all the other elements to provide a story that is real and believable. The two biggest problems with settings in fiction are: 1. There’s too little, 2. There’s too much! A question I’ve often been asked is: “How much research should I do?” And the answer? As much as is needed. I’ve just finished reading a new novel from a very well-known writer. I’m not going to name them as I don’t want my opinion to impact on your enjoyment of the book. But I was so disappointed to find that his style has changed somewhat and that we get detailed (and I mean DETAILED) descriptions of every room the hero enters, entry street he drives down, every person he meets. The book itself was also quite repetitive in action, resolution, action …. Perhaps he didn’t have quite enough plot points to fill the word count! Another book I’ve read recently was almost the opposite. It was set on an island off the coast of Britain that I happen to have visited. The descriptions took me back there and I could picture exactly where the action was taking place. But, I believe, if someone who didn’t know the island read the book, then there was enough, but not over-done, description to allow them to build a good impression of the place. So, what do you need to think about when deciding on a place, or places, for your story? - What does this place mean to your protagonist? Is he/she at home here, perhaps in charge, or are they anxious or nervous? A dentist is in charge, a patient often anxious. - What will your protagonist notice about the place, rather than you, the writer? A potential burglar will be looking at easy access points and what they can steal; new first-time home-owners will be euphoric with the newly-fitted kitchen; a D-I-Y fanatic will be looking at what needs doing. - Can you use the senses to describe (through your protagonist’s pov) the setting? What can they hear through the thin walls of the new apartment? What does a detective smell on entering the scene of a crime? Almonds? What memories does the feel of an old quilt bring back for an elderly person? - How does the setting contribute to the conflict in a scene? If your protagonist is in a strange building in the dark, trying to find the light-switch can increase the suspense. Trying to escape from a kidnap attempt, does your protagonist know about the narrow alley just ahead where the car cannot follow? Going back to old childhood haunts, they often feel smaller and less intimidating when you’re older. - Can you be specific enough to draw your readers in? This is where knowledge and/or research comes in. If you know a place well, be careful not to use all that information – only what your protagonist would know and notice. If you’re researching a place, make sure whatever you find out relates to your characters, particularly your protagonist. If you are writing a short story, you may only need one, two or three different settings. They don’t all need the same amount of description. If you are writing a novel, you’ll need many more. It pays to spend time on each setting, taking note of whose “domain” each setting is, who’ll be spending time there, what will be happening there, what you need to include and what is superfluous. The final question I’m going to pose about setting is this: Why this particular place? Does it have a particular significance for your protagonist?Is the setting a metaphor for the theme of your story? A garden that hasn’t been tended for years like the couple’s marriage. Is the setting man against the elements? Jungles, deserts, the sea, a storm. Examples include The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; Moby Dick by Herman Melville; The Lord of the Flies by William Golding; The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Choose one of the scenarios below. Then write 100 – 200 words, describing the place from each of the three characters’ point-of-view. You can use either the first person or third person pov. You should notice differences between your pieces as each pov person will see different things, because of their personal situation ie age, gender, happy, sad, desperate, apprehensive etc. - A crowded beach: a mother who can’t find her child; a homeless teenager; an elderly man/woman visiting their childhood holiday resort. - A motorway service station: a young woman/man on their way to university or a new job; a woman/man who has just left their partner; an escaped prisoner. - A pub: a thirty-something woman/man on a first date; an undercover police officer looking for a drug deal; a man who’s just lost his job. - A courtroom: A solicitor on his/her first case; a judge who knows he/she is about to be arrested; a witness who is scared to be giving evidence. - A wedding in a church: The happy bride; the groom who’s expecting his ex to turn up; the ex who’s sitting at the back. I’ve included some pictures here. You can always find your own but don’t forget the other senses. “Homework” and opportunities for feedback - Choose one of the above scenarios and one point of view. Write a story, or part of a story in no more than 450 words. If you’d like a paragraph of feedback from me, please send it. - If you’d like me to post it on this website for comments from other writers, I’m happy to do that too. For any comments about my blog or other pages on this website, please use the Leave a Reply box at the bottom of the page. To send in your stories for feedback and/or posting on this website, please copy and paste them into the main body of an email (no attachments, please) and send to: email@example.com

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TESOL 101Free Preparation Courseby OnTESOLTABLE OF CONTENTSChapter 1: Methods and ApproachesChapter 2: Why The Communicative Approach?Chapter 3: Using Authentic MaterialChapter 4: Teaching VocabularyChapter 5: Teaching ReadingChapter 6: Teaching SpeakingChapter 7: Teaching ListeningChapter 8: Teaching WritingChapter 9: Lesson PlanningChapter 10: Teaching Abroad CHAPTER1- ‐METHODSANDAPPROACHES1.1The Grammar Translation Method (GTM)Main features and techniques1. Learning through memorization of the rules of traditional grammar and long lists ofvocabulary items.2. Main technique: translation from and into the target language. 3. No use of the target language; no emphasis on speaking the target language orlistening to it.4. Use of literary passages as good models to analyze and translate.5. Grammar is taught deductively – that is, by presentation and study of grammar rules,which are then practiced through translation exercises. Example: a new structure isgiven (present continuous), explained in the students’ native language; then,students repeat and translate into their mother tongue.6. Teacher’s role: active. The teacher explains the rules, provides information on thepattern and corrects 100% of student errors.7. Students’ role: passive. Students learn the patterns and vocabulary, repeat after theteacher and translate into their native language.1.2 The Direct Method (DM)Main features and techniques1. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language. Notranslation into the students’ mother tongue allowed.2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught: What is this? This is a book./What are you doing? I am writing.3. New teaching points were introduced orally. Oral communication skills were built up ina carefully graded progression organized around questions-and-answer exchangesbetween teachers and students. Grammar was taught inductively with a directassociation of the target language to the situation. For example:T: (Showing an object) ‘This is a book. What is this?’S: ‘This is a book.’Another example:T: (miming to teach the present continuous) ‘I am walking.’T: (showing a picture of someone walking) ‘He is walking.’S: Repeat4. Use of gestures, miming and visuals to present the grammar topics and vocabulary.5. Focus on speaking and listening by repeating questions and answers as describedabove.6. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.7. Teacher’s role:active. The teacher shows the new language by using gestures,miming, visuals, definitions, synonyms, antonyms, etc, providing a good model of thenew language and corrects 100% of student errors. 8. Students’ role: active. Students learn the patterns and vocabulary inductively, andrepeat after the teacher.1.3 Communicative Language TeachingMain features and techniques1. Meaning is paramount.2. Dialogues, if used, enter around communicative functions and are not normallymemorized.3. Contextualization is a basic premise. (Meaning cannot be understood out of context.Teachers using this approach will present a grammar topic in a meaningful context.Example: If the new topic to teach is Present Continuous, the teacher will not mimethe action of ‘walking’ and ask: What am I doing? I am walking. Instead, the teacherwill show, say, pictures of her last trip and tell the students something like: I havepictures of my vacation. Look, in this picture I am with my friends. We are havinglunch at a very expensive restaurant. In this other picture, we are swimming at thebeach.4. Language learning is learning to communicate and effective communication is sought.(When learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies forlanguage acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use thelanguage.)5. Drilling may occur, but peripherally.6. Comprehensible pronunciation is sought.7. Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it.8. Reading and writing can start from the first day.9. Communicative competence is the desired goal (i.e., the ability to use the linguisticsystem effectively and appropriately).10. Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language.11. Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pairand group work, or in their writings. CHAPTER2- ‐WHYTHECOMMUNICATIVEAPPROACH?The Communicative Approach is based on the idea that learning language successfullycomes through having to communicate real meaning.In the Communicative Approach the main objective is to present a topic in context asnatural as possible.2.1 Principles of the Communicative ApproachLanguage learning is learning to communicate using the target language.The language used to communicate must be appropriate to the situation, the roles ofthe speakers, the setting and the register. The learner needs to differentiate betweena formal and an informal style. Communicative activities are essential. Activities should be presented in a situation orcontext and have a communicative purpose. Typical activities of this approach are:games, problem-solving tasks, and role-play. There should be information gap, choiceand feedback involved in the activities.Learners must have constant interaction with and exposure to the target language.Development of the four macroskills -- speaking, listening, reading and writing -- isintegrated from the beginning, since communication integrates the different skills.The topics are selected and graded regarding age, needs, level, and students’ interest.Motivation is central. Teachers should raise students’ interest from the beginning of thelesson.The role of the teacher is that of a guide, a facilitator or an instructor.Trial and error is considered part of the learning process.Evaluation concerns not only the learners’ accuracy but also their fluency.Teaching Grammar Using the Communicative Approach: Functionsvs Structure2.2The word ‘function’ is a term we use from the time the Notional/Functional syllabus was bornand it continued to be used in Communicative Language Teaching. When we say something, wesay it to communicate that particular thought to the listener. Every single sentence – andsometimes single words- has a function (i.e. meaning that the speaker is trying to convey). Eventhe word “yes” with falling intonation expresses detachment, non-involvement. Or, a word like‘Tea?’ with rising intonation may mean an offering.Why do we need to understand the concept of functions and exponents as English teachers?Well, when we teach grammar communicatively, we teach our students how to express what theywant to say, and how to combine words to express those intentions.When we understand that language is used to communicate and that to communicate we need touse a specific combination of words, we realize that this concept can even be introduced on thefirst day of a beginner class. The important part of Communicative Language Teaching is thatwe can teach our students to communicate right from the beginning by presenting the targetlanguage through context. We do not need to teach English using the students’ mother tongue (asin the Grammar Translation method) and get the students to memorize sentences as othergrammatical oriented methods do.For example, imagine the following dialogue is on the first page of the textbook.-Hello! My name is Susanne. What’s your name?-Hi! I’m Harumi.– Hi, Harumi, Nice to meet you.– Nice to meet you, too. – Where are you from?– I’m from Japan.What do you think the functions of these sentences are? Let’s review. There is ‘greeting’in Hello, Hi, Nice to meet you. You will be teaching how to greet someone for the first timeinformally or neutrally. There is also introducing oneself by saying one’s name and asking for thelistener’s name in My name is Susanne. What’s your name? I’m Harumi. And then, you willcontinue teaching asking and answering about origin with the question Where are you from? andthe answer I’m from Japan.What is the grammar involved in these exponents or sentences?The verb be in the present form: My name IS Susanne. What’S your name? I AM Harumi.And, the preposition ‘from’ when asking and talking about origin. So, from the grammaticalpoint of view, you will be teaching:Subject is/are/am nameWh- questions: What IS (noun)?Where is/are subject from?Subject am/is/are FROM (country).From the functional point of view, you will be teaching greetings, introductions and asking andanswering about origin.Let’s see other examples of functions and how they are connected to specific grammaticalstructures.If you ask this type of question, Can you drive?, you will be asking a question using modal verbCAN, which follows a specific pattern:CAN (modal verb) pronoun (you) main verb in base form (drive)?This combination of words is essential to the meaning, the intention you are trying tocommunicate to the listener. But, what are you communicating? What is the function of thisquestion?The function is ‘asking about ability’, the ability to drive; if the person knows how to drive. Thiscould be a question asked in the context of a job interview.Contextualization is one of the main features of Communicative Language Teaching. A sentencesaid in different contexts can change the function radically. Yet, in some cases, the grammaticalpattern remains the same. Let’s see some other examples.“Can you drive? I’ve drunk a couple of beers” The speaker is not asking about the ability the listener has to drive a vehicle, or if he has adriving license. He is requesting, asking for a favor.What about this other example? Two women are talking about rules in a foreign country and oneasks to the other woman, who is from Saudi Arabia: Can you drive? The context clearly showsthat the question refers to ‘permission’; if the person is allowed to drive.Sometimes a change of pronoun or adding a word can change the function. Imagine that a groupof friends are planning a trip to the forest. They have a map and they have to decide how to get totheir destination. One looks at the map and asks Can we drive there?The grammatical pattern is still the same: Modal CAN pronoun verb in base form? But thespeaker is surely asking about how possible it is for them to get to their destination by car.All these examples show that the same grammatical pattern or structure in context willcommunicate different things. Same structure, different functions.Modal verb Can refers to different functions: AbilityRequestPermissionPossibilityWhen choosing a grammar topic to teach, make sure that you can identify the pattern orstructure, and the function so that you can create a good context, or situation to present thegrammar topic communicatively.WATCH VIDEO: Teaching Grammar Communicativelyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v -nqBKrN-o U CHAPTER3- ‐USINGAUTHENTICMATERIALAuthentic material gives the students the opportunity to see and hear real language asused by native speakers. Authentic workaseffectivelyaspossible.3.1 WHAT IS AUTHENTIC MATERIAL?Anything that was written or recorded in English without the purpose of teaching English as asecond language is authentic material. The following is a compilation of authentic material sources; however, it is not an exhaustive list, since more and more material gets created on adaily basis. Ad Banners, advertisements, billboardsCatalogues, college and university brochures, flyers, travel brochuresMovies, scripts, commercialsRadio shows, newspapers, Internet websites, magazines, TV showsSocial media, You Tube, PhonebooksTicket stubs, manuals, menus, mapsGreeting cards, horoscopesThe English used in authentic material is natural and its sole purpose is communicating whateverthe material was created for, rather than teaching a particular structure. This can make the overalllanguage in the material a little challenging, especially for students in beginner or lowerintermediate classes; however, authentic material is an excellent source of new vocabulary. Infact, the interest level rises so much when students are presented with authentic material, thattheir need for comprehension compensates for the difficulties they encounter.3.2 LEVELSSome people argue that authentic material should be used with higher-level students only, but amenu, flyers or even a newspaper (if you only focus on the headlines or certain words) can beused with beginner students. The key is to make sure that the instructions and activities are aimedfor the correct level. A simple ‘word search’ where students have to find words they alreadyknow and highlight them, or cut them out of a magazine for example, can expose beginner orlower intermediate students to authentic material in a successful way.3.3 SUPPLEMENT THE TEXTBOOKAuthentic material can be used in many different ways.MaterialActivity / TaskLevelFlyers & CataloguesVocabulary and Bingo gamesBeginnersMenuPractice ordering / Role-playBeginner – Low-intermediateHoroscopesFuture Tense / ConditionalsIntermediateTicket stubs & TravelBrochuresWriting a travel journal or ashort storyHigh intermediate MaterialActivity / TaskLevelAdvertisementsReading Comprehension,Vocabulary and Media studyAdvancedInconclusion, authentic materials have an indefinite number of uses for all kinds of lessons andlevels. When we include authentic material in our ESL lessons, the way students learn is morenatural and resembles acquisition of the language rather than forced learning of certaingrammatical structures.3.4 CONTEXT IS KINGOk, so what do we mean by contextualization? Basically, all materials should be contextualizedto the syllabus they are intended to address. When designing your material, the objectives of thesyllabus must be kept to the fore. Although we’re not suggesting you stick rigorously to aparticular vocabulary list or to one or two specific syllabus objectives, these should neverthelessbe among your preliminary considerations.In addition to the content of your syllabus, materials should match the context in terms of theexperiences, daily realities, and even the first languages of the learners. This essentially refers tounderstanding the ‘socio-cultural appropriacy’ of things such as the material maker’s own styleof presenting material. In its simplest terms, this might mean making adjustments from what youconsider to be a good piece of supplementary material to what learners think is good. This mightmean, for instance, making materials more serious then you’d like and cutting down on the funaspect.Finally, contextualization refers to the kinds of topics and themes that can provide meaningful,purposeful uses for the target language. Relevance and appropriateness are key here; for manylearners this will actually mean sticking to tried and tested topics such as family, holidays, ormoney. One action is vital here: find new angles on those topics! Having done that, the next thingis to develop activities which ensure purposeful production of the target language or skills.Key questions for your materials What is it in your material that will make it compelling to your teaching context?Is there anything in your material that will be totally unknown or inappropriate?3.5 USING VIDEOVideos are one of the richest authentic materials because of the context, visuals, sounds, andvariety of themes they provide. Let’s look at seven ESL activities and tasks that students cancomplete before, during, and after watching a video. 1) Fill in the BlanksThis is the most common kind of activity. As a teacher you can listen to the movie and prepare apart of the script and blank out some of the words for students to listen and complete. Very oftenthe script can be found online as well. To make this activity a little more challenging you can askthe students to guess the word or phrases that have been blanked out using the context around it;and to make it simpler you can provide the first letter of the word or phrase or just provideoptions in a box for students to choose from.2) Spot the WordAnother fun listening activity is to give the students a set of words or phrases that they have tolisten for and check them off on a handout. This can be even set up as a bingo card and studentscan yell ‘Bingo’ when they have them all.3) Spot the Still ImageSimilar to the activity described above, you can provide the students with a set of still imagesfrom the movie and as the scene takes place they must let you know they’ve recognized it. Thisis ideal for lower level students and to ensure they pay attention while watching.4) Match the Dialogue to the CharacterAnother listening activity would be to give the students a dialogue that has been mixed up andthey have to match the sentences to the characters who say them. An extension to this activitywould be to ask the students to pretend to be those characters and read out the dialogue trying toimitate the way the characters speak. This extension can actually be applied to many otheractivities and it helps develop fluency and intonation.5) Silent WatchingAnother activity is to watch a scene without any sound and ask students to guess what ishappening and why. For more advanced students they can even be challenged to guess what thecharacters are actually saying and re-create the dialogue. As an extra challenge, you could askthem to read the lines they created as the movie plays silently. This is a great activity to helpdevelop more speaking fluency through practice.6) ComprehensionWhen watching a full movie, or full episode, comprehension questions in short answer form ormultiple-choice form can help you check how much the students understood. Even students who are not good at listening skills tend to do better with movies or TV shows because the contexthelps them to comprehend more.7) Write a Summary or a ReviewYou can ask students to write a summary in order to recommend the movie to their friends; or towrite a review pretending to be a critic. Ideally you could let them read some reviews of othermovies so they can understand the style in which to do it.Other Creative ActivitiesDepending on the level of the students they can also interact with the plot by changing orpredicting the ending if they haven’t seen it before. They can write interviews to the characters oreven add ‘deleted’ scenes that they can even act out as a special project or extension of theactivity.Possible DrawbacksYounger students, children and teenagers, will definitely welcome this kind of activity and take itas a treat or special event. You must make the most of the students’ engagement, but also becareful that they do not tune out and start doing something else because they consider it anunimportant moment in the class.Older students could question the validity of such a fun activity, especially if they have grown upin an educational system that was quite strict and used only direct instruction. Therefore, youmust make sure the aim of the lesson is clear at all times and they know that they are not justwatching for fun, but also for a reason3.6 USING luableresource.Thanks to globalization and the ever present media in our lives, music in English is popular all around the world andreadily available through a number of sources. In fact, students often listen to music in English – and sometimeseven sing along – without knowing the language yet.Another reason why it’s beneficial to bring music and songs into ESL classes is because it can set a better pace and abetter mood for everyone in the class. Improving the overall atmosphere of the class by using a song can have longlasting benefits for everyone involved.Last but not least, songs can be easily adapted to fit different goals or aims in a lesson. Once the song is chosen, theteacher can easily adapt it according to the level of the students, and the need of the lesson. WhentoIncludeSongsinTheLessonSongs can be added to any part of a lesson. If a teacher is using the Presentation-Practice-Production model, songscan be used mostly as part of the presentation and practice stages, and even the production stage if the students inthe class are very creative.With a Test-Teach-Test model songs can be used in any of the test stages and even the teach stage if the song talksabout the language point being taught and practiced in class, or if the teacher can create a song about the rules ofgrammar.If a Task-Based approach is used for the lesson, songs can also fit in several stages during the class. They can beused as pre-tasks, as the main listening task, and even during the language focus stage if the song discusses theconcepts necessary to understand the language point being taught and practiced.TipsforSuccessFirstly, there are certain things to bear in mind when deciding which song to use and how. Teachers need to do somedetective work to find out what kind of songs their students like and what they don’t like at all. Of course classes arenot “a-la-carte”, but if we can cater to students’ interests the motivation factor will always create a more lastingmemory and a better experience for everyone.Secondly, timing is also very important. Songs will change the pace of a lesson and the right type of song can beused to liven up a group of students who are slowly getting disengaged, or to calm a rambunctious group down whenit is needed.Having the right handout for the lesson is key as well because a handout with too many blanks can becomefrustrating for students. Once the handout is created the teacher should try to complete it or ask someone else tocomplete it before using it in the classroom in order to make sure it is neither too challenging nor too easy for thelevel of the students in this particular class.Finally, it is also important to bear in mind the noise level in and around the classroom when working with a song.On the one hand, the volume of the song needs to be loud enough to be clear for all students, but not too loud todisturb other classes. On the other hand, the noise level outside the classroom should be taken into account becauseit can become a hindrance when working with a song. For example, if the lesson happens to coincide with a momentor a day when there is construction nearby, the teacher will have to change the lesson plan and save the song portionof the lesson, or maybe the whole lesson for another moment or another day.Interes8ngandUsefulWebsitesThe website lyricstraining.com is a great free online resource with a varied database of songs and videos forstudents to practice and work on either in class or at home. On this website students can choose a song to work onand as it plays they have to fill in the blanks. The level of difficulty can be chosen and it is also interesting that eachsong includes the type of English it uses.As the song progresses students can complete the blanks. If they are running behind, the song is automaticallypaused and restarts when they complete the word or skip it by pressing the tab key.Finally, the website runs on a timer and it keeps track of how many words were completed correctly in order to givestudents a score at the end of the exercise.This website can be used as part of a lesson in class or it can be assigned for students to do on their own at home tocontinue practicing.Furthermore, it is believed that when students listen to music and / or sing about what they must learn, auditorylearners especially, and all students in general have a higher chance to succeed. To this effect, the websiteeducationalrap.com was created and it provides a variety of raps that can be purchased and downloaded for use inthe classroom. These raps can be used as part of the presentation in a PPP lesson, or the language focus stage in a task based lesson.They can also be edited and blanks can be added to be used as the practice stage in a lesson.FromGrammarClozestoDebatesWith popular songs, one of the typical ways of including them in the classroom is to edit the lyrics and add blanks,making the song a cloze exercise for students to complete. For instance, some songs lend themselves well to beturned into exercises on verb tenses by just blanking the verbs and asking students to listen and complete. If theteacher decides to leave the base form of the verb in the lyrics between brackets, students can be asked to try to fillin the blanks before listening and use the listening portion of the exercise to check their answers. If the blanks do notinclude the verbs in base form, students would have to listen and complete the blanks and then take up answers witha classmate or as a whole class.Apart from tenses, more complex structures can also be taught or practiced with the aid of songs. The fact that oftenphrases are repeated in songs becomes a somewhat natural way of drilling a structure students need to learn.Furthermore, there are many songs that deal with interesting themes and topics that can spark great discussions inthe class. These can be used for excellent lessons focusing on listening and speaking skills in which students can beencouraged to discuss their opinions.Current events are frequently the inspiration for popular songs, and these songs can spark great debates. Whenincluding controversial topics, however, it is important to be well aware of the kinds of students in the class and besure to avoid offending anyone.In conclusion, songs can be used for a very wide variety of lessons in ESL; such a versatile resource should not bewasted!3.7 USING COMICSESL teachers can find comics on newspapers and online. This is a simple and very interesting authentic material thatmany ESL teachers often overlook. Comics can be exploited in similar ways to regular text and they have the addedelement of fun and humour to attract the students’ attention. Different comics can be used for the oints–TeachEnglishwithComicsStudents are used to grammar being a ‘boring’ topic in English class and they often dread learning new grammarpoints or practising what they have already learned. A great way to surprise them in a favorable way is to use acomic strip to do this.When presenting a new grammar point, you must make sure that the use is very clear through the context of thecomic strip. Avoid using a comic strip that has the new grammar point as part of the punchline, since comprehensionof the grammar point is tied to understanding the punchline and it could become too difficult for the students. On theother hand, if the grammar point or structure is in fact part of the punchline or even is the key part of the punchline,the comic strip becomes a perfect tool to practice this particular grammar point once your students have alreadyunderstood it completely.When you use the comic strip to present new grammar, highlight it and use eliciting questions to lead the students tounderstand its meaning and use. If, on the other hand, you use the comic strip to practice the grammar point, you canblank it out or ask more challenging comprehension questions about its meaning and use in the comic strip. IntroducingaDiscussionComic strips are concise and to the point by nature, thus they can be used to introduce a discussion for a speakingclass in a direct, yet creative way.The fastest way to start a discussion would be to use only one comic strip and lead a whole class discussion. Thiscan be effective if it has a different kind of follow up, or if the aim of the class is not to have the students talking fora long period of time. If the aim is to make the students practice their speaking skills, it is better to divide them intogroups, or pairs, to ensure more students practice speaking at the same time. After they discuss in groups or pairs,you can ask them to share a conclusion per group or pair as well.IntroducingorPrac8singVocabularyAs comics are almost always based on dialogue, they are an excellent source of vocabulary that is used frequently.Also, they often include many idiomatic expressions.The images in comic strips can often provide a reliable contextfor students to infer the meaning of the new vocabulary words.CharacterStudyIf students are presented with a series of comic strips once or twice a week, they begin to develop an understandingof the characters in the comic that is similar to that of a character study in a novel. For students who can’t read anovel yet, this is a great precursor activity that will help them learn the basics of this literary activity.TeachingWri8ngAfter students have read different comic strips, they can be encouraged to create their own by filling in the speechbubbles of a comic strip that has been blanked out; or by creating the images to go with speech bubbles that arealready provided by the teacher. This kind of creative writing is less daunting than writing a short story, but just aschallenging – or more challenging sometimes, depending on what the students are accustomed to. If students findthis particularly difficult, working in pairs or groups is a great way to start.Awordofcau8on Humour is very different in each culture and at the beginning it might be difficult for students to find comics inEnglish funny unless their culture is similar to that of the English-speaking country where the comic strip originated.As a teacher, you will often have to explain the punchline, and sometimes that makes the comic strip less funny, butdon’t be discouraged, with time and more exposure students will Wh- questions: What IS (noun)? Where is/are subject from? Subject am/is/are FROM (country). From the functional point of view, you will be teaching greetings, introductions and asking and answering about origin. Let’s see other examples of functions and

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Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 1373 The adoption of postcolonial literature in the English curriculum of British and American schools in the last few decades has coincided with changes in how and why literature is studied. These changes include ideas about what texts should be included in class syllabi, issues of literary taste, and the purpose(s) of studying literature. The writing studied in literature classrooms in the United States and Great Britain is often referred to as belonging to the canon. The term derives from the Greek word “kanon” and originally denoted the list of books in the New Testament and Hebrew Bible that came to comprise the Holy Scriptures. More recently, the phrase “literary canon” has been used to denote the “major authors,” critics, and historians considered to be the most important for students to read. Surveys of the great works of Western civilization, for example, traditionally would include works by Plato, Aristotle, John Milton, William Shakespeare, and so forth, in short, works by men of European descent. However, in the second half of the twentieth century, a number of events has challenged the assumptions embodied in the literary canon. These events include the Civil Rights movement in the United States, the Women’s Liberation movement, and the accelerated unraveling of the British Empire in the wake of World War II. As more and different people began to assert their own rights to explore their heritage and express their identities, critics began to expose the ideological underpinnings of the literary canon and how those underpinnings served one group of people while excluding another. Since the 1960s, a number of critics have argued for the revision, or even the abolition, of the literary canons. In The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures, Bill Ashcroft, Careth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin point to “the development of English as a privileged academic subject in the nineteenth century,” arguing that its study “has always been a densely political and cultural phenomenon . . . called into the service of a profound and embracing nationalism.” Nationalism refers to a favoring of the traditions, practices, language, myths, and rituals of a group of people who believe their way of life superior to that of others. By instituting its own school system into its colonies, the British used education as a primary means of controlling colonized people. Walcott, for example, a writer of African, Dutch, and English descent, grew up in St. Lucia of the West Indies reading Milton, Spenser, Shakespeare, and other British writers. He was taught to think like a British person and to develop British tastes. His notion of what made “good” literature, then, was in large part defined by his British education. Indigenous people were “other,” defined by and through their difference from the colonizers. The idea of “otherness” has helped to foster the notion that Third World countries are backward, inferior, and uncivilized. The editors of The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism summarize the insidiousness of colonial literary education as follows: As it inculcates Western Eurocentric values, literary education supports a kind of “cultural colonization,” creating a class of colonial subjects often burdened by a double consciousness and by divided loyalties. It helps Western colonizers rule by consent rather than violence. In many cases, however, colonized countries had no national literature of their own, no literary tradition, no concept of literature itself, and so there was no basis of comparison for colonized people, many of whom could neither read nor write. Some of these colonies had strictly oral storytelling traditions and no history of written language. The British, in their attempts to “educate” the inhabitants of their colonies, used their own language and literature as models of civilized and superior thinking and behavior. During the independence movements of British colonies and after colonies declared their independence, natives of former colonies attempted to establish their own literary traditions. The writing produced by postcolonial natives is often a literature of resistance that integrates Western modes of writing and narrative with local traditions and ways of knowing. Walcott’s plays such as The Sea at Dauphin (1954), for example, mixes West Indian language and customs with elements of Greek drama. And Walcott’s establishment of the Little Carib Theatre Workshop, later renamed the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, was an attempt to provide native West Indian writers with a place to develop and produce plays about their own history and culture. However, writing about one’s own history and culture after centuries of colonization, for Walcott as well as for other postcolonialists, has proved a difficult, virtually impossible task. Representing the relationships between precolonial cultures and imperial cultures necessarily includes the acknowledgement of culture’s hybrid nature and the futility of ever recovering a “pure” past. The idea that all cultures are representations and the result of political forces at work shows up in the postmodern forms and styles that postcolonial writers such as Walcott, Coetzee, Rushdie, and so forth have chosen to “depict” the postcolonial condition. Although the meaning of the term “postmodern” is as hotly debated as the term “postcolonial,” in reference to postcolonial writing it denotes writing that mixes genres and, often, languages, integrates traditional Western forms with indigenous materials, and foregrounds how identities are social constructions rather than essential features of people, countries, or cultures. As style, the postmodern is most often embodied in the novels of postcolonial writers rather than, say, poetry or drama, and it is the novel to which postcolonial critics pay most attention. The novel, as a kind of writing that attempts to create and people its own world with elaborate characterizations, plots, and detailed setting, is apropos for writers motivated to reshape public as well as personal history. Coetzee’s novels, for example, especially Waiting for the Barbarians (1982), which is set in an imaginary empire not unlike South Africa, employs postmodern strategies and devices to foreground their status as works of fiction, while at the same time suggesting a political stance towards a real place and policy, that is, South African apartheid. Postcolonial literature that overtly uses postmodern compositional strategies is not without its detractors; however, critics often claim that it can send the message that oppression and colonialism are a part of the human condition and will always be here. In his review of Coetzee’s novel, Irving Howe comments on Coetzee’s universalizing approach towards describing South Africa’s predicament: That ‘a heart of darkness’ is present in all societies and a beast ‘lurks within each one of us’ may well be true. But such invocations of universal evil can deflect attention from the particular and at least partly remediable social wrongs Mr. Coetzee portrays. Not only deflect attention, but encourage readers, as they search for their inner beasts, to a mood of conservative acquiescence and social passivity. The inclusion of postcolonial literature in English departments in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia in the last few decades has also been part of the move away from the study of literature per se and towards the study of culture broadly conceived. Some colleges and universities are even abandoning literature departments altogether and replacing them with cultural studies departments, whose courses include literature, heavy doses of theory of various stripes—literary and other—historical documents, movies, and texts not traditionally studied in literature classrooms. Some of the questions raised by the study of postcolonial literature include the following: Which writers speak best for the postcolonial nation? How does postcolonial literature ask readers to reexamine their own notions of history and “otherness?” In what language should the postcolonial writer write? Is America itself a postcolonial country, and if so, what does that say about Americans’ authority to theorize about the postcolonial condition? The shift in focus in Western schools away from the study of English and American literature and towards curricula that embrace an international worldview using a variety of texts has been for the good. Such curricula allow people whose voices have previously been stifled to speak out and allow artifacts previously ignored to be studied. This inclusion of new texts and writers can (potentially) make English departments agents of social change, rather than simply arbiters of literary taste. Source: Chris Semansky, Critical Essay on Postcolonialism, in Literary Movements for Students, The Gale Group, 2003. Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 3383 In the current climate of literary studies, it is tempting to think of contemporary Native American literatures as among the postcolonial literatures of the world. Certainly they share with other postcolonial texts the fact of having, in the words of A statue of Daniel O’Connell who symbolized the fight for Irish independence in the nineteenth century the authors of The Empire Writes Back, “emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with the imperial power, and by emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial Centre.” Yet contemporary Native American literatures cannot quite be classed among the postcolonial literatures of the world for the simple reason that there is not yet a “post-” to the colonial status of Native Americans. Call it domestic imperialism or internal colonialism; in either case, a considerable number of Native people exist in conditions of politically sustained subalternity. I have remarked on the academic effects of this condition in the first chapter; here I note the more worldly effects of this condition: Indians experience twelve times the U.S. national rate of malnutrition, nine times the rate of alcoholism, and seven times the rate of infant mortality; as of the early 1990s, the life expectancy of reservation-based men was just over forty-four years, with reservation- based women enjoying, on average, a lifeexpectancy of just under forty-seven years. “Sovereignty,” whatever its ultimate meaning in the complex sociopolitical situation of Native nations in the United States, remains to be both adequately theorized and practically achieved, and “independence,” the great desideratum of colonized nations, is not, here, a particularly useful concept. Arif Dirlik lists three current meanings of the term postcolonial. Postcolonial may intend “a literal description of conditions in formerly colonial societies,” it may claim to offer “a description of a global condition after the period of colonialism”— what Dirlik refers to as “global capitalism,” marked by the “transnationalization of production”— and it may, most commonly in the academy, claim to provide “a description of a discourse on the above-named conditions that is informed by the epistemological and psychic orientations that are products of those conditions.” Is any one of these meanings useful to describe contemporary Native American literature? Dirlik’s first sense of the postcolonial will not work because, as already noted, the material condition of contemporary Native “societies” is not a postcolonial one. His second sense might perhaps come a bit nearer, inasmuch as Native societies, although still in a colonial situation, nonetheless participate in the global economy of a world “after the period of colonialism.” To give a fairly undramatic anecdote, in Santa Fe, Native Americans sell traditional ceramic work and jewelry (including “traditional” golf tees) across the street from where non-Native people offer the “same” wares made in Hong Kong. In something of a parallel fashion, Lakota people travel to Germany and Switzerland to promote tourism at Pine Ridge. As for the last of Dirlik’s definitions, little discourse surrounding Native American literature, to the best of my knowledge, has been selfconsciously aware of having been formed “by the epistemological and psychic orientations that are products” of the postcolonial. (And the “nationalist” Native critic seeks to reject any formation whatever according to these “orientations.”) Perhaps, then, it may not be particularly useful to conceptualize contemporary Native American literature as postcolonial. But even though contemporary Native American fiction is produced in a condition of ongoing colonialism, some of that fiction not only has the look of postcolonial fiction but also, as I will try to show in the second part of this chapter, performs ideological work that parallels that of postcolonial fiction elsewhere. Here, however, I want to suggest a category—the category of anti-imperial translation— for conceptualizing the tensions and differences between contemporary Native American fiction and “the imperial center.” Because historically specifiable acts of translative violence marked the European colonization of the Americas from Columbus to the present, it seems to me particularly important to reappropriate the concept of translation for contemporary Native American literature. To do so is not to deny the relationship of this literature to the postcolonial literatures of the Sign in South Africa before the end of apartheid world but, rather, to attempt to specify a particular modality for that relationship. To say that the people indigenous to the Americas entered European consciousness only by means of a variety of complex acts of translation is to think of such things as Columbus’s giving the name of San Salvador to an island he knows is called Guanahani by the natives—and then giving to each further island he encounters, as he wrote in his journals, “a new name.” Columbus also materially “translated” (trans-latio, “to carry across”) some of the Natives he encountered, taking “six of them from here,” as he remarked in another wellknown passage, “in order that they may learn to speak.” Columbus gave the one who was best at learning his own surname and the first name of his firstborn son, translating this otherwise anonymous person into Don Diego Colon. Now, any people who are perceived as somehow unable to speak when they speak their own languages, are not very likely to be perceived as having a literature—especially when they do not write, a point to which we shall return. Thus, initially, the very “idea of a [Native American] literature was inherently ludicrous,” as Brian Swann has noted, because Indian “languages themselves were primitive.” If Indians spoke at all, they spoke very badly (and, again, they did not write). In 1851, John De Forest, in his History of the Indians of Connecticut, observed, “It is evident from the enormous length of many of the words, sometimes occupying a whole line, that there was something about the structure of these languages which made them cumbersome and difficult to manage.” Difficult for whom, one might ask, especially in view of the fact that De Forest himself had not achieved even minimal competence in any Native language. Further, inasmuch as these were spoken languages, not alphabetically written languages, any estimate that single words occupied the length of “a whole line” could only depend on De Forest’s decision to write them that way. De Forest’s sense of the “cumbersome and difficult” nature of Indian languages, as I have noted, implies that any literature the Natives might produce in these languages would also be “cumbersome and difficult.” Perhaps the Natives would do better to translate themselves or be translated, to “learn to speak”— in this case, to speak English—in order to have a literature. De Forest was wrong, of course, although what most people know as Native American literature today consists of texts originally written in English. Almost half a century after DeForest, as late as 1894, Daniel Brinton—a man who actually did a great deal to make what he called the “production” of “aboriginal authors” visible to the dominant culture— nonetheless declared, “Those peoples who are born to the modes of thought and expression enforced by some languages can never forge to the front in the struggle for supremacy; they are fatally handicapped in the race for the highest life.” The winners in the “race for the highest life,” therefore, would be the race with the “highest” language; and it was not the Indians but rather, as Brinton wrote, “our Aryan forefathers” who were the ones fortunate enough to be endowed “with a richly inflected speech.” As Kwame Anthony Appiah explained in reference to Johann Gottfried von Herder, the Sprachgeist, “the ‘spirit’ of the language, is not merely the medium through which speakers communicate but the sacred essence of a nationality. [And] Herder himself identified the highest point of the nation’s language in its poetry,” in its literature. “Whoever writes about the literature of a country,” as Appiah elsewhere cited Herder, “must not neglect its language.” For those like the Indians with “primitive” languages, there would seem to be little hope, short of translation, for the prospects of literary achievement. Thus, by the end of the nineteenth century, the linguistic determinism expressed by Brinton— and, of course, by many others—worked against the possibility of seeing Native Americans as having an estimable literature at exactly the moment when the texts for that literature were, for the first time, being more or less accurately translated and published. But here one must return to the other dimension of the translation issue as it affects Native American literatures. For the problem in recognizing the existence of Native literatures was not only that Natives could not speak or, when they did speak, that their languages were judged deficient or “primitive” but also that they did not write. Here I will only quickly review what I and others have discussed elsewhere. Because littera-ture in its earliest uses meant the cultivation of letters (from Latin littera, “letter”), just as agriculture meant the cultivation of fields, peoples who did not inscribe alphabetic characters on the page could not, by definition, produce a literature. (They were also thought to be only minimally capable of agriculture in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, but that is another story.) It was the alteration in European consciousness generally referred to as “romanticism” that changed the emphasis in constituting the category of literature from the medium of expression, writing—literature as culture preserved in letters—to the kind of expression preserved, literature as imaginative and affective utterance, spoken or written. It is only at this point that an oral literature can be conceived as other than a contradiction in terms and the unlettered Indians recognized as people capable of producing a “literature.” For all of this, it remains the case that an oral literature, in order to become the subject of analysis, must indeed first become an object. It must, that is, be textualized; and here we encounter a translation dilemma of another kind, one in which the “source language” itself has to be carried across—trans-latio—from one medium to another, involving something more than just a change of names. This translative project requires that temporal speech acts addressed to the ear be turned into visual objects in space, black marks on the page, addressed to the eye. Words that had once existed only for the tongue to pronounce now were to be entrusted to the apprehension of the eye. Mythography, in a term of Anthony Mattina’s, or ethnopoetics has been devoted for many years to the problems and possibilities involved in this particular form of media translation. Translation as a change of names—as a more or less exclusively linguistic shift from “source” to “target” language—may, historically, be traced in relation to the poles of identity and difference, as these are articulated within the disciplinary boundaries of what the West distinguishes as the domains of art and social science. Translators with attachments to the arts or humanities have rendered Native verbal expression in such a way as to make it appear attractively literary by Western standards of literariness, thereby obscuring the very different standards pertaining in various Native American cultures. Conversely, translators with attachments to the social sciences have rendered Native verbal expression in as literal a manner as possible, illuminating the differences between that expression and our own but thereby obscuring its claims to literary status. I have elaborated on these matters elsewhere, and so I will here turn from considerations of the formal implications of translation practices to their ideological implications. I want to explain what I mean by anti-imperial translation and why it seems to me that a great many texts by Native American writers, though written in English, may nonetheless be taken as types of anti-imperial translation. I base my sense of anti-imperial translation on a well-known, indeed classic text, one that I have myself quoted on a prior occasion. The text is from Rudolph Pannwitz, who is cited in Walter Benjamin’s important essay “The Task of the Translator.” Pannwitz wrote, “Our translations, even the best ones, proceed from a wrong premise. They want to turn Hindi, Greek, English into German instead of turning German into Hindi, Greek, English. Our translators have far greater reverence for the usage of their own language than for the spirit of the foreign works . . . The basic error of the translator is that he preserves the state in which his own language happens to be instead of allowing his language to be powerfully affected by the foreign tongue.” My use of Pannwitz was influenced by Talal Asad’s paper, “The Concept of Cultural Translation in British Social Anthropology,” originally presented at the School for American Research in 1984 and published in James Clifford and George Marcus’s important collection Writing Culture in 1986. As will be apparent, I am much indebted to Asad’s work. Asad’s subject, like mine, is not translation in the narrow sense but rather translation as cultural translation. The “good translator,” Asad wrote, “does not immediately assume that unusual difficulty in conveying the sense of an alien discourse denotes a fault in the latter, but instead critically examines the normal state of his or her own language.” Asad notes the fact that languages, if expressively equal, are nonetheless politically “unequal,” those of the Third World that are typically studied by anthropologists being “weaker” in relation to Western languages (and today especially in relation to English). Asad remarks that the weaker, or colonized, languages “are more likely to submit to forcible transformation in the translation process than the other way around.” Asad cites with approval Godfrey Lienhardt’s essay “Modes of Thought” and quotes Lienhardt’s exemplary explanation of anthropological translation: “We mediate between their habits of thought, which we have acquired with them, and those of our own society; in doing so, it is not finally some mysterious ‘primitive philosophy’ that we are exploring, but the further potentialities of our thought and language.” This sort of translation, Asad affirms, should alter the usual relationship between the anthropological audience and the anthropological text, in that it seeks to disrupt the habitual desire of that audience to use the text as an occasion to know about the Other, a matter of “different writings and readings (meanings)” in order to instantiate the possibility that translation, as a matter “of different uses (practices),” can be a force moving us toward “learning to live another form of life.” My claim is that Native American writers today are engaged in some version of the translation project along the broad lines sketched by Asad. Even though contemporary Native writers write in English and configure their texts in apparent consonance with Western or Euramerican literary forms—that is, they give us texts that look like novels, short stories, poems, and autobiographies— they do so in ways that present an “English” nonetheless “powerfully affected by the foreign tongue,” not by Hindi, Greek, or German, of course, and not actually by a “foreign” language, inasmuch as the “tongue” and “tongues” in question are indigenous to America. The language they offer, in Asad’s terms, derives at least in part from other forms of practice, and to comprehend it might just require, however briefly, that we attempt to imagine living other forms of life. This is true of contemporary Native American writers in both literal and figurative ways. In the case of those for whom English is a second language (Luci Tapahonso, Ray Young Bear, Michael Kabotie, Ofelia Zepeda, and Simon Ortiz are some of the writers who come immediately to mind), it is altogether likely that their English will show traces of the structure and idioms of their “native” language, as well as a variety of linguistic habits and narrative and performative practices of traditional expressive forms in Navajo, Mesquakie, Hopi, Tohono O’odham, and Acoma. Their English, then, is indeed an English, in Pannwitz’s words, “powerfully affected by the foreign tongue,” a tongue (to repeat) not “foreign” at all to the Americas. Here the Native author quite literally tests “the tolerance of [English) for assuming unaccustomed forms,” and an adequate commentary on the work of these writers will require of the critic if not bilingualism then at least what Dell Hymes has called some “control” of the Native language. Most Native writers today are not, however, fluent speakers of one or another of the indigenous languages of the Americas, although their experiences with these languages are so different that it would be impossible to generalize. (E.g., Leslie Marmon Silko certainly heard a good deal of Laguna as she was growing up, just as N. Scott Momaday heard a good deal of Jemez, whereas many of the Native American writers raised in the cities did not hear indigenous languages on a very regular basis.) Yet all of them have indicated their strong sense of indebtedness or allegiance to the oral tradition. Even the mixed-blood Anishinaabe—Chippewa— writer Gerald Vizenor, someone who uses quotations from a whole range of comtemporary European theorists and whose own texts are full of ironic effects possible only to a text-based literature, has insisted on the centrality of “tribal stories” and storytelling to his writing. This is the position of every other contemporary Native American writer I can think of—all of them insist on the storytelling of the oral tradition as providing a context, as bearing on and influencing the writing of their novels, poems, stories, or autobiographies. In view of this fact, it needs to be said that “the oral tradition,” as it is invoked by these writers, is an “invented tradition.” It can be seen, as John Tomlinson has remarked, “as a phenomenon of modernity. There is a sense in which simply recognizing a practice as ‘traditional’ marks it off from the routine practices of proper [sic] traditional societies.” This is not, of course, to deny that there were and continue to be a number of oral traditions that “really” existed and continue to exist among the indigenous cultures of the Americas. Nor is it to deny that some contemporary Native American writers have considerable experience of “real” forms of oral performance. I am simply noting that “the oral tradition” as usually invoked in these contexts is a kind of catchall phrase whose function is broadly to name the source of the difference between the English of Native writers and that of Euramerican writers. This “tradition” is not based on historically and culturally specific instances. A quick glance at some of the blurbs on the covers or book jackets of work by contemporary Indian writers makes this readily apparent. When these blurbs are written by non-Indians (and most are, for obvious reasons, written by non-Indians), reference to “the oral tradition” usually represents a loose and vague way of expressing nostalgia for some aboriginal authenticity or wisdom, a golden age of wholeness and harmony. When these blurbs are written by Native Americans—this generalization I venture more tentatively—they are (to recall the discussion I offered in the first chapter of this book) a rhetorical device, a strategic invocation of what David Murray has called the discourse of Indianness, a discourse that has currency in both the economic and the political sense in the United States. Once more, to say this is in no way to deny that the narrative modalities and practices of a range of Native oral literatures, as well as the worldviews of various Native cultures, are important to many of the texts constituting a contemporary Native American literature, and not merely honorifically, sentimentally, or rhetorically. Anyone who would make the claim that a particular Native text in English should be read as an instance of cultural translation must offer a specific demonstration of how that text incorporates alternate strategies, indigenous perspectives, or language usages that, literally or figuratively, make its “English” on the page a translation in which traces of the “foreign tongue,” the “Indian,” can be discerned. If one then wants to claim that this translation is indeed an anti-imperial translation, it becomes necessary to show how those traces operate in tension with or in a manner resistant to an English in the interest of colonialism. Source: Arnold Krupat, “Postcolonialism, Ideology, and Native American Literature,” in Postcolonial Theory and the United States: Race, Ethnicity, and Literature, edited by Amritjit Singh and Peter Schmidt, University of Mississippi Press, 2000, pp. 73–94.

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Close Reading Guide for Moving Image Texts We all learn to look at screen texts from an early age, just as we learn to listen to the stories that our parents read to us. However, just as we need to be taught to read and write in order to become literate in the traditional sense, so we also need to be taught to 'read and write' audiovisual texts in order to become literate citizens of a 21st century democratic world. In this section you will find two check-lists that are designed to help teachers and students learn how to analyse and discuss the meaning of audio-visual texts whether factual or fictional. Together with the punctuation and grammar guides presented on other areas of this site they should help demonstrate to any doubters that screenworks are not just 'illustrated' written texts, but complex interwoven time-based narratives that deploy a highly evolved language of their own - and are therefore worthy of detailed study.Glasgow Today and Tomorrow The key thing to remember when analysing any audio-visual text is that like all texts it is a deliberate act of creation. The film may be a documentary that seeks to depict reality or use a realistic style, but there are still many choices made by the filmmakers relating to editing, shot length, types of shot, use of imagery and music that effect how we relate emotionally and intellectually to the texts. The act of close-reading audio-visual texts involves becoming aware of – and being able to compare and analyse – these choices or systems of working, just as one judges the style, technique, imagery (and bias) of a journalist or author. A good place to start with any film is to ask: What type of text is it?What does the title suggest it is about? Who was it made for? How was it funded or commissioned? And how was it filmed? Looking into the following areas will help you begin: Type of audiovisual text - Factual films come in a variety of different forms: news, documentary, corporate film, advert (often closer to fiction than reality), 'reality' TV show (often closer to fiction than reality), public information film, propaganda film, local topical film (see feature resource), wedding video, home movie, etc. Documentaries come in many sub-forms too that are often referred to as genres by academics. However, for the most part these terms reflect more the production processes than the underlying narrative genres such as horror, investigative thriller, domestic drama, communal drama, epic, etc. Some of the most popular forms of documentary at the moment are: 1.'Voice of God' documentaries where a trusted voice narrates the truth of what is being seen, presenter-led documentaries where the narrator appears within the film often as an investigator, 2. Observational or fly-on-the-wall documentaries where we are invited to view events and largely reach our own conclusions about what is going on without the interpolation of a narrator (nb. these are often less truthful than they first appear when asks the questions about the production), 3. Investigatory presenter-led documentaries often current affairs but can equally be biographical or documentaries looking into the arts 4. 'List' documentaries where TV makes programmes about other forms of seductive media as a way of filling the schedules 5. 'Dirty' documenataries that often use news style footage shot by normal people to create a view of an event (here dirty refers to the quality of the footage which may simply be shot on mobile phones, 6. Drama documentaries (often historical documentaries or horror 'what if' speculative documentaries) - here the events are dramatised to fill in the gaps in the available footage or to make the narratives more emotionally compelling, 7. Sponsored documentaries where the filmmakers employ the 'truthful' style of documentary to promote a company, product or organisation (i.e. really a hybrid form between documentary and corporate video) Production - Identify how the film was funded, by whom, the reason it was made, how it was produced, and for which audience. There is a great deal of information you should be able to discern from the titles and credit sequences at the beginning and the end of the film, but you may also find out more with some basic internet research. When it comes to factual film it helps to discuss issues relating to how the filmmakers gained access to the settings being filmed? To what degree they needed to gain the co-operation of the participants in making or coordinating the film? How well funded the production looks to be? How many cameras they are likely to have used (this is very important as documentary or news footage can be edited together to make it appear to be happening at the same time when it is not)? And how open and upfront the film-makers are (or are not) about their methods and techniques? Narrative structure - Fictional films (and observational documentaries) usually focus on the desires, actions, challenges and obstacles facing one character (occasionally several) as they struggle to achieve a goal. Factual and documentary films are often organised around simple rhetorical questions that often will reveal its true narrative genre. If the question is a investigation the structure of the narrative is likely to be detective (e.g. news and current affairs docs), if it is historical it may employ the structure of a thriller or an epic, if it is a future doc it will often follow a horror format e.g. documentaries about how the country might respond to a pandemic. It is vital you identify how the film is structure and what the concerns of the film and its genre are likely to be. Active Questions - What rhetorical or narrative questions does the audience want answered by the film? If there is more than one question, how are these ordered, e.g. in a whodunnit we first need to find out who has been killed, then who did it, then whether they will be caught and finally why they did it. In a documentary the film will usually set a main rhetorical question at the beginning and several other sub-questions as the narrative unfolds. It may also raise narrative questions connected to specific characters shown in the film. Genre – The genre to the film gives us our biggest clues as to what the narrative will be about – sometimes known as the theme. Specific genres have specific general themes, for instance a romance is about love, a horror film is about survival and a rites of passage or communal drama are about the desire for validation. This goes for factual films as well as fictional ones. For instance , investigative documentaries are by definition investigative thrillers and therefore always about justice and/or morality. That said you will need to look closer than the general theme that the genre gives you to work out what the narrative is truly about, e.g. 'Titanic' shows that true love triumphs even over death.Clearance 68 Documentary is supposed to be truthful as well as informative. It is the reader’s job to ensure that s/he can distinguish between fact and opinion, detect any bias in a film, and examine how the filming may have had an impact on what was filmed. That said factual films are rarely simply documents in themselves as where the early topical films or YouTube style single shot videos. Most of them use editing techniques to create meaning from a series of images, scenes and narration. Subject Matter – Where is it set and what is it about? This is particularly when looking at archival film where the world have changed considerably since the film was made. In this case what is most interesting about the film may not be what it was meant to show, but elements of the scene that the filmmakers may take for granted or have gained or decreased in significance to the audience through time. Rhetorical questions - Look at the different questions raised by the film, examine their order and use this to analyse how the filmmakers build and expand upon their initial arguments. Many arguments proceed along dialectical lines. This means the filmmakers present a thesis, then show conflicting views and then try to resolve the differences between these two or more points of view. Narrative sequences - Identify the different sequences and the different documentary techniques they employ, e.g. ‘Voice of God’ narration, observational sections (either using continuity style cuts and/or long-tracking or panning shots that reveal the presence of the cameraman) or not presenter led discussion, interviews, talking head interviewees with illustrative cutaways or GVs (general views that are often used to underscore or reinforce the theme or context of the narrative). Surprise - Identify the main surprises and turning points in the narrative, how are these used to influence the argument and engage the audience emotionally and intellectually. Authority and trust - Examine how the filmmakers encourage the audience to trust in their ability to examine the argument fully. This may be achieved by having a well-known voice narrate a ‘voice of God’ narration or having a well-known presenter appear in the film to lend credibility. Likewise the film may interview a range of experts whose names and titles appear on screen. Or it may be produced by a particular broadcaster, producer or director who has a reputation to preserve. Truth - Look closely to see whether the filmmakers are even-handed and fair. Are there times when their shooting or editing techniques favour one side or the other? In some cases the film may be deliberately one-sided and polemical, but if this is the case the filmmakers should be upfront about their intentions. Drama documentary, staging and historical re-enactments - Where films use these devices you will need to examine closely the issue of accuracy. The dramatic reconstructions may have been written or approved by historians but where this is not clear you may need to look closely at the historical record to see how much really is known about what exactly happened and where the filmmakers have ‘filled in the gaps’. Statistics - If the film uses statistics, examine whether they explain their method or whether they expect you to take their statistical gathering and analytical techniques at face value. Remember the quote attributed to former British PM Benjamin Disraeli and popularised by the novelist Mark Twain, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." If people don’t explain their statistics, you will need to discuss how far they can be trusted, based upon your knowledge about who made the film. The presence of the camera - Examine whether the presence of the camera or the technical requirements of filming would have changed the nature of the events being filmed and ether this might compromise the integrity of the film.McNab's Visit to London Amateur and early filmmaking It is important to know a bit about film history in order to analyse archive film texts. In the early days of filmmaking which began in around 1895, films were made by professional companies and distributed to be screened as part of an entertainment or novelty programme at the travelling shows or music halls. The equipment was often supplied by a company, for example, Edison’s cinematograph – the conditions of which meant that a showman could only show films made by the Edison company. Film from 1895 – 1910 was very much something that was brought to the masses and which they could have no influence or impact on or in. Viewers of early films were very much consumers of this latest entertainment product or invention. From 1910 the first purpose built cinemas emerged and cinema going developed. Films were still supplied by professional organisations and companies for entertainment and news. It was not until the mid-1920s that the first ‘home movie’ cameras became available for people to make their own films. These early ‘home movie’ cameras and film stock were incredibly expensive and therefore purchased by the wealthy who had both the money for the new equipment, but also the leisure time to use it. Developments in technology in the 1930s meant that several home movie cameras and film stock were available for the amateur filmmaker. However, it was not until after the war that amateur filmmaking became less expensive and available to a wider section of society. Since the 1950s new formats have been introduced with technology becoming cheaper and more easily accessible over the last 50 years, so that today everyone has access to some kind of filmmaking equipment, whether it is a digital camera, Flip Video camera or mobile phone. Today, everyone and anyone can make their own film. Important points to consider when anaylsing early and amateur archive films: - When was it made? - Who made it and why? - Where was it screened and who saw it? Professional film or home movie? Establish this by looking at the credits. If there are no credits – try and establish the date of the film by what you see on screen. Is it an event or occasion? Where was it, try to find out when that occasion or event took place by researching in the local library or online. Amateur Filmmaking Timeline - 1895 - mid 1920s – If the film was made before around 1923 it is highly likely that it will have been have been made by a professional company. Amateur filmmaking equipment was not available before 1923. - 1923 – 1940s – Developments in technology meant that various types of film camera were developed for use by amateur filmmakers. - 1923 Standard 8mm film cameras and stock were introduced by Eastman Kodak. Kodak also introduced 16mm film for the amateur filmmaker. Also dating from this time was Pathe’s 9.5mm film cameras and projectors, which were also used widely for both making films and screening studio films. All these formats used black and white film. - In 1936 Kodak brought out the first successful colour film for the amateur filmmaker – Kodachrome – it was very expensive in the lead up to the war and only those with money had access to it. - During this time, many cine clubs and film societies made their own dramas and films largely using 16mm black and white film stock. - 1940s – 1950s – Film stocks during the war were rationed and ‘home movies’, especially colour films were rarely made. Following the war, both 8mm and 16mm film was relatively cheap for the amateur and many ‘home movies’ or amateur films were made during this time. - 1965 – Super 8mm film came onto the market and quickly replaced Standard 8mm as the quality was better. - 1980s – Today The development of video cameras and now digital video has made amateur filmmaking accessible to all. Fictional screen narratives feature large in culture. While there are few fictional films in this collection, there are frequent dramtised sections of documentary or sponsored films in this collection. There may also be sections of a film where the filmmaker is suggesting that a narrative exists by editing together disparate shots to create the illusion of continuous and connected action. Fictional texts tend to come in four main forms (with numerous sub-forms): - Filmed drama (and all its sub forms from sitcom to soap, and short animated comedy sketch to Hollywood blockbuster), - music video, - Arts video (often interactive) that are usually show in galleries or art spaces, - and video games. Characters - Who are the main characters and how are they introduced to us? How do we discover what they want and what they fear (NB. Here you should look out closely for the use of POV shots in establishing desire)? If there are no characters, what is the subject? Genre - Does the narrative have a defined genre? What are the key elements that allow you to point to a specific genre? Tone - Is it a comedy and if so, what type of comedy, and how do you know what type it is? e.g. slapstick, farce, comic romance, romantic comedy, thriller comedy, satire, black comedy, tragicomedy, etc. NB. If it is not a comedy, the narrative may still have comic moments or comic interludes and it will be worth noting how these are used and whether the tone is consistent throughout. Initiating events - What are the initiating events in the character's story? NB. These may not be the same as the initiating events in the story world. e.g. the reasons a soldier joins a war are often not the same reasons that his country goes to war since they may or may not be connected. Suspense / dramatic irony - Who do we with sympathise with and why? Why do we pity them and fear for them? On deeper level you might also want to think about historical ironies, cinematic and genre ironies as well as these dramatic ironies. Task - What do the characters have to do to get what they want? What would happen if they failed? Opposition - Who stands in their way? Why do they oppose the main character? NB. In a disaster movie this is not necessarily a living creature. Strengths and weaknesses - What are the main characters strengths and weakness (physical, mental and sociological)? How are these tested during the story? How do opponent(s) attack their weaknesses? Stages of conflict - What are the main stages of the conflict? How does each stage challenge a different aspect of the character? Reversals and revelations - What are the main reversals of fortune (from good to bad and vice versa) and revelations during the narrative? How do these help propel the narrative forward? Recognition - What are the key moments when the audience realises the character will need to make greater efforts to achieve their goals? Self recognition - Does the main character realise that he or she will need to change in order to defeat their opponent and achieve their goal? If so when does this happen? NB. There may be more than one step to full realisation (if it happens) Climax - What is the climactic moment of the film and how does this satisfy the big questions the audience has been asking about the characters? Resolution - Is the conflict resolved in a surprising, interesting and emotionally engaging fashion? Aftermath - How has the world been changed by the action and conflict we have witnessed? Narrative techniques that apply to both factual and fictional narratives: Shots - are any types of shot used more frequently than others? How are they used? How often are they used? Are there any used in judicious moments for special effect? What is that effect? Angles - Is there any system to the use of lenses and angles? Cuts - Are any types of cut (on any of the layers) used more frequently than others? What effect does this help produce? Are any used? Camera Movements - Are there any specific cinematographical camera movements employed? Where and how are they used to reveal new information and create specific effects or moods? e.g. Dolly, Crane Shot, Crash Zoom, Pan, Titles Composition, colour, etc. - Are there any specific compositional techniques, colour schemes, lighting systems or references to art-history that are being used to influence the audience? Setting - What is the setting for the film both in terms of the general setting and specific use of locations (or choice not to use them)? You may also want to think about the time in which something is set or how different times or how different eras are established (in period films), compared or contrasted e.g. in epics or documentaries. Imagery, colour and symbolism - Do the filmmakers choose to use any images, symbols, colours situations that are particularly distinctive on their own or which repeat and create a pattern of meaning? What affect do these uses have? How do these uses relate to external sets of symbols? Soundscape - Is there anything special about the soundscape? Could be more background or foreground noise? Could be added non-diegetic sounds or special FX? Play the clip without sound, then with sound. How does the sound affect your perception of the action, your understanding of the narrative and your emotional involvement in it? Consider: - the apparent pace of the action - the mood of the scene - motivation for character's actions - narrative tension and suspense - any other points. Music – Is there any particular style or pattern to the music? Is it generally diegetic or non-diegetic? Is there anything significant in the choice or timbre of the chosen instruments or use orchestration? Is the music's use appropriate to the subject matter or used for contrast or juxtaposition? In a factual film you may ask whether use of music is appropriate or whether it carries too much bias? Is it themed in any way to event, character, setting, etc.? How is it used to support the other narrative layers of the film?

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These notes were compiled for a Day School earlier this year that looked at extracts from various Indian films/films about India in an attempt to understand how the issues surrounding the Partition of India in 1947 have been represented on screens. The ‘partition’ of India was the final act by the British colonial administration working through the India Office and the Viceroy (i.e. the King’s representative) in August 1947. The Viceroy then became the Governor-General of India still representing the King as the Head of State in the independent ‘Dominion’ of India. In Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah became Governor-General. The Labour government in London faced many severe problems in the immediate aftermath of war. The winter of 1946-47 was one of the worst on record in the UK and the heavy snowfalls in January severely disrupted industry and agriculture. As much as 10% of industrial output was lost, energy supplies were severely restricted. Public spending with the foundation of the National Health Service and the expense of military activity abroad (15% of GDP) created pressure on sterling and subsequent devaluation from $4.00 to $2.80 as the dollar exchange rate. Historians see this as the first stage in the UK’s decline as a superpower. Despite the enormity of the Partition of India as an event, it was only one of the problems facing Prime Minister Attlee’s cabinet (withdrawal from Palestine was also a priority). Mountbatten was given considerable powers and the government was prepared to accept a swift retreat from India. Communal conflict has been a feature of life in India at various times throughout recent history (much of it caused directly by British policies) and in August 1946 around 4,000 people lost their lives in Calcutta during clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The lack of action by the colonial authorities at this point is inexcusable, but the British state was increasingly running out of resources to police India effectively. Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy in February 1947, charged with achieving a British withdrawal by June 1948 at the latest. He accelerated the process of withdrawal in an attempt to avoid further violence – but instead probably exacerbated the conflicts. The leaders of the Indian Independence movement, including Nehru, Jinnah and Gandhi, had been pressing for independence since the 1920s and earlier. (The Congress Party and the Muslim League had origins in the late 19th century and early decades of the 20th century.) The emergence of a ‘two state’ solution is generally accepted to have happened because of the position that Jinnah and the Muslim League adopted in the early 1940s. Jinnah argued for a division according to religious affiliation because of fear that an independent India would be dominated by Hindus. Ironically, Jinnah himself was not a ’religious Muslim’ and the British had encouraged separate political constituencies for Muslims and Hindus and other religious groups as early as 1932 with ‘The Communal Award’. Congress could reasonably argue that Jinnah did not have the support of the majority of Muslims across India as shown in local elections, but he convinced the British that he was the Muslim leader they should negotiate with. Once partition appeared inevitable (i.e. when Jinnah and Gandhi /Nehru could not agree on how to negotiate with the Viceroy), the fundamental problem became how to divide the three provinces of British India in which there were roughly equal numbers of Muslims and Hindus. Punjab was further complicated by the presence of the home base of Sikhism in Amritsar. Bengal had already experienced a very unpopular earlier partition by the British along religious lines in 1905 (rescinded in 1911). Jammu and Kashmir was actually a ‘princely state’ – not under direct British control. India and Pakistan had to negotiate a partition arrangement after independence and this proved extremely difficult – leading to future military confrontations. Punjab, Bengal and Kashmir will be the focus of our study of how Partition has been represented on film. Who was actually responsible for creating this inevitability of Partition in 1947 is the most contentious issue in the history of the period. The most recent British film focusing on Partition, Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House (2017) lays much of the blame on the wartime British leader Winston Churchill and his attempts in 1944-5 to prepare for the threat of Soviet influence over an independent India. Nehru was seen as most likely to adopt a non-aligned but friendly position vis-a-vis Moscow and Churchill saw the possibility of an independent Pakistan as a Western ally, allowing British bases to remain in place. In a documentary screened on British TV in August 2017, Chadha explored this evidence further (referring to wartime documents held in the British Library). This programme suggested that Jinnah had met privately with Churchill and that the idea of Pakistan as a future ally against the Russians was widely shared by what Chadha termed as “the British establishment” – including the Royal Family and the military. The suggestion is, therefore, that the Attlee government was faced with a fait accompli policy that they were unable to alter. Indian historians and Indian filmmakers have tended to blame Jinnah and the British – either separately or together. ‘British India’ referred to what were in effect British colonies, locally administered by colonial civil servants and the India Office in London. In 1947 there were seven major provinces administered in this way and developed from the original ‘presidencies’ of Bengal, Bombay and Madras. The British Crown also had ‘suzerainty’ over some 500 plus ‘princely states’, ranging from large states such as Hyderabad and Mysore to tiny states of a few thousand. Each local ruler had to make a separate arrangement with the newly established dominions of India and Pakistan. The directly ruled colonies and the princely states together comprised the ‘British Raj’ established after the 1857 Indian Mutiny. It also became known as ‘the Indian Empire’. Languages and local cultures Religion was just one of the potentially divisive factors in India in 1947 and its impact was felt most strongly in the North. In much of Southern India, language differences and ethnic differences (i.e. the Dravidian South’s mistrust of the Aryan North) were more important. During the 1950s and 1960s, Indian government was re-organised to produce states based on linguistic groups. In the states of West Pakistan and East Pakistan after partition, the fact that the mass of the population in the East spoke Bengali and not Urdu was a major issue for any sense of ‘national identity’. Indian film industries We are concerned with representations of the events of Partition and its aftermath on film. One of the important issues for us is to identify which film industry has produced a film and who the ‘creatives’ (writer and director in particular) might be. There are many films about Partition issues as well as many filmmakers from diverse backgrounds. For this reason, I’ve tried to include something from each of the following categories (they are overlapping categories, so some films and filmmakers appear in more than one category). There is no ‘ranking’ in this list. - Popular (mainstream) Hindi cinema – often now retrospectively termed ‘Bollywood’. - Popular international or Hollywood ‘studio’ films. - Indian art films and ‘parallel cinema’ films - International art films - Films by Indian diaspora directors - Indian ‘regional films’ – films in languages other than Hindi (or English) (Because of difficulties of availability of films, I have not included Pakistani or Bangladeshi films that might address Partition issues) From the list above, it would be useful to distinguish between a film like Gandhi (1982), Richard Attenborough’s biopic, as an ‘international’ Hollywood studio film and Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House as an independent British film (with some Hollywood support) directed by a diaspora director – someone whose grandparents left Rawalpindi in 1947 and who now lives in the UK. The so-called ‘parallel’ or ‘middle cinema’ of India is difficult to define but it is clearly distinguished from the popular Indian cinema of multi-genre narratives and choreographed song and dance sequences. Parallel cinema was/is more ‘serious’ in its social concerns and character development. It is more difficult to distinguish between parallel and ‘art’ or ‘avant-garde’ cinema, the latter being in formal and narrative terms more experimental. What follows is an attempt to select extracts from films which represent Partition and in some cases its aftermath in Pakistan, West Bengal, Kashmir and Punjab. In some cases, longer posts are available discussing the films in more detail and I have included links where appropriate. Jinnah (1998, UK-Pakistan, (English) dir Jamil Dehlavi) This unusual biopic of the Muslim leader stars Christopher Lee in the title role. Director Dehlavi is a diaspora figure based in Europe and he used mostly British-based actors alongside Indian star actor Shashi Kapoor in this co-production with Pakistan that was controversial at the time of its release but has since been accepted in Pakistan. Subarnarekha (Golden Line, 1962, Bengali, dir Ritwik Ghatak) Despite being one of the most important filmmakers of his generation, Ritwik Ghatak’s films were not widely appreciated when first released. But when he went on to become one of the first tutors at the Indian Film Institute in Pune, he soon became an influential figure for younger directors. He was very much affected by partition, being forced to move from East to West Bengal. His trilogy of films in the early 1960s uses music and politics to explore the heartbreak of partition. (The other two films in the trilogy are Cloud-Capped Star (1960) and Komal Gandhar (1961). In Subarnarekha, Ishwar, a man in his late twenties and his younger sister Sita find themselves in a refugee camp in Calcutta where they acquire a stepbrother – a young refugee boy Abhiram who has lost his mother. This trio then find themselves in the western part of Bengal by the Subarnarekha River. The children grow up and fall in love, but the older brother can’t cope with events and breaks down, unable to escape from his past. In the clip above, the landscape is expressive of the despair and sense of exile and loss experienced by Ishwar. Roja (1992, Tamil, dir Mani Ratnam) An important film for Indian cinema, Roja is an example of Tamil language popular cinema. Unlike Bollywood, which in the early 1990s preferred stylised fantasy films, Tamil cinema, and Mani Ratnam in particular, created romances set in ‘real’ situations. Roja (‘Rose’ – a symbol for Kashmir) sees a Tamil cryptologist working for Indian intelligence being sent to Kashmir with his young wife. Visiting an area close to the ‘line of control’, he is captured by a Muslim guerrilla group who want to exchange him for one of their own members imprisoned by Indian forces. The film won many awards and was hailed as a ‘patriotic film’, being dubbed into Hindi, Telugu, Marathi and Malayalam. It encouraged Bollywood to think of more serious issues as the basis for entertainment features. In this clip the cryptologist tries to talk to his captors. Lakshya (2004, Hindi, dir Farhan Aktar) This mainstream Bollywood blockbuster was written by the director’s father, Javed Akhtar, one of the most acclaimed writers in Indian cinema. A young man (Hrithik Roshan) from a wealthy Delhi family attempts to give up his aimless life and eventually passes out of the Indian Military Academy. He is posted to Kashmir and given the opportunity to prove himself in action against Pakistani insurgents. The various conflicts on the Kashmir border/line of control feature in several Indian films, often associated with the ‘Kargil War‘ of 1999. The film shows Hindi cinema attempting to merge a romance (Pretty Zinta is the hero’s ‘lost girlfriend’, a TV reporter) with a story about young India’s indifference towards guarding its border. Ironically, the Colonel of the regiment is played by the supreme Bollywood hero Amitabh Bachchan. At the time Roshan was one of the young hopefuls attempting to replace Bachchan. The clip below is a ‘music video’ featuring the title song with scenes from the film. We see the hero in training and the role of the Army officer is shown as both heroic and glamorous. It’s worth noting that both the Indian and Pakistani Armies were created out of the British Indian Army in 1947, a situation which initially created the possibility of a civil war situation in which officers and men who had trained together might find themselves on opposite sides in a conflict. The Bollywood presentation suggests that today there is an American influence on how the image of the Indian military is constructed. Garam Hava (1973, dir M.S. Sathyu) This film, in Urdu, is one of the first examples of the ‘parallel cinema’ of the 1970s and 1980s. The title translates as ‘Scorching Winds’. They are mentioned in the first few lines of dialogue as threatening the flowering trees of the city of Agra (the city which is the home of the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, two major symbols of the Muslim Mughal Empire in India). If not uprooted, the trees will wither in the heat. ‘Scorching Winds’ is also metaphorical and refers to the violence of communalism sweeping through India in 1947-8. The film deals with a Muslim owner of a small shoe factory. He decides to stay in Agra, but his brother moves to Karachi and gradually life becomes very difficult for the brother left behind. Garam Hava proved controversial even after more than 20 years since the events depicted. It had a delayed release because of fears of communalist violence. It was supported by the government agency, the NFDC and submitted as India’s entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar. In the interview above the director and scriptwriter discuss the film and its legacy in some detail. The interview in 2014 was conducted at the time of the film’s re-release. (You need to click on the link and watch the interview directly on YouTube). Earth (1998, dir. Deepa Mehta) Earth is an adaptation of an autobiographical novel Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa, first published as ‘Ice Candy Man’ in the UK in 1988. The director Deepa Mehta was born in Amritsar in Punjab in 1950. She moved to Delhi as a child and graduated from the University of Delhi. In 1973 she migrated to Canada and started a film career as a writer and documentarist. She directed her first feature in 1991 and as well as English language features in Canada she has returned to India to make four features. Earth was the second film in her ‘Elements’ trilogy after Fire (1996) and preceding Water in 2005. All three films were controversial (Fire addresses lesbianism and Water, the treatment of widows in traditional Hindu culture). They were also highly praised and won prizes. Her 2012 adaptation of Midnight’s Children was less successful (but still well worth watching). Although this is a film from a diaspora director with photography by Giles Nuttgens from the UK, it is also a film deeply rooted in Indian cinemas. The music is by A. R. Rahman and the actors include the current Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in an early role. Nandita Das is a star of Indian parallel cinema and other cast members are well-known in India. The film is part of the group of films, like Garam Hava that deal with the personal tragedies of Partition rather than directly with the political machinations. Like Train to Pakistan its focus on Punjab means that the complexity of religious, social and cultural relationships are explored in some detail. The film is set in 1947 in Lahore in Northern Punjab. The city has a Muslim majority but the household at the centre of the narrative is Parsee and the little girl who in effect ‘narrates’ the story has a Hindu nanny/maid (Nandita Das) who has a circle of friends that includes Muslims and Sikhs. The clip below shows the girl and the maid during the kite-flying festival and the maid is being wooed by the Aamir Khan character, the Muslim known as the ‘Ice-Candy Man’, one of his several identities. The kite-flying is a joyful competition which ironically underlines how the community will later be divided by the violence of the communal violence in the lead up to Partition. Train to Pakistan (1998, dir. Pamela Rooks) This is another film that received backing from NFDC as a later example of a parallel film. Pamela Rooks was a filmmaker born in Calcutta to an Army family, but the film (in Hindi) is set in Punjab. It’s an adaptation of a 1956 novel by Kushwant Singh, himself a major cultural figure in India post 1947. The trailer above does not have English subtitles but a subtitled DVD is available in the UK. The story is set in an Indian village in 1947 close to the new border with Pakistan. Despite the conflict all around them, the villagers, mostly Sikh landowners and a minority of Muslim labourers, live a peaceful life. The film explores, through various characters, how the peaceful village is drawn into the conflict. The village money-lender is killed when he refuses to open his safe for a band of Sikh dacoits. The local magistrate, befuddled by whisky and a young prostitute, sanctions the arrest of two men – one is a Communist Party member just arrived from Delhi and the other a local dacoit who never robs in his own village and who was sleeping with his Muslim girlfriend when the murder was committed. The magistrate and police attempt to frame both men, meanwhile a train filled with dead Sikhs arrives in the village and a little later, Muslim refugees on foot from India. Other Partition narratives The films discussed here are by no means the only examples of film narratives exploring Partition. Here are two other examples not discussed on the day: Partition (Canada-UK-South Africa 2007) Another diaspora director, Vic Sarin, made this film in English starring Jimi Mistry, Irrfan Khan and Neve Campbell in Canada. It takes the Sikh perspective on partition in Punjab. Qissa – The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (India-Germany-France-Netherlands 2013) I didn’t see this fine film by Anup Singh until after the Partition Event. Please follow the link on the title above for more details. The film again stars Irrfan Khan as a Sikh in the Punjab at the time of partition. Anup Singh is also a diaspora director with a similar but also slightly different background to Gurinder Chadha. I used the following two books alongside web searches in preparation for the event: Akbar, M. J. (1985) India: The Siege Within, Harmondsworth: Penguin Tunzelmann, Alex von (2007) Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire, London: Simon and Schuster The films from which extracts have been taken have all been available in the UK on DVD except Garam Hava (which is available on YouTube or from India/US as a Region 0 DVD).

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CC-MAIN-2022-33

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The female primo passaggio: a survey of its physiology, psychology, and pedagogy. The chief reason for the confusion is that the word register is used to describe so many different things ... (1) a particular part of the vocal range (upper, middle, or lower register), (2) a resonance area (chest or head), (3) a phonatory process, (4) a certain timbre, and (5) a region of the voice which is defined or delimited by vocal breaks. (1) Indeed, if individuals rely on vocal breaks to define their registers, it is no wonder that the transitions become so conspicuous. This study aims to answer the following: 1. Should registers be acknowledged to exist at all? 2. If so, what happens internally to make each register so different? 3. Does the "mix" or middle voice exist as a separate technique or register altogether? 4. What are the origins of register polarization--both physical and psychological? 5. What teaching techniques would be most effective for smoothing this transition? An idealized concept of registers implies that only one voice should be acknowledged. Rather than consciously altering her voice to navigate through registers, the student should aim for a natural, seamless sound throughout her entire range. After all, both sensation and sound will slightly shift every time she changes pitch. Even when remaining on one pitch, altering a vowel or a dynamic will produce a change in resonance. Rather than considering each pitch as a separate register--which McKinney grants is "taking an idea too far" (2)--it may be easier to completely avoid gear-shifting, instead aiming for a sound both fresh and free. W. Stephen Smith compares singing to driving an automatic transmission vehicle, one that effortlessly shifts gears by just driving. We should never sing like a manual transmission, consciously thinking, "I will now shift into a medium mix between speaking and airflow" ... We simply allow ourselves to let the voice shift naturally on its own, without making it do anything. (3) While these intentions are honest, they seem beneficial for students with minimal problems from the start. A student that needs retraining must be met on her level. If in the past she has related to her voice using "chest" and "head" terminology, it would be futile for the teacher to pretend that separate registers do not exist. Even if the student can take advice to "stop thinking about it," her newfound "naturalness" will not be flawless. The teacher's guidance is necessary throughout all the unfamiliar--and often uncomfortable--sensations. No matter what the ideal may be, registration is a concept that must be recognized and defined. Most importantly, is it purely laryngeal or partly sensational? McKinney insists that registers are defined by laryngeal function--the vocal folds produce specific vibratory patterns that, in turn, produce a particular range of pitches and a characteristic sound. (4) This writer, however, thinks that resonance should be included in the definition; the sensations that accompany each vibration are too strong to ignore. Scott McCoy acknowledges as well that laryngeal adjustments alone will not smooth the break; rather, singers must "modulate breath pressure through correct support, and skillfully manipulate resonance through formant tuning." (5) More than two hundred years later, Manuel Garcia's definition still seems to be the most inclusive. As a revolutionary pedagogue, Garcia was the first to take an interest in both the voice's varying tone qualities and its physical mechanisms. He combined his two interests, defining the register as a consecutive series of tones that share both the same mechanical production and the same basic timbre. (6) Regardless of any sympathetic vibrations, understanding the vocal folds' own vibrations is paramount. The two pairs of primary laryngeal muscles are the thyroarytenoids (colloquially, the shorteners) and cricothyroids (the lengtheners). Although they almost always contract together as antagonists, one contraction is usually more prominent, resulting in changes in vocal fold fundamental frequencies. These changes are accomplished by lengthening/shortening or thickening/ thinning of the vocal folds, or by tautening/laxing of the vocal fold cover tissue. At the same time, voice source spectra undergo two alterations: one as they enter the vocal tract via the larynx and respiratory system, and again as the resonators adjust in dimension within the vocal tract. Therefore, both the glottal source and the resonators contribute to changes in voice quality. (7) Although there are four generally accepted voice registers, only two are involved with the female primo passaggio. The "lower" register (so called here for the range of pitches it produces, not where sympathetic vibrations occur) has the thyroarytenoids more prominently contracted. (8) When the thyroarytenoids are dominant, the folds are shorter and thicker, (9) with more lax fold cover tissue and ligaments. (10) Given these conditions, a greater tissue mass is involved in oscillation, with a greater depth of movement into the vocal tissue membranes. Since more is free to oscillate under these lax circumstances, both the superior and inferior areas of the vocal folds are adducted, leading to longer closed phases in each cycle (usually over fifty percent). (11) The glottis closes firmly, remaining closed so that air pressure builds up and nearly "explosively" bursts out. (12) The folds' thickness and depth produces a lower range of fundamental frequencies. Strengthened with higher harmonics, the resulting sound has a thick, rich, and often brassy quality, being the source of both "ring" and "fullness." (13) Meanwhile, the "upper register" is usually considered cricothyroid-dominant: the cricothyroids contract as the pitch ascends, placing greater tension upon the vocal ligaments. Both the vocal folds and the vocal fold cover tissues are stretched over more surface area. The folds become longer and thinner, and the tissues become more taut; as a result, there is less freedom to vibrate and little mass to be moved. The depth of tissue movement is shallower, and each oscillation cycle has a longer open phase; the folds offer less resistance to the breath, and each puff of air is simpler and weaker. (14) Only the superficial membrane participates in oscillation, and only the superior area of the folds is usually adducted. (15) Given these circumstances, the sound quality is naturally lighter, thinner, and often airier. With fewer intense partials and a more flute like tone, the higher register exemplifies flexibility, ease, and a "light, ethereal quality." (16) Voice scientists Hirano, Vennard, and Ohala made groundbreaking news in their 1965 study. Through the technique of laryngeal electromyography--hooking wire electrodes to the laryngeal muscles (17)--they discovered that both sets of muscles may not directly control registration. Measurements showed that thyroarytenoid activity increased in the lower register and decreased in the higher register. However, cricothyroid activity remained similar from register to register; there was no great change unless it was accompanied by a considerable rise in pitch. (18) The researchers concluded that the thyroarytenoids were chiefly responsible for registration, antagonized by the cricothyroids as a pitch agent. (19) It is not necessarily a matter of which muscles "create" which register; instead, it is the degree of thyroarytenoid activity--or lack thereof--that allows for a register change. Evidently, these two laryngeal coordinations are quite distinct. What happens when singers change from one to the other? The average singer experiences a "break" that is both internally felt and easily heard. Leon Thurman succinctly defines the register break as an "abrupt voice timbre change that occurs at an identifiable crossover frequency." (20) This change results from a sudden, strong adjustment of the thyroarytenoids and cricothyroids, usually occurring at an isolated tone. For women, this occurs at a frequency between C4 and G4. In transitioning from lower to higher register, the cricothyroids contract with more intensity since the pitch is rising. If the thyroarytenoids do not complementarily reduce their intensity, the folds hold on to their thickness while the cricothyroids attempt to elongate them, a battle that creates longitudinal tension. When the thyroarytenoids reach their limit, this muscular antagonistic tug-of-war peaks, leading to an abrupt readjustment at one frequency and an involuntary change in quality. (21) Meanwhile, singers who face difficulty in transitioning from high to low typically face one of two concerns: either their thyroarytenoids will abruptly contract at a lower frequency, accompanied by an audible break and increase in volume, or the cricothyroids continue to be dominant into the lower pitches. Since the thyroarytenoids are not significantly contracting, the glottis never regains its higher closed adduction phase. The vocal fold margins recede away from each other--and, with the glottis being open more often, more air escapes. Therefore, the sound becomes breathy and eventually "fades out." (22) Singers who have learned to mix registers have trained their muscles to gradually and subtly adjust their contractions over several fundamental frequencies. While the adjustments may still feel unsteady, they are certainly less audible. "Mix" is a concept widely used to camouflage the break, yet how exactly is it defined? Music theater performers often acknowledge it separately on their resumes (e.g., "Soprano with Mix/Belt"). Is it a different register altogether? Does it take an entirely different technique, or is it a blend of upper and lower registers? Is it just a matter of carefully modifying resonance and adjusting timbre? Researchers Castellengo, Chuberre, and Henrich investigated many of these questions in their 2004 study at the Laboratoire d'Acoustique Musicale. Singers of different voice parts were asked to sing the three or four notes they usually sang as a mix in three different registers: lower, higher, and mixed. As expected, these notes usually encompassed B4-E4 in female singers, and "all of the artists who participated as subjects [had] a vivid awareness of which laryngeal mechanism they use." (23) This experiment was repeated with five vowels--/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/--and each EGG and audio signal was recorded. Based on the measurements of glottal open quotients (OQ), it was found that depending on the individual, the mix was produced in either one register or the other. (24) The mixed voice had a largely overlapping open quotient with one register, particularly for the women. One soprano's mean OQ was exactly the same for both her upper register and her mix (0.74), and another soprano's mixed OQ range (0.48 to 0.71) closely overlapped with her lower register (0.39 to 0.68). (25) Why and how is mix used in the first place? Does it take merely adding fullness to the upper register and lightness to the lower? According to the audio signal measurements, the singers did adjust the intensity of each note to simulate one mechanism while in another. The intensity generally decreased by ten decibels to simulate the upper register while in the lower, and increased by five decibels to simulate the lower register while in the upper. Therefore, while mixed voice is primarily produced in one register, the singer can imitate the characteristics of the other register by modifying the sound's intensity, balancing the ratio between fullness and airiness. (26) The roles of acoustics and resonance are significant in registration; the vocal tract must adjust accordingly to handle singing's heightened intensity. The oscillating vocal folds create sound pressure waves that travel upward through the vocal tract, often becoming trapped and reverberating on the underside of the vocal folds. When the fundamental frequency approaches the resonance frequency of the trachea, the pressure within the sound waves increases, magnifying the waves' intensity and greatening their impact on the folds. (27) With many inexperienced singers, this forceful pressure interferes with oscillation. Unskilled singers will use the only vocal tract adjustments that they know--the adjustments that are appropriate for conversational speech. When speaking or singing in greater-than-speech F0 and intensity ranges, the conversational speech vocal tract adjustments will result in acoustic overloading. (28) The brain learns to expect this impact as certain pitches approach, sending involuntary commands to the laryngeal muscles to compensate. (29) The muscles brace themselves to abruptly readjust, producing an obvious break. The singer can learn to smooth her transition not only by relaxing the laryngeal muscles, but also by formant tuning. Formant tuning, which accommodates the intensity of these vocal sound waves, can be achieved through vowel modification. Berton Coffin was a revolutionary researcher of vowel-pitch interaction when he created his Chromatic Vocal Chart, a guide that showed which vowels would best resonate the fundamental frequency and harmonics on any note in a singer's range. Regarding the passaggio, he asserted that the female voice is narrower in the middle range while being wider and rounder at the top and bottom. (30) Based on his chart, Coffin recommended that the female singer vocalize in the primo passaggio on alternating front and neutral vowels (/i/ and /u/ coupled with /[??]/ and /e/) to gain flexibility. (31) Round vowels, which are suitable to the high notes, would extinguish the ringing of the middle and lower notes ... For low notes to be heard, there must be brightening which gives more overtones so that the voice can be heard. (32) More than twenty-five years later, Coffin's ideas still ring true while gaining more scientific support. Each vowel has an associated formant, and the closer that formant is to the fundamental frequency, the more resonant the vowel becomes--essentially louder, purer in tone, and easier to sing. By modifying the pharyngeal and oral cavities, the singer brings the vowel formant (F1) closer to matching the fundamental frequency (F0). F0 receives additional amplification, (33) so the break's change in volume and intensity becomes less obvious. Acoustically, inertia of the air column above the vocal folds lowers the level of lung pressure needed to sustain vocal fold oscillation at a given frequency. The decrease in pressure makes it easier for the folds to vibrate. (34) This inertia can be maximized by lengthening and narrowing the vocal tract air column at some location (lips, nostrils, or velum). (35) Given the narrowing that lip trills, nasals, and closed vowels require, these sounds produce greater amounts of inertia--lowering the first formant frequency, coupling with the fundamental frequency, and resulting in optimal resonance. It is no wonder that the vowels /i/ and /u/ are such helpful models for women in their break; /i/'s F1 of 310 Hz corresponds to the F0 of [D.sup.#.sub.4], (36) and /u/'s F1 of 370 Hz matches the F0 of [F.sup.#.sub.4] (37)--both tones in the initial register break. By adjusting the articulators towards an /i/or /u/ shape, the female singer can camouflage the break more easily. It is natural to consider the larynx first when addressing the student's passaggio. However, the singer's entire body is her instrument, and, consequently, vocal concerns can and often do expand far outside the larynx. For instance, Richard Miller advises voice teachers to consider the student's head position and breath support. Too often young singers attempt to accomplish intervals with a subconscious change in head position--either elevating the head for ascending pitch changes, or depressing the head for to "dig" for lower pitches. Miller states that either change in position may inhibit the tilting of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages, which occurs as the cricothyroid muscles contract. "At points in the mounting scale, these [actions] become more pronounced, and because they produce different acoustic results, the singer perceives them as events of registration." (38) Since the head and neck provide external frame support to the larynx, (39) a stable head position is necessary for a smooth transition. Rather than asking a singer to immobilize her head from responding to the pitch changes, positively shift her focus to keeping her head relaxed. The singer can consider what less--not more--she has to do to sing a seemingly difficult note. Breath support also plays a secondary role in register blending, as the young singer will often allow chest displacement to occur at the passaggio. One possible origin of this habit is that the singer, unaccustomed to extended breath support, will assume that she can use the same breathing habits for singing and speaking, especially considering that the passaggio is in her customary speaking range. After inhaling for typical speech, the sternum drops, the ribcage collapses, and the diaphragm rises, quickly depleting the volume of air in the lungs. (40) However, Miller asserts that the voice is an aerodynamic/ myoelastic instrument; the movement of air is what allows the folds to vibrate. (41) As this relationship grows more crucial at the passaggio, these heightened sensations can be met with appoggio breath management. "A uniformly resonant timbre is not possible unless breath energy is adjusted to match voice registration requirements." (42) By leaning into the abdominal and lower back muscles, the singer can counteract her chest cavity's instinct to cave in. Therefore, although the tones in the passaggio are not extreme (perhaps even easy to produce in one register), breath support is imperative. When a student is uncertain or insecure, her instinct is usually not to trust her airflow; rather, she will often bring the air to a halt. She will do anything to avoid hearing and feeling that bump in the road, attempting to micromanage the break with excessive laryngeal control. The student can satisfy her need to control by transferring this energy to her breath, threading the air through this delicate range. By understanding the passaggio's physical and acoustic events, singers can apply practical solutions such as vowel modification, proper breath support, and appropriate head alignment. However, the origins of the break may be psychological as well. Some singers may be over aware of certain fundamental frequencies and the adjustments at each one. For instance, a singer who has perfect pitch may approach a pivotal note, recognize it, and confess that she does not know which way to sing it. When singing certain pitches, we often feel sympathetic vibrations in our chest or the front and sides of our head. These sensations have coined the common terms "chest" and "head" voice, yet to rely on them could be potentially dangerous. It is easy to assume that since we feel vibrations in a certain place, the sound originates from that source. (43) Those under this assumption may separate their placement of these "voices" to an extreme, even attempting to produce the sound from these locations. In addition, since women mainly speak in their lower register (centering their inflection between Bb4 and E b4), (44) using their upper register may seem unnatural. Oren Brown interestingly points out that the derivation of the word falsetto, often a synonym for the higher register, dates back to the Latin verb falere, meaning to deceive. "To the extent that we associate falsetto with something false or wrong, we may have built a mental barrier against it." (45) The pressure for women to achieve a "professional" sound may further discourage use of the higher register. On the other hand, everyday speaking habits do not typically include the same legato prolongation that is required for singing. Therefore, singing in the lower register may also seem foreign to women. These ideas originate from one misconception: the difference between speaking voice and singing voice. Thurman claims that such a distinction exists with no other part of our body: "We do not have walking legs and running legs." (46) Humans have one larynx, one vocal tract, and one voice that is produced by the same muscular patterns, whether it is singing or speaking. After all, when we speak expressively on a daily basis, we may cover such a range of fundamental frequencies that a register change indeed occurs. Yet this transition is rarely so abrupt in speech. Could the trick be to carry over the spontaneity of speech into the athleticism of singing? For most female singers, the register break usually rears its head during adolescence. The female voice undergoes mutation in various ways: the trachea lengthens, the laryngeal muscles grow, the vocal folds thicken, (47) and the larynx itself increases in size from twenty to thirty percent. (48) The female voice is particularly vulnerable as it grows, and its inherent qualities become exposed. The development of noticeable breaks is no exception. Range capabilities may be limited and/or inconsistent, the tone may become breathy and/or husky, and females may feel discomfort or difficulty in phonation. (49) As the vocal folds thicken, many adolescent females observe more volume with less effort in their lower range, while their higher range may suddenly be difficult to access. As a result, adolescent females are often prematurely classified as altos in school, especially if they possess exceptional pitch-matching and music-reading skills. (50) However, classification may be more problematic than helpful. If a female sings exclusively in her lower range, it becomes difficult to break the habit of carrying the lower register too high. A noticeable break will inevitably develop, and the upper register may become virtually inaccessible without retraining. Educator Kenneth Sipley suggests one solution: dividing all the females in middle school choir into two groups that alternate soprano and alto parts every other song. "This procedure not only allowed the singers to exercise their full vocal range, but also created senior high school choristers who were better musicians." (51) Since the adolescent female's voice is still developing, it is crucial to recognize her full potential rather than emphasize her limitations. "Her development as a singer will be much more natural, complete, and free of trouble if she is allowed to use her entire range in choir singing and in vocalization." (52) To address the passaggio, the teacher must first determine the student's individual issue. Does a register need to be completely discovered, or do both registers need to be aligned? Is the student dominant in her higher or lower register? Should the student be higher-dominant, she may have been told that using her "chest" voice would hurt her. On the contrary, Stephen Austin suggests that singing only in chest voice for a time may be necessary for such students. (53) The development of the lower register is harmful only when taken to an extreme of its range; otherwise, it is a natural part of the singer's voice that should be properly developed to create richer harmonics. (54) Emphasizing movement (knee squats, dipping, and "scooping" from the ground) may also be effective for these students, encouraging them to feel grounded in their bodies and fullness in their sound. (55) In most circumstances, however, the student will be lower-dominant, and voice teachers usually recommend bringing the upper register down (i.e., vocalizing from higher to lower range). Women generally have less experience with the higher register, and it may strain them to bring their "chest" voice all the way up. Middle school chorus teacher Patricia Bryan observes, "Everyone wants to be big and loud. I sound like a broken record, telling my seventh and eighth graders that it's okay to be light." (56) Indeed, it may be helpful to embrace this characteristic, letting the tone be light while encouraging consistent airflow through the break. Brown suggests a childish tone, releasing an easy flow of air on a descending slide. (57) An octave skip may help the student confront the "flip" immediately and begin to iron it out. As the break approaches, the tone being "too" light should not be the issue; rather, the student should aim to maintain a legato connection between the registers, threading the air through the notes with the focused vowel /u/ or /i/ as a medium. As the student feels more comfortable exploring the registers, scales and arpeggios encompass more territory and demand more flexibility. Miller suggests a legato descending five-note scale and broken arpeggios with varying degrees of lower, upper, and mixed registers--having the student singing all in higher register until the final note, then changing from higher to a mix on the third note, then from higher to a mix to lower register, then singing the exercise once more in higher register. (58) When less "friendly" vowels are added to the mix, it may be helpful for the singer to maintain a narrow sensation by shaping each vowel from a /i/ or /u/ influence. The energy students place in their laryngeal muscles can be transferred to considering the placement of their articulators. (The teacher may ask: "What are the only things you need to form that vowel?") Similarly, appoggio breath management may transfer "pushing" from the larynx to a lower place, allowing the laryngeal muscles to vibrate more freely while increasing breath flow. (The teacher may ask: "Where can we focus our energy instead?") Vocalizing the above exercises on lip trills, nasals, and hums offers students both palpable resonance and a concentrated stream of airflow, similar to what healthy singing should produce. Above all, no exercise should single out that one pivotal pitch that marks the transition. Rather, the student should gain facility and freedom to use different timbres at different tones. The adolescent female also undergoes considerable psychological development, much of which may contribute to her break. Sipley notes, "She must work out a conception of life which allows her to assert herself ... She tries to adapt her ego to her environment, and her environment to her ego." (59) As a student asserts herself, she may feel the need to sound big and loud, assuming that light is weak instead of different but just as beautiful. At the same time, with adolescence often comes self-consciousness, a desire to blend in as much as one desires to be noticed. Issues of cracking and breaking may be embarrassing for the self-conscious adolescent. By attempting to blend in, she would probably accomplish little "blending" at all. Instead, she would most likely avoid the problem altogether, limiting her singing to the stronger register and making the break more prominent. With adolescent development also comes an eagerness to belong, which can partly explain the over-classification of voices. Girls may enjoy the defining qualities of the soprano or alto "clique," acknowledging what skills make them unique while still being surrounded by those who are similar. Finally, adolescent females experience a shift of outside influence in their everyday lives. "Parents, teachers, and adult role models lose ground to peer influence and egocentric confidence. Each adolescent begins to develop her own personal value system." (60) As the student creates her own standards, she often picks her own vocal models that may not be the best examples of healthy singing. She may listen to her singing and not hear anything "harmful," even though self-listening is usually distorted. Keeping this necessary development in mind, how can we as teachers acknowledge the student's need for self-reliance while still asserting our authority? First, we can affirm students' vocal models--often pop or music theater--while clarifying what is being sung from what they hear. Singer and voice teacher Kelley Nassief claims that ... singers are used to bringing everything up. [Adolescents] think they hear all chest, but everyone's usually doing some kind of mix. Audra McDonald may sing in a head-dominant mix, Sutton Foster in a solid mix, and Kristin Chenoweth often all in head--it's just placed so far forward that you can't tell. (61) Refining students' ears to hear these subtle differences, reinforced by our own demonstrations, may inspire the student to perform likewise. Jazz vocalists such as Jane Monheit may also be effective models, as they encourage a natural, light sound throughout the range for lower-dominant women. Since adolescents so often listen to themselves, they can record each lesson to differentiate what they think they hear from what they actually produce. To encourage self-reliance and responsibility, the teacher can encourage feedback based on sensations the student feels. "When a clear image of balanced resonance has been established, the sensation it produces becomes ... identifiable, repeatable, and above all, freedom-inducing ... feeling the ideal tone becomes a reliable monitor." (62) Finally, teachers can create a positive environment that affirms the student's strengths while presenting them with more possibilities. "Just because you can sing this with so much power doesn't mean you always have to. What would happen if you tried it a different way?" This environment should be safe for "mistakes"; in fact, cracking should never be considered a mistake but a release of tension, a rite of passage on the way to one's destination. Both physically and psychologically, the most effective plan of action is for the student to confront the break directly. Physically singing into the flip, as chaotic as it is, is the only way to eventually sing with "one" voice. To avoid it altogether--opting instead to stay in the student's comfort zone--would prevent any new patterns from becoming habits. Finally, facing one's vulnerabilities takes courage, maturity, and self-actualization. To guide a student through this transition is not only smoothing out a technicality, but also encouraging growth in being human--acknowledging weaknesses, accepting them, and patiently working through (not around) them to become stronger individuals. What more valuable lesson could a music teacher offer? (1.) James C. McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults: A Manual for Teachers of Singing and for Choir Directors (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2005), 93. (2.) Ibid., 98. (3.) Stephen W. Smith and Michael Chipman, The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 99. (4.) McKinney, 93. (5.) Scott McCoy, Your Voice: An Inside View (Princeton, NJ: Inside View Press, 2004), 69. (6.) Nathalie Henrich, "Mirroring the Voice from Garcia to the Present Day: Some Insight into Singing Voice Registers," Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology 31, 3 (2006); http://halbioemco.ccsd.cnrs.fr/docs/00/ 34/41/77/PDFHenrich/LPV_2006_registers.pdf (accessed April 15, 2009) (7.) Leon Thurman et al., "Addressing Vocal Register Discrepancies: An Alternative Science-Based Theory of Register Phenomena" (paper presented at the second international conference on the Physiology and Acoustics of Singing, Denver, CO, October 6-9, 2004), 22; http://ncvs.org/pas/2004/pres/thurman/Thurman.pdf (accessed April 15, 2009) (8.) Stephen F. Austin, "Scientific Support for the Two-Register Theory," in Ariel Bybee and James E. Ford, eds., The Modern Singing Master: Essays in Honor of Cornelius L. Reid (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004), 72. (9.) Thurman, 25. (10.) Ibid., 26. (12.) William Vennard, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic (New York: Carl Fischer, 1967), 66. (13.) Austin, 72. (14.) Vennard, 67. (15.) Thurman, 29. (16.) Austin, 72. (17.) Minoru Hirano, William Vennard, and John Ohala, "Regulation of Register, Pitch and Intensity of Voice," Folia Phoniatrica 22, no. 1 (1970): 1. (18.) Ibid., 6. (19.) Ibid., 10. (20.) Thurman, 28. (21.) Vennard, 66-67. (22.) Thurman, 37. (23.) Michele Castellengo, B. Chuberre, and Nathalie Henrich, "Is Voix Mixte, the Vocal Technique Used to Smooth the Transition Across the Two Main Laryngeal Mechanisms, an Independent Mechanism?" (paper presented at the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, Nara, Japan, March 31-April 3, 2004); http://www.icp.inpg.fr/~henrich/communications/2003_2004/2004_NARA_Mixte.pdf (accessed April 15, 2009) (27.) Thurman, 15. (28.) Ibid., 42. (30.) Berton Coffin, Coffin's Sounds of Singing (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1976), 113. (31.) Ibid., 206. (32.) Ibid., 233. (33.) McCoy, 69. (34.) Ingo R. Titze, "Voice Research: The Use of Low First Formant Vowels and Nasals to Train the Lighter Mechanism," Journal of Singing 55, no. 4 (March/April 1999): 41. (35.) Ibid., 41. (36.) McCoy, 44. (37.) Ibid., 45. (38.) Richard Miller, Training Soprano Voices (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 118. (39.) Ibid., 118. (40.) Ibid., 120. (41.) Ibid., 119. (42.) Ibid., 120. (43.) Oren Brown, Discover Your Voice: How to Develop Healthy Voice Habits (Clifton Park, NY: Thomas Delmar Learning, 1996), 55. (44.) Miller, 143. (45.) Brown, 56. (46.) Thurman, 49. (47.) Kenneth L. Sipley, "The Adolescent Female Voice: A Review of Related Literature" (ERIC Document Reproduction Services, text-fiche, ED391703, 1995), 6. (48.) Kevin D. Skelton, "The Child's Voice: A Closer Look at Pedagogy and Science," Journal of Singing 63, no. 5 (May/ June 2007): 540. (49.) Sipley, 6. (50.) Ibid., 11. (51.) Ibid., 12. (52.) Ibid., 13. (53.) Austin, 73. (54.) Ibid., 75. (55.) Kelley Nassief, interview by author (Mastic, NY, April 6, 2009). (56.) Patricia Bryan, interview by author (East Islip, NY, April 1, 2009). (57.) Brown, 55. (58.) Richard Miller, Solutions for Singers: Tools for Performers and Teachers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 141. (59.) Sipley, 35. (60.) Ibid., 36. (62.) Miller, Solutions, 68. Elena Blyskal, a New York-based soprano, graduated summa cum laude from Providence College with bachelor degrees in both Music and Theatre Arts. She completed additional studies in vocal performance at New York University and voice pedagogy at Long Island University. Published work includes the article "Dancing as Storytelling: The Innovations of Robbins and Fosse" in the 2010 book Writing About Dance. Elena has performed roles with the New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Crittenden Opera Studio, and Sayville Opera Workshop. She is also a committed private teacher as well as an active piano accompanist, NYSTA member, and musical director. Elena looks forward to attending graduate school in the near future for an MM in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. |Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback| |Publication:||Journal of Singing| |Date:||Sep 1, 2012| |Previous Article:||Pedagogic beliefs vs. pedagogic facts.| |Next Article:||Realizing Rosina: operatic characterizations of Beaumarchais's heroine.|

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Play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood. It is a natural tool for children to develop resiliency as they learn to cooperate, overcome challenges, and negotiate with others. Play also allows children to be creative. It provides time for parents to be fully engaged with their children, to bond with their children, and to see the world from the perspective of their child. However, children who live in poverty often face socioeconomic obstacles that impede their rights to have playtime, thus affecting their healthy social-emotional development. For children who are underresourced to reach their highest potential, it is essential that parents, educators, and pediatricians recognize the importance of lifelong benefits that children gain from play. More than 15 million children in the United States younger than 18 years live in poverty.1 These children experience disparities in education, health care, and socioeconomic resources.2,–6 Children living in poverty may also be deprived of the benefits of safe and creative playtime and access to age-appropriate extracurricular activities. The implications of play deprivation may be substantial, because play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood.7 In addition, play offers an opportunity for parents to view the world from their child’s perspective as they engage fully with their children during playtime; all families deserve ready access to this bonding opportunity. Even before the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights cited play as a right of every child, philosophers and psychologists, such as Plato, Piaget, and Friedrich Froebel, recognized the importance of play in healthy child development.8,–10 This report addresses issues that may deprive children who live in poverty from gaining the maximum benefit from play. Because it follows an earlier report that focused on factors reducing free playtime for children whose families have resources, this report addresses issues specific to children from lower-income families.7 Although some of the factors covered in the previous report may also apply to children from lower-income and poor families, 3 issues disproportionately affect these children and merit special attention. First, access to recess and other in-school creative and physical outlets (eg, physical education, art, music), as well as after-school youth development programs are reduced. Second, out-of-school opportunities for play may be compromised by a lack of safe play areas, because parks and playgrounds are less abundant in lower-income areas and, in some cases, may be unsafe because of drug dealing, violence, and vandalism.11,12 Finally, because lower-income parents have to deal with additional social, emotional, and economic stressors of daily living, they may have less time, energy, and resources available to provide active and creative playtime at the park, playground, or even in the home. All children deserve the opportunity to reach their highest potential. The optimal developmental milieu for children includes academic enrichment, as well as opportunities for physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth offered in school, home, and community settings. There are different forms of play—free unstructured play, which uses unlimited creativity, and semistructured play, which is guided play with joint attention by parent and child. It is beyond the scope of this report to define and divide, but poverty may prevent challenges to both unstructured and guided play. Free unstructured play, as well as creative and physical outlets, contribute to social and emotional growth. This report offers guidance on how pediatricians can advocate for children by helping families, school systems, and communities consider how best to ensure play is protected and promoted as the optimal developmental milieu for positive child and youth development is explored. The Benefits of Play It could be argued that active play is so central to child development that it should be included in the very definition of childhood. Play offers more than cherished memories of growing up, it allows children to develop creativity and imagination while developing physical, cognitive, and emotional strengths. A previous manuscript described the benefits of play in fuller detail.7 Play enhances physical health by building active, healthy bodies. Physical activity beginning in early childhood prevents obesity.13 In fact, play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children and, therefore, may be included as an important strategy in addressing the obesity epidemic.14,15 Play contributes to healthy brain development.16,–18 Children engage and interact with the world around them through play from a very early age. Even in the academic environment, play helps children adjust to the school setting, thereby fostering school engagement, and enhances children’s learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving skills.19,–31 In addition, play and recess may increase children’s capacity to store new information, as their cognitive capacity is enhanced when they are offered a drastic change in activity.19,20 Play is essential to developing social and emotional ties. First, play helps to build bonds within the family. Children’s healthy development is mediated by appropriate nurturing relationships with consistent caregivers.16 Play allows for a different quality of interaction between parent* and child, one that allows parents to “listen” in a very different, but productive, way. When parents observe their children playing or join them in child-driven play, they can view the world through their child’s eyes and, therefore, may learn to communicate or offer guidance more effectively. Less-verbal children may be able to express themselves, including their frustrations, through play, allowing their parents an opportunity to better understand their needs. Above all, the intensive engagement and relaxed interactions that occur while playing tell children that their parents are fully paying attention to them and, thereby, contribute to a strong connection.17,32,33 Play also helps forge connections between children. It allows them to learn how to share, to negotiate and resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills when necessary.34,35 It teaches them leadership as well as group skills that may be useful in adult life. Play should be an integral component of school engagement. School engagement is best realized when the educational setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. The challenge is to make each child feel competent in a school setting, because the experience of success forms positive associations with school attendance.9 Although we hope for each child to demonstrate academic strengths, opportunities to exhibit social, physical, and creative strengths optimizes the chances that children will realize their areas of strength. Play, recess time, and classes that foster creative aptitude and physical fitness allow for peer interactions that contribute both to school engagement and social-emotional learning. Social-emotional learning should not be thought of as distinct from academic learning, because it can creatively be integrated with academic learning and has been shown to enhance children’s ability to learn.36,–38 Play is a natural tool that children can and should use to build their resilience. At its core, the development of resilience is about learning to overcome challenges and adversity. As mentioned, children learn to deal with social challenges and navigate peer relationships on the playground. In addition, even small children use imaginative play and fantasy to take on their fears and create or explore a world they can master. Play allows them to create fantasy heroes that conquer their deepest fears. It allows them to practice adult roles, sometimes while playing with other children and sometimes while play-acting with adults.34,39,–41 Sensitive adults can observe this play and recognize the fears and fantasies that need to be addressed; however, in many cases, play itself helps children meet their own needs. As they experience mastery of the world they create, children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resilience they need to address future challenges.34,42 Factors That Reduce Play for Children in Poverty and the Potential Implications Reduced Access to Play in Schools There has been a national trend over the past decade of reducing playtime as an integral part of the school day. This trend is most easily observed in the reduction and, in some cases, elimination of recess; however, there are more subtle changes throughout the school day that reduce children’s opportunity to play. First, the approach to early education that naturally incorporated play into the school day is shifting toward a more academically oriented instructional approach as new standards for reading readiness have changed for even kindergarten students.9 Second, in many districts, there is less school time allocated to the creative arts and physical education.9,43,44 These subjects contribute to a well-rounded education for a variety of reasons but share some of the benefits of play. They allow for a break from the standard academic subjects, foster creative and physical expression, and teach relaxation and stress-reduction skills that will last a lifetime.9,13 Finally, even after-school activities have shifted away from play and physical activity and toward being an extension of academics and a space for homework completion.43 This report focuses on reduced recess for illustrative purposes. Many of these trends are disproportionately affecting underresourced school districts because of targeted efforts to reduce significant academic disparities. It is a national imperative that all children are given the opportunity to reach their academic potential, and efforts to reduce disparities between children with varying levels of resources are urgently needed. It remains important, however, that what is known about child development, including social and emotional learning, remains at the forefront of consideration as policies to raise academic standards and performance for children are created and implemented. Play, in all its forms, needs to be considered as the ideal educational and developmental milieu for children is created. Because poorer children are most dramatically affected by these policies, stakeholders must remain vigilant in ensuring that children do not inadvertently suffer from the diminution of play in their lives while exploring potential solutions to benefit them academically. A report by the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that children who attend schools with high minority and high poverty rates in urban settings are more likely to have reduced recess time as compared with their peers in more affluent suburban areas.44,–46 Twenty-eight percent of schools with students who have the highest poverty rates had no recess at all. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, designed to decrease the achievement gap of disadvantaged students, allocated additional educational resources and enrichment programs while decreasing recess time to allow more formal educational encounters.47 At its inception, child development experts, including educators and pediatricians, voiced caution about the demise of playtime for young children with the proposed increased curriculum time of the program.9 The experts supported the Alliance for Childhood recommendations that children from low-income families be afforded time to learn how to play and time to play.9 Perhaps in recognition of the importance of the social and emotional development, as well as academic success of children who live at or below the poverty line, the US Department of Education in 2009 announced the Race to the Top Program, an education initiative that financially rewards school districts that support improving social, cognitive, physical, and emotional school readiness of disadvantaged students. In bids to receive the rewards, school districts must demonstrate focused programs that prepare students in the core academic subjects and other subjects that contribute to the development of well-rounded students, such as physical education and the arts.48 Thus, children who might otherwise not be afforded opportunities for physical activity and enrichment programs outside of the school day have designated time to enhance their total development. The disparity between access to recess between middle-income and lower-income districts may be explained by factors other than recess time being transferred to reading and math instruction. It has been suggested that reduced recess in poorer areas is reflective of adult concerns that it is not safe for poorer children to have unstructured time; yet, it has not been proven that recess is unsafe. A time to play is different from the environment in which play occurs. When children have toys and equipment with which to play and attention is paid to helping the children transition back to class, the benefits of recess in terms of expressivity, exercise, and socialization suggest its vital role in the child’s school day and overall well-being. Some experts believe the real danger is that the misunderstanding has led to the removal of playtime.49 The reduction of recess and other in-school opportunities to play affect all children but may have a particularly detrimental effect on poorer children, because they are likely to have fewer opportunities to play outside of school.11,12 In addition, because school is often the first true socialization environment for vulnerable children, the opportunity for social and emotional learning must not be compromised. Poor children enter the educational system at a lower level of readiness, averaging 2 years behind their middle- and upper-class peers.50 This may be explained in part by their increased exposure to social stressors (higher rates of single mothers who lack social supports and financial resources, absent fathers, limited access to early childhood education, unsafe neighborhoods, lack of preventive health care). They mainly enter schools in poor communities that lack financial resources to enhance the educational process.51 Schools, under pressure to increase academic performance and to decrease the achievement gap of students, have increased direct educational time, including after-school enrichment and tutorial programs. Although it is important to decrease academic disparities, enhanced nonacademic interactions are also essential to prepare children for future success. If the overall goal is to decrease school failure, which could ultimately lead to depression, entry into the juvenile justice system, and continued economic deprivation, a response to the problem has to include efforts to promote school engagement.49 As previously discussed, opportunities for play and social and emotional learning enhance school engagement. Quite simply, school engagement occurs when children succeed academically, have other nonacademic opportunities for success (creative arts, physical education), and consider school a place in which they feel safe and enjoy spending time. Play in the school day offers benefits to academic as well as social and emotional learning. A recent report by Barros and others stated that a break during the school day of ≥15 minutes was associated with better teachers’ ratings of classroom behavior scores.19 Good behavior in the classroom is associated with a more productive learning environment secondary to increased attentiveness.19,20 In addition, children’s ability to store new information is increased, because their cognitive capacity is enhanced by a drastic change in activity.51,–53 A change in academic subject and even physical education class may not offer the same benefit as free-play recess.49 A reduction of time for physical activity may have even greater implications for boys. Schools that use only sedentary styles of learning may be a more difficult environment for boys to navigate successfully and contribute to the discordant academic abilities between boys and girls.54,55 These findings suggest that decreasing and eliminating recess for students at risk for school failure may be counterproductive. Finally, it is recognized among educators that recess represents the most powerful strategy to get the most children to participate in physical activity.56 In its “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” the US Department of Health and Human Services recommends 1 hour or more of physical activity per day, with a major part of the hour dedicated to moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 3 times per week for children and adolescents.57 Physical education curricula should enhance attitudes, habits, and behavioral skills that result in continued physical activity throughout life.14 Overall, recess offers the most available opportunity for children to play and to engage in physical activity, followed by physical education classes and after-school activities.58 Reduced Out-of-School Opportunities for Play Children cannot play safely outside of the home in many poor communities—urban, suburban, and rural—unless they are under close adult supervision and protection. This is particularly true in areas that are unsafe because of increased violence or where other environmental dangers exist.11,12 In the past, when neighbors knew each other and often supervised each other’s children, there was an extra layer of protection for neighborhood children when they played outside. In today’s society, it is not unusual for neighbors not to know one another. Therefore, parents are alone in protecting and supervising their children, which can severely limit outside playtime. Children who are not engaged in play and physical activity outside of school hours spend time engaged in sedentary activities, such as viewing hours of television, playing video games, or listening to music. This time is often spent in isolation without social interaction and without adult supervision. In sharp contrast to the benefits of active, creative play, there is substantial evidence that excessive screen time has adverse effects.59,–64 The AAP policy statement on media education presented research that associates media exposure with negative physical and behavioral health problems in children, including obesity, violent and aggressive behavior, depression, anxiety, earlier sexual behaviors, poor academic performance and self-image, nightmares, and tobacco and substance abuse.63,64 The sedentary lifestyle is associated with obesity, for which children from low income and minority families are already disproportionally at risk.65 The AAP and others have reported that children who are obese in early childhood are more likely to be obese adults and to be at risk for the comorbidities associated with obesity, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, asthma, and sleep apnea.14,66,67 In addition to the long-term health effects, obesity may be associated with immediate social and emotional consequences, including low self-esteem, negative body image, depression, teasing and bullying, social marginalization, and discrimination.63,64,66,67 Obesity can have socioemotional effects on academic achievement and opportunities and can, therefore, thwart educational trajectories associated with long-term success.66,67 Although lower-income parents have the same desires for their children to succeed and reach their full potential as do parents with greater economic and social assets, they must focus primarily on the family’s day-to-day survival. When food and shelter are at risk, ensuring time for the children to have free and creative playtime may not be a priority. Economic hardship is a major obstacle for these families, in which the parents are more likely to have a lower educational level or be single heads of households. Minority households (black and Hispanic) and immigrant parents are at increased risk of having children who live in poverty.1,68 There is more likely to be a history of substance abuse in poorer families. The neighborhoods in which they live lack community resources, such as community centers, parks, and fully equipped supervised playgrounds that offer safe places for children to play and to gather. Children have fewer opportunities to participate in organized sports. Because of fear of violence, families do not venture outside with their children for fun physical activities, such as walking, bike riding, swinging, swimming, playing tennis, or jogging.11,12,69 In a safe environment with community resources, these activities would not be an additional financial burden to already challenged families. Poor families may also be at a disadvantage in a material-driven culture in which marketing messages, often claims without proof, abound about what children need to prosper. They may absorb the messages that the best toys are those that are the most expensive or that children are only academically prepared for preschool if exposed to a variety of enrichment tools and activities that claim to produce high-achieving children. Parents who cannot afford these market-driven materials may feel disempowered to actively play with and enrich their children using the most effective known tools—themselves. Children’s creativity is enhanced with the most basic (and least expensive) toys, blocks, dolls, and art supplies. Children’s academic preparedness may be most developed with low-cost time spent reading with parents. They will learn to love books when they associate quality time with their parents with reading.70 Lower-income parents may have fewer resources, including time, to invest in playing with their children. Because play holds so many benefits, including fostering connection between parents and children, less play may be an added, although rarely mentioned, risk of poverty. No one is certain what skills will be needed for our children to be best prepared to lead us into the future, but we do have insight into which character traits will produce children capable of navigating an increasingly complex world. These include confidence, the ability to master the environment, and a connection to others. In addition, to be resilient—to retain hope and to be able to overcome adversity—young people need the added character traits of honesty, generosity, decency, tenacity, and compassion.71 Children gain these essential traits within a home, when parents and children interact in a supportive manner and share unconditional love.71,–76 Play is a time-tested way for families to have these types of interactions. What Are the Solutions? Because there are many causes for the decreased amount of play in the lives of lower-income and poor children, there is no single solution. In addition, simplistic proposed solutions might not take into consideration the complex interplay of factors that have led to decreased play, including the need for safety. For example, if a child does not reside in a safe neighborhood, it may be unwise to simply propose more outdoor child-centered play. Similarly, it may be naïve to insist on more recess without simultaneously coming up with solutions that address the very substantive issue of educational disparities. It is critical, however, that as strategies are developed that address educational needs and safety, the recognition of children’s need to play be strongly advocated, because play is known to promote healthy development and resilience.46,52,55,58 To effectively preserve play in the lives of economically disadvantaged children, its presence in schools, communities, and homes must be supported. In schools, the need to support social and emotional learning and healthy child development must be held alongside the need to increase academic scores. Otherwise, school engagement might suffer and efforts at creating a better-prepared generation might fail. The bottom line to school engagement is that schools should be the kind of places that children and adolescents want to be. This means that educators and policy makers must make opportunities for lower-income children to gain the benefits offered from physical education, recess, and the arts so they can reach their highest potential for cognitive, social, and physical development and so children and adolescents will like school. Advocates can also promote programs such as Head Start, the purpose of which is the promotion of school readiness for low-income children. Head Start provides an environment that enhances students’ emotional, social, and cognitive development and has demonstrated effectiveness.77 One of the keys to the success of Head Start has been the involvement of parents in social interaction with their children in playing, reading, and reading-related activities.78 Policy makers and community leaders must work together to prioritize the need for safe spaces for families to gather and for children to play. Supervised after-school programs can be critical to children who live in communities where outside playing might be dangerous or unsupervised. Community-based programs that offer a wide variety of services, ranging from homework assistance to athletic programs and from character development to the creative arts can contribute heavily to the positive development of youth. Keeping school facilities open for use by community families in the evenings and on weekends when they are usually closed may increase engagement in these activities. Communities can also offer strategies to link families at or below the poverty level to early education, health care, family support, and parenting education. Parents of all income levels should use time together at home to engage in both free and structured play with their children. Playtime is bonding time for families. A first step may be education about the value of play that simultaneously refutes false notions that for play to be effective, it must involve expensive toys. Parents from across the economic spectrum need to understand that it is their presence and their attention that enrich their children and that one-on-one play is a time-tested, effective way of being fully present. In parallel, we must be sensitive to the fact that time itself is a commodity when struggling for economic survival. The most comprehensive solutions, therefore, must address broader economic disparities and other factors that create stresses for economically disadvantaged parents. Certainly, these solutions are broad and societal, going beyond the purview of the pediatrician’s office. But as child health professionals committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants and children, pediatricians have a role in advocating for broad-based solutions that will preserve child play. Advice for Pediatricians As caring, objective child health professionals, pediatricians have a natural role to advocate for the conditions that allow for the optimal physical, emotional, and social development of children and adolescents. Because play contributes substantially to the healthy development and well-being of children, it is important that pediatricians promote the inclusion of play in homes, schools, and communities.† Pediatricians can educate parents about the importance of free, unstructured play in the normal development of children. Parents may be influenced by marketing messages that suggest the best toys are those that are financially out of reach. They should be educated that simple, inexpensive toys, such as dolls, jump ropes, blocks, balls, and buckets, are more effective in allowing children to be creative and imaginative than more expensive toys, which can make play a more passive and less physically involved experience. Pediatricians can educate parents about the benefits of using play as an opportunity to engage fully with their children. Playtime offers opportunities for parent-child bonding. Playtime offers parents the opportunity to promote healthy social-emotional development in their children through active engagement and shared imagination. Pediatricians can encourage parents to use love and understanding to encourage children to try again even when at first they fail. Parents can be informed that positive reinforcement goes further than negative responses as children engage in play alone and with others. Pediatricians can use well-child encounters to educate parents about the benefits of play to enhance physical activity that can help prevent childhood obesity. Parents should be educated about the potential for lifelong obesity in obese children, the lifelong health morbidities associated with obesity, and the long-term psychosocial impact of obesity. Parents should be encouraged to participate in physical activities with their children that will not have a financial impact on the family. Pediatricians can provide parents with information about resources that can provide financial, educational, and mental health assistance to families that have been marginalized by poverty. This may address the underlying stressors that interfere with parents’ ability to engage fully in play activities. Pediatricians can educate parents about the negative impact of media exposure on children and encourage them to limit screen time and substitute other activities, including playtime and outdoor activities, for screen time. This is an opportunity to educate parents about the AAP recommendations regarding no media time for children younger than 2 years and fewer than 2 hours per day for older children. Pediatricians can provide parents and families with information about community resources that provide physical activities for children, such as team sports and camps. They should provide information about organizations that provide “scholarships” or grants that pay for activities that have associated costs. Pediatricians can educate parents about the importance of children’s play outdoors in nature. Spending unstructured time in nature, surrounded by dirt, trees, grass, rocks, flowers, and insects inspires children’s play and offers physical and emotional benefits. Pediatricians can advocate for safe play spaces for children who live in communities and attend schools with a high proportion of low-income and poor children by emphasizing that the lifelong success of children is based on their ability to be creative and to apply the lessons learned from playing. Pediatricians may consider offering presentations to help educators, community leaders, faith-based groups, and politicians understand the developmental benefits of play to children. Pediatricians may advocate for policies that reduce educational disparities while supporting the inclusion of recess, physical outlets, and the creative arts as means to enhance social and emotional learning and school engagement. Children who live at or below poverty level in the United States experience educational and health disparities from early childhood. These children deserve additional resources to achieve academically, foster school engagement, and develop their social and emotional competencies. Many children reside in families that face stresses related to daily survival, including whether they will have food or safe shelter, leaving less energy to focus on enrichment opportunities, including play. Some live in neighborhoods where violence may be the norm and children playing on neighborhood playgrounds the exception. School systems are focused on overcoming their academic deficiencies in a safe environment often at the expense of time for arts, recess, physical education classes, and after-school activities that include playing, despite evidence that supports that what happens in play contributes substantially to social and emotional learning, even in the classroom. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, all children have the right to safe places to play regularly, during which they develop cognitive, communication, problem-solving, negotiation, and leadership skills. They have the right to engage in safe and regular physical activity that will decrease the incidence of lifelong health disparities. The physically and emotionally healthy children of today will become the productive citizens who will contribute positively to society in the future. Regina M. Milteer, MD Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd Council on Communications and Media, 2011–2012 Deborah Ann Mulligan, MD, Chairperson Nusheen Ameenuddin, MD, MPH Ari Brown, MD Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH Corinn Cross, MD Holly Lee Falik, MD David L. Hill, MD Marjorie J. Hogan, MD Alanna Estin Levine, MD Gwenn S. O’Keeffe, MD Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE Former Executive Committee Members Gilbert L. Fuld, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson Tanya Remer Altmann, MD Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, MD Benard P. Dreyer, MD Regina M. Milteer, MD Kathleen G. Nelson, MD Donald L. Shifrin, MD Victor C. Strasburger, MD Michael Brody, MD – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH – American Public Health Association Brian Wilcox, PhD – American Psychological Association Gina Ley Steiner Veronica Laude Noland Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, 2010–2011 Benjamin S. Siegel, MD, Chairperson Mary I. Dobbins, MD Marian F. Earls, MD Andrew S. Garner, MD, PhD Laura McGuinn, MD John Pascoe, MD, MPH David L. Wood, MD, MPH Ronald T. Brown, PhD – Society of Pediatric Psychology Terry Carmichael, MSW – National Association of Social Workers Mary Jo Kupst, PhD – Society of Pediatric Psychology D. Richard Martini, MD – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Mary Sheppard, MS, RN, PNP, BC – National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners George J. Cohen, MD Karen S. Smith This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors have filed conflict of interest statements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this publication. The guidance in this report does not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate. All clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time. The word “parent” is used in this report to represent the wide range of adult caregivers who raise children. The guidance in this report is offered by the AAP and, therefore, is targeted to pediatricians. Other health professionals who serve children and adolescents, including other physicians, pediatric and family nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are welcome to consider incorporating this guidance into practice.

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For example, have group members go Scenario 3.5: Two students in a Psychology class are conducting an empirical investigation for a final paper/project, which the professor has agreed will be written jointly. Explore criteria for making spending decisions; Understand the role of spending in their lives; What students will do. There are multiple solutions for this simple problem (2+5+3, 2+8+0, etc. Clinical decision-making (CDM) is a dynamic activity in which the nurse builds a case in which hypotheses are accepted or rejected based on collected data, better defined by Barrows & Pickell (cited in Robinson 2002, p. 1) Clinical decision making is the formulation and revision of hypotheses throughout a patient encounter. Step 5: Consider the consequences of your solutions. Here is our list of the best problem solving games, activities and exercises for adults. Divide the learners into groups and ask them general questions such as where should we go on our next field trip or what is your favorite holiday destination. Model for making decisions. Emotional Intelligence is the new smart and we bring you 50 practical Emotional Intelligence examples you can apply as well. The Financial Literacy Project uses the project management process to promote the importance of financial literacy, including spending and saving, credit and debt, employment and income, investing, risk and insurance and financial decision making. 5. Make spending decisions based on scenarios. 3 Ethical Dilemma Questions. For example, a homeowner deliberates about how to deal with an outbreak of dandelions on their lawn. This exposes them to both the This may include researching, talking to friends, assessing experiences, and/or talking to experts. 1. It can be applied to a plethora of relevant classroom dilemmas like solving a peer conflict and/or how to use time wisely during study hall. Use the 71 social problem-solving scenarios to have your students get great experience practicing how to solve a social problem. Type up several fictional scenarios for teenage decision making with positive and negative outcomes. If a leader doesnt have the confidenceto stand by their choices, its unlikely they will carry any weight with their team. Their relationships and their success largely depend on decision making. Make spending decisions based on scenarios. A decision to do nothing is still a decision. example suggesting just going out for pizza and getting to know each other a little better, or going to a movie theatre to see a movie rather than at Pre-K decision-making skills: Here's what you need to know for your child. Explain that decisions are made based on a variety of 2.5 Reward a Job Well Done. Present students with a scenario and ask them to list the pros and cons of two or more decisions in the scenario. 20. How is my financial decision-making process different from others? For example, one student wanted to ask his peers a question about a nearby local schools dress code decision. Help teams overcome obstacles. but first secure your desk so that no sensitive information is at risk. Multi-step tasks mimic real-life decision making, and a timer adds a gaming element to increase engagement. The decisions they By the time students are in middle and high school, they're making decisions with profound and lasting consequences that greatly influence their health and happiness. decision. The first step in improving the student decision making process is to teach them with practice. Military decision making process. Effective decision-making examples have many colors based on perspectives and scenarios. Also called group decision making or collaborative decision making. Then ask them to pick the best decision based on their discussion of the pros and cons. +VE: She will feel proud about her accomplishments; she will get the phone she really wants. Pages 62 This preview shows page 10 - 16 out of 62 pages. For example, a scenario may be as simple as ''June was one point away from a Ensure the questions you ask are relevant and will consider all factors. Dr. Randy Schroeder provides the insight you need to be a leader-parent. Summary. Data driven decision-making skills. In group discussions, use these eleven manners I cheated in the maths paper yesterday. Follow up activity: Ask students to write rules for a fair vote. This paper "Clinical Decision Making in Nursing" focuses on the fact that recent policy changes and trends in professional development in the health care system have entrusted nurses with greater responsibilities in patient care. 3.1 Related Posts. Decide whether to agree or disagree with other students spending decisions. Place two of the four boards end to end on the ground or floor. A1: You are a receptionist of a 5* hotel. As the students explore the data, they also can click on icons that will reveal teacher discussions about the topic in a chat-room environment. Voting staff expanded retail hours to gauge impact. What decision do you have to make? This exposes them to both the Workplace decision-making skills example. Invite students to anonymously write down and submit any problem or issue they might be having at school or at home, ones that they cant seem to figure out on their own. Have students role play through the decision-making process and explain their actions. 4. Selecting a location for a new restaurant. This prepares them to make big decisions that impacts their future. Following the decision-making process, the teacher will discuss the protective factors that lead to positive decision-making, and the risk factors that lead to negative decision-making. When people make decisions they may be pulled in different directions by different influences. All organization members will determine final Many of these doomsday scenarios can be eased with an increased emphasis on information security, and companies are starting to go all-in on cyber security measures. Identify the decision. Medical decision making skills. Problem solving games are activities that require players to use critical thinking skills to solve puzzles. Many actions are included in role-playing. To do this, you must right-click and print this page. Step 7: Evaluate The Outcome. Deciding to grant a refund requested to a customer. Overcoming a delay at work through problem solving and communication. We have mentioned two relatively common call center dilemmas that you may likely face at some point in your career. For example, some kids have to decide what college they want to go to, if they want to go to college at all, or what career path they want to take. Objectives. Renee even asked Rich if he could pick up alcoholic beverages for them. Scenario planning can be an effective tool in the decision-making process. It often takes a crisis for organizations to stand up and take action. However, it's often too late, and many org's do not survive the upheaval. Scenario planning, as a part of ERM, helps org's recognize and react to changes before a crisis. Look over the writers ratings, success rating, and the feedback left by other students. View Decision-making_Scenarios_____.doc from ENG 33 at Jose Rizal University. Step 5: Consider the consequences of your solutions. Types of decision making modelsRational decision making models. This type of decision making model is the most common type that you'll see. Intuitive decision making models. This type of decision making model is dictated not by information or data, but by gut instincts. Creative decision making model. Decision making is the action or process of arriving at a conclusion of accepting an important option by weighing the other alternative possibilities. Alternate options: If you find that you have a group of students who would not actively participate in role play there is an alternate option found below. For this problem solving activity for older kids or teens, you will need four 26 boards. As the students explore the data, they also can click on icons that will reveal teacher discussions about the topic in a chat-room environment. Refining rough draft proposals. Student A really enjoys statistics, so they volunteer to do all of the data analysis and write up the results section of the paper. The decision-making process was developed by the school community in 1976 in order to ensure a more effective process that involved the maximum number of students in decision making. Mountaineer Andrew Brash tells how, while at the top of Everest, he saved a life others thought lost. Decision Making Examples. 2.3 Hit and Run. There often is no right or wrong answer to situations or scenarios. Decision Making Worksheet 1. Describe what you will do. Try to calm down the guest and solve any issues they have. Maintains a consistently professional demeanor, regardless of the situation, with both customers and co-workers alike. For example, a child who is invited to two birthday parties has to solve the problem of which one to go to. Scenarios are used as the basis from which to evaluate the use of the components of evidence-based practice in decision making, yet there are few examples of a standardized process of scenario writing. Lets see how we can do this in a few simple steps. They consider hand weeding and herbicides but decide to do nothing at all. What possible actions could you take? presence of positive mood in leaders at work creates more effective and broader thought processes in certain types of decision-making abilities (George, 2000). 2.1 The Life Boat. We double-check all the assignments for plagiarism and send you only original essays. Here are some ways to help your students become thoughtful, engaged and productive decision makers in 2020 and beyond. This may be perfectly reasonable. Email and SMS Notifications. Explore criteria for making spending decisions; Understand the role of spending in their lives; What students will do. Cindy is 18 years old. Drama and arguments are bound to follow. Each scenario attempts to identify the following: The audience(s) for the evaluation; What information the audience needs for making decisions; What tools and methods are to be used in obtaining this information; Describe the problem. For example, offer a choice to have a swimming party or an indoor climbing party for a birthday. 2 Moral Dilemma Scenarios. Sexual assault involves a loss of control, and what the individual needs the most is to regain that control by making decisions about their own treatment and judicial options. While some businesses use the analytic hierarchy process, it is often used in academic or policy-related scenarios. Places for Student Decision-Making in Schools. Consider your values. So as health educators it's critically important that we explore ways to empower our students to become confident decision-makers. The following are the seven key steps of the decision making process. Enter the D.E.C.I.D.E. The process is designed to help students in: Defining problems and needs. Conclusion. Correcting a mistake at work, whether it was made by you or someone else. Adopt a Grandparent Organization. Alright, with all that said, its time for appraisal examples. In fact, information security analyst jobs are projected to increase by 18 percent by 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Decision Making Skills and Goal Setting: Lesson Plans Summary: Activities to be used in a lesson on decision making and goal setting. Important in business and managerial jobs. Are able to make decisions under pressure. Create formal decision rationales to improve decision making. These are just a few examples of ethical dilemmas posed by the online world, and oftentimes kids too young to engage in ethical thinking are in possession of a connected device that asks them to make decisions like these all the time. I was nervous but I ended up copying few sums from Lucy, sitting next to me. On other occasions, students have suggested having circle conversations to discuss weekend plans. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the decision-making of nursing students during team based simulations on patient deterioration to determine the sources of information, the types of decisions made and the influences underpinning their decisions. He actively seeks out information related to his job to stay up-to-date with new company policies, procedures or his personal job role. \Crucial for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. That same child will use decision-making to pick out birthday gifts. For example, smoking marijuana vs. what to wear to school. Discuss the skill of making decisions and teach your children to make considered choices. Below is an example of an ill-structured scenario: opic:T Organizational Leadership Subtopic: School Excellence and utureF Direction them in the decision-making process. Remember that there is no right approach; each situation will always be different. The first step in making the right decision is recognizing the problem or opportunity and deciding to address it. to unethical practices in the course of one's work is related to ethical decision-making. All of the steps will be discussed with examples. The body of your paper must be 69 pages and include at least 6 references. Sometimes, I initiate circle conversations to reengage students. Decision making is an important life skill for students to develop and practice in a safe environment. Here, we use the term ethical decision-making and responsibility for this component in order to emphasize the ethical dimensions of what it means to make decisions that are both personally and socially responsible. In these lessons, the students were given the responsibility to initiate and direct their own activities. They make a determination as to whether or not their decision solved the problem. Opt for a problem-solving attitude, as opposed to a thats not my job approach. There are countless number of things that circulate in a teenage mind especially because they lack the emotional maturity to take the wisest decision. 2. Dilemma 1: Possible Learning Disability. Identify a faulty machine as the source of disruption in the production process. Jackie also uses role-playing activities to help her students think through social decision-making. Give candidates enough time to formulate their answers. Example activities include escape rooms, Sudoku, and murder mysteries. Determining the ownership structure of a new business. Since Map is an interface, it can be used only with a class that implements this interface. Your paper must be in current APA format including title page, abstract and reference page. How is my financial decision-making process different from others? 1) Save her money until shes has got enough money. Divide your group into two teams with an equal number of children on each team. A quick activity where students can develop decision-making and problem-solving skills. Decision Making: The officers will make major decisions about funds, decisions involving events, meeting times, and activities as a group. This gives them a chance to make decisions about real life issues in a low risk environment. 1. The US Army uses this distinct seven-step plan to make operational decisions. Hiring 2 employees after interviewing 41 candidates. Students will identify three types of decision making. Steps Involved In Decision Making Process for Students 1. You have many decision-making examples in daily life such as:Deciding what to wear.Deciding what to eat for lunch.Choosing which book to read.Deciding what task to do next. You are very polite and you can deal with annoyed guests. 2. In some scenarios, it is necessary for a person to be on their own or take responsibility for their actions. Ways to Use the Difficult Scenarios in Your Classroom The scenarios can be helpful discussion starters, as they connect the work of researchers to settings that may be familiar to your students. The next step is to gather information and examine the available resources. In A Pickle Decision Making Activity from Carol Miller. students or employees. Now that we know the importance of good decision making skills for students we must know how to develop and improve the decision making skills for students. Role-play: Traveling. Decision Making: The officers will make major decisions about funds, decisions involving events, meeting times, and activities as a group. Decide and act. The paper "Ethics vs Law in nursing" scrutinizes that nurses should abide by administrative law and statutory law regulating the nursing practice. onflicts that may exist between ethics and the law in nursing PracticeIn arriving at professional decisions, nurses may be caught up between two conflicting sets of demands, one deriving from the mission of the profession and the other The process is designed to help students in: Defining problems and needs. List the options. Decisions taken by children affect their mental health and wellbeing. Interactive elearning examples including case scenarios, branching, storytelling, gaming, assessments and more to inspire your elearning designs. Types of Decision Making Skills with examples. Decision making means choosing to make a decision because you wish for something to occur that is not occurring at the present time.. Examples might include deciding whether to tell an adult about a friend's drug use, shoplift a T-shirt they can't afford or plagiarizing a paper. Good decision-makers: Evaluate circumstances, consider alternatives and weigh pros and cons. Adopt a Grandparent Organization. It takes about 12 years of life for children to develop the cognitive capacity for ethical thinking. You may use deductive reasoning when finding and acquiring a job, hiring employees, managing employees, working with customers and making a variety of business or career decisions. 2. Similar to team decision making, but generally has a healthcare focus. 2. Set the other two parallel to the first two about two or three feet apart. Adapted from How Rude! In a Jar: Prompts, Tips, Skits, and Quips About Social Skills, Good Manners, and Etiquette by Alex J. Packer, Ph.D. With summer right around the corner, teens will be spending a lot more time with their friends. 6. 3. In some cases, both approaches are incorporated. In this section of our website, Successful Projects provides scenarios and situations that instructors can use in the classroom. People with analytical skills can examine information, understand what it means, and properly explain to others the implications of that information. Use critical-thinking skills to reach objective conclusions. IDEAL Decision-Making Scenarios As students present their solutions to the class, use these ideas to guide your discussion. Consider the fact that these types of questions require thinking through a situation and evaluating given facts. Responsible decision-making is the ability to make sound judgments about your behavior and how it affects others. Below is an example of an ill-structured scenario: opic:T Organizational Leadership Subtopic: School Excellence and utureF Direction them in the decision-making process. You are used to quality service and luxury, but this hotel doesnt offer it. 2. From small, everyday choices to larger and more consequential ones, students face a myriad of decisions with ethical implications. Invite a Guest Speaker to Talk About Democratic Decision Making. Begin by placing students into teams and providing them with a set of decision scenarios. Decisions taken by children affect their mental health and wellbeing. How Decision Analysis Saved a Man's Life on Mount Everest. Weigh the consequences. Label the box The Problem-Solving Box.. Games for youngsters such as Uno, Chess, and Ludo have numerous alternatives present. Explain that decisions are made based on a variety of Whether decisions are made quickly or with time to process, understanding how school law should guide your decision making will protect you and your campus from any legal issues. National Standard 2.1, 13.1, 13.6 Student Prior Knowledge: For example, 2 + _ + _ = 10. Therefore, create social problems that the student experiences and needs help solving. Your dad told you to clean up your toys, but youre having fun. List both the negative and positive consequences. Students will relate responsible decision making with effective career and life planning. We also used several examples from literature. Decision making is the action or process of arriving at a conclusion of accepting an important option by weighing the other alternative possibilities. In this final step, children consider the results of their decision. Decide whether to agree or disagree with other students spending decisions. Play with 13 examples of branching scenarios from a wide variety of scenario-based training and consider questions that help you think about your own design. Literary examples. n Have students identify three decisions they are trying to make (e.g. 7. Strong influences may be orders from a commanding officer, boss, friends, or by rules and laws. Problem-solving as a group. The rational model of decision-making is a necessary skill in managerial and business jobs. Decision Making Examples. Ages 4-7. You may wish to teach a strategy to encourage full participation as students list pros and cons. In a stage play, for example, it is the choosing of character or action. Frame the questions using hypothetical job-related scenarios to assess candidates way of thinking. Now that organizations are prioritizing fully remote or blended working models, such scenarios are impossible to ignore. The easiest way to introduce this process to students is by example. Professionalism. Rational decision making. Examples of decision making scenarios from left to. 2.2 Sarcastic Friend. Background: Missed, misinterpreted or mismanaged physiological signs of deterioration in hospitalized patients lead to What is important to you? n Have them use the decision-making process sheet to This example was used to illustrate the roles of head and heart, and to demonstrate the trade-offs that may occur in decision-making between stakeholders and across value dimensions. An overview of long term goals with examples for job interviews, employees, businesses and students. Use these scenarios as a basis for engaging in conversation about making decisions between right and wrong. It helps children to become responsible and independent. taking a vacation, moving away from home, buying a car, changing jobs, etc.) Resolving an issue with a difficult or upset customer. Now, lets see how to perform a few frequently used operations on a Map using the widely used HashMap class.And also, after the introduction of Generics in Java 1.5, it is possible to restrict the type of object that can Plagiarism Free Papers. Determine why this decision will make a difference to your customers or fellow employees. 1. This two-player logic game ranks second in our list of problem solving activities for high school students. For example, a decision guided Let us now go through some activities for decision making skills that will help in developing decision making skills in students. Collect data. For this activity, identify whether each of the given scenarios involves conduction. Several of the students were naturally drawn to the humanities, and they Try to avoid calling the manager. The purpose of this assignment is to develop the ability to apply professional values, codes of ethics, and a decision-making model to the process of ethical decision making. Steps of the Decision Making Process. Presenting their view of problems and/or proposed solutions. For example, having students on an adult task force and having a student action forum where students identify important issues the school should address. Problem Solving Scenarios 1. 2.4 Third Strike. All organization members will determine final Stay informed 247 about every update of the whole ordering process. Improving decision making. Outlined below are some examples of scenarios in which it makes sense to do an evaluation. Scenario planning is a process to support decision-making that helps urban and rural planners navigate the uncertainty of the future in the short and long term. Explain your decision. Identify the Issue. Grade 8, Setting Goals 2: Decision-Making 6. A brainstorming session to generate potential names for a new product is the convenient. Practice the decision-making model in your classroom, perhaps as an anchor chart. In this method, a decision is made with the most important issues considered or weighted more heavily, and higher on the hierarchy, than others. Cindy's parents and her 23-year old brother Rich are going away for the weekend. When students have written rules, they might like to try out some - either within the class, with another class in the year level or with a buddy class. Avoiding summit fever he came back to summit another day. Example ethical decision-making scenario. Quarto. Activity 1: Decisions, Decisions. The game's choices aid in It helps children to become responsible and independent. Thoughtful decisions will require students to apply the full decision-making process. The decision-making process was developed by the school community in 1976 in order to ensure a more effective process that involved the maximum number of students in decision making. In these lessons, the students were given the responsibility to initiate and direct their own activities. Evaluate the options. Activities for Decision Making Skills: Indoor games/board games. Objectives. Part of critical thinking is the ability to carefully examine something, whether it is a problem, a set of data, or a text. Ask questions that need concrete answers to improve the decision making process for students. Performing Various Operations using Map Interface and HashMap Class.

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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science - NCERT plays an important role in the preparation of Class 10 board exams. Most of the questions asked on the Board exams are based on the NCERT books for Class 10. It is very important for students to solve the questions given in the NCERT. Here we are providing the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science for the ease of the students. These NCERT Solutions for Class 10 are prepared by the subject matter experts. NCERT Science Class 10 solutions are based on the latest NCERT syllabus. These NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science will help the students in understanding the concepts and give an insight into the answer writing techniques. Latest : Trouble with homework? Post your queries of Maths and Science with step-by-step solutions instantly. Ask Mr AL NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapters mentioned in the NCERT books of Class 10 Science include Life, Evolution, Generations, Metals, Chemicals, Environments etc. The Class 10 Science NCERT solutions are strictly based on these textbooks. Class 10 Science NCERT textbooks can be divided into four subjects. NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science All Chapters The chapter page links for the NCERT class 10 science solutions pdf are given below. About NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 1 Chemical Reactions and Equations: In this chapter, you will learn about chemical reactions with some experimental examples, how to write the chemical equations, how to balance the chemical equations, an indicator of the chemical reactions, symbolic representation of chemical reactions, the law of conservation of mass, physical state and conditions for chemical reactions, etc. You can find NCERT solutions class 10 science Chapter 1 Chemical Reactions and Equations by clicking on the link given in the table above. - NCERT exemplar solution for class 10 Science Chapter 1 Chemical Reactions and Equations - CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 1 Notes Chapter 2 Solutions Acids Bases and Salts: We come across many substance changes like milk to curd, grapes get fermented, food gets digested, dissolving of salt in the water, ice to water in our everyday life. In the above, there are two types of changes in the nature of substance, some are physical changes while some are chemical changes as we have learnt in the previous classes. When a substance changes its chemical properties, we say chemical reactions have taken place. In this NCERT Class 10 Science chapter of, you will study the reactions of acids and bases, strong and weak acids, strong and weak base, acid-base reaction known as neutralising reaction and formation of salt, how acids and bases cancel out each other’s effects, acid and base reactions with metal oxides and metal carbonate, and many more interesting things that we use and see in our day-to-day life. - 300+Hours of Concept wise Video Lectures, Mock Tests, Practice Questions, Adaptive Time-Table - For Class 9 and 10 Medical Aspirants NCERT Solutions for Class 10 provides give questions related to what is pH, pH scale and its range. Also, chemical salts like bleaching powder, baking powder, washing soda, plaster of Paris, etc formation, use and properties are explained in this chapter. The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 2 Solutions Acids Bases and Salts are given in the table above. Students can check the solutions and practice the same for better preparations. - NCERT exemplar solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 2 Acids, Bases and Salts - Class 10 Science Chapter 2 Acids, Bases and Salts Notes Chapter 3 Metals and Non-Metals: In NCERT Class 9 we have already learnt about elements. Metals and non-metals can be classified on the basis of their properties. This NCERT Class 10 Science chapter starts with physical properties of metals and non-metals like melting point, physical properties at room temperature, tensile strength, appearance. Class 10 Science also covers all chemical properties of metals and non-metals, reactions of metals and non-metals with oxygen gas, water, other metal salts, and acids. The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 3 Metals and Non-metals make this chapter easy to understand. - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 3 Metals and Non-metals - NCERT notes Class 10 Science Chapter 3 Metals and Non-metals Chapter 4 Carbon and Its Compounds: Carbon is a very important element in organic and inorganic chemistry. Organic chemistry is the study of properties, structure, and reaction of carbon-containing compounds. In this NCERT Class 10 Science chapter 4, we will study about some carbon-containing compounds and it's properties, bonding in carbon, versatile nature of carbon, saturated and unsaturated carbon compound, homologous series, noman culture of carbon compound, chemical properties like combustion, oxidation, addition reaction, substitution reaction, and some important compound and it's properties etc. NCERT solutions for Class 10 Science will also teach you about the nomenclature used in science which is very important for further studies. Also, you will be learning about carbon, an element which is of immense significance to us in both its elemental and in the combined form. - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 4 Carbon and Its Compounds - NCERT notes Class 10 Science Chapter 4 - Carbon and Its Compounds Chapter 5 Periodic Classification of Elements: The matter around us is present in the form of elements, compound or mixture. There are 118 elements found till today and all these elements have different properties. Classification makes it easier to learn about them and our focus in this chapter should be to understand how the classification works. The classification is very important to study the physical and chemical properties of all elements. So, scientists have arranged all elements in certain rows and columns based on their properties and created the periodic table. This Class 10 Science NCERT chapter will cover the history of the periodic table starting from Dobereiner's Triads to the modern periodic table, properties, and trend of elements in the modern periodic table. Students must check the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Periodic Classification of Elements as it is very useful in class 11th and 12th. students can refer to, - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Periodic Classification of Elements - NCERT notes Class 10 Science Chapter 5 - Periodic Classification of Elements Chapter 6 Life Processes: How do we differentiate if someone is alive or not? Generally by the visible movements like running, shouting, or breathing. However, some animals breathe in such a manner that it is not visible to the naked eye. Then how we can identify who is alive? In this chapter, you will get answers to all these questions and more. The invisible molecular movement is necessary for life. Life process involves various activities by the digestive system, respiratory system, and circulation system performed by the living organisms to sustain their living. NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 6 Life Processes gives you the answers to various questions like how organisms obtain their nutrition to stay alive, what is life and its processes, what is nutrition for human beings and plants and how it works. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter Life Process Related Materials Chapter 7 Control and Coordination: In the previous Class 10 Science chapter you have learnt about the life process and how molecular movement is necessary to stay alive. But we make these movement responses to the environment in a controlled manner. All living organisms have a control and coordination system. In multicellular organisms, specialized tissues are used to control and coordinate. Here, you will study this control and coordination system, nervous system, the human brain, coordination in the plant, hormones in animals, etc. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter Control and Coordination Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 7 Control and Coordination - Class 10 Science Chapter 7 Notes Chapter 8 How do Organisms Reproduce: Reproduction is a biological process by which new individual organisms are born from their parents. It involves creating a new DNA copy and other cellular apparatus. Reproduction is not an essential process for sustaining the life of an individual. Each individual organism exists because of reproduction. It is a fundamental feature of all known life. In this NCERT Science Class 10 chapter, you will study reproduction, how it takes place, why it is necessary for the living organisms, and what are the different modes of reproduction in single organisms, sexual reproduction in flowering plants, sexual reproduction in human beings, etc. Terms like fission, fragmentation, regeneration, budding, vegetative propagation and spore formation are also explained with examples. By clicking on the above link provided in the table you will get NCERT solutions for Class 10 Science of this chapter. - NCERT Exemplar Solutions For Class 10 Science Chapter 8 How do Organisms Reproduce - CBSE Class 10 Notes for How do Organisms Reproduce? Chapter 9 Heredity and Evolution: In the previous NCERT Science Class 10 chapter you have learnt that the reproduction process gives a new individual organism that is similar to the parent organism. Here, you will be studying the mechanism by which variations are created and inherited, the long-term consequences of the accumulation of variations, inherited traits, sex determination, acquired and inherited traits, speciation, tracing evolutionary relationship, fossils, stages of evolution, human evolution, etc. Check the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 9 Heredity and Evolution to prepare well for this chapter. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter Heredity and Evolution Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 9 Heredity and Evolution - Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Science Notes Chapter 10 Light Reflection and Refraction: We see a variety of objects around us in everyday life. We are able to see objects in the presence of light but we can't see them in the dark. What makes the object visible? When reflected light from an object is received by our eyes we are able to see the object. In this chapter, you will study the phenomena of reflection and refraction of light using the straight-line propagation method. These basic concepts will help you in the study of some of the optical phenomena in nature. Class 10 Science chapter 10 covers reflection of light by spherical mirrors (concave and convex mirror), the image formed by the concave and convex mirrors, uses of mirrors, refraction of light through rectangle glass slab, refractive index, refraction by spherical lenses, image formation by lenses, lens formula, and power of lenses. Class 10 Science Chapter Light Reflection and Refraction Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 10 Light Reflection and Refraction - Light Reflection and Refraction Notes Chapter 11 The Human Eye and The Colorful World: In the previous chapter of Class 10 NCERT you have studied about reflection and refraction of light from mirrors and lenses. The human eye has a lens in its structure, it uses light and we are able to see the object. In this chapter, you will learn about human eyes, defects of vision and how to correct them. Also, you will study the refraction of light through a prism, dispersion of white light by a glass prism, some optical phenomena of nature like atmospheric refraction scattering of light, Tynd all effect, the colour of the sky, colour of sunrise and sunset, twinkling of stars, advance sunrise, and delayed sunset. Students should refer to the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 11 The Human Eye and The Colorful World to check the questions answers with solutions of this chapter. Class 10 Science Chapter The Human Eye and The Colorful World Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 11 Human Eye and Colourful World - The Human Eye and The Colorful World Notes Chapter 12 Electricity: In our modern society electricity is very important as it is a controllable and convenient form of energy. What constitutes electricity? How does it flow through an electric circuit? How to control and regulate it in an electric circuit? In NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science, you will get answers to all these questions. You will also study the electric current and circuit, electric potential and potential difference, circuit diagram, Ohm's law, the resistance of the conductor, factor on which resistance of the conductor depends, the resistance of system of the resistor, heating effect of electric current and its applications, electric power. Check the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Electricity to know more about this chapter. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Electricity Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Electricity - Electricity Class 10 Science Chapter Notes Chapter 13 Magnetic Effects of Electric Current: When we put a charge near the current-carrying wire, it doesn't apply any force on the charge but when the charge is moving near the current-carrying wire, the charge is deflected from its path. This means electric current has an effect on a moving charge which is called the magnetic effect of current. In this Class 10 Science chapter, you will study about the magnetic field and field lines, magnetic field due to current carrying conductor, solenoid, the force on current-carrying conductor due to the magnetic field, electric motor, electro-magnetic induction, electric generator, and domestic electric circuit. Also in this chapter, you will learn important topics like Fleming's right-hand rule and left-hand rule. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 13 Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 13 Magnetic Effects of Electric Current - Magnetic Effect of Electric current Class 10 Science Notes Chapter 14 Sources of Energy: In previous classes, we have learnt that energy neither can be created nor destroyed. It can be converted from one form to another. This chapter will tell you about the different sources of energy like conventional and non-conventional. Fossil fuels, thermal power plant, hydropower plant, Bio-mass, wind energy are examples of conventional sources of energy. Solar energy, tidal energy, wave energy, ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, nuclear energy are examples of non-conventional sources of energy. You will also get to know the environmental consequences of energy. Students can also check the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science to check the complete solutions of the questions asked in this chapter. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Sources of Energy Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 14 Sources of Energy - Sources of Energy Class 10 Science Chapter 14 Notes Chapter 15 Our Environment: The change in the environment affects us, our activity changes the environment around us, as we are an integral part of the environment. This has two parts, first is the ecosystem and its components like food chains and webs and second how our activity affects the environment. In this chapter, you will also learn about the ozone layer and how it is getting depleted. Managing the garbage that we produce, how we impact the environment are other topics we will learn here. Class 10 Science Chapter 15 Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 15 Our Environment - Our Environment Class 10 Science Chapter 15 Notes Chapter 16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: You must have heard the famous phrase in Sanskrit ‘Vasudhaiv kutumbakam’ which means “the entire earth is one family”. The phrase is found in ‘Maha Upanishad’, an ancient Indian text in Atharva Veda. Living in harmony with nature is in our culture, tradition, and philosophy. In CBSE NCERT class 9 science you have learnt about natural resources like soil, air, and water while in the previous chapter, you have learnt about these resources that have been polluted. In t his chapter, you will learn how you ought to use these natural resources and sustain them for our future. Natural resources like forests, wildlife, water, coal, and petroleum and other issues at stake in deciding the management of these resources through sustainable development will also be taught here. Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Related Materials - NCERT exemplar solution for Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Management of Natural Resources - NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Notes How To Download Careers360 NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science? Check the table provided above. Click on the respective chapter’s link. Click the PDF download button save the webpage to check the solutions offline. How To Use NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Before solving the NCERT solutions, students must read the chapter carefully. Understand all the concepts given in the chapter Firstly, try to solve all the questions on your own then check the NCERT solutions for class 10 Science. The questions asked in the board exams are generally based on the questions given in the NCERT books. So, it is important to questions and correct solutions to it. Solve previous years paper of CBSE board Class 10 science to understand questions that are asked commonly in the exam. Benefits of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science NCERT solutions Class 10 Science are prepared by experts who know how best to answer the questions in the board exam. These NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science are to the point which makes it quite easy to understand. Students can take help from the Class 10 Science NCERT solutions to write better answers in the Class 10 exams. NCERT solutions for Class 10 science pdf download will also be made available soon. Also, check - NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Maths Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) - NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science Question: Which chapters are coming under the Physics part of NCERT Class 10 Science book? Light Reflection and Refraction, The Human Eye and The Colorful World, Electricity, Magnetic Effects of Electric Current are the chapters coming under Physics part of Class 10 NCERT syllabus. Question: What are the chapters coming under Chemistry part of NCERT Class 10 Science book? Chemical Reactions and Equations, Acids Bases and Salts, Metals and Non-metals, Carbon and Its Compounds and Periodic Classification of Elements comes under Chemistry part of Class 10 NCERT science book. Students can also get practice questions from NCERT Exemplar for Class 10 Science. Question: Whether the NCERT for class 10 are helpful in higher studies? Yes, the NCERT class 10 Science chapters are helpful in Class 11 and 12 Science stream. As Class 11 and 12 discuss Class 10 topics in detail with lot of other topics. Question: Which chapters from Biology and Environmental Science are included in NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science The following Biology chapters are given in the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Science - Life Processes - Control and Coordination - How do Organisms Reproduce - Heredity and Evolution The following chapters are catogarized under Environmental Science - Sources of Energy - Our Environment - Sustainable Management of Natural Resources Question: What is the importance of Class 10 Science NCERT solutions The NCERT Solutions For Class 10 Science contains the answers to the exercise questions of NCERT Class 10 Science book. Preparing using NCERT book is crucial for the CBSE board exam. So to get high score in the CBSE board exam Class 10 Science NCERT solutions are helpful. CBSE syllabus for class 8 Maths 2022-23 is available here. CBS... CBSE Class 10 Hindi Syllabus 2022-23 (Course A, Course B) - St... Class 10 student of Mata Jai Kaur Public School publishes her ... 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Chapter 5. Student Practices and Their Impact on Learning Spaces University of British Columbia Students will spend much of their academic lives in classrooms, laboratories, and libraries—the places where education happens. Such learning spaces impart a feeling of the campus culture to students. But is the culture they sense one of a previous era or one that meshes with their habits? This alignment is important because well-designed learning spaces and enabling technologies encourage students to spend more time on campus, increasing engagement and improving retention. Understanding the traits and habits of students (and potential students) should shape the discussion of learning spaces. A quick scan of any campus will reveal students hanging out alone or in small groups while reading, taking notes, writing, chatting, or simply enjoying campus life. There may be another layer of activity beyond the obvious, however, enabled by cell phones, iPods, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptops. Both student habits and their technologies raise questions. For example, if students carry laptops to class, does this affect how we equip the rooms? Will the generation that has grown up with video games, camera phones, and home theater systems be satisfied with what we can offer in classrooms? What spaces will give students the most educational value? Today's college students have been described as preferring learning experiences that are digital, connected, experiential, immediate, and social. Constantly connected, they seem to have no fear of technology or interacting with people they have not met face-to-face. Although they communicate a great deal online, they still want direct interaction with others. They appear to prefer learning-by-doing rather than learning-by-listening and often choose to study in groups. Much to the consternation of adults acculturated to lectures, they become impatient in situations where they don't feel engaged. While many student attributes may be important to educators, five characteristics seem particularly applicable for learning spaces: Many students under 20 years of age are adept with technology, according to faculty and staff standards. They have adopted practices that are quickly becoming the norm, such as instant messaging, text messaging, Googling, and social networking. Students' comfort with the Internet means it isn't "technology" to them—it may be a way of life. Students are used to entertainment environments with rich images and high-fidelity sound. Most students have played video games since childhood; almost all have been exposed to them. In addition to sophisticated story lines and opportunities for collaborative play, games employ stunning visual and sound effects along with complicated story lines. Students may have technically advanced home entertainment systems featuring large, high-resolution displays and elaborate sound systems. Video-game consoles can generate complex graphical data rendered in close to real time. Home theater systems rival movie complexes. While students have access to more networked technology than their predecessors, many are not technophiles—or even good with technology. Comfort with technology does not guarantee proficiency. Students recognize that technology often provides the fastest and best way to get something done, so they have developed social structures to solicit answers from friends and acquaintances. As a result of these social networks, new technologies and practices are adopted and discarded quickly. Aided by devices like laptops and iPods, students bring their preferred environments to campus with them. Most students carry at least one connected device, and most have MP3 players on which they will have spent significant amounts of money and effort to ensure that they have the perfect song collection at all times. In addition, student use of cell phones is almost ubiquitous. Many have had cell phones for more than half their lives. Although functional and effective, cell phones may have joined cars as status symbols—owners customize models with personalized ringtones and colorful add-ons. Students take advantage of the ability to communicate with one another, connect to the Internet, and access information at all times through laptops and cell phones. Short message service (SMS) and instant messaging let them maintain constant contact with one another. Students share information about their current locations, activities, and companions on an almost constant basis, not just with text but by sharing pictures, movies, and audio. Handheld devices have impressive displays. All but the most basic cell-phone models include full-color screens capable of displaying pictures and video. Cell-phone carriers are exploring agreements with media providers and other partners to use the capabilities of their devices for playing podcasts and MP3s, for example. Phones able to create and share podcasts were recently announced, and GPS and mapping software are being integrated into handheld devices. The Internet has given rise to a new set of competencies. Individuals surf the Internet to uncover facts, chase down links of interest, and then aggregate and synthesize information. This self-reliance reveals that many of today's students are self-directed, internally motivated, and inquisitive. They choose when to pay attention—and what to attend to. Students will spend hundreds of hours in class. While they might not have much choice where they spend their class time, they do control how they behave in these spaces. Given their facility with cell phones, iPods, laptops, and other mobile devices, new in-class practices are evolving. Once freed from the classroom, students gravitate to the spaces most appealing to them. Comfortable and customizable spaces quickly become candidates for frequent use between classes. The informal learning that takes place outside classes occurs in libraries, information commons, coffee shops, and any other locations where students can gather. Using video cameras or similar devices and aided by MySpace-type environments, students can capture and share experiences with friends and strangers alike. This social side of students manifests when they share knowledge of new technologies; most learn new things when their friends show them how. Students are quite comfortable with group work and interactions. One of the traits of the Net Generation is the ease with which they can form and re-form working groups. Many students will have spent time in highly social, engaging online game environments. Unlike the physical space students typically inhabit, these spaces can be configured to match students' preferences. An interesting emerging practice that fits with students' social inclinations is the Nokia Lifeblog, an Internet community that allows owners of Nokia mobile phones to document and share every aspect of their lives in real time. The phones allow users to capture photographs, sounds, and other artifacts, then instantly share them with family, friends, and the general public. Content could be breaking news or the discovery of the latest food hotspot. And because Lifeblog is an Internet community, a lurker can quickly become a colleague by contributing comments and sharing experiences. While the Nokia Lifeblog community represents a small subgroup of Nokia owners, the practices they employ are not unique. The Internet enables social software, open sharing, and serendipitous discovery of small groups of people with common interests, often in very specific and esoteric subjects. "Open source" is not just a way of developing software; it is a mindset about participation. Bloggers embody the do-it-yourself (DIY) spirit. Lack of easy-to-use tools required bloggers to find their own solutions; many of the early bloggers got their start using blogging software they created. The DIY attitude extends to their creation and consumption of content on the Internet. Reputation, as well as recommendations and referrals, are of paramount importance. Curiosity, debate, and consensus are all valued traits in the blogging world. Many of today's students possess these traits. Many technologies used by students have a low barrier to participation and a fun contribution process. For example, Digg.com makes it easy to share opinions and rank the top stories of the week. Flickr makes it easy to share photos with friends, family, and the rest of the world. When users explore the Flickr Web site, they are encouraged to upload their favorite photographs. But Flickr goes beyond just photo sharing; options include geotagging photos. A photo can include tags that pinpoint its exact latitude and longitude. Integration with an application such as Google Maps allows users to populate locations with their own tags and documentation; tagging permits the sharing of a personal history associated with any space. Classrooms and Formal Spaces Classes are the most visible components of campus life. Lectures typically involve a single "expert" delivering content to students through a combination of diagrams, text, and narration. Classrooms have relatively straightforward requirements: line of sight, good acoustics, and a focal point at the front of the room. Even in formal learning spaces, however, instructors can take advantage of emerging student practices in a variety of ways. Students are constantly connected, yet classrooms may seem disconnected. Classrooms need not be isolated from the rest of the world—ubiquitous access brings additional capabilities. A class can "travel" to any location in the world through the Internet, have experts "visit" them, or browse available resources. Remote instrumentation and laboratories make it possible for students and faculty to run experiments or control a device without leaving the room.1 Used effectively and thoughtfully, technology in the hands of the instructors can bring new dimensions to the class. Many instructors find that interspersing interactivity, discussion, and group work in lecture engages learners. Physical constraints, however, such as the ability of students to turn around in their seats, can limit the success of these techniques. Some lecturers assign students to groups, producing seating maps of their lectures to help facilitate group forming and save time. In other cases, the room is designed for student collaboration. Seats are arranged in paired rows with specially design chairs that allow students to face each other for collaboration. (For example, see chapter 22 on LeBaron Hall, a large lecture hall at Iowa State University.) Other spaces are outfitted with movable tables, chairs, and whiteboards so that seating can be reconfigured to suit the activity. Technology can greatly enhance interactivity in the classroom. For example, student response systems solicit and track student progress throughout a class by enabling anonymous polling. Many expect to see cell phones used as student response systems in the next few years. Another option is to allow students to "take control" of the computer and present during class. Facilities that have wireless keyboards and mice make it easy for students to present from where they sit. Space and pedagogical models, such as SCALE-UP (see chapter 29) are designed around interactivity. The round tables, student teams, and the ability to see others create a highly interactive, participatory environment. Mobile technologies can also be used to engage students in learning. Using laptops or Tablet PCs combined with a wireless network, students can search for additional information on the Web, engage in collaborative editing, or use learning objects to illustrate specific points. Lectures or discussions can be captured and the podcasts replayed later. Students spend a large proportion of their time outside class. Students and faculty value the time spent with peers discussing academic work or other topics. Spaces that catalyze social interaction, serendipitous meetings, and impromptu conversations contribute to personal and professional growth. Many different types of communication devices, including laptops, enhanced cell phones, and PDAs, when equipped with ubiquitous wireless access, allow almost any space to become a gathering space that students can use for studying, collaborating, and socializing. These informal spaces, often combining food services and wireless access, are ideal for casual activities including searching the Internet, catching up on e-mail, or chatting with friends. Students are no longer confined to computer terminals; indoor and outdoor spaces can become study areas or a social space as long as the Internet and power are available. MIT's Steam Café, for example, encourages serendipitous connections among students and faculty through the space design, the use of technology, and food services (see chapter 27). The University of Dayton has integrated informal learning spaces with classrooms and a residence hall to enable frequent contact and interaction among students and faculty (see chapter 3). The emergence of learning commons provides another example of how out-of-class time is being enriched with learning opportunities (see chapter 7). The Information Commons at Northwestern University (see chapter 30), the USITE/Crerar Computing Center and Cybercafé at the University of Chicago (see chapter 40), and Emory's Cox Hall Computing Center (see chapter 8) exemplify the integration of space and services based on an understanding of how students work and live. Creating spaces for spontaneous meetings is particularly important. "Think stops" are places for individuals to stop, relax, and meet others. Often marked by a chalkboard or whiteboard, these locations encourage impromptu meetings and conversations. The ES Corridor Project at IUPUI illustrates how valuable these spaces can be, even if they were created with limited funds (see chapter 21). And, given the ability for Internet-savvy individuals to self-organize, think stops in the future may no longer need distinctive physical attributes—they may be virtual instead. With applications like Flickr and Google Maps, students can tag their campuses with personal histories, giving them novel ways to make campus spaces—new or old—their own. A recent posting on a University of British Columbia (UBC) student portal prompted a discussion about the best places on campus to sleep. In the future, will technology-enabled geographic locators aid discussions like these? What Colleges Can Do Based on student habits, colleges and universities should consider several learning space principles that mix space, technology, and services. Today's students often learn better by doing rather than by listening. As a result, classroom, laboratory, and studio designs that provide students with ample opportunities to participate will become more common. Whether the form of participation is discussion or construction, designs should enable interaction, transparency (seeing others engaged in work), and group work. Participation may be physical (such as constructing a model) or virtual (videoconferencing). When considering the technologies to support, remember that students no longer just consume information, they construct it—in multiple media formats. Learning is a social process. Often the most memorable college experiences involve connections with others, whether students or faculty. All indications point to the importance of learning spaces that facilitate connections. Those connections are not just verbal or spatial—they are visual, enabling people to see others and feel as though they are part of something bigger (see chapter 10), such as observing a class at work in a laboratory. In other cases visual connections enable one-on-one conversations, such as a student seeing a faculty member in the café and stopping to chat. Connections can be virtual as well, where students work with others who are not physically colocated (through videoconferencing, for example) or who are separated by time (through asynchronous communication). Connections may be from the campus to the outside world (a view of a natural landscape, for instance) or by allowing the outside world to view the campus. Connections can also be made with information. Displays can highlight departmental activities or provide a glimpse of world news, stock prices, or environmental conditions. For example, Hamilton College's Science Center (see chapter 20) highlights many green features of the center. External and internal environmental conditions can be monitored along with operating the geothermal and heat-recovery systems. Because of the importance of student-faculty interaction, faculty offices are being located close to student spaces. Multiple departments are housed together to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Some campuses are establishing subcampus environments that bring specific departments together. Interaction, collaboration, and engagement can be stimulated by placing people in proximity to each other. Placing student study areas in close proximity to classrooms can be helpful as well. Students blend the physical and virtual worlds, moving seamlessly between living and learning environments. When they express themselves, they are increasingly likely to mix audio or images with text. When they have a problem to solve or assignment to complete, the steps are integrated rather than sequential. Colleges and universities can model spaces after students' integrative behavior. Whether on residential or commuter campuses, students mix classes, study, group work, eating, and sleeping. Increasingly institutions are designing spaces that allow students to work, socialize, and sometimes sleep. Information commons and computing labs such as Emory's Cox Hall Computing Center provide multiuse spaces. Others repurpose between-building space for student use, such as Michigan Technical University's Center for Integrated Learning and Information Technology (see chapter 25). As seen in information commons, multipurpose spaces integrate services. Students need not move from location to location to complete research or assignments; tools and support personnel are brought together to serve their needs. Integration also occurs between the physical and virtual worlds. Online tools for team collaboration can be integrated with physical space design, such as Stanford's GroupSpaces (see chapter 35). Within the virtual environment, students integrate multiple media forms. No longer confined to text, students integrate images, video, and audio into assignments; institutions must expand the available technologies to accommodate learners' needs and habits. Students, like faculty, prefer to control their environment. The ability to rearrange seats or adjust the lighting makes it possible for the same space to be used in many ways, by different groups, throughout the day. A computer lab or classroom may become the site of a jazz concert or a game competition at night. This flexibility also allows customization, enhancing not only space utilization but also convenience. Flexibility also fosters different teaching and learning styles. Not all faculty can—or should—use the same instructional style. Pedagogies should be tailored to the subject, the learners, and the intended outcomes. Student needs and learning preferences vary as well. Spaces that are flexible, accommodating different approaches and uses, improve the odds for effective learning. Many institutions are finding that students will assume responsibility for self-scheduling and self-policing, so flexibility is not necessarily synonymous with irresponsibility. For students whose world is digital, connected, immediate, social, and participatory, access to a wireless network is becoming mandatory. The students' world is not just the physical one in which they find themselves; it is also the virtual one in which they chat with friends, meet people, share photographs, and explore new ideas. Neither learning nor socializing is one-dimensional; the physical complements the virtual, and vice versa. Since learning can occur any place and at any time, there are few—if any—locations where wireless is not valuable. Because students consume information in multiple formats—text, audio, photographs, and video—and interact with information by modifying it or sharing it, this activity places additional demands on the network. During peak periods, student use may saturate the wireless network, making it important to have wired connections available as well as wireless. Most students own a variety of technologies—laptops, MP3 players, cell phones, and more. As technology becomes more ubiquitous and affordable, institutions will find opportunities to deliver information and services in multiple formats and to multiple devices. Convenience is a priority for students, so ensuring that any space can be a learning space—bus, residence hall, sidewalk, or café—by delivering information to personal, handheld devices is important. In the future, some students may choose to carry a USB device (or thumb drive) with their files and applications rather than carrying a laptop (see chapter 9). Student mobility means that students, not just the institution, define the learning space. Regardless of the technology students use in learning spaces, they will need power—all laptops and MP3 players have a limited battery life. Space planners must take this requirement into account. Although students have little fear of technology, they are not necessarily proficient with technology, information retrieval, or cognitive skills—what many call information fluency. It is not just technology or information resource assistance students need; sometimes that assistance involves writing, student services, and so on. Locating support desks and help systems where students (and faculty) are, rather than just where the unit's home base is found, encourages use. Some IT units locate technical support staff in classroom buildings. Learning commons create one-stop centers, incorporating services from the library, IT, and the writing center. Although they may look different or have a new name, help desks are probably here to stay. Student use of spaces and technology can easily be misunderstood when viewed from a nonstudent perspective. For example, faculty or administrators might consider lounge seating in a library to be distracting, while students find it the best way to study. Students will likely spend more time in campus learning spaces than anyone else. Learners have a legitimate perspective on what works—and what doesn't. Finding meaningful ways to involve students in planning and evaluating space design is an effective way to ensure that space catalyzes learning. Students are changing, technologies are changing, and learning spaces are changing. Students will use the spaces that best suit their needs. By examining students' habits and use patterns and then creating spaces that meet their needs, we have an opportunity to make our institutions more student-centered and appealing. At UBC, the motto is Tuum est, which in Latin means "It's yours." By creating the spaces that our students will use, we can give students the opportunity to make the university their own. - EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, "7 Things You Should Know About Remote Instrumentation" (Boulder, Colo.: EDUCAUSE, 2006), <http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7013.pdf>. About the Authors Cyprien Lomas is the director of the Learning Centre in the faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. He oversees the integration of IT, instructional support, and teaching and learning. Lomas is also an EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) Scholar in Residence and studies the fit of emerging technologies and practices in institutional strategies. Current projects include analysis of social software, tagging, and the use of rich media (including digital storytelling and podcasting) in the educational context and within formal, informal, and virtual learning spaces. Diana G. Oblinger is a vice president at EDUCAUSE and directs the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). Previously Oblinger served as the vice president for information resources and the chief information officer for the 16-campus University of North Carolina system and as a senior fellow for the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR). Prior to that she was the executive director of higher education for Microsoft Corporation and led the Institute for Academic Technology for IBM. Oblinger was on the faculty at Michigan State University and the University of Missouri–Columbia, where she also served as an academic dean. Oblinger has authored and edited numerous books and publications, including the award-winning What Business Wants from Higher Education and the first EDUCAUSE e-book, Educating the Net Generation, with James L. Oblinger.

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In 1953, newlyweds Frank and Drema Riser shared a home with Frank’s parents in a small West Virginia coal town. His father and brothers had been miners, and Frank was expected to join them underground. Instead, he followed his brother-in-law to Cleveland, where he immediately found work at a General Motors auto plant. Drema soon joined him, and they raised their family in Northern Ohio. Their experience was more typical than they knew: More than a million people fled the overworked hills of Appalachia for Midwestern factory jobs in the two decades after World War II. But the story of Appalachian families as we know them, the “mountain people,” began long before, when their ancestors migrated into the stunning highlands and lush valleys of the oldest mountains in North America. The history of Appalachia is a mountain of stories: Tales of Cherokees who slipped silently into the woods to avoid the often-fatal Trail of Tears. Revolutionary War veterans who homesteaded steep hillsides. Recently emancipated African-Americans who labored on mountaintop logging crews. European immigrants who descended into pitch-black coal mines to provide for their families. And, of course, folks like the Risers, who left their hills and families behind but keep them in their hearts to this day. Sit a spell, and we’ll tell you their stories. You’ll learn about mountain life and discover three local sources essential to finding your Appalachian kin. An Appalachian tale Technically, Appalachia describes the inland spine of the eastern US, where the mountain range stretches from New Hampshire to Alabama. Cultural Appalachia includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 surrounding states (see map on next page). It’s a place of misty mountains that John Denver called “almost heaven” and green valleys serenaded in the folk song: “Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you and hear your rolling river.” It’s a place where mountain people have eked out lives in the forested ridges and “hollers” for generations. In the early 1700s, the would-be “first” settlers found the Appalachian highlands already laced with towns and trails of thousands of native peoples. The Cherokee were the predominant tribe in the Carolinas; Chickasaw, Chocktaw, Shawnee, Creek and others rimmed the region. Over the next century, encroaching settlers gradually displaced native dwellers, often violently. A few Native Americans melted invisibly back into the hills. Many were quietly absorbed into the new population. The majority of early Appalachian settlers were English or Scots-Irish. The English came as immigrants from northern England or colonists from neighboring regions. Scots-Irish immigrants formed tiny communities in the “backcountry” as early as 1718, after finding no welcome in major colonial ports. Some claim that Scots-Irish independence, resourcefulness, and emphasis on faith and family are the foundation of Appalachian cultural values. (Find a guide to Scots-Irish genealogy in the December 2010 Family Tree Magazine.) Several roads cut across Appalachia before the Revolutionary War, though settlement remained sparse until after it. The Great Wagon Road led from Philadelphia to Georgia, veering off at several points on roads called by other names. The Valley Pike led from the Shenandoah Valley to Roanoke, Va.; the Carolina Road from Roanoke to cheap land in the Carolina Piedmont. The Wilderness Road, built in the 1770s, opened Kentucky and points west. The latter route proved so popular it was eventually replaced by a national turnpike: the Cumberland Road. By 1790, about 80,000 people called the Appalachian region home. Most of the area remained unsettled and politically undefined. But as the young nation expanded at the seams, immigrants and adventurers pushed further into the highlands. Thousands of Scots-Irish, Germans and others who had settled central Pennsylvania gradually descended southwest. The region’s population nearly doubled to 150,000 within 10 years. Tillable valley land was claimed first; later arrivals edged up the rugged mountain ridges. Folks continued to move around and through Appalachia during the antebellum era. An 1830 gold rush brought thousands into Georgia’s Cherokee territory. Land-hungry settlers drove Cherokee and others from the highlands from the 1830s (most famously on the Trail of Tears in 1838). Carolinians and Virginians migrated south and west in the 1830s through 1850s to Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas after repeated crop failures and financial depression. Some settlers stayed only briefly, moving westward as new frontiers opened. During the Civil War, Appalachia became a battleground. Not many slaveholders lived in the region (about 10 percent of the population was African-American at the war’s outset), but of the 100,000 soldiers from Appalachia, a solid majority fought for the South. The Shenandoah Valley and Gettysburg saw the most bloodshed, but guerrilla bands from both sides raided farms and small towns throughout the region. The war introduced outsiders to Appalachia’s untapped natural wealth. Corporations soon began stripping the mountains on a massive scale, first of timber and then of coal. Laborers poured into the region: The population of the central Appalachian plateau increased sixfold in 40 years, from less than 200,000 in 1880 to more than 1.2 million in 1920. Many newcomers were newly emancipated African-Americans, and large numbers of poor immigrants were recruited into mining and logging fresh off the boats. By 1910, more than 5,000 coal mines in central Appalachia employed a half-million men and boys. In the early 1900s, well-paying factory jobs began luring Appalachian families to the Midwest. Those who stayed felt the effects of the Great Depression, though old-timers joke they were already so poor they didn’t notice. Miners unionized in 1935, which improved working conditions, and work remained steady in Appalachia through World War II. The Tennessee Valley Authority, founded in 1933, brought electricity and jobs to rural Tennessee and parts of surrounding states, but also displaced thousands of families with dam projects. In the two decades after World War II, decreasing demand for coal meant fewer workers were needed. The “Great Migration” followed: More than a million mountain folk like the Risers left home for blue-collar work in the Midwest. That’s not to say Appalachia lost its charm. Children of those migrants (including the Risers’) recall regular weekend trips back into the hollers to visit kinfolk. A 1960s “back to the land” ethic sparked new respect for the hard-working, simple-living ways of Appalachians. Historians and social scientists began capturing their stories in earnest. The Appalachian Regional Commission, founded in 1965, set official borders for the region and started pushing for economic development in the 13 states. Since 1970, new immigrants from India, Iran, Japan and Spanish-speaking countries have layered their stories on top of those who lived there before. Family history up a holler Researching your Appalachian roots is not unlike vacationing there. The often-slow pace makes you appreciate the journey and the folks you meet by the wayside. Large data sets and record collections are like large Appalachian cities: uncommon but, when you find one, uncommonly wonderful. Little local sources are worth the effort it takes to find them. “It’s really hard to track people [in Appalachia],” admits Dean Williams, a manager in the Special Collections Library at Appalachia State University. “It can take a lot of digging to find them. County records are valuable, but they’re not indexed well. [Local] newspapers go way back, but there’s absolutely no indexing. You may find yourself sitting down and going through reels of microfilm. (It’s still worth checking websites with digitized newspaper collections first — for example, pay site GenealogyBank has some coverage of the region.) On the upside, Williams says, “There are a lot of very localized sources, if you can get into them.” He describes church minutes, ledger books from general stores, even “Uncle Jake Carpenter’s Anthology of Death,” one man’s record of local births and deaths. “You’ve got to double-query some of the local sources, but you’ve got a good chance at finding someone.” Start your Appalachian research with the usual records, Williams says: home sources, census records and county records such as wills and deeds, when available. Although you won’t find categories of uniquely Appalachian resources, similar to town records in New England or plantation records in the South, three often-overlooked source types have special application to Appalachia: Be sure to investigate bounty land grants, ethnic records and oral history collections. Appalachian settlers included veterans who received a chunk of the frontier in exchange for military service. Federal and state governments paid soldiers this way from Colonial times through the time of the Mexican War (1846 to 1848). Land awarded in Appalachia was most frequently paid out by individual states, not the feds, and most (but not all) of it was for Revolutionary War service. As early as 1646, Virginia granted land surrounding frontier forts to the military men defending them. The colony also awarded bounty land for service in the French and Indian War, though the land wasn’t freed for settlement until after the Revolution. (A young George Washington, who served the Virginia Regiment, chose several riverfront tracts in what’s now West Virginia.) After the Revolution, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia all awarded bounty land outside their modern boundaries before eventually ceding claims to that land to the federal government. Virginia assigned acreage in Kentucky and Ohio; North Carolina gave away parts of Tennessee until 1800. Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina awarded plots within their own boundaries, some until the mid-1800s. West Virginia wasn’t a state until after the Civil War, so it didn’t grant bounty lands. Bounty-land paperwork includes various types of documents and data. Bounties weren’t automatically awarded, but original applications (even rejected ones) were in many cases kept by states. If an application was successful, a warrant was issued in an amount determined by rank and length of service. (Note: Warrants issued at the federal level are also kept there.) Warrants that were redeemed became part of bounty files, as did related paperwork, such as a letter reassigning the warrant to an heir. In these documents, you’ll find the soldier’s vital statistics, military service details and information on any heirs, including widows. Many are available on microfilm or on subscription site Ancestry.com. The individual states that assigned bounty lands retained the resulting records. Many are available through state repositories, some even online. For example, the Kentucky Land Office offers searchable access to images of nearly 5,000 Revolutionary War warrants. At the Library of Virginia, you can search both Revolutionary War warrants and rejected applications. Check with individual state archives for original records. Consult an 80,000-record index to Revolutionary War pension and bounty land applications at HeritageQuest Online, free to patrons of subscribing librarians. You can also check Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants by Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck (Genealogical Publishing Co.), a 35,000-name master index to state bounty land records that’s searchable on Ancestry.com. Mountain melting pot “People tend to think of people in Appalachia as white — Scots-Irish — but it was a real mix,” Williams says. “There was a large German presence in [Boone, NC] in the late 1800s. [Companies] also brought in large numbers of Italians and Poles and people from Central Europe. They needed people with experience in deep mines. There was a Hungarian colony in north Georgia. In pockets, there were sizable black populations. And of course there were Native Americans.” Appalachia wasn’t quite a happy melting pot. Ethnic groups that arrived together tended to stay together. Segregated neighborhoods formed near mines, populated by Greeks, Czechs, Yugoslavians, Austrians, Italians, Welsh or Russians. Isolated in the highlands and valleys, these tiny groups attended their own churches when possible and were even buried separately. The upside of segregation is that ethnic identities remained strong: You may have luck tracking your forebears (or their communities) through ethnic sources. Original records relating to ethnicity in Appalachia are most frequently found in the form of church records. Before the early 1800s, if your ancestors were Scots-Irish, look for Presbyterian records, and for Germans, look for Lutheran, Catholic or Jewish records. Eventually, Baptist and Methodist sects drew Appalachians of many ethnicities; learn which faith your ancestor may have followed in Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History by Deborah Vansau McCauley (University of Illinois), available for preview on Google Books (find it in our Google Library). Appalachian church records have been collected by the Family History Library, the Archives of Appalachia, Southern Appalachian Archives and many state and regional historical repositories. Published histories can be valuable sources of ethnic information, too; check WorldCat for titles such as: - Welsh Founders of Pennsylvania by Thomas Allen Glenn (Clearfield Co.) - Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia (1745-1800) by Lyman Chalkley (Genealogical Publishing Co.) - Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee by Bobby L. Lovett and Linda T. Wynn (Annual Local Conference on Afro American Culture and History) - History of the German Settlements and of the Lutheran Church in North and South Carolina by Gotthardt Dellman Bernhelm (Nabu Press) - Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History by Deborah Weiner (University of Illinois Press) You’ll also want to consult the Images of America local history series by Arcadia Publishing. Search the website by keyword or ZIP code to track down titles such as African Americans of Jefferson County (West Virginia), Louisville’s Germantown and Schnitzelburg (Kentucky) and Jewish West Virginia. Not all Appalachian ethnic groups remained separate. In fact, two distinct cultural groups grew from multiracial origins. The Melungeons of Tennessee and elsewhere are thought to have originated from whites, blacks, American Indians and Mediterraneans. (Cyndi’s List has a directory of Melungeon sources here.) The Pennsylvania Dutch, some of whom migrated south from the Keystone State, are thought to descend from Germans, Swiss and French Huguenots. (Start tracing those roots at http://www.kutztown.edu/community/pgchc/library.) Until the 20th century, history was generally told rather than written in Appalachia. “As a general rule, mountain families didn’t keep journals or write letters up to a certain point,” Williams says, likely around the time of the Great Migration. “A lot of people didn’t leave any written evidence.” Today, one of the best sources of Appalachian history is still storytelling. Since about the 1930s, interviewers have captured thousands of conversations on life in the hills and hollers, coal and logging camps, textile mills, railway yards and homes in Appalachia. Some of these memories — such as slave narratives — reach back into the 19th century. Others tell of daily life during the Great Depression, the Great Migration and the Civil Rights era. Chances are, admittedly, not high that your own ancestor was interviewed. But Williams says tracking down stories is worth the effort if you can find an oral history from your family’s area. “You’d be surprised at what does get mentioned in these oral histories. People talk about their neighbors. You get into a little gossip — who married whom or who should have married whom.” You learn how people spoke, what they ate and what their working conditions were like. Many oral history projects are available only through archives, via tapes or transcripts. The Eastern Kentucky Library Oral History Collection contains more than 3,000 interviews; find an index here. More than 500 interviews from the Appalachian Oral History Project are on file at Appalachian State University; see a description and index here. At the Southern Appalachian Archives, you’ll find several different collections, among them 151 interviews about life along the Kentucky River with memories dating to the late 1880s. You don’t have to look further than a good local library to read first-person accounts of Appalachia, though. Search Amazon.com or WorldCat on oral history Appalachia to find books on the subject, such as: - Southern Appalachia: 1885-1915 by Roy Edwin Thomas (McFarland & Co.) - Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls by Victoria Byerly (Cornell University Press) - Our Appalachia: An Oral History edited by Laurel Shackelford and Bill Weinberg (University Press of Kentucky) - Coal Hollow by Melanie and Ken Light (University of California Press) Additionally, the Library of Congress has posted images of slave narratives collected during the 1930s. About 290 Appalachian residents are among those interviewed; find them here. For those who prefer to watch oral history rather than read it, Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People is an excellent PBS video documentary. It may take a while to learn all you want to know about your Appalachian ancestors. For the most part, they lived modest lives and created only modest records. But certainly the search for local sources is a fantastic excuse for a road trip through some of the most beautiful country in the United States. You may soon find yourself winding through hills and hollers, learning firsthand the powerful pull of the highlands and wondering how anyone could bear to leave them. Tip: The Draper Manuscripts, a collection focused on the trans-Allegheny West from the 1740s to 1810s, is a good resource for early Appalachian ancestors. Many libraries have papers related to local areas on microfilm; see http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/military/draper for information. Many Appalachian families have Cherokee heritage, but it often wasn’t talked about. Cherokee who remained in Appalachia after 1838 had done so by hiding. Fear of removal and then lingering social stigma led many families to keep their heritage quiet or invisible well into the 1900s. Today you can trace your Cherokee blood through several sources. Cherokee who remained in Appalachia (“eastern”) and those who were exiled (“western”) are listed in various censuses and rolls taken from 1819 to 1924. Find indexes to these in Cherokee Roots, volumes 1 and 2, by Bob Blankenship (Cherokee Roots). Researchers can visit Oklahoma’s Cherokee Heritage Center in person or hire a genealogist. The federal government created a wealth of records related to American Indians — learn where to find them at the National Archives and Records Administration. Repositories Road Trip Explore your family’s Appalachian past on this 600-mile road trip to your roots — or learn about these stellar collections online. - Morgantown, WV: The West Virginia University Library Appalachian Collection has an outstanding collection on the 13-state Appalachian region, and much of it is indexed and annotated in the Appalachian Bibliography, published by the university. The collection has more than 9,000 volumes on topics ranging from coal miners to Cherokee Indians, as well as publications such as Appalachian Journal, Appalachian Heritage and the Journal of Appalachian Studies. - Morehead, Ky.: The Center for Virtual Appalachia is a terrific resource for learning more about modern Appalachia “as a distinct and unique region of the United States.” Data on education, poverty, employment and population changes speak to current issues. - Richmond, Ky: The Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections & Archives boasts a fantastic oral history collection (more than 3,000 interviews and recordings) as well as regional genealogical records, Appalachian studies resources, photographs, films, electronic records, maps and memorabilia relating to Kentucky history and literature. - Berea, Ky.: Berea College’s Southern Appalachian Archives contains manuscripts, oral histories, photographs, records, tapes and films relating to the history of Appalachia and the surrounding community. - Johnson City, Tenn.: The Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University includes the Archives of Appalachia. Look here for multimedia materials documenting the political, economic, social and cultural history of southern Appalachia. The Archive houses nearly 18 million manuscripts, 75,000 sound recordings and 250,000 photos and film clips. - Boone, NC: The W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University’s Center for Appalachian Studies houses 37,000 books and more than 200 periodicals related to southern Appalachia. The extensive genealogical collection includes records on Native and African populations, censuses from 1790 to 1920 for all of Appalachia, a large regional newspaper clipping file, photographs, maps, and family and local histories. Free Web Content For Plus Members Family Tree Shop More great genealogy resources from Family Tree Magazine:

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Welcome to our introductory series on Homeschooling where we are taking a look at the different types of homeschooling methods. In the second part of our 3-part articles, we summarise the various methods of homeschooling which are currently out there to help you understand the different types of curricula out there that may be of use to you when 'curriculum shopping'. There are lots of ways to teach your children at home- and you don’t have to do it the way a school would. Homeschoolers have lots of flexibility in the way they teach their children, and there are lots of different methods and approaches. Below is a list of many homeschooling types and their methods, please click on the corresponding buttons to skip to the section you wish to view or scroll down to view each type of homeschooling #1 The Classical Homeschooling Method The “Classical” homeschool approach has existed since the Middle Ages and the goal of this technique is to teach people how to learn for themselves. The five tools of learning are Reason, Record, Research, Relate and Rhetoric, and younger children begin preparing for this when they start to learn the three R’s. Classical homeschoolers focus more on reading and writing and have a unique way of creating “History Notebooks”. They accomplish this way of learning through written and spoken works rather than TV, videos, and pictures. The amount of reading is also one of the advantages of this method for people who love books. This type of homeschool has three stages: The Grammar Stage The Logic Stage The Rhetoric Stage Children focus on the tools of learning. They learn how to write, and how to use grammar properly. They may do things repetitively to cement the ideas they’ve learned. Children deepen their knowledge and add layers to the elementary teaching they were taught in the Grammar stage. This is a good time to educators to introduce debating, as debate makes children think about and synthesise the things they’ve learned. There are also many other benefits of debating Children are ‘becoming independent, forming their own opinions and starting to separate from their families’. Now is a good time for educators to teach children about persuasive and love ways to confer their opinions- again this is done in many ways including teaching more advanced debating techniques. Typical “Classical” Homeschools Schedule (for children under age 10) |5:00 - 6:30am||Parents and children rise, showers, dressing, early morning chores.| |7:00am||Breakfast, morning family meeting/ worship.| |8:00am||Daily chores from pre-determined list.| |8:30 - 9:30am||General lessons where children: | Recite memory work Practice reading Practice oral narration |9:30-10:15am||Mother reads aloud to all the children (child’s choice)| |10:15-11:130am||Phonics Instruction: | Copy work (the student will copy verbatim a written piece, like the Constitution, that is at their level) History notebook and time-line (For the time-line the children will keep a running time-line where they can note names of people and events that they are currently studying. The history notebook is laid out by date and children add information from their copy work, photos from their field trip to the Civil War re-enactment, or their entry into the National History Day Competition. |11:30am||Prepare lunch and straighten house.| |12:00pm||Lunch and mid-day chores.| |1:00pm||Naps and quiet time.| |2:00-2:45pm||Mother reads aloud (Children may do arts & crafts at the same time). Children finish their oral narrations| |2:45-4:30pm||Finish up academic work from the morning, play time, walks, field trips, library and volunteering.| |4:40-5:00pm||Prepare supper, straighten house.| |5:00pm||Dinner and evening chores.| |6:30pm||Evening family worship (optional).| |7:45 - 8:30pm||Family activities (like games).| |8:30 - 9:00pm||Prepare for bed.| If you want to know more about the Classical method, A Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home has been a very popular book amongst parents. #2 The Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Method This approach was founded by the British educator Charlotte Mason, a homeschooler herself. Mason believed educators should teach basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills to everyone. Charlotte Mason homeschooling is also a delightful way of teaching children as it takes the good parts of Classical Education and makes them work in a less rigid and arduous way for students. For example, short lessons, nature walks and field trips. The core belief with Charlotte Mason’s homeschooling method is that children are not mete containers waiting to be filled with knowledge, but persons in their own right deserving of respect. She believes children should be given the time to play, create, and be involved in real-life situations from which they can learn. Students also show what they know, not by taking tests, but via narration and discussion with art, dancing, or writing. Using the Charlotte Mason homeschool teaching style, homeschoolers strive to keep variety in their schedules. They generally do academics in the morning and try to “rest the child’s mind” by switching between easy and difficult talks and between active and passive tasks. Typical Charlotte Mason Schedule |9:00 - 9:20am||Math| |9:20 - 9:40am|| | |9:40 - 10:00am||History| |10:00 - 11:00am|| | Read aloud literature |12:20 - 12:40pm||Science| |12:40 - 1:00pm||Grammar| |1:00 - 1:20pm|| | Latin, music, poetry, P.E or art appreciation Map Work and read aloud work by children Spent outdoors enjoying nature. If you would like to know more about Charlotte Mason’s homeschooling, you can read her 5 part series called Home Education (The Home Education Series) (Volume 1,2,3,4 & 5). #3 Relaxed / Eclectic Home Education This is the method that is used most often by homeschoolers and takes ideas from different homeschooling methods to form its own style of education. Eclectic homeschoolers use workbooks for math, reading, and spelling, but also take an unschooling approach for other subjects. It can also include attending school part-time and doing distance learning. Typical Eclectic Home Education Schedule Read one chapter a day from a book the child has chosen. The parent will also often read challenging books to the children at night, like Jane Eyre, Phantom of the Opera, The Three Musketeers, and other classical children’s book. Eclectic families usually centre their writing around journals, essays, letters to friends and the occasional report. Some families also participate in a “young writers” club, available through their support group. Each child will have the math material that best suit their learning style. One child may use math software, one child may use math manipulative like rods, shapes, and counters, another child may use a math textbook. The parent then evaluates the child’s retention by periodically making up a sheet of problems that review all the math concepts the student has learned. The emphasis is on hands-on experiments which the family does at home or through community science (like those put on by MadScience.com). |History / Geography|| | The family will use workbooks, software, educational games, and historical fiction. Some families also make up time-lines and history notebooks like those used in the Classical and Charlotte Mason approaches. |Special Interests|| | Afternoons are generally spent doing special projects, pursuing hobbies, and participating in community classes and teams like football, gymnastics, Boy Scouts and many more. As seen from above there is no set timetable for learning, however the child is expected to meet certain educational goals. Mornings are often used for more formal, “have to” work, and afternoons are used for hobbies and other special projects. The advantage of the Eclectic method is that the parent feels that the “important” subjects are being covered thoroughly. Families also have the choice to choose textbooks, field trips and classes that fit their needs and interests. Another type of relaxed/eclectic homeschooling is the Natural Learning method. The Natural Learning approach encourages children to follow their curiosity and learn from their environment. Consequently, many people use this approach in conjunction with the relaxed/eclectic homeschooling method. #4 Montessori Homeschooling Method “The Montessori Method of education is an approach to learning which emphasises active learning, independence, cooperation, and learning in harmony with each child’d unique pace of development.” There are several principles for the Montessori method that fulfil the foundation to a typical Montessori education: - Respect for the child - The sensitive periods - The absorbent mind - Mixed-age groupings - The prepared environment - The curriculum areas - Montessori materials - The role of the teacher This approach allows children to learn at their own pace and in this way it develops their full potential. Wooden tools are preferred over plastic tools and learning materials are kept very organised and ready to use. The Montessori method also discourages televisions and computers, especially for younger children. According to Montessori homeschool philosophy, children should be allowed as much unscheduled time as possible in order for them to learn to manage their own time. Children are also encouraged to select their own learning materials and to learn at their own pace, believing that children will be drawn to what they need. Typical Montessori Homeschooling Schedule |A "Practical life" area|| | Which promotes activities such as pouring, spooning, and food preparation, and includes child-sized buckets, brooms, and mops for cleaning up. |A "Sensorial" area|| | Which includes such items such as wooden blocks (that teach size comparison), different scents for smelling, and coloured tablets for learning about colours. |A Math area|| | Which includes hands-on materials like number rods, sand-paper numbers, and coloured beads for counting. |A Language area|| | Which includes sand-paper numbers, a moveable alphabet, books and phonics materials. |A "Cultural" area|| | For history and geography, which includes globes, map puzzles, times-lines, books and pictures and different cultures, and Montessori “Peace Curriculum” (a course on conflict resolution for children). |A Music area|| | Which includes bells. And a variety of rhythm and other instruments. |A Art area|| | Which includes drawing materials, prints from a variety of different artists (including the Masters), and craft and sewing supplies. Maria Montessori believed children learn best when the environment they learn in supports their natural desire to learn and acquire skills. A hands-on approach is also especially great for younger homeschoolers, who aren’t quite ready for heavy formal study. #5 Multiple Intelligences Homeschooling The Multiple Intelligences Homeschooling Method is an idea developed by Howard Gardner and Harvard University’s “Project Zero”. This theory says that everybody differs in intelligence in different ways according to the different intelligences they possess. - Interpersonal MI (“people smart”) - Intrapersonal MI (“self smart”) - Bodily-Kinesthetic MI (“body smart”) - Naturalistic MI (“nature smart”) - Musical MI (“music smart”) - Visual-Spatial MI (“picture smart”) - Logical-Mathematical MI (number/reasoning smart”) - Verbal-Linguistic MI (“word smart”) Learning can be changed according to our intelligences area, but that doesn’t mean we should exclude trying to learn using other intelligences. For example, a lot of schools use a linguistic and logical-mathematical approach when teaching, but not every child learns that way. Some children (the bodily-kinesthetic learners) learn best by touching and not by listening or reading and other learners who are active and hands-on, may prefer to listen to audio version of classical children’s books while drawing or building things. Successful homeschoolers naturally emphasise their children’s strengths and automatically tailor their teaching to match the child’s learning style. They also adjust their learning environment and schedule so that it brings out the best in their children. This said, Multiple Intelligences homeschooling is not really a homeschooling method that we should base all our learning on. It should be noted that it may be used in conjunction with another home education approach. Typical Multiple Intelligences Homeschooling Schedule One child may begin reading at age five, another child may not be ready until age seven. One child may learn best by being read to or by listening to audio tapes, another child may carry a book around all day. One child may like to write with a pen or a pencil, one child may prefer typing their work on a computer, and another child may feel frustrated by the writing process and prefer to give oral reports of what they’ve learnt. Some child learn well from workbooks, other children prefer using hands-on manipulative like beads or fraction rods. Still others, do math quickly and easily in their head and feel frustrated when forced to answer problems on paper. Almost all children learn science best by having plenty of hands-on experiences. |History / Geography|| | Children learn best by “doing”, so families plan activities where they child can experience for themselves the clothing, food, and music of a particular era or culture. |Music / Sports / Arts|| | Families expose children to a variety of experiences, watch to see which activities spark their children’s passion, and then support their children in that activity. #6 The Steiner or Waldorf Homeschooling Method Waldorf education is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and stresses the importance of educating the whole child- body, mind, and spirit. It has some great elements to it, such as advocacy for hands-on, creative play and it’s use of a monthly learning theme called the Main Lesson. Some elements of the Waldorf/Steiner approach: - It’s avoidance of technology early in children’s lives - The deliberate mentoring relationship teachers form with their students - Using natural materials for play - Doing tasks as a team - How teachers encourage students to learn hands-on skills they’ll use in life Typical Steiner / Waldorf Homeschooling Schedule |Circle||The day starts with a 15 minute circle. (Circle time takes place in a special spot in the house. The family lights a candle and says the morning verse. They then since a Movement Verse, which usually involves finger play, a Closing Verse or song, and then blow out the candle).| |Main Lesson||The family spends 45 minutes of focused time on reading and writing. (The family obtains these lessons from a Waldorf curriculum supplier| |Free Time||During this time, the parent attends to their normal responsibilities, like household management or perhaps even running a home business, and the child watched and eventually imitates the parent’s actions. In addition, parents provide opportunities for creative play (like puppets, or any, or building projects).| |Lunch||Children help with preparation and clean-up.| |Afternoon Lesson||Science is done twice a week and math is done three times a week. Science lessons involve frequent outings. Reading lessons are also done during this time, reading from a Waldorf Reader for approximately 15 minutes a day. This afternoon session lasts around one hour.| |Free Play||Crafts, imitation activities, and creative play occupy the child until dinner time.| |Dinner||Children help with preparation and clean-up.| |Bedtime Ritual||This usually takes one hour. The parent either reads aloud or tells their own bedtime story.| Rhythm and consistency are very important to Waldorf homeschoolers, so the daily schedule is designed to flow easily and give the homeschooling parent plant of time for their many responsibilities. Younger children focus on: - Music and singing - Imaginative play - Natural materials - Learning by example - Artistic work like drawing, painting, and modelling - Practical tasks like cleaning, cooking, and gardening Older children focus on: - Language arts - Mineralogy (scientific studies- chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals and mineralised artefacts) - Self awareness Secondary aged children focus on: - All of the above, but learn to debate, question, observe, analyse and form conclusions from his/her own experience. - More artistic subjects (such as music, art and craft) are still heavily encourages - It aims to foster ethical ideas to develop higher levels of thinking This type of homeschooling method also discourages the use of technology (TVs, computers, phones, iPads) as they believe that computers are bad for the child’s health and creativity. #7 The Unschooling or Deschooling Method The term ‘unschooling’ was created by John Holt in 1977, a school teacher who became so frustrated with the rigidity of the school system. As a result, Hold said unschooling should allow children as much freedom as the parents can bare so they can learn unfettered by unnecessary rules, procedures, and busywork. It is also known as natural, interest-led, and child-led learning. Unschooling teaches education through daily experiences. If a child expresses an interest in learning something, parents can unobtrusively facilitate that learning through life. For example, they could go shopping and learn about: - Geography- as they learn to use the bus timetable and figure out a map - Mathematics- as they learn to add the cost of products with the amount of money they have - Business- what’s a good deal in life and what’s not - English/Literacy- learning letters and numbers from recognising them on food/item packaging With the unschooling method of education, learning happens as a part of life- it is not a separate area of life where ‘now we’re learning’ or ‘now we’re playing’. Typical Unschooling / Deschooling Schedule Children wake up when they are rested and decide for themselves what they would like to do that day. Some unschooling parents give their children a list of chores to do and suggestions for different activities for the day. Many unschooled children establish goals for themselves and work with their parents to set up a schedule that will help them achieve that goal. Each day will be different. One day the child may be hungry to learn new spellings words, so they will do spelling first thing in the morning. Another day, the child may be excited to set up a special science experiment and may run to the kitchen first thing to begin their project. Unschooling parents have a tendency to leave educational materials out for their children to “discover”- they may leave the microscope out on the kitchen table, a new book on the coffee table, or a new cookbook in the kitchen. They direct their children’s learning by stimulating the child’s interests in a particular project or subject. Many unschoolers spend their afternoons out in the community; volunteering at the library, working a part-time job (for older children), or taking private lessons. Unschoolers have a tendency to pursue their interests passionately and in-depth for a time and then move on to their next interest. They also more likely to stay up late, engrossed in a good book. Unschooled children have the time and research abilities to become experts in their areas of interest. unschoolers do not follow the typical school schedule, that may not do as well on grade level assessments and may have a difficult emir if they ever want to re-enter the school system. Another type of Unschooling is the Radical Unschooling Style. This is when children are encouraged to follow their interests completely and whole-heartedly. Parents give their children complete freedom to learn what they like. The children make all the decisions, including: no rules, no chores, no bedtime, no meal times and no exams. Parents also do not tell their children what to eat, when to go to bed or how much TV or video games they can watch/play. Some believe radical unschooling is unparenting. In the words of Lorraine Devon Wilke, it seems to ‘abdicate their role of parents’. Radical Unschooling is about as ‘free’ as ‘education’ gets, if you can call it education! #8 Traditional (School at Home) Homeschooling Method The Traditional Homeschooling method is the one people automatically think about when someone is homeschooling. It is one of the reasons many people start homeschooling, as they are able to replicate the educational method used in schools. This is also one of the most expensive types of homeschooling methods with the highest burnout rate because of its potentially strict manner. This said, some parents find it easier to use a relaxed traditional homeschooling method in the formative years. They find it easy to purchase boxed curriculum that comes with textbooks, study schedules, grades and record keeping, and start with a method that is familiar to their school upbringing. Families know exactly what to teach and when to teach it. This can be a comfort when first starting out and inexperienced. They can also send assignments into the exam board for grading and evaluation. Requires much more work on the part of the parent/teacher and the lessons are not as much for children. It is also comes at a higher cost. Typical Traditional Homeschooling Schedule |8:00 - 9:00am|| | Children change clothes, tidy house and have breakfast. |9:00 - 10:00am|| | Reading (using spelling books, writing assignments, and free reading) |10:00 - 10:30am|| | Math (using a text book and work book) |10:30 - 11:00am|| | History on Monday/Wednesday (using a text book), Science on Tuesday (using a text book that includes occasional experiments), and Geography on Thursday (using a work book) Electives (usually a foreign language audio program, and art course, or another elective that was included in the curriculum) #9 Flexi-schooling Method Flexi-Schooling is where a child attends school for part of the week, and learns at home for the rest of it. This is an ideal compromise for some families and has become increasingly popular. Reasons why parents may choose the Flexi-schooling path: - Children who have been excluded from school - Children who have an illness - Having a phobia of school - Returning to school gradually after a period of absence - So parents can home educate their children whilst making use of school resources Even though Flexi-schooling is legal in the UK, it isn’t an automatic right like full-time home education. It is entirely at the discretion of the school’s head teacher and you will need their permission before you can go ahead. You’ll need to prove to the head teacher that Flexi-schooling is in the best interests of your child, and you can do this by writing a proposal explaining the benefits for your child and how the arrangement will work between the school and you. A discussion will then be held to talk through your proposal, which will also be passed to other members of staff, school governors and possibly the local authority before a final decision is made. How Flexi-schooling works: - Your child will be marked absent in the register for the days they do not attend. - Your child will be required to follow the national curriculum whilst at school, but doesn’t have to be followed whist at home. - Sometimes the school might out conditions on the Flexi-schooling arrangement, for example, your child must attend school for a minimum of three days a week. | || | One example of how a 4-day Flexi-time school is run, offering a maximum of 18 hours of learning for children aged 10-14. They base their school on Creative, Soul and Democratic learning through yoga, meditation and democratic choice, creativity and self-direction. Example of a Flexi-schooling Schedule |9:00 - 9:30am|| | Yoga & Meditation Yoga & Meditation Yoga & Meditation |9:30 - 11:00am|| | English & Creative Writing |11:00 - 11:15am|| | |11:15 - 12:45pm|| | |12:45 - 1:00pm|| | Reflection and Tidy up Reflection and Tidy up Reflection and Tidy up |9:00 - 9:45am||Yoga & Meditation| |9:45 - 11:15am||Topic: Science| |11:15 - 11:30am||Break| |11:30 -12:15pm||Democratic Meeting| |12:15 - 1:15pm||Lunch| |1:15 - 2:00pm||Creative Writing/ Topic: Art| |2:00 - 3:00pm||Topic: Humanities / Topic: Art| #10 Worldschooling / Roadschooling Method Parents who decide to choose this method of homeschooling recognise that a child can receive no greater education than by experiencing and interacting with the world around them. This often involves travelling together and using the journeys to enhance their child/ren’s education. Worldschoolers share some of the same sentiments when choosing this method: - A desire to travel - A wish to introduce children to the wider world around them - A holistic approach to learning - A preference for experiential learning to solidify knowledge - A need for flexibility in exploring children’s talents that traditional schooling cannot provide - A desire to understand and become sensitive to other world-views - The ability to integrate travel with the subjects and themes they are learning about - A desire to help children make connections between educational material and the world around them. This hands-on approach appeals to many families as their child/ren are able to use the landmarks and attractions they encounter as a means for educational enhancement and exploration. They could spend one day focusing on the history behind the Egyptians pyramids and tombs while visiting Giza, Cairo and the next day learning how about Hieroglyphics. These are just some of the benefits of world/roadschooling. Choosing the Curriculum How can you afford to Worldschool? Not every programme/ timetable is ideal for learning on the go. Here are some considerations other world schoolers have taken into account when deciding on the curricula they include: Obviously it is going to cost a bit more than someone who decides a different homeschooling method due to the travelling costs. #11 Project-based Homeschooling Lori McWilliam Pickert came up with this idea of homeschooling to allow children to learn about what interests them, by helping them do it in a meaningful, rigorous way. Project-based homeschooling combines your child’s genuine interests with long-term, deep, complex learning. Rather than teaching or providing a curriculum, you mentor your child to help him or her learn how to direct and manage his or her own learning. This type of homeschooling works equally well as one element of a more traditional curriculum. Even for children who aren’t homeschooled, it’s a way to help them become self-motivated learners, thinkers, makers and doers. Project-based homeschooling is also like putting together a puzzle. It doesn’t matter which piece you start with, but as you lay them all on the table, you’ll start to see how they fit together to make the whole picture. This hands-on approach appeals to many families as their child/ren are able to use the landmarks and attractions they encounter as a means for educational enhancement and exploration. They could spend one day focusing on the history behind the Egyptians pyramids and tombs while visiting Giza, Cairo and the next day learning how about Hieroglyphics. These are just some of the benefits of world/roadschooling. What Project-based Homeschooling may look like: Remember this is a slow process, build it up, create the environment and earn how to mentor over time. Let your child take control slowly as they grow. #12 Religious Homeschooling As there are so many religions around the world it can alter and differentiate based on that particular family. There is no right or wrong way to homeschool your child through a religious-based method, it is what you want it to be and how you want to incorporate it into your homeschooling. Some of the methods that do and can incorporate it into its method: #13 Computer-based / Digital Homeschooling Computer based homeschool is really just another version to the textbook method. Instead of using paper books, the child’s curriculum is either through an online company or a home-based program that is purchased on a CD-ROM/ app. It is a popular option for those who want a solid, traditional education with limited planning, instruction and record keeping on the part of the parent. Students can take a single subject or an entire course of study. Through this way, children can interact with other students and receive feedback from live teachers, or a software program that is graded by the computer. | || | #14 Unit Studies Those who choose to homeschool through the unit studies methods can be hands-on, literature-based, and even gear towards the Charlotte Mason method. Unit studies typically learn all of the academic subjects through the study of one topic which can be taught to different ages with multiple levels. This is popular with homeschoolers who want to keep all of their children on similar topics at the same time. The child learns by actually experiencing or discovering through different methods and activities, rather than just reading a chapter from a textbook. A unit study takes a topic and “lives” with it for a period of time, for example: the theme of water (H2O)- most people think this is study in science, but it is also art (beautiful waterfall), history (the Red Sea), economics (water bill), R.E (baptism), geography (the location of bodies of water), etc. In this way, children are able to cover a vast amount of subjects through one topic. Unit studies also work well for children with different learning styles as most unit studies give several options to learn about a topic. It has been seen to work especially well for homeschoolers on the autism spectrum who have intense interests in specific subjects. Many homeschool families who have adopted this method well believe it not only allows students to study subjects more in-depth, but also because the variety of activities keeps them engaged. Example of one type of unit study: Animals | || | Click here to find out more about Unit Studies Although there may be many more different types of Homeschooling and Curricula currently in practice in the UK and beyond, we put this list together to inform you of the most popular types that we are aware of and those which have many resources and support available to you should you decide to proceed with any one of these. We must also stress that even though deciding to homeschool your child is a big decision, it’s not an irreversible one. There is lots of help out there from other homeschoolers to help you make this decision.

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Narrative ethics explores the intersections between the domain of stories and storytelling and that of moral values. Narrative ethics regards moral values as an integral part of stories and storytelling because narratives themselves implicitly or explicitly ask the question, “How should one think, judge, and act—as author, narrator, character, or audience—for the greater good?” Investigations into narrative ethics have been diverse and wide-ranging, but they can be usefully understood as focused on one or more of four issues: (1) the ethics of the told; (2) the ethics of the telling; (3) the ethics of writing/producing; and (4) the ethics of reading/reception. Questions about the ethics of the told focus on characters and events. Sample questions: What are the ethical dimensions of characters’ actions, especially the conflicts they face and the choices they make about those conflicts? What are the ethical dimensions of any one character’s interactions with other characters? How does a narrative’s plot signal its stance on the ethical issues faced by its characters? Questions about the ethics of the telling focus on text-internal matters involving implied authors, narrators, and audiences. Sample questions: What are the ethical responsibilities, if any, of storytellers to their audiences? What are the ethical dimensions of the narrative’s techniques? How does the use of these techniques imply and convey the values underlying the relations of the storytellers (implied authors and narrators) to their materials (events and characters) and their audiences (narratees, implied readers, actual audiences)? (Schmid → Implied Author; Margolin → Narrator; Schmid → Narratee; Schmid → Implied Reader) Questions about the ethics of writing/producing focus on text-external matters involving actual authors, film directors, or other constructing agents. Sample questions: What, if any, are the ethical obligations of the constructive agents of the narrative to its materials? For example, what obligations, if any, does a memoir writer have to other people whose experiences s/he narrates? What responsibilities, if any, does a filmmaker adapting a novel have to that novel and its author? What are the ethical implications of choosing to tell one kind of story rather than another in a given historical context? For example, what are the ethics of a fiction writer living under a repressive regime refusing to write about those socio-political conditions? Does developing a narrative about one’s own life help one become a better, more ethically sound person? Questions about the ethics of reading/reception focus on issues about audiences and the consequences of their engagements with narratives. Sample questions: What, if any, are the ethical obligations of the audience to the narrative itself, to its materials, and to its author? What, if any, are the consequences of an audience’s success or failure in meeting those obligations? Does reading narrative help one become a better, more ethically sound, person? (Prince → Reader) These four kinds of questions roughly correspond to four ethical positions occupied by the main agents involved in stories and storytelling (and again individual investigations vary in how many of these positions they focus on and which ones they make most important): (1) those of characters in relation to each other and to the situations they face; (2) those of the narrator(s) in relation to the characters and to the narratee(s); (3) those of the implied author in relation to the characters, the narrator(s), and the implied and actual audiences; (4) those of actual audience members (and the ethical beliefs they bring to the reading experience) in response to the first three ethical positions. These questions and positions shed light on the common claim by ethical critics that their investigations are different from “reading for the moral message,” since such reading has as its goal extracting a neatly packaged lesson from the ethics of the told (e.g. Macbeth teaches us about the evils of ambition). Attending to these four kinds of question and these four positions opens up the multi-layered intersections of narrative and moral values, even in narratives such as John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and George Orwell’s Animal Farm that offer clear answers to questions about the ethics of the told. Where literary ethics is broadly concerned with the relation between literature and moral values, narrative ethics is specifically concerned with the intersection between various formal aspects of narrative and moral values. Thus, narrative ethics is both broader (including in its domain nonliterary narrative) and narrower (excluding from its domain nonnarrative texts) than literary ethics. At the same time, narrative ethics can be usefully seen as a recent development in the larger trajectory of literary ethics, one beginning in the late 1980s (cf. § 3 below). The four questions and positions of narrative ethics shed light on how inquiries into narrative ethics can overlap with or be distinct from inquiries in two related domains, the politics of narrative and the aesthetics of narrative. Where ethics is concerned with moral values, politics is concerned with power, especially as it is acquired, exercised, and responded to by governments, institutions, social groups, and individuals. Since, in any given acquisition or deployment of power, moral values will inevitably come into play, ethics can be a lens through which some aspects of politics get examined. In addition, since an individual’s or a group’s application of moral values in any given situation may well be influenced by issues of power, politics can be a lens through which (some aspects of) ethical behavior are examined. In narrative ethics, then, all four categories of questions can include (but are not limited to) questions about the politics of narrative. For example, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the ethics of the told include Darcy’s struggle between his love for Elizabeth and his knowledge that her family is socially inferior to his; the ethics of the telling include Austen’s decision to convey the action largely through the consciousness of her young female protagonist rather than, say, through the older, wealthier, and more socially powerful Darcy. The ethics of writing include Austen’s focusing on the adventures of the Bennet sisters in the marriage market rather than on the actions of, say, male characters involved in the deliberations of Parliament; and the ethics of reading/reception include whether and how readers can legitimately claim Austen as a feminist. In terms of positions, the fourth one is where the overlap between ethics and politics will be most immediately evident, as, for example, when an individual reader’s political stance against marriage as an instrument of patriarchy would lead her to find fault with the ethics of the told in Austen’s novel. Aesthetics is concerned with beauty, or, more generally, the excellence of an art work (or, indeed, of any human construction). The frequent overlap between narrative ethics and narrative aesthetics becomes evident when ethical deficiencies in the told or the telling mar the excellence of a narrative. For example, when in the final chapters of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain has Huck go along with Tom Sawyer’s “Evasion” and the various ways it dehumanizes Jim, Twain introduces a deficiency that is simultaneously ethical and aesthetic. The Huck who has come to recognize and respect Jim’s humanity ought not to condone Jim’s dehumanization. Because Twain does not signal anything but approval for Huck’s behavior, this section of the novel introduces deficiencies in both the ethics of the told and of the telling. These deficiencies simultaneously weaken the aesthetics of the novel because they erode the power of the narrative’s climactic moment (Huck’s decision to go to hell) and verge on making Huck an incoherent character. Nevertheless, the overlap between narrative ethics and narrative aesthetics is not complete, as becomes evident in cases where ethics seem deficient but aesthetics do not. For example, many readers find the ethics of the told in Nabokov’s Lolita to be abhorrent even as they admire the beauty of the novel’s style. Although narrative ethics emerged as a clearly identified realm of study only in the 1980s, the interest in literature’s capacity to influence its audience for good or for ill goes back to Plato and Aristotle. Neither philosopher explicitly uses the term ethics in his discussion of literature, but each implicitly recognizes ethics as a substantial part of its appeal to audiences. In addition, the commentaries of the two philosophers provide striking examples of how ethics and aesthetics may overlap and of how a theorist’s understanding of ethics is often part and parcel of a broader philosophical vision. In The Republic, Plato (1998a: Book X) explains the defects of poetry (by poetry is meant lyric, epic, and drama) from the perspective of his ontological theory of forms, but that perspective has implications for the ethics of the told. Plato claims that poetry is twice removed from the truth: poetry imitates objects in the actual world, but these objects are themselves imitations of the ideal forms. A republic that welcomed such imitations would be doing its citizens an ethical disservice. In Ion (1998b), Plato contends that poetry has inherent deficiencies in the ethics of the telling that can lead to deficiencies in the ethics of the told: because poetry appeals to its audience’s emotions more than their reason, it can lead its audience to erroneous conclusions about what is good. Although Aristotle devoted a separate treatise to Ethics (actually, two treatises,the Eudemian Ethics (1952) and the Nicomachean Ethics (2002), the second a revision of the first), he also implicitly assigned ethics an important role in the Poetics (1920). He defined tragedy with reference to its emotional effect on the audience: an imitation of an action that arouses pity and fear and culminates in catharsis, i.e. the purging of those emotions. Aristotle’s thinking about each part of tragedy follows from this conception of its overall nature, and that thinking often includes an understanding of the intertwining of aesthetics and ethics, especially the ethics of the told. His discussion of character offers a clear example. The optimal tragic protagonist is a man who is neither extraordinarily virtuous nor extraordinarily immoral and who comes to misfortune not through some major moral failing but as a result of misjudgment. Such a protagonist will evoke fear (because he is like us) and pity (because his misfortune is greater than his ethical character warrants). In this way, Aristotle indicates that the aesthetic quality of tragedy is dependent on the ethical character of the protagonist. After Plato and Aristotle and before the rise of formal criticism in the 20th century, treatises on literature most often focused on the relation of text to world, as commentators continually returned to the concept of imitation. But many treatises, beginning with Horace’s Ars Poetica (1998), and its dictum that the purpose of literature is to instruct and to delight, also found a place for ethics. By linking the two purposes, Horace emphasized the interaction of the ethics of the told (and its role in instruction) and the ethics of the telling (and its role in delight). To take just two more examples in this tradition, Sidney ( 1998) put ethics front and center, as he argued that literature is superior to both history and philosophy because it has the greater capacity to lead its audiences to virtuous action. And Arnold ( 1998) contended that poetry would one day take the place of religion and philosophy because the best poetry skillfully intertwines aesthetics and ethics. During the first sixty-plus years of the 20th century, three of the four prominent formalisms—Russian formalism, the New Criticism, and French narratology—moved ethics into the background of literary theory/narrative theory, as they highlighted questions about either the distinctiveness of literature (Russian formalism and New Criticism) or about narrative as a system of signification. The fourth formalism, Chicago neo-Aristotelianism, is a notable exception, as will be discussed below. For the Russian formalists, the distinctiveness of literature resides in its ability to sharpen perceptions by defamiliarizing literature’s represented objects. As Šklovskij ( 1990: 5) put it, “Automatization eats away at things, at clothes, at furniture, at our wives, and at fear of war. [I]n order to return sensation to our limbs, to make us feel objects, to make a stone stony, man has been given the tool of art.” Literature is the art that defamiliarizes through its distinctive uses of language and through other formal innovations. The New Critics, whose program became the dominant paradigm in the Anglo-American context between the end of World War II and the late 1960s, identified literariness as inherent in literary language with its capacity for generating complex meanings. More generally, the New Critics conceived of the literary text as an autonomous structure of language, independent of authorial intention and reader response, and they regarded the successful work as a verbal icon whose beauty arises from the balance achieved by artful juxtapositions of linguistic ambiguities and ironies (cf. Wimsatt & Beardsley [1946a] 1954a, [1946b] 1954b); Brooks 1947; Wellek & Warren 1956). Such balance, the New Critics argued, captures truths overlooked by the denotative language of the sciences. Although neither school explicitly addressed questions of ethics, their programs imply some concern with the ethics of the told and the ethics of the telling—and another illustration of overlap between aesthetics and ethics. The effects of defamiliarization—moving readers from automatization to fresh perceptions of the world—clearly have an ethical dimension, and since those effects depend on techniques of various kinds, this aesthetic program also implies an interest in the ethics of the telling. The New Critics’ emphasis on the complex truths conveyed by literary language implies a similar double interest in the ethics of the told and the ethics of the telling. The French narratologists of the 1960s and 1970s were concerned with neither aesthetics nor ethics, but, as heirs to the Russian formalists, with narrative “as an autonomous object of inquiry” (Ryan 2005: 344). Working within the scope of Saussurean semiology and adopting structural linguistics as a “pilot-science,” they sought to explore the modes of signification of narrative in all its forms as an international, transhistorical and transcultural phenomenon (cf. Barthes 1977: 20) (Meister → Narratology). Not surprisingly, the Chicago neo-Aristotelians followed Aristotle in making ethics an important implicit part of their approach. Dissatisfied with what they saw as the limitations of the New Critical conception of literature as a special kind of language, they looked back to the Poetics and asked how it would have to be revised in order to account for the very different kinds of literary works that had been written since Aristotle’s day. Retaining Aristotle’s interest in the affective components of form, they implicitly gave ethical judgments, arising from the ethics of the told and of the telling and how they positioned the audience in relation to characters, a significant role in the trajectory of emotional responses generated by plots. Thus, Crane (1952) shows how readers’ expectations and desires in Tom Jones are a function of multiple factors (including Fielding’s careful control of the disclosure of the truth about Tom’s parentage), the general pattern of the action (Tom repeatedly gets in and out of increasingly serious scrapes), and the ethical judgments Fielding builds into his representation of his characters. Through these means, Fielding generates the “comic analogue” of fear before fulfilling the audience’s desires and bringing the ethically admirable Tom to his happy union with the similarly admirable Sophia Western. Building on Crane’s work and putting even more emphasis on the positions of authors and readers in relation to each other, Booth ( 1983) began to make the ethical consequences of the neo-Aristotelian approach more explicit. In The Company We Keep (1988), Booth revisited and greatly expanded this early effort (cf. § 3.4). In the 1960s the hegemony of the New Criticism began to wane for both intradisciplinary and extradisciplinary reasons with the result that literary criticism became more interdisciplinary. Critics began to chafe under the limitations of the New Critical commitment to the autonomy of the text, a response reinforced by the political upheavals of the decade. As scholars began to connect literature with multiple aspects of the extratextual world, they brought relevant insights of theoretical work in other disciplines to the work of interpretation. Two aspects of these developments helped prepare the way for the ethical turn of the late 1980s. (1) The rise of poststructuralism and its critique of what Derrida ( 1978: 261) called the “metaphysics of presence,” or the effort to ground understanding of the world in solid foundational principles (e.g. God, Descartes’ cogito, various binary oppositions such as nature/civilization). Poststructuralism argued that such foundations were either illusory or dependent on erroneously privileging one side of the binary over the other (speech over writing; God over the human; men over women; white over black; mind over body, etc.). This critique gave support to many contextualist, politically-oriented approaches such as feminist criticism, critical race studies, postcolonial criticism, and New Historicism. Practitioners of these approaches argued that what appears to be natural about the status quo—and about literary works that support the status quo—is actually a function of skewed power dynamics that needs to be revised. This emphasis on politics opened the door for attention to ethics, especially the ethics of the told. (2) The rise and fall of Anglo-American deconstruction, the movement spawned by the engagement of such figures as Hartman, Miller, and de Man with Derrida’s analysis of language as a system of signs devoid of any center (Derrida 1976). In this view, language is a system in which signifieds were determined not by any direct relation to objects or ideas in the world but by the play of signifiers. On the one hand, Anglo-American deconstruction contributed to the breakdown of the New Critical hegemony because its poststructuralist anti-foundationalism undid such valued New Critical concepts as coherence and unity. On the other hand, this development was the logical extension of New Criticism, because it perpetuated the view that literature could be equated with its language and its distinctive ways of signifying. Like the New Criticism, Anglo-American deconstruction was initially more concerned with aesthetics (the glory of literary language is its polysemous undecidability) than it was with ethics. Nevertheless, Miller in The Ethics of Reading (1987) identified the important ethical consequences of deconstruction by offering its take on the position of the reader. In a characteristic deconstructive paradox, Miller argued that the reader’s ethical obligation is to respect the undecidability of the text’s language. In other words, the ethical reader will recognize that the nature of language inevitably undermines the search for a determinate ethics of the told. But Miller’s case for deconstructive ethics was eclipsed by the revelation that his deconstructionist colleague at Yale, de Man, had, during World War II, written several anti-Semitic articles for Le Soir, a Belgian newspaper that collaborated with the Nazis. In light of the horrific consequences of Nazi anti-Semitism, the position that de Man’s wartime writings do not have a determinate ethics of the told appeared to many to be the outcome not of a disinterestedly rigorous reading but of an effort to absolve de Man of responsibility for his repugnant views. After the de Man affair, literary studies became much less interested in undecidability and much more open to other ways of analyzing the intersections of ethics and literature. Since the late 1980’s, the ethical turn has taken two primary forms: poststructuralist ethics and humanist ethics. Because humanist ethics engages more directly with other work in narratology, it gets more attention here. In the wake of the de Man affair, Derrida developed a greater ethico-political emphasis in his own work (Derrida 1994) and called attention to the philosophical ethics of Levinas ( 1969, 1981, 1987) (see Critchley for a discussion of deconstructive ethics, focusing on Derrida and Levinas). Levinas argues that the essence of ethical behavior is to respect the otherness of the Other. He uses the metaphor of “the face” and “facing” to convey this position. One shows respect for the Other by facing his/her otherness. This emphasis on the Other dovetails with the political concerns of feminist, postcolonial, and critical race theory as well with disability studies. As a result, the poststructuralist stream emphasizes the ethics of alterity with special attention to the ethics of the told (representations of the other) and the ethics of reading (obligations to face otherness). Different theorists offered variations on the central themes. Harpham (1999: x) defined ethics as an “intimate and dynamic engagement with otherness,” while Attridge (1999: 28) maintained that “ethics is […] the fundamental relation not just between subjects but also between the subject and its multiple others,” adding that this fundamental relation “is not a relation and [it] cannot be named, for it is logically prior to relations and names, prior to logic.” Hale (2007, 2009), in her Humanist ethics acknowledges otherness as important for ethical engagements with narrative, but it emphasizes the benefits of connecting across difference. Booth’s The Company We Keep (1988) and Nussbaum’s Love’s Knowledge (1990) were foundational texts for humanist ethics. While neither earned universal acclaim, together they moved ethics to a prominent place in narrative theory and prepared the way for Newton’s claim in Narrative Ethics (1995) that the two domains are inseparable. To appreciate Booth’s reflections on ethics and literature, it is helpful to start with his work on the rhetoric of fiction ( 1983). Booth initially focused on the efficacy of overt authorial rhetoric in the novel, arguing that such rhetoric cannot be judged by a priori aesthetic dicta such as “true art ignores the audience.” Instead, it needs to be assessed according to its effectiveness in advancing the larger purposes of its author’s construction. In developing this case, Booth reached two broader conclusions. (1) Since an author’s use of any technique has effects on the novel’s audience, the author cannot choose whether or not to employ rhetoric but only which kind of rhetoric to employ. (2) The effects of rhetoric on the audience include cognitive, aesthetic, affective, and ethical ones, often in close interaction with one another. In a chapter on the ethics of the telling entitled “The Morality of Impersonal Narration” (Booth 1983: 377–98), Booth noted that Jamesian center-of-consciousness narration and unreliable character narration tend to generate sympathy, even when used in the representation of ethically deficient characters. As a result, Booth pointed out, these rhetorical choices may lead readers to overlook those deficiencies. The upshot of the chapter is not to condemn these techniques, but rather to strike a cautionary note about their ethical effects. In the Afterword to the second edition of The Rhetoric of Fiction ( 1983), Booth expressed some dissatisfaction with this argument, in part because he had let his personal moral commitments influence his rhetorical analyses. Later, Booth (1988) returned to his earlier conclusions and incorporated them into a more explicit discussion of ethics as an integral component of rhetoric. He employed the metaphor of books as friends to convey his view of the ethics of reading. Exploring this metaphor, Booth emphasized three key points: (1) friends are of different kinds—some are good for us and some aren’t—and their effects on the individual may vary depending on when, where, and why they are encountered; (2) many of these effects follow from the ways in which these friends guide one’s trajectory of desires; (3) one of the key functions of narrative fiction is to expand readers’ experiences as they follow these trajectories of desire. Booth offers numerous exemplifications of these principles, most notably in extended analyses of ethical virtues and deficiencies in the telling and told of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel and Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Where Booth’s work arose out of a tradition of literary criticism, Nussbaum’s arose out of an effort to revise a tradition of philosophical inquiry into ethics. And where Booth was influenced by Aristotle’s way of thinking about parts in relation to wholes, Nussbaum, a classicist and a philosopher, was influenced by his discussions of ethics. She noted that ethics is that branch of philosophy concerned with Aristotle’s question of what the good life consists of, but she was dissatisfied with the ways analytic philosophy approached that question. Its style of reasoning, she argued, created a disconnect between its form and its content: how can one adequately discuss, say, an ethical struggle arising out of being in love through the abstractions of analytic philosophy? Novels, by contrast, seek to fit content to form (and vice versa), i.e. to set up mutually reinforcing relations between the ethics of the told and the ethics of the telling. As a result, novels conduct ethical inquiry in ways that are superior to those of analytic philosophy. More specifically, novels explore the concrete particularity of ethical dilemmas faced by fully realized characters, and those explorations harness the cognitive power of the emotions. Nussbaum (1997, 2000) later went on to make a case for the value of the ethical engagements offered by novel reading when we turn to matters of public policy and to widen her scope to basic issues of human rights. Newton departs from the Aristotelian emphases of Booth and Nussbaum as he stakes out a position that regards narrative and ethics as inseparable. He develops his own approach by sythesizing concepts from Baxtin, Cavell, and Levinas. From Baxtin ( 1993), he borrows the concept of ‘vživanie’, or ‘live-entering’ (empathy with the Other without loss of self); from Cavell (1979), the concept of acknowledging (being in a position of having to respond); and from Levinas ( 1981, 1987) the concepts of the Said (the told), Saying (performing a telling) and Facing (looking at or looking away). Newton (1995: 11) describes his project as the investigation of the “ethical consequences of narrating story and fictionalizing person, and the reciprocal claims binding teller, listener, witness, and reader in that process.” He uses his triumvirate of thinkers to good effect as he offers thoughtful, nuanced analyses of the interrelations of the ethics of the telling and the ethics of the told in fiction by Dickens, Conrad, James, Ishiguro, and others. Like Nussbaum, Newton (1998, 2001, 2005) has gone on to expand and develop his approach in later books, and in an essay on teaching narrative theory (2010), he revisits his conception of narrative as ethics by developing the metaphor that narrative and ethics haunt each other. Altieri (2003) has objected to what he sees as the excessively rational basis of Booth’s and especially of Nussbaum’s ethics. He has thus argued for a mode that can do better justice to what he calls the “particulars of rapture,” a mode of reading analogous to the sublime, in which affect overpowers rational judgment. Keen (2007, 2011 ed.) has offered another important contribution to work on the relation between affect and ethics (Keen → Narrative Empathy). Phelan (2005, 2007, 2013) has sought to extend, clarify, and refine Booth’s work on the integral connection between rhetoric and ethics by highlighting the significance and centrality of ethical judgments in the experience of reading narrative. Phelan argued that, given the variety of ethical thought on display in the world’s narratives, it is valuable to do rhetorical ethics not only from the outside in, as Nussbaum and Newton do, but also from the inside out. That is, rather than privilege the ethical systems of one or more thinkers, the analyst can seek to uncover the ethical values underlying the specific rhetorical exchanges of a particular narrative. As part of his work on unreliable character narration, Phelan has put forth the idea that its ethical consequences can have effects ranging along a spectrum from bonding (Huck Finn’s naiveté leads him to be ethically unreliable in a way that increases the reader’s sympathy for him) to estranging (Jason Compson’s selfishness and pride lead to negative readerly judgments). Phelan (2011) has extended this work on the ethics of unreliability by examining the ethics of “deficient narration,” i.e. narration that authors signal as reliable but readers find “off-kilter,” such as Huck Finn’s narration in much of the Evasion section of Twain’s novel. Questions about the ethics of writing/composing have extended beyond the domain of literary narrative to the domain of identity (Bamberg → Identity and Narration). Many philosophers and psychologists (e.g., MacIntyre , Bruner , and Schechtman ) have advanced the view that conceiving of one’s life as a narrative is essential to having a self. As Strawson (2004) pointed out in an essay contesting this thesis about narrative identity, the view has both a descriptive psychological component (this is how human beings experience their lives) and a normative ethical component (having a narrative identity enables one to live a better life). Strawson rejected both components of the narrative identity thesis. Although he did not deny that some people experience their lives as narratives, he disputed that all (or even most) people do. Citing his own experience, he distinguished between Diachronics (those who do experience their lives as narratives) and Episodics (those who do not). He objected even more strongly to the ethical component of the narrative identity thesis, arguing that (1) having a narrative of one’s life often entails distorting the past and thus taking one further away from accurate self-understanding and (2) that one can live ethically without having a narrative of one’s life. Strawson’s argument did not lead to a wholesale rejection of the narrative identity thesis, and indeed some commentators found fault with his reasoning (Battersby 2006). But both the thesis and Strawson’s effort to debunk it point to the high stakes of questions about narrative ethics. Altieri’s objections to Booth and Nussbaum indicate that the interrelations between the affective and ethical dimensions of reading deserve further examination. Hale’s (2007, 2009) work indicates that those doing poststructuralist ethics and those doing humanist ethics could learn from each other without giving up their distinctive projects. The similarities and differences among the ethical dimensions of narrative in different media are also worthy of further study. (For some valuable initial work in this area on film narrative, see Richter 2005, 2007.) Ethics in lifewriting (Eakin 2004), in medical narrative (Charon 2006), in legal narrative (Brooks 2001), and in other domains involved in the narrative turn also deserve further investigation. More generally, as the recent collection Narrative Ethics (Lothe & Hawthorn 2013) indicates, because the domains of narrative and ethics are themselves so vast and their interactions so varied, we can expect that exploration of their intersections will continue to excite much debate and to yield rich results.

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Literature and Authors Arkansas’s place in Southern American literature is partly a result of its place on the map. The eastern border, the Mississippi River, isolated Arkansas from the rest of the South, and the western border, in Indian Territory, pulled it toward the western frontier. The Arkansas River, slicing the state diagonally from northwest to southeast, further divided the region culturally and economically. Arkansas contains six natural divisions ranging from the Ozark Plateau (commonly called the Ozark Mountains) to the flat and fertile Delta on the eastern border. The combination of isolation from without and cultural diversity within its borders continues to influence Arkansas writers and writing. Even those whose association with the state is temporary or tenuous often bear the stamp of Arkansas in their work. Arkansas’s Image in Writing Arkansas’s geography determined its economy and its culture–and its image. The first settlers were loggers and trappers attracted by the forests and swamps of “the Creation State,” as Thomas Bangs Thorpe called it in the story “The Big Bear of Arkansas.” Once the swamps had been drained and the forests cleared, agriculture became the overwhelming source of economic development in the “Land of Opportunity,” as license plates later branded the state. For many years, industry consisted mainly of the exploitation of natural resources such as minerals and timber. There were few towns. In fact, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, nearly half the state’s population still lived in communities with a population fewer than 2,500. Consequently, the motto printed on tourism materials since 1987 is “The Natural State,” and exploitation of Arkansas’s beautiful rural isolation is an important economic resource. The lack of a wider urban base affected intellectual and creative life in Arkansas. The scattered population could not easily support public education or other humanistic endeavors, and the old-time religion, requiring no other books than the Bible, often regarded aesthetic expression with suspicion or hostility. But traditional language arts flourished, including folk songs, storytelling, and preaching, and the state’s remoteness from the mainstream probably helped to strengthen their influence on Arkansas writing well into the second half of the twentieth century. The earliest writings in and about Arkansas were by outsiders from as far away as Spain and France, recording sixteenth- and seventeenth-century exploration. In the nineteenth century, another spate of travel writing appeared, including the naturalist Thomas Nuttall’s journal of his travels in the Arkansas River Valley (1819); Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s description of Native Americans, early settlements, and the Ozarks (1816–1819); Washington Irving’s description in 1832 of a visit to Fort Smith (Sebastian County); and Excursions Through the Slave States (1844) by the English geologist George Featherstonhaugh, who, nearly 150 years later, turned up in a novel by Donald Harington. Friedrich Gerstäcker wrote Wild Sports in the Far West about his experiences in Arkansas soon after Arkansas gained statehood in 1836. These writers were published by and for people outside Arkansas. They created stereotypes of an Arkansas populated with indolent farmers, hapless slaves or their descendants, shiftless woodsmen, barefoot and snuff-dipping women, riverboat gamblers, and desperados. Some of the most influential early writing in and about Arkansas is in the Southwest humor tradition. James R. Masterson, in his book Tall Tales of Arkansas (1943), defines Arkansas humor as largely oral in origin and transmission. Even printed forms of Arkansas humor were mostly ephemeral—newspapers, magazines, and pulp books. According to Masterson, traditional Arkansas humor uses exaggeration rather than understatement, explicitness rather than implication, efforts to penetrate the understanding rather than hints to challenge it. Arkansas humor has been characterized by boisterous wit, heavy satire, or the improbable. These characteristics might be applied to much Arkansas writing for the past century and a half, even that of the most literary and academic authors. But Charles Fenton Mercer Noland was neither literary nor academic when he moved to Batesville (Independence County) in 1826 and became editor of the Batesville Eagle. He fled after fighting a duel but returned in time to carry the first Arkansas constitution to Washington in 1836. He wrote for the Spirit of the Times, a New York weekly subtitled A Chronicle of the Turf, Agriculture, Field Sports, Literature and the Stage. His chief contributions were forty-five letters published over the signature of “Col. Pete Whetstone.” Like his literary descendants all over the South, he created a family, an entire neighborhood, and a culture that became the background of his stories. Hunting and sporting, especially horse racing, are his two main themes. The Arkansas stories of the transplanted New Englander Thomas Bangs Thorpe were nationally popular and were translated into several European languages. They were collected in two volumes, The Mysteries of the Backwoods; Or, Sketches of the Southwest (1846) and Colonel Thorpe’s Scenes in Arkansaw (1858). Thorpe’s characters are typically crude and illiterate but have boundless enthusiasm for the glories of the Arkansas swamps and wildlife. The defensive posture of Arkansas people is in part a reaction against so many jokes in these early books and the state’s newspapers. At a meeting of newspaper editors in Hot Springs (Garland County) in 1878, William Quesenbury, writer and cartoonist for the Fayetteville (Washington County) Southwest Independent, read his poem, “Arkansas,” in which he asks: What stigma rests on Arkansas? What crime or foul disgrace upon her? Where is the hand would dare to draw A black line on her shield of honor? His answers to these questions are much the same in the twenty-first century, when the questions are still being asked, though not in tetrameter stanzas: The Mississippi River and the Ozark Mountains made Arkansas much less accessible to immigration than other parts of the continent. And when immigrants began to settle in Arkansas, they were not from the best society but included many who had already failed or transgressed elsewhere. They did not develop loyalty to the state but rather, as in the Quesenbury poem, claimed their old home: “No, me and Jack was born out here, / But daddy come from Indianer.” Quesenbury maintains that textbooks do not teach the real Arkansas and that people who go to Arkansas to make their living are all too willing to slander the state when they return home. These complaints are still alive in Arkansas, where regular attempts have been made to promote teaching Arkansas history to counteract what is felt to be the state’s inferiority complex. The natural evolution from Noland, Thorpe, and their ilk was toward publication for readers within the state. The scattered population could not support a book-publishing culture, but this circumstance encouraged the development of newspapers, whose importance in the state’s cultural life cannot be overestimated. The Arkansas Gazette was first published by William Woodruff at Arkansas Post (Arkansas County), the territorial capital, on November 20, 1819, the same day as the territory’s first election. Woodruff is an Arkansas icon, and his entrance into the territory, poling two pirogues lashed together bearing his printing press, is part of Arkansas mythology. Within its first month, the Gazette contained the spirited and opinionated letters that were so much a part of its influence and popularity in the state. When Little Rock (Pulaski County) became the capital, it had a population of 600 and a public press consisting of three newspapers: the Arkansas Gazette, the Arkansas Advocate, and The Times. Between 1819 and 1993, more than 2,500 newspapers were published in Arkansas. They were often the only outlet not only for writers of news and opinion but for columnists, poets, and anyone else with something to put before the public. Opie Read was a reporter for The Prairie Flower of Carlisle (Lonoke County), the Gazette, and other papers, but his reputation is due to The Arkansas Traveler, a paper that first appeared in 1882, purporting to expose the hicks of the backwoods for the amusement of citified Little Rock readers. The Traveler quickly achieved a circulation of 85,000. His description of Arkansas “characters” drew local resentment, but, even after he moved to Chicago, Illinois, his paper was a national institution. Many twentieth-century Arkansas writers honed their skills and acquired their readership in the Gazette, the Arkansas Democrat, and other newspapers in the state. Their columns, stories, humor, and verses have frequently been reprinted as books. Throughout the years, the “Arkansas Traveler” column in the Gazette had excellent and sometimes hilarious writing from Ernie Deane, Bob Lancaster, Mike Trimble, and Charles Allbright. Paul Greenberg, Gene Lyons, Ernie Dumas, Robert McCord, and others produced outstanding reporting, investigative pieces, and commentary, some of it later published as books. Some of Lancaster’s pieces for the Arkansas Times, a magazine-turned-newspaper that welcomed some of the Gazette staffers after that daily closed, evolved into The Jungles of Arkansas: A Personal History of the Wonder State (1989). Charles Portis, a reclusive but brilliantly funny novelist, worked on the Memphis, Tennessee, Commercial Appeal, the Arkansas Gazette, and the New York Herald Tribune before returning to Arkansas to write books. Writers of that generation are generally far from the Arkansas boosterism of their predecessors, but their criticism is more acceptable because they are perceived as locals. Other writers have used Arkansas magazines and newspapers as their creative outlet, including Robert Wynn for his historical pieces and memoirs of the Boston Mountains, and Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni, Marie Rushing, and many others for their poetry. Otto Ernest Rayburn published several magazines extolling the “Anglo-Saxon seed-bed,” which led to his Ozark Country (1941). The move of the Oxford American magazine to central Arkansas in 2002 provided another outlet of considerably more sophistication than Rayburn’s Arcadian Life. The many denominational newspapers, including the Arkansas Catholic, have supplied a vehicle for theological debate and religious or inspirational writing. Arkansas in Memoir Bearing out the contention that Arkansans like stories better than any other writing, memoir and autobiographical writing comprise perhaps the most impressive body of Arkansas literature. The authors are black and white, male and female, rich and poor, celebrated and obscure. Wayman Hogue, in Back Yonder, An Ozark Chronicle (1932), combines his personal reminiscence with a systematic treatment of the hill culture. Hogue’s daughter Charlie May Simon, a writer of biographies for younger readers, wrote two memoirs, Straw in the Sun (1945), recounting her return to backwoods Arkansas to become a writer, and Johnswood (1953), the story of her life with the poet John Gould Fletcher, himself the author of Life is My Song (1937). Otto Rayburn’s Forty Years in the Ozarks (1957) celebrates a life of writing and publishing. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), the most Arkansas-connected of her books, recounts her childhood years in the general store in Stamps (Lafayette County). Brooks Hays’s memoir, A Hotbed of Tranquility (1968), describes his careers in the Southern Baptist Convention and the Arkansas Democratic Party. The Little Rock desegregation crisis spawned a host of memoirs, notably those of Daisy Bates, Melba Pattillo Beals, Elizabeth Huckaby, Terrence Roberts, and Orval Faubus. Actor Ben Piazza’s fictionalized autobiography, The Exact and Very Strange Truth, was published in 1964. Shirley Abbott wrote two volumes about her family in Hot Springs, Womenfolks (1983) and The Bookmaker’s Daughter (1991). Margaret Jones Bolsterli, a professor at the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville, wrote Born in the Delta: Reflections on the Making of a Southern White Sensibility (1991). Looking for Hogeye (1986) recounts the return of New York Times reporter Roy Reed, another Gazette alumnus, to his home state. Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir (2012) was written by Beth Ditto, singer and songwriter for the band Gossip. Ditto wrote about, among other things, growing up poor in Judsonia (White County). Garrard Conley, who grew up in northern Arkansas, wrote his 2016 memoir Boy Erased about his experiences at the Memphis, Tennessee, “ex-gay” therapy program Love in Action. Multi-Faceted Arkansas Authors Bernie Babcock was one of the first Arkansas women to support herself by writing. She started out at the Arkansas Democrat as a book reviewer and editor of the society page. In 1906, she started an illustrated magazine, The Arkansas Sketch Book. In 1917, she became the first Arkansas member of the National League of American Pen Women. She published more than forty novels, including temperance stories and treatments of the Lincoln and Lee myths. The Soul of Ann Rutledge (1919) was an international bestseller and went through fourteen printings. Babcock also wrote The Man Who Lied on Arkansas and What Got Him (1909) and worked on the WPA Writers Project, supervising the collection and transcription of the slave narratives. Hogeye (Washington County) is the setting of a novel, Acres of Sky (1930), by Charles Morrow Wilson. He also edited Ozark Fantasia (1927) by Charles J. Finger. After he left Fayetteville, Wilson wrote chiefly nonfiction books about the tropics, but he also produced a collection of tales, The Bodacious Ozarks (1959). Finger was a transplanted English globetrotter who published a magazine, All’s Well, from a farm outside Fayetteville and worked on the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Writers Project that produced the Guide to the State (1941). Finger also wrote fiction for young readers and a memoir, Seven Horizons (1930). Wabbaseka (Jefferson County) native Eldridge Cleaver, who was a leader in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, published several books, including the autobiographical titles Soul on Ice (1968) and Soul on Fire (1978), Eldridge Cleaver: Post-Prison Writings and Speeches (1969), and Eldridge Cleaver’s Black Papers (1969). Helen Gurley Brown of Green Forest (Carroll County) spent decades at the helm of Cosmopolitan magazine as editor-in-chief and was the author of many books, including the bestselling Sex and the Single Girl (1962). Arkansas in Fiction It is not a long stretch from the personal narrative and the memoir purporting to be true to narrative fiction. It is probably safe to say that most Arkansas writers have aimed at telling a good story rather than subscribing to any literary or artistic school. Some elements of Southern storytelling are evident in Arkansas fiction from early on and are still evident. There is often a strong sense of place—small towns and rural settings especially. The characters represent a cross-section of Arkansas population—white, black, working class, plantation aristocrats and nouveau-riches, and lots of garrulous narrators. Arkansas had at least two successful practitioners in the nineteenth-century heyday of American local-color fiction. Ruth McEnery Stuart, a New Orleans, Louisiana, woman who married a farmer from Washington (Hempstead County), wrote stories for Harper’s and other national magazines between 1888 and 1913. Washington became her fictional village Simpkinsville, whose residents spoke the dialect of the Arkansas plain folk, dipped snuff, and espoused the gentle and genteel beliefs of mid-South Protestantism. Alice French was a transplanted New Englander, daughter of a Midwestern businessman. In her middle age, she wintered in northeastern Arkansas, where she wrote, under the name Octave Thanet, stories of a grittier Arkansas life of trappers and squatters along the cypress swamps, as well as of cavalier planters and their family secrets. In her Arkansas stories, French wrote from a patronizingly aristocratic point of view familiar to Arkansans and emphasized the more squalid hues of local color, but she also made a serious effort to reproduce the language of her region. In the 1880s, she wrote a series of nonfiction magazine pieces for The Atlantic Monthly about several Arkansas towns, including Hot Springs and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). For much of the twentieth century, many Arkansas writers left home to make their reputations, or occasionally to make money. Although their detachment from Arkansas led eventually out of regionalism into a generic American fiction, their work often used elements of Southern and Arkansas life. Thyra Samter Winslow left Fort Smith for New York, where she published more than 100 pieces in the Smart Set between 1915 and 1923, as well as stories in Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and The New Yorker. Her depiction of small-town life, with mean-spirited, conventional characters in run-down neighborhoods or stuffy country clubs, contains many details drawn from her early experience in Arkansas. Some of these were collected in 1935 in My Own My Native Land. Another Arkansan who went to New York, David Thibault of Little Rock, published stories in Collier’s Magazine between 1928 and 1931, most of them devoid of Arkansas connections. But he also had nearly completed a novel, Salt for Mule, set on a Delta plantation, when he died; it was never published, though several chapters appeared in Harper’s Monthly Magazine in 1937. One of author Charles Portis’s characters says, “A lot of people leave Arkansas and most of them come back sooner or later. They can’t quite achieve escape velocity.” Among others, Roy Reed, Douglas Jones, and Dee Brown retired to Arkansas after careers elsewhere. Jones created a notable body of historical fiction about the American West. Some of his work is set in northwestern Arkansas and the adjacent Indian Territory, including Elkhorn Tavern (1980) and Weedy Rough (1981). Brown wrote more than a dozen historical works, including the novels Creek Mary’s Blood (1980) and They Went Thataway (1960). He wrote historical nonfiction, such as the much-acclaimed and much-translated Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (1970). Brown also wrote for young readers, including Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow: Railroads in the West, which received an award from the Western Writers of America in 1981 for the best western for young people. Portis is himself a returned Arkansan, resettling in the state after working on the New York Herald Tribune. Many readers recall True Grit (1968) as a western with a historical setting straddling the Arkansas boundary in what was then Indian Territory, in which Portis makes splendid comic use of the Wild West material. Portis, who has been called America’s “least-known great writer,” represents a brilliant Arkansas incarnation of Old Southwest humor. Most of his fiction is set in our own time, populated with off-beat characters so beloved of earlier writers and some of Portis’s contemporaries—adherents of mystical religion, dropouts, “the world’s smallest perfect man,” and Joann the Wonder Hen. Arkansas writers in the last decades of the twentieth century made use of an Arkansas where mobile homes and shopping malls replaced fields and forests. Their sense of place included attention to local language, customs, and especially characters, and often these elements are links to or evolutions from the past. Mary Elsie Robertson’s first collection of stories, Jordan’s Stormy Banks (1961), draws on her roots in Charleston (Franklin County), hometown of Dale Bumpers and several other celebrated Arkansans. These include the novelist Francis Irby Gwaltney, author of A Step in the River (1960) and other novels portraying the New Southerner struggling to understand the changes in his way of life. Henry Dumas (1934–1968), an African-American writer born in Sweet Home (Pulaski County), became something of a cult figure after a New York policeman killed him in “a case of mistaken identity.” Some of his work was published posthumously in anthologies of black writers and also under his name, including Goodbye, Sweetwater: New and Selected Stories (1988) and Echo Tree: The Collected Short Fiction of Henry Dumas (2003). Richard Ford, whose Independence Day received the Pulitzer Prize, spent his summers with his grandfather in the Marion Hotel in Little Rock, but he moved on, both physically and artistically, to other scenes. Some writers—such as the western writer Cynthia Haseloff and the romance writer Velda Brotherton—have remained physically in Arkansas but work in mainstream American modes. When Jack Butler lived in Little Rock, he wrote Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock (1993), an American blockbuster. Narrated by the Holy Spirit, it centers on a millionaire lawyer and his wife and obliquely includes the Arkansas creation-science trial, McLean v. Arkansas. Joan Hess, Charlaine Harris, and Grif Stockley created Arkansas characters in crime fiction, and John Grisham recalled his childhood in northeastern Arkansas in the bestselling novel A Painted House. Ellen Gilchrist and William Harrison became successful writers while living in Arkansas, but they rarely refer to this background in their work. Some of Donald Harington’s work bears the Southwest-humor stamp of his artistic forebears. But, at his best, he represents a high point in working as a contemporary writer who happens to use traditional Ozark materials. He created his own place, Stay More, home of the Stay Morons, who recur throughout his fiction. Some of his novels, particularly The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks (1975), use the traditional elements, such as the tall tale and the bawdy joke, with a modern sensibility. Harington’s nonfiction work, Let Us Build Us a City: Eleven Lost Towns (1986), combines personal reminiscence with local history, a blend that is particularly appealing to Arkansans. As throughout the South, nineteenth-century poetry in Arkansas was largely in the Romantic and Victorian veins. One early poet, Boston, Massachusetts–born Confederate general Albert Pike, wrote technically competent verses from his vast knowledge of the arcane mythology of Freemasonry. His Prose Sketches and Poems, Written in the Western Country (1834) preceded the obligatory “Letters from Arkansas,” published in the American Monthly Magazine in 1836. The list of published poets until well into the twentieth century runs heavily to Civil War veterans and pious ladies, many of whom attended meetings of the Poets’ Roundtable, the Arkansas Writers’ Association, the Ozark Writers and Artists Guild, and other groups, sometimes alongside other more accomplished writers. Their works were published privately or in newspapers (especially the sectarian press), and popular magazines of the time, and generally their reputations were local or regional. One notable exception is George Ballard, a black poet who published in Fayetteville newspapers. A few small presses and newspaper publishers turned out books of poetry, notably the Bar D Press of Siloam Springs (Benton County) in the 1930s. Governor Ben Laney proclaimed Arkansas Poetry Day in 1948, but it lapsed afterward. In 1963, the General Assembly enacted Poetry Day legislation, ordering it to be observed every October 15. The legislature established the position of poet laureate in 1923. The post is filled by the governor from a list submitted by heads of English departments at state universities and colleges. Nominees generally have been from the popular and confessional rather than the high-culture end of the literary spectrum. The first was Charles Davis of the Gazette staff, followed by Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni of Fayetteville, author of many volumes of verse and a promoter of poetry clubs and magazines. Next came Lily Peter of Marvell (Phillips County), another of Arkansas’s great female personalities—farmer, environmentalist, teacher, and poet. Poet laureate Verna Lee Hinegardner of Hot Springs was appointed in 1991. Hinegardner invented a poetic form called the minute, consisting of sixty syllables in rhyming couplets with a syllabic line count of 8,4,4,4–8,4,4,4–8,4,4,4. Peggy Vining was appointed laureate in 2003. John Gould Fletcher was arguably the only Arkansas writer until the late twentieth century whose life and work showed any connection with the wider literary world. Although he was proud of his Southern heritage, he lived for more than twenty years in Europe, where he participated in various Modernist movements, especially Imagism, before returning to Little Rock to take up regionalism and folklore. Fletcher’s Breakers and Granite (1921) includes “Songs of the Arkansas.” He also wrote an impressionistic history of the state, Arkansas (1947), as well as a memoir, Life is My Song (1937). For his Selected Poems (1938), he received the Pulitzer Prize. After the 1950s, instances of poetry as a craft and an art, rather than an effusion of sentiment, began to occur more frequently. One reason, aside from the changes in taste and education in the country, was the creative writing program at the University of Arkansas, founded in 1965 by James Whitehead and William Harrison. They soon were joined by Miller Williams, one of the best-known Arkansas poets, especially after his appearance at President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration. Both he and his predecessor at Clinton’s first inauguration, Maya Angelou, used the imagery and language of rural Arkansas with considerable success. Both traveled extensively, but, unlike Angelou, Williams remained a rooted Arkansan, though the forms of his poetry came from many other traditions and languages. Williams’s contribution to writing in Arkansas included his service as director of the University of Arkansas Press, which encouraged the publication of scholarly and academic writing as well as the works of a few practitioners of the belletristic arts, notably Ellen Gilchrist. The UA Press published Gilchrist’s first book of fiction, In the Land of Dreamy Dreams, in 1981. Victory over Japan, her second collection of short stories, won the 1984 National Book Award for fiction. Like others, Gilchrist is claimed by more than one state, including her native Mississippi. The press also published an early volume of the work of popular poet Billy Collins. Other poets emerged later in the twentieth century. C. D. (Carolyn) Wright received her MFA at UA, taught at Brown University, and was named state poet of Rhode Island. Nevertheless, she often worked out of her Ozarks background. In 1994, she compiled an anthology and traveling exhibition, The Lost Roads Project, celebrating Arkansas writing. One poet in the project, virtually unknown to Arkansas and the world, was besmilr brigham of Horatio (Sevier County), whose lower-case signature belies a commanding if obscure gift. Lost Roads Publishers issued a selection of her poems, Run Through Rock (2000). The title of Wright’s project was an homage to Frank Stanford, Wright’s collaborator in an earlier project, Lost Roads Publishers. Before his suicide in 1978, Stanford published nine books of poetry full of knives, hogs, privies, and death. The UA Press published The Light the Dead See: Selected Poems of Frank Stanford in 1991, edited by Leon Stokesbury, another alumnus of UA’s creative writing program. Jo McDougall’s poetry draws on her life on a farm in the Arkansas Delta. Andrea Hollander, who was writer-in-residence at Lyon College in Batesville (Independence County), like McDougall a prize-winning poet, writes with an ease that belies the skill and sensitivity of her poems. Ralph Burns, former editor of the literary journal Crazyhorse, is a widely published, prize-winning poet. Poet Bryan Borland, who was born in Dumas (Desha County), is the founding editor of Assaracus: A Journal of Gay Poetry and of Sibling Rivalry Press, which champions LGBT authors but publishes a wide range of literature. His poetry collections include Less Fortunate Pirates: Poems from the First Year Without My Father (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2012) and DIG (Stillhouse Press, 2016). Arkansas Children’s Books Some Arkansas authors from early on have written children’s books. Charles J. Finger’s greatest fame came in this area, where he received the prestigious Newbery Medal of the American Library Association for Tales from Silver Lands (1924). Faith Yingling Knoop of Little Rock wrote historical books for young readers, including a series on explorers such as Amerigo Vespucci, Coronado, Balboa, and Sir Edmund Hillary. Charlie May Simon was another prize-winning biographer for young readers. Her subjects included Albert Schweitzer, Andrew Carnegie, and Crown Prince Akihito of Japan. Simon also wrote children’s fiction, much of it with an Arkansas setting and characters. Mary Medearis wrote Big Doc’s Girl in 1942 out of her own family’s life in Argenta (now North Little Rock in Pulaski County). For a time, Lois Lenski lived in northeastern Arkansas, where she wrote Cotton in My Sack (1949), one of a series of regional stories for children. She received a Newbery Medal for Strawberry Girl (1946), and two other works were named Newbery Honor Books. Thomas J. Dygard, a journalist at the Gazette and the Associated Press in his main career, also wrote nearly a dozen sports novels for juveniles, from Running Scared (1977) to Running Wild (1996). Crescent Dragonwagon, while she lived in Arkansas, combined her career as innkeeper and writer of cookbooks with a steady production of children’s stories in prose and verse. Bette Greene grew up in Parkin (Cross County) and lived for many years in Memphis. Her book Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe (1974) was named a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year and a Newbery Honor Book. Her novel The Summer of My German Soldier (1973) inspired an Emmy Award–winning television film. Robbie Branscum wrote twenty books for children. She drew on her own childhood near Big Flat (Baxter County) for her first book, Me and Jim Luke, published in 1971. Her books tackle big topics for juveniles, including runaways, incest, and murder. The Murder of Hound Dog Bates received the 1983 Edgar Award for the best young adult mystery book. Otto Salassi wrote a few books for young readers, including one that was translated into Danish. On the Ropes (1981) was selected by the American Library Association as one of the outstanding books for young adults. Trenton Lee Stewart, born in Hot Springs, is a contemporary novelist and short-story writer. He is best known as the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series, a trilogy of bestselling young adult novels. Stewart’s The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict was published in 2012 by Little, Brown; the author acknowledged that it is a prequel of sorts to the Mysterious Benedict Society series but said it stands alone and is not technically part of the series. The Secret Keepers, a young adult novel not in the Mysterious Benedict series, was published in September 2016 by Little, Brown. Additionally, Stewart’s stories have been published in a number of literary magazines, including the Virginia Quarterly Review. Literature in the Arkansas Community The Arkansas Writers’ Conference (AWC), which begun in 1944, is an annual two-day conference and workshop for writers and editors of all genres from across the state and beyond. The Arkansas Pioneer Branch of the National League of American Pen Women continues to sponsor the conference in the twenty-first century. The Six Bridges Book Festival (previously called the Arkansas Literary Festival or Lit Fest), held annually in April, was started by Arkansas Literacy Councils, Inc., (ALC) in 2002, and the Central Arkansas Library System took over management of the Little Rock–based festival in 2008. Proceeds from the event benefit the state’s community-based literacy programs that recruit and train volunteers to help adults improve their basic reading, writing, and math skills. The C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference, held at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway (Faulkner County), was established in 2017 to recognize, promote, and encourage women writers, with a special emphasis on writing inspired by or written in the South. It is named in honor of Arkansas poet C. D. Wright. Arkansas Literature’s Past—and Future The much-discussed “sense of place” that was a hallmark of Southern writing, including Arkansas writing, began fading away amid the onslaught of television and other mass media that had a leveling effect on American life, language, and culture. Another influence is mobility: No longer is it taken for granted that children grow up at their granny’s knee, listening to the aunts, uncles, and cousins and absorbing almost by osmosis the vocabulary and stories of the family and community. Furthermore, and sadly for Arkansas, there is no longer the variety of statewide newspapers that existed until the late twentieth century. Instead, there is essentially one state newspaper alongside networks of essentially local or regional papers, some of them owned by national conglomerates whose interests do not include perpetuating old stories and humoring cranky letter writers. Nevertheless, Arkansas storytelling has had its days of glory and will be carried forward in various forms by future generations. For additional information: Bain, Robert, and Joseph M. Flora, eds. Contemporary Poets, Dramatists, Essayists, and Novelists of the South: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. Baker, William M., and Ethel C. Simpson. Arkansas in Short Fiction. Little Rock: August House Publishers, 1986. Dougan, Michael B. Community Diaries: Arkansas Newspapering, 1819–2002. Little Rock: August House, 2003. Dougan, Michael B., Tom W. Dillard, and Timothy G. Nutt, compilers. Arkansas History: A Selected Research Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. Howerton, Phillip Douglas, ed. The Literature of the Ozarks: An Anthology. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2019. Razer, Bob. “Arkansas Authors.” Recurring review column in Arkansas Libraries. Little Rock: Arkansas Library Association. A Readers’ Map of Arkansas. http://arkansasreadersmap.com/ (accessed November 11, 2019). Contemporary Arkansas Authors: A Selective Bibliography. Little Rock: Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage, 1982. Wright, C. D. The Lost Roads Project: A Walk-In Book of Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1994. ———. “The Poetic History of Arkansas.” Poets.org. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetic-history-arkansas (accessed November 11, 2019). Ethel C. Simpson University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Last Updated: 12/05/2019 Anthony, Katharine Susan Arkansas Literary Forum Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies Arkansaw Bear: A Tale of Fanciful Adventure Arnold, Morris Sheppard "Buzz" Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Ashmore, Harry Scott Baerg, William J. Billingsley, ReShonda Tate Blackmon, Douglas A. Boys on the Tracks, The Brockmeier, Kevin John Carlisle, Irene Jones Clark, Wesley Kanne Collins, Andrew Jefferson "Ace" Coulter, Hope Norman Dresbach, Beverley Githens Dresbach, Glenn Ward Elgin, Suzette Haden Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas (FWCA) Froug, William (Bill) Giles, Janice Holt Hall, B. C. Hamilton, Laurell K. Harris, E. Lynn Jacobs, John Hornor Madhubuti, Haki R. McGehee, Peter Gregory McLarey, Myra Dell McMath, Phillip Hal Morgan, Tom Perkins Northwest Arkansas Writers Ozark Trilogy, The Parler, Mary Celestia Powell, Nathan Lee (Nate) Risley, Eleanor de la Vergne Doss Sherman, Harold Morrow Smith, P. Allen State of Arkansaw, The Sugar Lacey Series Tales from the South Thomas, David Yancey Thurman, Sue Bailey Tom Sawyer, Detective Woodward, Comer Vann Wright, Richard Nathaniel Yarbrough, Anna Nash

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What is Parenting? Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively to the biological relationship. The most common caretaker in parenting is the biological parent(s) of the child in question, although others may be an older sibling, a grandparent, a legal guardian, aunt, uncle or other family member, or a family friend. Governments and society may also have a role in child-rearing. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations. Others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage. Parenting skills vary, and a parent with good parenting skills may be referred to as a good parent. Parenting styles vary by historical time period, race/ethnicity, social class, and other social features. Additionally, research has supported that parental history both in terms of attachments of varying quality as well as parental psychopathology, particularly in the wake of adverse experiences, can strongly influence parental sensitivity and child outcomes. Factors that affect decisions Main article: Parenting styles Social class, wealth, culture and income have a very strong impact on what methods of child rearing parents use. Cultural values play a major role in how a parent raises their child. However, parenting is always evolving; as times, cultural practices, social norms, and traditions change. In psychology, the parental investment theory suggests that basic differences between males and females in parental investment have great adaptive significance and lead to gender differences in mating propensities and preferences. A family’s social class plays a large role in the opportunities and resources that will be available to a child. Working-class children often grow up at a disadvantage with the schooling, communities, and level of parental attention available compared to middle-class or upper-class. Also, lower working-class families do not get the kind of networking that the middle and upper classes do through helpful family members, friends, and community individuals or groups as well as various professionals or experts. Main article: Parenting styles A parenting style is indicative of the overall emotional climate in the home. Developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind identified three main parenting styles in early child development: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. These parenting styles were later expanded to four, to include an uninvolved style. On the one hand, these four styles involve combinations of acceptance and responsiveness, and on the other hand, involve demand and control. Research has found that parenting style is significantly related to a child’s subsequent mental health and well-being. In particular, authoritative parenting is positively related to mental health and satisfaction with life, and authoritarian parenting is negatively related to these variables. - Authoritative parenting - Described by Baumrind as the “just right” style, it combines a medium level demands on the child and a medium level responsiveness from the parents. Authoritative parents rely on positive reinforcement and infrequent use of punishment. Parents are more aware of a child’s feelings and capabilities and support the development of a child’s autonomy within reasonable limits. There is a give-and-take atmosphere involved in parent-child communication and both control and support are balanced. Research shows that this style is more beneficial than the too-hard authoritarian style or the too-soft permissive style. - Authoritarian parenting styles - Authoritarian parents are very rigid and strict. High demands are placed on the child, but there is little responsiveness to them. Parents who practice authoritarian style parenting have a non-negotiable set of rules and expectations that are strictly enforced and require rigid obedience. When the rules are not followed, punishment is often used to promote future obedience. There is usually no explanation of punishment except that the child is in trouble for breaking a rule. This parenting style is strongly associated with corporal punishment, such as spanking and “Because I said so” is a typical response to a child’s question of authority. This type of parenting is seen more often in working-class families than in the middle class. In 1983 Diana Baumrind found that children raised in an authoritarian-style home were less cheerful, more moody and more vulnerable to stress. In many cases these children also demonstrated passive hostility. - Permissive parenting - Permissive, or indulgent, parenting is more popular in middle-class than in working-class families. In these settings, a child’s freedom and autonomy are highly valued, and parents tend to rely mostly on reasoning and explanation. Parents are undemanding, so there tends to be little if any punishment or explicit rules in this style of parenting. These parents say that their children are free from external constraints and tend to be highly responsive to whatever the child wants at the time. Children of permissive parents are generally happy but sometimes show low levels of self-control and self-reliance because they lack structure at home. - Uninvolved parenting - An uninvolved or neglectful parenting style is when parents are often emotionally or physically absent. They have little to no expectation of the child and regularly have no communication. They are not responsive to a child’s needs and have little to no behavioral expectations. If present, they may provide what the child needs for survival with little to no engagement.There is often a large gap between parents and children with this parenting style. Children with little or no communication with their own parents tended to be victimized by other children and may themselves be exhibit deviant behavior.Children of uninvolved parents suffer in social competence, academic performance, psychosocial development and problem behavior. There is no single definitive model of parenting. With authoritarian and permissive parenting on opposite sides of the spectrum, most conventional and modern models of parenting fall somewhere in between. Parenting strategies, as well as behaviors and ideals of what parents expect, (whether communicated verbally and/or non-verbally) can also play a significant role in a child’s development. A parenting practice is a specific behavior that a parent uses in raising a child. For example, a common parent practice intended to promote academic success is reading books to the child. Storytelling is an important parenting practice for children in many Indigenous American communities. Parenting practices reflect the cultural understanding of children. Parents in individualistic countries like Germany spend more time engaged in face-to-face interaction with babies and more time talking to the baby about the baby. Parents in more communal cultures, such as West African cultures, spend more time talking to the baby about other people, and more time with the baby facing outwards, so that the baby sees what the mother sees. Children develop skills at different rates as a result of differences in these culturally driven parenting practices. Children in individualistic cultures learn to act independently and to recognize themselves in a mirror test at a younger age than children whose cultures promote communal values. However, these independent children learn self-regulation and cooperation later than children in communal cultures. In practice, this means that a child in an independent culture will happily play by themselves, but a child in a communal culture is more likely to follow their parents instruction to pick up their toys. Children that grow up in communities with a collaborative orientation to social interaction, such as some Indigenous American communities, are also able to self-regulate and become very self-confident, while remaining involved in the community. In Kenya, Africa, many male parents are not encouraged to be involved in their children’s lives till they are about 12 years old. Parenting skills are the guiding forces of a “good parent” to lead a child into a healthy adult, they influence on development, maintenance, and cessation of children’s negative and positive behaviors. Parenting takes a lot of skill and patience and is constant work and growth. The cognitive potential, social skills, and behavioral functioning a child acquires during the early years are fundamentally dependent on the quality of their interactions with their parents. Canadian Council on Learning says that children benefit most (avoids poor developmental outcomes) when their parents: - Communicate truthfully about events or discussions that have happened, because authenticity from parents who explain and help their children understand on what happened and how they were involved if they were without giving defining rules will create a realistic aptitude within children’s growing psyche; - Stay consistent, as children need structure: parents that institute regular routines see benefits in their children’s behavioral pattern; - Utilize resources available to them, reaching out into the community and building a supportive social network; - Take more interest in their child’s educational and early development needs (e.g. Play that enhances socialization, autonomy, cohesion, calmness and trust.); and - Keep an open communication and stay educated on what their child is seeing, learning and doing and how it is affecting them. Parenting skills are often assumed to be self-evident or naturally present in parents. But those who come from a negative/vulnerable environment might tend to pass on what they suffered onto their families oppressed by their own experiences, those who have inaccurate beliefs or poorer understanding of developmental milestones only engage in the way they know which may result in problematic parenting. Parenting practices are at particular risk during marital transitions like separation, divorce and remarriage; if children fail to adequately adjust to these changes, they would be at risk of negative outcomes for example increased rule-breaking behavior, problems with peer relationships and increased emotional difficulties. Urie Bronfenbrenner said on this matter that “Every kid needs one adult who is crazy about [them].” Virginia Satir emphasized on these views by stating “Parenting…the most complicated job in the world.” Research classifies competence and skills required in parenting as follows: - Parent-child relationship skills: quality time spend, positive communications and delighting affection. - Encouraging desirable behavior: praise and encouragement, nonverbal attention, facilitating engaging activities. - Teaching skills and behaviors: being a good example, incidental teaching, benevolent communication of the skill with role playing & other methods, communicating logical incentives and consequences. - Managing misbehavior: establishing assertive ground rules/limit setting, directed discussion, providing clear and calm instructions, communicate and enforce appropriate consequences for problem behavior, using restrictive means like quiet time and time out with authoritative stance and not authoritarian. - Anticipating and planning: advanced planning and preparation for readying the child for challenges, finding out engaging and age appropriate developmental activities, preparing token economy for self-management practice with guidance, holding follow-up discussions, identifying possible negative developmental trajectories. - Self-regulation skills: Monitoring behaviors (own and children’s), setting developmentally appropriate goals, evaluating strengths and weaknesses and setting practice tasks for skills improvement, monitoring & preventing internalizing and externalizing behaviors, setting personal goals for positive change. - Mood and coping skills: reframing and discouraging unhelpful thoughts (diversions, goal orientation and mindfulness), stress and tension management (for self and in the house), developing personal coping statements and plans for high-risk situations, developing mutual respect and consideration between members of the family, positive involvement: engaging in support and strength oriented collaborative activities/rituals for enhancing interpersonal relationships. - Partner support skills: improving personal communication, giving and receiving constructive feedback and support, avoiding negative family interaction styles, supporting and finding hope in problems for adaptation, collaborative or leading/navigate problem solving, promoting relationship happiness and cordiality. Consistency is considered as the “backbone” of positive parenting skills and “overprotection” as the weakness. Parents around the world want what they believe is best for their children. However, parents in different cultures have different ideas of what is best. For example, parents in a hunter–gatherer society or surviving through subsistence agriculture are likely to promote practical survival skills from a young age. Many such cultures begin teaching babies to use sharp tools, including knives, before their first birthdays. This is seen in communities where children have a considerate amount of autonomy at a younger age and are given the opportunity to become skilled in tasks that are sometimes classified as adult work by other cultures. In some Indigenous American communities, child work provides children the opportunity to learn cultural values of collaborative participation and prosocial behavior through observation and participation alongside adults. These communities value respect, participation in the community, and non-interference. The practice of non-interference is an important value in Cherokee culture. It requires that one respects the autonomy of others in the community by not interfering in their decision making by giving unsolicited advice. Indigenous American parents often try to encourage curiosity in their children. Many use a permissive parenting style that enables the child to explore and learn through observation of the world around it. Differences in values cause parents to interpret different actions in different ways. In some cultures, asking questions is seen by many European American parents as a sign that the child is smart. Italian parents, value social and emotional abilities and having an even temperament. They also value social and emotional competence, and believe that asking questions is a sign that the child has good interpersonal skills. Conversely, Dutch parents value independence, long attention spans, and predictable schedules, so they view asking questions negatively and as a sign that the child is not independent. The values cultures praise can be more broad than just about a specific topic such as asking questions. parents strongly value intellectual ability, especially in a narrow “book learning” sense. American parents strongly value intellectual ability, especially in a narrow “book learning” sense. Hispanic parents, on the other hand, value respect as a behavioral goal. Along with this, they believe in the idea of putting family above the individual, and emphasize the values of the catholic church. The Kipsigis people of Kenya value children who are not only smart, but who employ that intelligence in a responsible and helpful way, which they call ng/om.Other cultures, such as Sweden and Spain, value more personal values such as being sociable, having security, and happiness. Parents in East Asia come from a culture that values nurturing and governance within families; this is called “guan” [gw-an]. They believe that good parenting comes from order within a household. Even with this value, the concept of psychological control is also more common in this area than anywhere else. Differences in values can also cause parents to employ different tools to promote their values. Many European American parents expect specially purchased educational toys to improve their children’s intelligence. Some Spanish parents promote social skills by taking their children out for daily walks around the neighborhood. Games can be used out of school to help reinforce ideas learned in school like looking at a map and playing geography games, downloading educational game software for a computer at home to learn reading, typing, science and math. Games like Wii Fit have even been used to help with patients receiving rehabilitation for knee surgery. Allowing kids time to play video games can help their learning because through video games kids learn memory, hand eye hand eye coordination and visual acuteness. Piaget believed in the “importance of play in learning” this learning can be done both at home and in schools. Some good educational tools in schools today include online games like Kahoot!, BINGO, language apps like Duolingo, math apps like Sushi Monster, using card games to do addition, subtraction, multiplication. Some schools even use Minecraft for tinkering. Educational games have been proven to have a positive effect on students. Improved learning in educational games include but are not limited to: improved hand eye coordination, memory ability, and visual acuteness. Educational games are linked to technology and many of the games listed above require a device to download the app or computer software. Some of the games only need access to the internet to be played. This play through learning is a great way to keep students engaged and having fun while learning their math facts or work in other subjects. As well, a recent study in the United Kingdom performed an experiment in hopes of researching if there is a correlation between the use of touch screen devices and brain development in children from ages 6 months to 36 months. In the study they found that the act of scrolling on screens aids with fine motor skills such as stacking blocks. Other skills such under gross motor or language categories had a much less significant effect. Indigenous American cultures It is common for parents in many Indigenous American communities to use different tools in parenting such as storytelling —like myths— consejos (Spanish for advice, in this context), educational teasing, nonverbal communication, and observational learning to teach their children important values and life lessons. Storytelling is a way for Indigenous American children to learn about their identity, community, and cultural history. Indigenous myths and folklore often personify animals and objects, reaffirming the belief that everything possess a soul and must be respected. These stories help preserve language and are used to reflect certain values or cultural histories. Consejos are a narrative form of advice giving that provides the recipient with maximum autonomy in the situation as a result of their indirect teaching style. Rather than directly informing the child what they should do, the parent instead might tell a story of a similar situation or scenario. The character in the story is used to help the child see what the implications of their decision may be, without directly making the decision for them. This teaches the child to be decisive and independent, while still providing some guidance. The playful form of teasing is a parenting method used in some Indigenous American communities to keep children out of danger and guide their behavior. This form of teasing utilizes stories, fabrications, or empty threats to guide children in making safe, intelligent decisions. It can teach children values by establishing expectations and encouraging the child to meet them via playful jokes and/or idle threats. For example, a parent may tell a child that there is a monster that jumps on children’s backs if they walk alone at night. This explanation can help keep the child safe because instilling that alarm creates greater awareness and lessens the likelihood that they will wander alone into trouble. In Navajo families, a child’s development is partly focused on the importance of “respect” for all things as part of the child’s moral and human development. “Respect” in this sense is an emphasis of recognizing the significance of and understanding for one’s relationship with other things and people in the world. Nonverbal communication is much of the way that children learn about such “respect” from parents and other family members. For example, in a Navajo parenting tool using nonverbal communication, children are initiated at an early age into the practice of an early morning run through any weather condition. This form of guidance fosters “respect” not only for the child’s family members but also to the community as a whole. On this run, the community uses humor and laughter with each other, without directly including the child—who may not wish to get up early and run—to promote the child’s motivation to participate and become an active member of the community. To modify children’s behavior in a nonverbal manner, parents also promote inclusion in the morning runs by placing their child in the snow and having them stay longer if they protest; this is done within a context of warmth, laughter, and community, to help incorporate the child into the practice. A tool parents use in Indigenous American cultures is to incorporate children into everyday life, including adult activities, to pass on the parents’ knowledge by allowing the child to learn through observation. This practice is known as LOPI, Learning by Observing and Pitching In, where children are integrated into all types of mature daily activities and encouraged to observe and contribute in the community. This inclusion as a parenting tool promotes both community participation and learning. In some Mayan communities, young girls are not permitted around the hearth, for an extended period of time since corn is sacred. Despite this being an exception to the more common Indigenous American practice of integrating children into all adult activities, including cooking, it is a strong example of observational learning. These Mayan girls can only see their mothers making tortillas in small bits at a time, they will then go and practice the movements their mother used on other objects, such as the example of kneading thin pieces of plastic like a tortilla. From this practice, when a girl comes of age, she is able to sit down and make tortillas without any explicit verbal instruction as a result of her observational learning. Across the lifespan Family planning is the decision regarding whether and when to become parents, including planning, preparing, and gathering resources. Prospective parents may assess (among other matters) whether they have access to sufficient financial resources, whether their family situation is stable, and whether they want to undertake the responsibility of raising a child. Worldwide, about 40% of all pregnancies are not planned, and more than 30 million babies are born each year as a result of unplanned pregnancies. Reproductive health and preconception care affect pregnancy, reproductive success, and the physical and mental health of both mother and child. A woman who is underweight, whether due to poverty, eating disorders, or illness, is less likely to have a healthy pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby than a woman who is healthy. Similarly, a woman who is obese has higher risks of difficulties, including gestational diabetes. Other health problems, such as infections and iron-deficiency anemia, can be detected and corrected before conception. Pregnancy and prenatal parenting Main article: Pregnancy During pregnancy, the unborn child is affected by many decisions made by the parents, particularly choices linked to their lifestyle. The health, activity level and nutrition available to the mother can affect the child’s development before birth. Some mothers, especially in relatively wealthy countries, eat too much and spend too much time resting. Other mothers, especially if they are poor or abused, may be overworked and may not be able to eat enough, or not able to afford healthful foods with sufficient iron, vitamins, and protein, for the unborn child to develop properly. Newborns and infants Main article: Infant Newborn parenting, is where the responsibilities of parenthood begins. A newborn’s basic needs are food, sleep, comfort and cleaning which the parent provides. An infant’s only form of communication is crying, and attentive parents will begin to recognize different types of crying which represent different needs such as hunger, discomfort, boredom, or loneliness. Newborns and young infants require feedings every few hours which is disruptive to adult sleep cycles. They respond enthusiastically to soft stroking, cuddling and caressing. Gentle rocking back and forth often calms a crying infant, as do massages and warm baths. Newborns may comfort themselves by sucking their thumb or a pacifier. The need to suckle is instinctive and allows newborns to feed. Breastfeeding is the recommended method of feeding by all major infant health organizations. If breastfeeding is not possible or desired, bottle feeding is a common alternative. Other alternatives include feeding breastmilk or formula with a cup, spoon, feeding syringe, or nursing supplementer.The forming of attachments is considered to be the foundation of the infant/child’s capacity to form and conduct relationships throughout life. Attachment is not the same as love and/or affection although they often go together. Attachments develop immediately and a lack of attachment or a seriously disrupted capacity for attachment could potentially do serious damage to a child’s health and well-being. Physically, one may not see symptoms or indications of a disorder but the child may be emotionally affected. Studies show that children with secure attachment have the ability to form successful relationships, express themselves on an interpersonal basis and have higher self-esteem. Conversely children who have caregivers who are neglectful or emotionally unavailable can exhibit behavioral problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or oppositional defiant disorder Oppositional-defiant disorder is a pattern of disobedient and defiant behavior toward authority figures. Main article: Toddler Toddlers are small children range between 12 to 36 months old who are much more active than infants and become challenged with learning how to do simple tasks by themselves. At this stage, parents are heavily involved in showing the small child how to do things rather than just doing things for them; it is usual for the toddler to mimic the parents. Toddlers need help to build their vocabulary, increase their communication skills, and manage their emotions. Toddlers will also begin to understand social etiquette such as being polite and taking turns. Toddlers are very curious about the world around them and eager to explore it. They seek greater independence and responsibility and may become frustrated when things do not go the way they want or expect. Tantrums begin at this stage, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘Terrible Twos’. Tantrums are often caused by the child’s frustration over the particular situation, sometimes simply not being able to communicate properly. Parents of toddlers are expected to help guide and teach the child, establish basic routines (such as washing hands before meals or brushing teeth before bed), and increase the child’s responsibilities. It is also normal for toddlers to be frequently frustrated. It is an essential step to their development. They will learn through experience; trial and error. This means that they need to experience being frustrated when something does not work for them, in order to move on to the next stage. When the toddler is frustrated, they will often behave badly with actions like screaming, hitting or biting. Parents need to be careful when reacting to such behaviors, giving threats or punishments is not helpful and will only make the situation worse. Research groups led by Daniel Schechter, Alytia Levendosky, and others have shown that parents with histories of maltreatment and violence exposure often have difficulty helping their toddlers and preschool-age children with these very same emotionally dysregulated behaviors, which can remind traumatized parents of their adverse experiences and associated mental states. Regarding gender differences in parenting, data from the US in 2014 states that, on an average day, among adults living in households with children under age 6, women spent 1.0 hour providing physical care (such as bathing or feeding a child) to household children. By contrast, men spent 23 minutes providing physical care. Younger children are becoming more independent and are beginning to build friendships. They are able to reason and can make their own decisions given hypothetical situations. Young children demand constant attention, but will learn how to deal with boredom and be able to play independently. They also enjoy helping and feeling useful and able. Parents may assist their child by encouraging social interactions and modelling proper social behaviors. A large part of learning in the early years comes from being involved in activities and household duties. Parents who observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play have the opportunity to glimpse into their children’s world, learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer gentle, nurturing guidance. Parents are also teaching their children health, hygiene, and eating habits through instruction and by example. Parents are expected to make decisions about their child’s education. Parenting styles in this area diverge greatly at this stage with some parents becoming heavily involved in arranging organized activities and early learning programs. Other parents choose to let the child develop with few organized activities. Children begin to learn responsibility, and consequences of their actions, with parental assistance. Some parents provide a small allowance that increases with age to help teach children the value of money and how to be responsible with it. Parents who are consistent and fair with their discipline, who openly communicate and offer explanations to their children, and who do not neglect the needs of their children in some way often find they have fewer problems with their children as they mature. Main article: Adolescence Parents often feel isolated and alone in parenting adolescents. Adolescence can be a time of high risk for children, where new-found freedoms can result in decisions that drastically open up or close off life opportunities. There are also large changes occurring in the brain during adolescence; the emotional center of the brain is now fully developed but the rational frontal cortex hasn’t matured yet to keep all of those emotions in check. Adolescents tend to increase the amount of time they spend with peers of the opposite gender; however, they still maintain the amount of time they spend with those of the same gender–and they do this by decreasing the amount of time they spend with their parents. Although adolescents look to peers and adults outside the family for guidance and models for how to behave, parents remain influential in their development. Studies show that parents have a significant impact, for instance, on how much teens drink. During adolescence children are beginning to form their identity and are testing and developing the interpersonal and occupational roles that they will assume as adults. Therefore, it is important that parents treat them as young adults. Parental issues at this stage of parenting include dealing with “rebellious” teenagers who consistently push the limits. In order to prevent these issues, it is important for the parents to build a trusting relationship with their children. This can be achieved by planning and taking part in fun activities together, keeping promises made to the children, spending time with them, not reminding kids about their past mistakes and listening to and talking to them. When a trusting relationship is built up, adolescents are more likely to approach their parents for help when faced with negative peer pressure. Helping the children build a strong foundation will help them resist negative peer pressure. Parenting does not usually end when a child turns 18. Support may be needed in a child’s life well beyond the adolescent years and continues into middle and later adulthood. Parenting can be a lifelong process. Parents may provide financial support to their adult children, which can also include providing an inheritance after death. The life perspective and wisdom given by a parent can benefit their adult children in their own lives. Becoming a grandparent is another milestone and has many similarities with parenting. Roles can be reversed in some ways when adult children become caregivers to their elderly parents. Main article: Child care Parents may receive assistance with caring for their children through child care programs. Childbearing and happiness Data from the British Household Panel Survey and the German Socio-Economic Panel suggests that having up to two children increases happiness in the years around the birth, and mostly so for those who have postponed childbearing. However, having a third child does not increase happiness. Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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I. European Colonization through 1900 The notion of Mississippi as an especially southern place did not occur to Native Americans or early European explorers and settlers—and certainly not in the ways and for the reasons that later definitions of the South were created. The place we call Mississippi was colony and frontier well before it was a state with a widely shared sense of its history, traditions, and image. The land was the home of thousands of Choctaw, Chickasaw, Natchez, Tunica, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, all with their own cultures, foundational narratives, and sense of the land and their place in it. Early descriptions of Mississippi resemble those found in explorers’ narratives of other areas of what became known as the Gulf South. Spanish and French explorers commonly marveled at the land’s bounty and beauty, viewing the South as a new Eden ripe to fall into their hands. At the same time, and often in the same accounts, Europeans painted the land as a savage and uncivilized place, teeming with dangerous Indians. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led an expedition through the Southeast that spent the winter of 1540–41 in Mississippi. Journals kept by members of the expedition show that the explorers were fascinated by the native peoples and by the native flora and fauna. The journals also record Spanish misunderstanding and abuse of the Indians, leading to what would become a familiar pattern of violence and retaliation. Over time, Mississippians’ stories about the state’s original inhabitants became consistent with larger heroic American narratives of discovery, exploration, conquest, and settlement. More than one hundred years passed between the de Soto expedition and the establishment of the first permanent European settlement in Mississippi. Between 1699 and 1702 French explorers (and brothers) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, and Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville, established bases on Cat Island and near what are now Ocean Springs and Biloxi. From that point through the end of the eighteenth century, stories and representations of Mississippi fit within broader tales of the struggle between the British and the French and their Native American allies for hegemony in North America. Following the construction of Fort Rosalie on the Natchez Bluffs in 1716, the Natchez District and the Mississippi River became rich producers of Mississippi images and myths. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Natchez developed a reputation, still celebrated, as a rough and cutthroat gambling den, with coarse men from Mississippi riverboats drawn to the city’s Under-the-Hill port district. Myth and legend also grew surrounding the Natchez Trace, which connected the city with Nashville, Tennessee, especially the road’s robber gangs such as the Masons and Harpes. Before Mississippi became a southern state, it was the southwestern frontier of the United States. The new country asserted a claim to Mississippi in 1783, but the land remained essentially in Spanish hands until the end of the century, when it became a US territory before achieving statehood in 1817. By the 1830s the state’s population, both free and enslaved, boomed as part of the southwestern Cotton Kingdom. In Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi (1853), Joseph G. Baldwin memorably described the state’s raw conditions, social and economic fluidity, and boom-and-bust mentality. Mississippi in the early decades of the nineteenth century is just as accurately described as the West as it is the South. Like many other Americans in states such as South Carolina and Tennessee that later seemed quite southern, Mississippians in this period were ardent nationalists who embraced the expanding Union and saw its values as their own. Some of the most persistent narratives and representations of Mississippi stem from the state’s experience with slavery, Confederate defeat in the Civil War, and struggles during Reconstruction. As in other Deep South states, Mississippi’s economy and broader culture became deeply invested in the production of cotton using slave labor. That is not to say that most Mississippians owned slaves or became wealthy cotton barons. The state’s surviving antebellum mansions, particularly those in Natchez, are singularly unrepresentative. Most white Mississippians lived under much more modest, frontier-like conditions. Further, the Delta, the area of the state most typically associated with cotton production, did not come under broad cultivation until the late nineteenth century. Whatever the average white Mississippian’s economic relationship to the South’s peculiar institution, the white population in the decades before the Civil War largely viewed slavery as a positive good and almost universally supported white supremacy as a doctrine and political program. The state’s African American population, of course, rejected these ideas and constructed beliefs and practices that told a much different story of their aspirations and sense of how the world should be. Nevertheless, the white population’s defense of slavery and white supremacy demanded and created myths and narratives that continue to influence the state and its people to the present day. Most white Mississippians became ardent defenders of slavery after the 1830s, when federal treaties opened the northern two-thirds of the state to white settlement. In this period, Mississippi’s black population rose dramatically, and white Mississippians, slave owners or not, largely came to believe that control of the enslaved population constituted a vital state interest. From the 1830s through the coming of the Civil War, white Mississippians, like other southerners, grew increasingly sensitive to northern and international criticism of the region’s manners and institutions. Mississippi had a vigorously competitive two-party system into the 1850s, but the polarization caused by the politics of slavery fractured the Mississippi Whigs so completely that for many generations the memory of an antebellum two-party system disappeared beneath exhortations that all white Mississippians had always shared the same basic political faith. The state cast its lot with the Confederacy, experienced what whites perceived as a galling and inexplicable defeat, and by the end of the century joined the rest of the white South in remembering the experience as a tragic Lost Cause. Such myths were not without foundation. Battle and disease killed thousands of Mississippians; thousands more returned maimed. Memories of civilian hardship in cities burned or besieged by Union forces lingered well into the twentieth century. Particularly with Jefferson Davis’s postwar residence at Beauvoir on the Gulf Coast, many Mississippians came to believe that they had a special responsibility for ensuring that the Confederate experience was piously remembered. Conversely, Black Mississippians regarded Confederate defeat as the deliverance for which they had long hoped. In the wake of the war, black Mississippians aspired to economic advancement and the enjoyment of basic civil rights. White Mississippians rejected these aspirations, and the state soon became nationally known for its commitment to racial segregation and white supremacy. White recollections of Reconstruction and its meaning became one of the state’s most fundamental and orthodox tenets. For more than a century after the Civil War, one of the most enduring Mississippi narratives was that of Reconstruction as a carnival of vice and folly. This impression of Reconstruction animated generations of white Mississippians and seemed to offer self-evident proof that black Mississippians had no capacity for self-government. At the same time, the vociferousness with which the state’s newspapers, textbooks, and politicians denounced Reconstruction persuaded many black Mississippians that most whites would never accept African American political participation. During the late nineteenth century, white Mississippians searched for the meaning of Confederate defeat and how to make sense of that legacy as well as the recent and frightening insistence by black Mississippians that they deserved the same constitutional rights and economic opportunities as did whites. Following Reconstruction certain stories became staples of white belief: the Civil War was a response to northern interference and invasion; during the war, the loyalty and docility of slaves offered touching evidence of the essential benignity of the institution; Reconstruction was a misguided festival of corruption that forever proved the folly of black political participation; a group of valiant white Democrats, the Redeemers, restored democracy and offered the only safe political leadership for the state; and finally, both races found segregation the best way to handle race relations. At the same time, both native whites and many outsiders wished to see in Mississippi some of the remnants of a way of life that elsewhere was gone with the wind. These accounts stressed the courtly manners and hospitality of the state’s residents and commonly presented slaveholding as admirable and enviable. Mississippi suffragist Belle Kearney’s memoir, A Slaveholder’s Daughter (1900), neatly summarizes what became a widely held if exaggerated view of a “very rich and very proud” Old South: “Its wealth consisted of slaves and plantations. Its pride was masterful from a consciousness of power. The customs of society retained the color of older European civilization, although the affairs of state were conducted according to the ideals of a radical democracy. Its social structure was simple, homogeneous.” By the end of the nineteenth century, dominant voices in Mississippi society proclaimed that the state’s white population stood as one in honoring the sacrifices of the Confederate generation and safeguarding the Jim Crow society that now seemed central to the Mississippi Way of Life. II. Since 1900 Especially since the end of the nineteenth century and for good or for ill, the state of Mississippi has been viewed as particularly and intensely southern. The state’s name conjures up a variety of intense images: stately Natchez homes, Delta plantations, cotton fields, and magnolias; demagogic politics, racism, poverty, hardship, and want; anti-intellectualism alongside stunning achievements in creative writing and music; searing images of violent resistance to social change along with an intense concern with manners, hospitality, and courtesy. For much of the twentieth century many other Americans and not a few Mississippians and former Mississippians viewed the state as backward if not actually evil. “Everybody knows about Mississippi,” sang Nina Simone in 1963, the same year that Bob Dylan declared that he wasn’t “a-goin’ down to Oxford town.” More than most other states, Mississippi has generated sharp and often dissonant narratives and myths: the land where a blues musician might offer his soul to the devil at a crossroads, the most southern place on earth, the worst state in America to be black, a land the ambitious leave, a place that offers a warm Magnolia State welcome and grace and sense of place, a land of slow-paced down-home living and traditional values—and more recently a place attempting to preserve the best of its customs and culture while coming to terms with and perhaps overcoming the tragic and painful legacies of its past. Many iconic images and impressions of Mississippi seem indistinguishable from broader southern myths and narratives: sharp and lingering memories of the Civil War as a tragic Lost Cause; front-porch hospitality, storytelling, and iconic southern foods such as fried chicken, iced tea, greens, and a variety of dishes involving pork and corn; an enthusiasm for sports, particularly football, amounting practically to a civil religion; evangelical Christianity, religious revivals, and river baptisms; mules, cotton fields, country stores, a love of the outdoors and the traditions of fishing and hunting, especially such landmarks as the opening day of deer season, and a pattern of life still influenced by rural and agricultural ways; and a lingering respect for traditionally defined roles for men and women, manifesting themselves in ways such as a veneration of military service for men and a respect for beauty pageants. Scholars have long argued that whatever it means to be southern, Mississippi is it. Historian Dunbar Rowland’s admiring Mississippi: The Heart of the South (1925) represented what was by the twentieth century a common view of the state. John Shelton Reed often points out that almost any definition of the South today begins with Mississippi and Alabama and moves out. Fred Hobson has written that “Mississippi is the guts of the beast, the stomach with a Bible Belt wrapped around it. . . . Mississippi . . . is visceral.” Indeed, some have argued that Mississippi images have overly influenced people’s impressions of the larger South: Paul Conkin notes that in talking about the South, some people really mean “a South largely defined by Alabama and Mississippi . . . or even the area around Oxford, Mississippi.” As with any stock of myths and narratives, many of those generated by Mississippians are quite self-conscious and serve a variety of ends. Certainly since the late 1800s Mississippians have engaged in very deliberate acts of memorialization and assertions of identity. Obvious examples would include the Confederate monuments that stand in front of many of the state’s courthouses, joined later in the twentieth century by memorials to those who died in later wars. Many Mississippians not only deeply prize kinship and family ties but also avidly trace their genealogy at local and state historical societies and more recently via the Internet. Because of their interest in tradition, custom, and history, Mississippians are sometimes accused of living in the past. But Mississippians’ interest in the past and the way that it is remembered have always been very closely tied to arguments about the present and its values, whether the issue is the design of the state flag or the erection of memorials to heroes of the civil rights movement. As with many traditions, Mississippi’s are often of relatively recent vintage, beginning with the commonly held idea that Mississippi’s customs, institutions, and general way of life have always existed in what is basically their present form. Like all people’s myths and narratives of identity, those generated by Mississippians explain to themselves and others their views of the world and how it works. White Mississippians have generated most of the memorials, textual or otherwise, that laud the state’s virtues. Black Mississippians have understandably been less praiseful of a place that long denied them basic civil rights, decency, and respect. For example, Richard Wright’s novels and autobiographical writings and Anne Moody’s memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968) demonstrate that neither time nor distance could provoke nostalgia for the place they were born. James Meredith, on the other hand, expressed the complex mixed feelings that many other black Mississippians have held as he described coming home: “There is the feeling of joy . . . to enter the land of my fathers, the land of my birth, the only land in which I feel at home. . . . There is a feeling of sadness . . . because I am immediately aware of the special subhuman role that I must play, because I am a Negro, or die. [And] I feel love because I have always felt that Mississippi belonged to me and one must love what is his.” Since the mid-twentieth century Mississippians have produced a flood of memoirs and fictional works about their home state. While residents’ experiences of race vary widely, of course, one notable feature of these narratives is that they show that Mississippians of all races, especially in rural areas, praised and valued and experienced many things in common—an attraction to the land, attention to agricultural rhythms, and church, family, and kinship ties. These factors and many others provided a texture to everyday life that was more alike than most Mississippians recognized. Myths and representations of Mississippi have long followed a broader national pattern of viewing the South in conflicting and sometimes irreconcilable ways. Are the state and the region the last refuge of a religious sensibility or of a broader way of life uncorrupted by twentieth-century materialism and consumerism? Is Mississippi somehow a cultural and social backwater, a place that has failed to evolve and progress? Or is the state perhaps the nation’s pathological abyss in which one can view cracked and warped perversions of American dreams and aspirations? As with any symbols or cultural practices, those created by and about Mississippians are open to multiple interpretations. One example might be the powerful if sometimes frustratingly amorphous confection of manners and etiquette noticed by Mississippians and other Americans alike. These manners, such as respect for one’s elders and regard for kin and neighbors, have often drawn favorable comment, while other practices, such as Jim Crow racial etiquette, stultifying gender roles, and an emphasis on hierarchy and rank, have been central to a much less flattering image of southern culture. This Janus-faced presentation, or duality, one might call it, was observed by Bernard Lafayette, a cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a 1960s civil rights organization, as he recollected his first visit to the state: “The first sign I saw was a huge billboard that said, ‘Welcome to Mississippi, the Magnolia State,’ and a beautiful white magnolia blossom. . . . [T]he next sign I saw said, ‘Prepare to Meet Thy God.’” While white Mississippians have long winced at one-dimensional representations of the state, other Americans and many black Mississippians have unquestionably associated the state with a fundamental racial consciousness and commitment to white supremacy that by the 1960s seemed anachronistic compared even to other states of the Deep South. Civil rights worker Robert Moses said that Mississippi in 1964 was “a little apartheid.” The state’s name, then, long served as shorthand for racial discrimination. Perhaps understandably, many Mississippians have resented the broad strokes in which the state has been painted, insisting that there is more to Mississippi than racial discrimination. Many of these Mississippians praise themselves for their devotion to family, church, and community. In their eyes, the state has held firm to values, manners, and practices of which the rest of the nation has lost sight. Like many Mississippi self-images, devotion to these practices can be seen as a negative as well as a positive. To outsiders, the state can feel clannish and exclusive in its definition of community and hostile to those who challenge or simply do not share the majority’s adherence to conservative values and evangelical Christianity. One finds this sense of Mississippi as essentially one homogeneous community in the Works Progress Administration’s Guide to Mississippi (1938), which described the state as “the great neighborhood called Mississippi, a neighborhood where the birthright of knowing the drive of the plow in the puissant earth binds the sections more closely than geographical boundaries, a neighborhood of earth-rooted individuals who know and understand one another.” The state and its customs, particularly Jim Crow and the politics associated with racial segregation, attracted the attention of social scientists in the 1930s and 1940s. John Dollard’s Caste and Class in a Southern Town (1937), a study of “Southerntown” (actually Indianola) and Hortense Powdermaker’s After Freedom: A Cultural Study in the Deep South (1939), another study of Indianola, helped circulate the image of Mississippi as race-obsessed and caste-ridden. Other critics were more vociferous if less scholarly. H. L. Mencken, while a fan of the values that he believed the Old South to embody, enjoyed tweaking Mississippi in the 1920s and 1930s, consistently terming it the most “barbaric” state in the Union. Most white Mississippians dismissed this criticism, while some, such as David Cohn, in Where I Was Born and Raised (1948), and William Alexander Percy, in Lanterns on the Levee: Recollections of a Planter’s Son (1941), attempted to explain the state and its customs to a national audience. Business and progressive interests in Mississippi have long been sensitive to the stereotypes that other Americans hold about the state. Campaigns in the 1930s such as Gov. Hugh White’s Balance Agriculture with Industry aimed to convince investors that the state’s folkways could accommodate the development of business. By the 1950s and 1960s many white Mississippians certainly knew that in the eyes of other Americans, the state conjured up images not only of violent resistance to civil rights but also of the rejection of broader American myths of equality, opportunity, and progress. As newspapers and television began covering the civil rights movement in Mississippi and the rest of the South, black and white Mississippians were well aware of the light that the media threw on their state and its customs. Many white Mississippians maintained that the civil rights movement was the product of outside agitators—a way of preserving their belief that black Mississippians were largely content with the Mississippi Way of Life. White Mississippians also commonly declared that Yankees unfairly maligned and picked on the state, failing to see their own prejudices and provincialisms. Some Mississippians’ automobiles displayed license plates declaring that Mississippi was “The Most Lied about State in the Union.” The state song, “Go, Mississippi,” adopted by the legislature in 1962, clearly responds to official white Mississippi’s impressions of outside criticism: the state is “on the right track,” “cannot go wrong”; “ev’rything’s fine,” and the state is “leading the show.” At the time the song was adopted, only the last assertion seemed indisputable—and not necessarily in a positive way. Mississippi has always produced its own dissenters and critics. In the 1960s, however, dissent less often produced progressive change than excited popular denunciation that merely confirmed many existing conceptions regarding the state. In the wake of what he perceived as the failure of the state’s political leadership during the integration of the University of Mississippi, history professor James W. Silver wrote Mississippi: The Closed Society (1964). For that, Silver was hounded from the state. Hodding Carter’s So the Heffners Left McComb (1965) seemed to most readers not the story of one family’s attempt to understand the social change in their community but rather a familiar tale of Mississippi intolerance. Other critical voices held out hope not only that Mississippi might accept social change but also that the state might have lessons to teach the rest of the nation. Mississippi’s musical and literary traditions have provided powerful and not always flattering representations of the state to the nation and the world. Blues lyrics, to take one example, provide a powerful testimony of the meaning of Mississippi to many of its black citizens. Similarly, for much of the twentieth century, the state’s writers commonly took as their material Mississippi’s struggles with race and poverty and the weight of the past on the present. To many readers, Yoknapatawpha County is Mississippi, with Thomas Sutpen, Quentin Compson, and Joe Christmas all representing something true about the state’s encounter with history. Most white Mississippians scorned William Faulkner and other Mississippi writers such as Richard Wright during their most productive years for their critical representations of the state. For several decades, Willie Morris made a career of reflecting on the state’s recent past and his feelings about it. From his father’s admonition to leave the state for the better educational opportunities that Texas provided to his encounter with Robert Frost during which he said that Mississippi was the worst state in the Union, Morris relished examining and discussing the history of his family and state. Artists from outside the state also helped to fashion myths and representations of Mississippi. Bob Dylan’s “Oxford Town” casts a familiar image of white Mississippians as violent, prejudiced, and essentially un-American. On the other hand, Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mississippi, You’re on My Mind” reminds us that not all representations of Mississippi center on race. That song presents the state’s hold on the narrator via a procession of familiar images: barbed wire fences, honeysuckle, tar paper shacks, John Deere tractors, lazy dogs, and oven-like heat. Along with press and television coverage of the state, Hollywood has created and perpetuated lasting images of Mississippi. As with many other movie representations of the South, those of Mississippi tended to fall into one of two broad categories: comic, sassy, colorful, and favorable, such as Crimes of the Heart (1986), or coarse, crude, racist, and unregenerate, such as In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Mississippi Burning (1988), which is also notable for its condescending view of black Mississippians as powerless but prayerful. In recent years many Mississippians have hoped that the state can escape, atone for, or simply stop thinking and talking about its history of racial prejudice and discrimination. In some accounts, the state has arrived at a sort of promised land beyond racism, and if Mississippi is not yet a beloved community of racial harmony, it is at least a workable and useful model of honest attempts at racial reconciliation and a day-to-day ability to live and work together. Attempts to carry myths and representations of Mississippi beyond stories of black-white conflict surely are not without merit. Characterizations of the state’s population and history as Anglo-Saxon versus African American do not take into account the plain fact that the state has always been home to a variety of people with stories about themselves and their history that sometimes stand as counternarratives to and at other times weave easily into familiar Mississippi stories. Broader, more inclusive, and perhaps more workable narratives of Mississippi might include the long-standing communities of Chinese and Italians in the Delta, Choctaw Indians in eastern Mississippi, Southern and Eastern Europeans and Vietnamese on the Gulf Coast, and an increasing number of Spanish-speaking residents. Recent years have seen a great deal of good-faith effort to craft narratives and representations of Mississippi that are race-neutral if not colorblind. The state’s media, universities, and most public forums honor Mississippi’s writers, musicians, and other public figures through the lens of race. Mississippians have begun incorporating the civil rights movement into the stories they tell about who they are. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s State Historical Marker program has commemorated more than eight hundred significant people, places, and events, a large number of which focus on black Mississippians’ experiences and history. The state’s Department of Travel and Tourism, to take another example, offers resources for those interested in visiting sites related to Mississippi’s African American history, including frank discussions of the civil rights movement that would have been unthinkable in a state publication a generation or two ago. One of the clearest ongoing arguments over narratives and representations of the state is the extent to which past racial inequities deserve public attention and remediation. Perhaps the best reason not to declare a moratorium on the discussion of race in the state in that for most of Mississippi’s history, the conversation was very much one-sided. Black Mississippians long formed their own judgments regarding the state and its promise. Until recently, however, those views were largely confined within the black community, as the danger of expressing discontent with the status quo outweighed the likelihood of effecting change. The Great Migration is itself a testimony to many black Mississippians’ view of the state as an unpromising land, but census figures have begun to show an African American return migration to the state, itself a commentary on the state’s image. African Americans’ narratives of Mississippi have recently displayed an increasing desire to claim the state as their own and on their own terms. W. Ralph Eubanks’s Ever Is a Long Time (2003) describes the author’s attempts to learn about the history of the state during the 1960s, a story his parents shielded from him as he grew up during those years. Clifton L. Taulbert’s Once upon a Time When We Were Colored (1989) tells a story of warmth, community, and identity during the Jim Crow years and is not far removed from other celebrations of growing up in rural Mississippi. Musician Afroman’s “Mississippi” brags of his sexual exploits but also expresses pleasant surprise that he attracts white fans, possibly because of their shared love for marijuana. And rapper David Banner’s “Mississippi” is the state “where yo grandmamma from” and invites the listener, “Now come on home get you somethin’ to eat.” Conversely, he also describes the state as a place “where a flag means more than me.” The state flag controversy is an indication that Mississippi still struggles to craft inclusive narratives of community and identity. On one level, of course, many white Mississippians see the argument as a referendum not so much on a particular flag as on whether they accept the version of the state’s history that other people insist that the flag represents. Symbols such as the state flag are highly meaningful within and across various communities of Mississippians, even if those meanings are highly contested. Mississippians argue about the meaning of flags, statues, college mascots, and street names, and those arguments are often so heated because these symbols do not have absolute meanings. Many Mississippians recognize that the state continues to have an image problem. While some merely resent what they consider an inaccurate and exaggerated stereotype, others make efforts to correct it. Indeed, a state advertising agency’s public relations campaign, “Mississippi . . . Believe It!,” promotes the state’s achievements in the arts, sports, science, and technology. Mississippians continue actively to craft representations of and stories about the state. Many have learned that money can be made in marketing the state as a provider of culture, especially literature, music, and history. Where the state once had a reputation for shunning outsiders, Mississippians now avidly seek patrons to gamble in casinos and to make movies in picturesque small towns. Every year, the calendar is filled with festivals, homecomings, and reunions, drawing on and promoting an image of the state as family and kin. Tourists and native Mississippians come to century-old events such as the Neshoba County Fair and to decades-old celebrations such as the Natchez Pilgrimage as well as to events of more recent vintage, such as the Medgar Evers Homecoming Celebration, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival, or the Oxford Conference for the Book. Mississippians have discovered that culture is a commodity that can be marketed to burnish the state’s image to investors as well as cultural arbiters. Even authenticity can be marketed or even created. Today, tourists come to Mississippi to find the “real South,” and entrepreneurs and local people have learned to supply it. Unflattering representations of Mississippi continue to appear in the media, as the state consistently ranks near the top (or bottom, as the case may be) in national rankings of obesity, teenage pregnancy, and venereal disease. Unfairly or not, to many other Americans, the state’s name still conjures up images of the 1962 riot in Oxford or the 1964 murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County. A younger generation of Americans became familiar with that image of the state from Eyes on the Prize, a history of the civil rights movement televised on PBS in 1987. Many Mississippians complain that the rest of the country and the world view the state wrongly, that the Mythic Mississippi that Hollywood, the media, and many academics see is harsh and distorted and bears little resemblance to the state today. However, the state’s past does not change simply because current conditions have changed. Myths and representations are often tenacious and are famously oblivious to fact and reason. So Mississippians continue to tell about themselves and their culture. Whenever the national spotlight shines on the state, many residents attempt to show the rest of the country a New Mississippi, one in which the real story is the state’s “racial evolution” and not its “murderous past,” as an Associated Press story on the 2008 presidential debate in Oxford put it. However they wish its story to be told, those who call Mississippi home can broadly agree with Faulkner’s reflection on the state: “You don’t love because; you love despite; not for the virtues, but despite the faults.” Missouri University of Science and Technology Dorothy Abbott, ed., Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth, vol. 1, Fiction (1985); Charles Angoff and H. L. Mencken, The American Mercury (September, October, and November 1931); Joseph G. Baldwin, Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi (1853); Marion Barnwell, ed., A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives (1997); Bradley G. Bond, ed., Mississippi: A Documentary History (2003); Paul Conkin, Journal of Southern History (February 1998); Hodding Carter, So the Heffners Left McComb (1965); David Cohn, Where I Was Born and Raised (1948); Paul Conkin, Journal of Southern History (February 1998); John Dollard, Caste and Class in a Southern Town (1937); W. Ralph Eubanks, Ever Is a Long Time (2003); Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, Mississippi: The WPA Guide to the Magnolia State (1938); Fred Hobson, Southern Cultures (Spring 2000); Bernard Lafayette, in Cornbread Nation 4: The Best of Southern Food Writing (2008); Belle Kearney, A Slaveholder’s Daughter (1900); James W. Loewen and Charles Sallis, eds., Mississippi: Conflict and Change (1974); James Meredith with William Doyle, A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America (2012); Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968); William Alexander Percy, Lanterns on the Levee: Recollections of a Planter’s Son (1941); Willie Morris, North toward Home (1967); Willie Morris, Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home (1981); Hortense Powdermaker, After Freedom: A Cultural Study in the Deep South (1939); John Shelton Reed, My Tears Spoiled My Aim and Other Reflections on Southern Culture, 1993; Dunbar Rowland, Mississippi: The Heart of the South (1925); James W. Silver, Mississippi: The Closed Society (1964); Clifton L. Taulbert, Once upon a Time When We Were Colored (1989); Richard Wright, Black Boy (1946); Richard Wright, Uncle Tom’s Children (1938). - Dorothy Abbott, ed., Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth, vol. 1, Fiction (1985) - Charles Angoff and H. L. Mencken, The American Mercury (September, October, and November 1931) - Joseph G. Baldwin, Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi (1853); Marion Barnwell, ed., A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives (1997) - Bradley G. Bond, ed., Mississippi: A Documentary History (2003) - Paul Conkin, Journal of Southern History (February 1998) - Hodding Carter, So the Heffners Left McComb (1965) - David Cohn, Where I Was Born and Raised (1948) - Paul Conkin, Journal of Southern History (February 1998) - John Dollard, Caste and Class in a Southern Town (1937) - W. Ralph Eubanks, Ever Is a Long Time (2003) - Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, Mississippi: The WPA Guide to the Magnolia State (1938) - Fred Hobson, Southern Cultures (Spring 2000) - Bernard Lafayette, in Cornbread Nation 4: The Best of Southern Food Writing (2008) - Belle Kearney, A Slaveholder’s Daughter (1900) - James W. Loewen and Charles Sallis, eds., Mississippi: Conflict and Change (1974) - James Meredith with William Doyle, A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America (2012) - Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968) - William Alexander Percy, Lanterns on the Levee: Recollections of a Planter’s Son (1941) - Willie Morris, North toward Home (1967) - Willie Morris, Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home (1981) - Hortense Powdermaker, After Freedom: A Cultural Study in the Deep South (1939) - John Shelton Reed, My Tears Spoiled My Aim and Other Reflections on Southern Culture, 1993 - Dunbar Rowland, Mississippi: The Heart of the South (1925) - James W. Silver, Mississippi: The Closed Society (1964) - Clifton L. Taulbert, Once upon a Time When We Were Colored (1989) - Richard Wright, Black Boy (1946) - Richard Wright, Uncle Tom’s Children (1938)

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A paragraph should always be coherent. Unity,coherence,emphasis And Topic Sentence In The Paragraph 0 The whole composition is composed of words that have different meanings, sentences that tell something and paragraphs that show series of sentences which eventually forms bigger ideas. Activities include planning, drafting, revising, and editing as well as instruction in grammar, punctuation, and usage. The paragraphs have a general focus, but some sentences are unrelated. ELA-Literacy. Describe paragraph coherence. For example, if you are supporting a major point with three subordinate points, introduce the subordinate points with the simple ordinal numbers first, second, and third, or a variation such as first, next, and finally. Paragraph 5: Conclusion. This means you will most likely be doing persuasive writing in response to the prompt. In particular, opening and closing paragraphs, which serve different functions from body paragraphs, generally don’t have topic sentences. Use consistent verb tense. A paragraph should be unified, coherent, and well developed. An essay is unified when all of the paragraphs illustrate, clarify, explain, support and/or address the idea expressed in the essay's thesis statement. If your topic sentence has more than two ideas, you need to develop them in separate paragraph. • (1)There are several reasons for the destruction of the English religious houses. GRAMMAR; 1. If you are having trouble developing or explaining your key points within your paragraphs, check to see if your paragraphs. The Writing Process, Part 2. Paragraph Writing Worksheets. addition b. On the other hand, in addition informs the reader that. The best way to demonstrate the importance of unity is to show how the intrusion of irrelevant information can disrupt our understanding of a paragraph. In reality, though, the unity and coherence of ideas among sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. Sustain an argument throughout a 750-word essay. In this lesson you will learn about paragraph unity and coherence without which a paragraph cannot be called a complete composition. Consider this example text: The haystack was important. What suggestions would you make about adding/subtracting specific examples to help illustrate the writer's classification and/or division? Some of the paragraphs had too much information in them that could have been left out. Look for problems in: 1) unity (one paragraph, one topic) 2) coherence (sensible ideas, logical sentence sequence, good paragraph flow) 3) development (sufficient length and/or good organization). The paragraphs are unified, and they have enough development, but the connections between the ideas is not clear, either because of logic problems or inadequate language to connect the ideas. They are particularly useful for writers who have difficulty developing focused, unified paragraphs (i. The paragraph should follow a compare and contrast format. weegy Weegy: In each paragraph of an essay, one particular idea or topic is developed and explained. A paragraph is unified if every sentence in the paragraph is relevant to the general topic of that paragraph. more organized and coherent. The multiple choice questions will test your knowledge of the following topics:. The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of a paragraph. It can be scientific research, example, and so on. Contains a central coherent paragraphs, and effective transi-. _____ Is each body paragraph unified (all the ideas belong in the paragraph and relate clearly back to the topic sentence)? 9. • write a unified, coherent, and well-developed comparison and contrast essay; • recognize the value of process writing, self-correction, peer feedback and instructor’s feedback to write a unified, coherent, and well-developed essay; and • appreciate how this pattern of writing is related to their every day and academic writings. However, the writer shifts abruptly from example to example, weakening the coherence of the essay. A unified paragraph will have a clear focus, with no tangential or off-topic material. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Demonstrate the ability to incorporate and document material from outside sources. In order to successfully do so, however, it is essential that the paragraph be written in a unified and coherent manner. The Commission argues (34) that the task that is being entrusted to the implementing regulation is the creation of a complete and coherent system of charges payable to the Agency, a coherent set of rules and criteria, a comprehensive and coherent system, which entails supplementing ‘non-essential elements’ of Regulation No 528/2012 on the basis of the principles laid down by the. Paragraphs should be "unified, coherent, and adequately developed, while flowing from one to the next as smoothly as possible" (Hult and Huckin, The New Century Handbook, 103). A good paragraph is thoughtful, unified, coherent, and well-developed. In writing, it is provided by a clear and understood structuring of paragraphs and sentences in writing. Produce clear and coherent writing (including multi-paragraph texts) in which the. Thoughtful, logical progression of supporting examples; Mature transitions between ideas. Experiment. Write a unified, coherent paragraph using a clear topic sentence, technical terminology and specific support, given a technical topic. Example of a unified paragraph Example 1: (1) generally, language has three functions according to its purpose: informative. How Do You Create Unity And Coherence In An Essay? Do you need help in your essay writing? There are so many factors to a well-written essay that it’s likely you will want to hone at least one area. If you want to make your paragraph understandable for all the kinds of readers out there, you have to make sure that you have written a coherent paragraph. The sentences are disconnected from each other, making it difficult for the reader to follow the writer's train of thought. Paragraphs should have both coherence and unity. A good first draft can almost always be improved by revision, editing, and rewriting. Many students define paragraphs in terms of length: a paragraph is a group of at least five sentences, a paragraph is half a page long, etc. Write a Unified, Coherent Paragraph. A paragraph is unified if? c. In a coherent paragraph, all sentences show their relationship to one another. The paragraph should consist of a well-developed paragraph, which means: you need a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence (clincher). Overall, the organization is handled in a competent, familiar manner, but may tend toward the. In order to build a biblical-theological framework for understanding man and man's relationship to God, including God's purposes and continuing work, you must first understand the unified biblical narrative, including its four major plot. Do not confuse UNITY and COHERENCE: unity in a paragraph means that the entire paragraph should focus on one idea Coherence involves the clear movement of thought from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph 5. Below are examples of awful, bad, fair, and good paragraphs. 2Incorporate appropriate and reasoned support and evidence. Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. An essay is unified if all the paragraphs relate to the thesis, whereas a paragraph is unified if all the sentences relate to the topic sentence. Paragraph Unity and Coherence. Paragraphs need to connect with one another smoothly and logically. Employers view the ability to write effectively as a necessary skill. Revise a draft to add, delete, or clarify ideas as needed. emphasis; paragraphs unified, coherent, usually effective in their development; transitions between paragraphs clear but abrupt, mechanical, or monotonous Plan and purpose of theme not apparent; undeveloped or developed with irrelevance, redundancy, or inconsistency; paragraphs incoherent, not unified, or undeveloped; transitions between. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a man” to “they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Unified, Well Organized and Coherent. Each paragraph should be unified: A paragraph is unified when each sentence it contains supports the main idea of the paragraph. Is your written composition centered around its main idea expressed in the thesis statement? Are supporting paragraphs used to develop that idea?. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. - These sentences illustrate the main idea formed in the topic sentence by providing details such as: facts, statistics, personal experiences, definitions, examples, arguments, etc. This is where all the real 'work' of the argument occurs. Use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or words with multiple meanings. • is coherently, logically, and effectively organized through well-developed paragraphs that are unified by specific, vivid, and appropriate details • demonstrates a substantial, in-depth understanding of the text(s) being employed • analyzes ideas and issues using well-chosen examples and evidence drawn from one or texts and, if. (From Clark and Haviland. The essay would be more coherent if there were more order. To do this, each body paragraph should possess the following qualities: Unity—every sentence relates directly to the main idea of the paragraph. By: Lucelis LópezHello. Write a factual report, a letter of application for a job, and a resume with a cover letter. The following checklists will help guide you from a good first draft to an improved, refined final draft. One-Paragraph Jane Schaffer-style Concrete Detail (FACT) Support for your topic sentence Fact Can’t be argued with For instance, the center of the city is full of different kinds of buildings including a two-thirds scale Eiffel Tower, a giant black glass pyramid, a scaled-down replica of the New York skyline, and a faux Medieval castle. What is a paragraph? This document is taken from information provided by Dr. Writing: Paragraphs and Transitions. Write unified, coherent, adequately developed paragraphs. You can view samples of our professional work here. Coherence allows the reader to move easily throughout the essay from one idea to the next, from one sentence to the next, and from one paragraph to the next. Coherence is a quality of writing that allows it to make sense to the reader. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. This often happens when the support for an assertion is complicated and requires a whole series of examples or a lot of explanation. " In short, you need to give each idea 1-2 paragraphs. A unified paragraph sticks to one topic from start to finish, with every sentence contributing to the central purpose and main idea of that paragraph. Coherence: the idea is that the paragraph or essay is organized in order to make sense. The article pointed out that a signature-based code analysis in PT Application Inspector is divided into the following stages:. Paragraphs need to connect with one another smoothly and logically. The body of the paper is orderly, unified, coherent, and fully developed. Write a focused topic sentence in a unified, coherent paragraph Recognize vocabulary items learned in lessons when encountered in a variety of aural situations Explain the purpose of different types of software, hardware, and peripherals. You also know that in each of the body paragraphs, you need to have the topic sentence, supporting details and closing sentence. Apply techniques for developing effective sentences and unified and coherent paragraphs. The dinner that she likes cooking the most is lasagna. SANTA ANA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT INTERMEDIATE WRITING ASSESSMENT SCORING GUIDE 6 and examples. Each of the topic sentences must likewise support the thesis statement. Not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences and some topic sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph (1 st sentence, last sentence, or somewhere in the middle). These are the themes of the text – ideas that arose in the writer’s mind as their response to the situation in which they lived, that is, their context. Topic sentences are a key element in developing unified and coherent paragraphs. How to create good paragraph & essay ? Unity 2)Order 3)Coherence 4)Completeness 1) Example: No. Coherence and Unity are related, but they are not the same thing. Transition. Sufficient number of examples and details that relate to the topic. Example of a unified paragraph Example 1: (1) generally, language has three functions according to its purpose: informative. Sometimes someone you know comes in. The writer’s progression of ideas is generally logical and controlled. A coherent Paragraph must also have no irrelevant or unrelated sentences to the topic ideas and show a chose connection between the ideas flow from the outset to the end”. This chapter will help you learn to write and analyse the types of paragraphs common in academic essays. Air Force's Strategic Air Command. Developing Unified and Coherent Paragraphs. _____ Is each of my body paragraphs coherent (with a clear, logical "flow" of ideas)?. ” (Birch 1989:25) “Discourse can be defined as a stretch of language consisting of several sentences that are. Effective paragraphs are unified, coherent, and an appropriate length (topic sentence, body supporting main idea, analysis, or examples) A. A paragraph should always be coherent. Revision also helps us in presenting an organized and coherent paragraph. Every sentence must contribute to the paragraph by explaining, exemplifying, or expanding the topic sentence. Body paragraphs effectively and accurately support the thesis. 10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline. First, we share the view expressed by the Secretary-General that the recommendations contained in the report should be reviewed as an integrated and coherent whole and should first be thoroughly discussed by the General Assembly in an efforts to agree on reform programmes that are conducive to the strengthening of the functioning, coherence and. The dinner that she likes cooking the most is lasagna. In writing, emphasis is a technique that helps the writer transmit exactly what he or she wants to say with all the power and force with which he or she wants to say it. In the language of writing, the paragraph is unified (i. Opening: First Paragraph A. They usually have problems with coherence and, mostly, with cohesion. Lastly, a good concluding sentence must summarize the paragraph and bring topic sentence in different words. Testing for Unity and Coherence 2A. Body Paragraphs Unity - Body Paragraphs Unity & Coherence Paragraph Unity [sentences are unified to the topic] All sentences in paragraph relate to the topic sentence All paragraphs relate Body Paragraphs Unity & Coherence Paragraph Unity [sentences are unified to the topic] All sentences in paragraph relate to the topic sentence All. Biblical Worldview Essay Instructions. Coherence is one of the two qualities that give a written or spoken text unity and purpose. The body should be unified: focused on expanding one central idea—the thesis of the essay. Language – The writing is composed in formal, edited English, although it may have some errors in mechanics and usage; its sentence structures and word choices are adequate if undistinguished. View the pronunciation for unified. Conclusion. of the paragraph, identifies the controlling idea and establishes the purpose of the paragraph. There should be many examples to support the main idea of the paragraph. Consider the following example:. Compose compare/contrast and cause/effect paragraph with appropriate topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence Compose cohesive paragraphs unified by a central topic and controlling idea Compose a basic, 3 to 5 paragraph, narrative essay Use commas in lists in written assignments. Today you will learn to organize your topic sentence and supporting sentences to created an unified and coherent paragraph. It is coherence that makes your paragraph become understandable even for those who are not wide readers. Weak Example: For me, the worst thing about waiting tables is the uniform. You’ll find that unified paragraphs often. To make your writing coherent, you can use a variety of devices that tie together words in a sentence, sentences in a paragraph, paragraphs into an essay. The Title Mirrors the Dominant Idea of the Paper A. A paragraph should be Coherent. To be as effective as possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: a topic sentence, adequate development, unity, and coherence. Resource Description: This lesson focuses on teaching university students or adults studying academic writing about the concepts of coherence and cohesion in academic writing. Each paragraph flowed right into the next paragraph and it was easy to follow. I want to show you the correct use of coherence and cohesion in different types of text. An essay is unified if all the paragraphs relate to the thesis, whereas a paragraph is unified if all the sentences relate to the topic sentence. - State the central idea of a paragraph in a topic sentence. specific examples and details. 2008/09 School Year Sample Questions PART D: COMPOSITION INSTRUCTIONS: Using standard English, write in the Response Booklet, a coherent, unified, multi-paragraph (3 or more paragraphs) composition of at least 300 words on the topic below. Here’s a rule for transitions at the beginning of paragraphs: look back and look forward. Paragraphs are well developed, unified, and coherent. Lastly, a good concluding sentence must summarize the paragraph and bring topic sentence in different words. , topic), purpose (e. This idea directs the paragraph's development. The use of pronouns is very important in creating coherence, and the lists of Transitional Words in HW 185 and 158-59 (WWR 184) should be consulted frequently. Examples include: Manufacturing – an product assembly process, a quality assurance process, a corrective/preventive maintenance process. The GPU would make sure the flag is clear, add its items to the buffer, and set the flag. A good paragraph is thoughtful, unified, coherent, and well-developed. Add transition signals. 2,The paragraph shows coherence. There may. True or false? ' and find homework help for other Literature questions at eNotes. Paragraphs need not only to be well-developed and unified, but also to be coherent. Identify factors affecting readability and revise messages to improve readability. Similarly, paragraph (III) shows the unified actions by thousands of American students, workers, and consumers to help the children working in factories in overcoming violence, intimidation, etc. -Coherent: All sentences should be logically connected to each other. Pay close attention to spelling, word formation, phrases, clauses, as well as sentence variety and arrangement. Transitions between and within paragraphs strengthen the relationships among ideas. Conclusion was strong and satisfying. Each paragraph of your paper should. Notice that if this were the structure of an academic paragraph, the assessor would immediately (and incorrectly) assume that the paragraph topic was "Socrates". sentences that are free of most of the basic grammar errors, paragraphs that are unified and coherent, and short essays with a clear central idea. A good paragraph develops a single idea and brings that idea into sharp focus. This is a way of. example, where one proposition has the function of being a specification, a generalization, an example or contrast of another proposition. This is especially true within paragraphs that discuss multiple examples or discuss complex ideas or concepts. Coherence is the logical transition between the parts inside the paragraph. Biblical Worldview Essay Instructions. Often, they serve--visually--as a kind of punctuation. Within a paragraph, transitions are often single words or short phrases that help to establish relationships between ideas and to create a logical progression of those ideas in a paragraph. A good paragraph is thoughtful, unified, coherent, and well-developed. Writing a Coherent Essay This workshop attempts to provide a useful guide for writing a coherent college-level essay. Starting a new paragraph is a signal to your reader that you are beginning a new thought or taking up a new point. An analogy would be like a family: most members of the family are related by blood, adoption, or marriage. Good paragraphs are unified and coherent. In the following exercise, you will learn more about unified and coherent paragraphs, anchored by a strong topic sentence. Paragraphs need not only to be well-developed and unified, but also to be coherent. After I got how to make a good paragraph, we learned unity and coherence which should be concluded in paragraph. The 5-paragraph structure might seem boring, but it is a good way to keep your points organized when writing an essay. Sample of paragraph writing pdf. When I mean to refer to a game’s internal consistency, logic—or lack thereof—I say “(in)coherence. An essay is unified if all the paragraphs relate to the thesis, whereas a paragraph is unified if all the sentences relate to the topic sentence. Paragraphs are unified around a main point, and all sentences in the paragraph should clearly relate to that point in some way. For example, in the paragraph about washing the cocker spaniel,you would not put the instructions about brushing the dog ahead of those about dryinghim. Write courtesy letters and formal invitations. Remember these cohesive devices when reading the section on paragraphs – they are essential to achieving coherence. Writing Prompts, Scoring Rubrics, and Sample ResponsesContent This book is composed of reproducible pages that are designed to help students improve on their basic writing skills as they prepare for the seventh-grade Writing Assessment. An alternative is to organize philosophical stances according to basic issues. Helpful hint - don't be tempted to plagiarise examples! Keep in mind, though this site is. Thus, the validation effect is more than “additive comprehension;” it is an explicit acknowledgment that a viewer-player’s transmedia traversals actually matter in some way. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve coherence, but they are often useful and give a mature feel to your essays. A well-developed, effective paragraph is unified and coherent with specific supporting details; it contains a focused topic sentence that announces the paragraph's main point and supports the thesis statement; and the details in the paragraph, the sentences in each paragraph, and the paragraphs themselves, need to be in an effective, logical. Coherence in writing is the logical bridge between words, sentences, and paragraphs. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. That would be followed by examples from the essay to support that main point. Paragraph writing worksheets, paragraph graphic organizers. The four elements essential to good paragraph writing are: unity, order, coherence, and completeness. You also know that in each of the body paragraphs, you need to have the topic sentence, supporting details and closing sentence. Unified Plan 2020 will launch Oct. Today we will have the task to produce a a coherent and unified. Paragraphs are focused, unified, and coherent. Paragraphs are unified around a main point, and all sentences in the paragraph should clearly relate to that point in some way. An incoherent text is one that lacks unity. Assignment: Biblical Worldview Essay Instructions The purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate your understanding of the unified and coherent nature of the Bible and the theological doctrines. All with useful drop down comments on many aspects of writing including paragraph structure, types, cohesion. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented. Abstract Qualities Examples Role and Placement of Topic Sentences Summing Up. Get an answer for 'Paragraphs should be unified, focused, and coherent. 55 Into the loom go many threads. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a man” to “they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Studying these sample essays and the accompanying annotations will. Paragraphs are well developed, unified, and coherent. In fact, every revision guides us and promises certain learning. A unified paragraph maintains coherence and unity. How to create good paragraph & essay ? 1)Unity 2)Order 3)Coherence 4)Completeness Element#1:Unity Start with the topic sentence. a coherent and unified way, with everything in the text ‘leading’ to an overall idea or set of ideas ‘behind the text’. This is the British English definition of unified. In the paragraph we can conclude that the paragraphs are stick together. The best way to demonstrate the importance of unity is to show how the intrusion of irrelevant information can disrupt our understanding of a paragraph. en calls upon the European Council and the European Commission to work out a clear and unified EU position for the UN conference and ensure that the political agreements reached in Rio de Janeiro will also lead to concrete action; declares, in this connection that public involvement, competence and power on a subnational and local level is a. Emphasis means “force” or “stress. Abstract Qualities Examples Role and Placement of Topic Sentences Summing Up. Good paragraphs are unified and coherent. Your ideas were well supported with good examples. Transitions pronouns and repetition should be used to provide coherence. This is the most common and easiest form of paragraph development: you simply expand on a general topic sentence using specific examples or illustrations. Establish coherence within and among paragraphs through effective transitions, parallel structures, and similar writing techniques. The expression “The pros make it look easy,” however, simplifies all of these ideas about work. The correct use of coherence and cohesion in different types of text. If a sentence is not tied to the main idea of the paragraph, consider cutting it from that paragraph; it could be. Below is the same paragraph revised for coherence. You may focus this paragraph entirely on strengths or entirely on flaws, or you may write about both, but your paragraph should be unified, coherent, and logically organized. Consider linking to these resources from your school, teacher, or homeschool educational site. If you want to make your paragraph understandable for all the kinds of readers out there, you have to make sure that you have written a coherent paragraph. This connection springs. Recognize the correct use of commonly misused pairs (e. After viewing the presentation, Understanding Biblical Narrative, and completing your textbook readings, you will be equipped to demonstrate the coherence of Scripture and share some of the implications of the unified message of the Bible. Developing Unified and Coherent Paragraphs — Schools at Look4. , it contains no irrelevant details). This is the British English definition of unified. An effective paragraph has three parts: claim, evidence, and analysis. Let’s look at an extended example and go through some of the features that make it seem coherent. 1Produce writing for different audiences and purposes 7. For the most part, transitions are meaningful, and sentence -to-sentence connections are sufficient to support the flow of the essay and show the relationships among ideas. Unity, Coherence, and Cohesion. and a concluding sentence. 4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. In order to successfully do so, however, it is essential that the paragraph be written in a unified and coherent manner. Sometimes the topic sentence is delayed until the middle or near the middle of the paragraph. Today we will have the task to produce a a coherent and unified. coherence is an important aspect of writing quality. A chapter is built up of paragraphs. Sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs. supporting paragraphs are unified and coherent. They presented seven criteria of textuality. the ideas expressed in previous paragraphs and do they allow readers to predict the ideas expressed in the paragraphs that follow? Does each paragraph have a topic sentence and is the paragraph cogent, coherent and unified? Take a close look at paragraphs. This explanation shows readers why you chose to use this/or these particular examples as evidence to support the major claim, or focus, in your paragraph. Although they are similar, they are not the same. After I got how to make a good paragraph, we learned unity and coherence which should be concluded in paragraph. ELA-Literacy. Everyothersentence supports this one idea with information that points back to it, or explains it! The paragraph is unified around that one idea. You may have a unified paragraph in which all the sentences are relevant to the controlling idea of the topic sentence, but it may leave your reader somewhat confused. Cohesion & coherence: overview. Develop or support a paragraph's main idea with the following kinds of details: Facts, statistics, quotations, definitions, anecdotes or incidents, examples, reasons, and comparisons When a paragraph is _____ and ______, each word, phrase, and sentence in it works together to present the ideas in a sequence that makes sense to the reader. Examples of a unifiedparagraph. In this lesson, you will see some examples and learn some tips for making your writing coherent between words, sentences, and paragraphs. A chapter is built up of paragraphs. How to use coherent in a sentence. Use the brief outline on the next slide to help. The Meijer G-function (31) is very simple in this case. Score: You will be graded out of ten points on your ability to write a unified and coherent composition in an in-class setting, but I will focus on the following: thesis statement, topic sentences, quote integration, coherence, and the overall effectiveness of the essay. Functions of Paragraphs. The paragraph should be unified and coherent with specific supporting details or examples from the story. The beginning of a new paragraph signals to the reader an introduction of a new idea. There just needs to be more information in the paragraphs about Lisa. To state a restricted, unified, precise thesis. Conjunctions improve the paper as a whole by giving the writing coherence, or flow. Example: Overall, Management Systems International has logged increased sales in every sector, leading to a significant rise in third-quarter profits. Coherence, cohesion, and transitions need work. Studying these sample essays and the. Element #1: Unity. Transitions, pronouns, and repetition should be used to provide coherence. For the ACT essay, you'll need an introduction, three body paragraphs (one paragraph for each perspective), and a conclusion. The sentences are disconnected from each other, making it difficult for the reader to follow the writer's train of thought. Mark the key words in the concluding sentence, using the same colors as you did in the paragraph. The best way to demonstrate the importance of unity is to show how the intrusion of irrelevant information can disrupt our understanding of a paragraph. words and phrases (e. Topic Sentence Example. Use research to write an essay on causes or effects that will inform or persuade an audience (Course outcome 1) Form unified, coherent, and well-supported paragraphs in support of the thesis statement (Course outcome 2). It consists of a group of related sentences that develop one main idea. S summarizes paragraph’s content. Maintains multi-paragraph organization. Coherent and Unified Paragraphs 1. -Unity Just as the thesis of your paper should concern one main idea, the rest of your paper too should concern that one idea. Journal of Pragmatics 13 (1989) 239-250 239 North-Holland PARAGRAPHS, & ANAPHORA Thomas R. This is especially true within paragraphs that discuss multiple examples or discuss complex ideas, issues, or concepts. The introduction and conclusion paragraphs will also look different. Therefore, coherent paragraphs entailing delivery depends on a number of well-executed strategies. Weak Example: For me, the worst thing about waiting tables is the uniform. , another, for example, also, because). You know by now that in a 5-paragraph essay, you need to have an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Every paragraph in a paper should be: • Unified. No spelling errors. A unified paragraph maintains coherence and unity. Prerequisite: writing sample at Level II or successful completion of EAP 0440. Paragraph Structure Linwood Rumney ‘03 Regard the paragraph as the unit of organization for your essay (Strunk and White 15). Do you think this paragraph is unified and coherent?. read the poem, “Bully” (Espada 580-81), and write a unified and coherent paragraph completing the following criteria: Summarize the poet’s claim in ONE (1) sentence using an introductory or signal phrase that names the poem and the author. Paragraphs can be of varying lengths, but they must present a coherent argument unified under a single topic. Make sure that your paragraph is coherent, which means that it is easy to read and understand, that each sentence connects with the next and that everything flows nicely as a whole. Coherence is the idea that everything works together as a unified whole in your writing. A paragraph should be a complete chunk of information that develops the paper's thesis. Native speakers of Semitic languages construct and develop their ideas in writing very differently than native speakers of English do. With a real purpose.

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NOWADAYS analytical prose passages are a common part of the English exams: GCSE and IGCSE; SAT, ACT, or AP English. But what are they? What do students have to know and master? How do students tackle questions on prose passages? I have compiled a dossier for you here . . . so, please get yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the cruise . . . PROSE is simply writing or speech that is not poetry. Prose is the most common form of writing. It is not restricted by rhythm or dialogue, and it most closely resembles everyday speech. It is usually straightforward, and may utilize figurative language, dialogue, characters, and imagery. Prose writing is often divided into two primary categories: Fiction and Non-Fiction - Fictional Prose is narrative writing that originates from the author’s imagination. It is designed to entertain, but it can also inspire, inform, or persuade. Primary sub-genres of fiction include a novel, novella (a short novel or long short story), and short story. - Nonfictional Prose is writing that is based on true events, people, places, and facts. It is designed to inform, and sometimes to entertain. Primary sub-genres of nonfiction include autobiography and biography; essays, diaries and journals as well as narrative non-fiction. - Heroic Prose is writing based on the formulaic expressions found in oral traditions, eg: myths and legends as well as fables. ADDITIONALLY, prose can be . . . . - Narrative writing which has a storyline and characters. It is often told chronologically. - Expository writing denotes writing that explains or explores particular topics and themes. Expository writing differs from narrative writing because it does not necessarily tell a story. - Descriptive writing uses detail, such as the five senses, to discuss a topic in depth. This form of writing is often used in conjunction with narrative, expository, or persuasive writing. - Persuasive writing attempts to convince the audience of the merits or disadvantages of the topic. Something inherent in prose is a sense of style, or how speakers and writers communicate their meanings. Prose style is specific to a particular work, author, or genre. Thus, for any analysis done on a piece of prose there are some literary works to be engaged in. STRUCTURE is also key to prose writing and commonly asked in questions. Structure, or form, is the arrangement of story elements according to purpose, style and genre. While the plot is the events in the story itself, which are heavily affected by character, setting and theme, the structure, on the other hand, is how these elements are presented to the reader. TWO KINDS OF LITERARY DEVICES Commonly, the term Literary Devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey their message(s) in a simple manner to their readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work. Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be treated as either Literary Elements or Literary Techniques. It will be convenient to define them separately. Literary Elements have an inherent existence in literary piece and are extensively employed by writers to develop a literary piece e.g. plot, setting, narrative structure, characters, mood, theme, moral etc. Writers simply cannot create his desired work without including Literary Elements in a thoroughly professional manner. COMMON LITERARY ELEMENTS - PLOT: It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story. There are five basic elements to the plot: - Exposition – Often before the plot begins, a section of exposition is provided, which is the introduction that presents the background information to help readers understand the situation of the story. - Rising action – This is the series of struggles (conflicts and complications) that builds a story toward its climax. The conflicts and complications within a story are what creates the rising action. - Climax – This is the point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative which will somehow determine the outcome of the story. In drama, the climax is also identified with the terms crisis and/or turning point. It’s the point of the story that “changes everything.” - Falling action – This is the part of the story that shows the “working out” of the action that occurred during the story’s climax. (Certain issues/ happenings must be resolved (worked out) to reach a resolution). - Resolution – The resolution is also called the denouement. This is the portion of the story where the problem is somehow resolved. It follows after the climax and falling action and is intended to bring the story to a satisfactory end/close. - SETTING: It refers to the time and place in which a story takes place. This is the time and place of the action of a story. Setting can be of great importance in establishing not only the physical background, but also in creating the atmosphere/mood of the story (tension, suspense, peacefulness, etc.) Setting can include time (minute/hour, year, month, decade, etc.), weather (season, literal weather, etc.), places (planets, countries, cities, buildings, homes, stores, etc.) or any other thing that helps set the background. - CHARACTERIZATION – This is the personality a character displays as well as the means by which an author reveals that personality. Characters in a story can be one of two types. They can be… - Static: they remain the same throughout the entire story. - Dynamic: they change in some important way during the course of the story. Also… Rounded = a developed character (we get to know them) - Flat = an undeveloped character (we never get to know them) Stories often include a protagonist and an antagonist. - Protagonist: This is the chief character in a work on whom our interest centers. This term is preferable over the terms hero or heroine because a protagonist can sometimes include characters who might be, for example, villainous or weak (but characters whom we are still interested in or concerned about regardless of their flaws in character). - Foil: This is a character that has characteristics that oppose another character, usually the protagonist. The foil character may be completely opposite to the protagonist, or very similar with one key difference. The foil character is used to highlight some particular quality or qualities of the main character. - Antagonist: This is the character or force which opposes (literally “wrestles”) the main character; therefore, if the protagonist is pitted against an important opponent, that opponent is called the antagonist. - POINT OF VIEW: This is the angle or position from which the story is told the narrative view. There are two basic points of view for storytelling: the first-person point of view and the third-person point of view. - First-person: Through this view, the story is told by one of the characters in his or her own words by using “I.” First-person point of view is always considered to be a limited point of view since the reader is told only what one specific character knows and observes. - Second -person: Even less common is a story narrated with “you.” This is a very difficult point of view to sustain, as the reader must identify with the “you”, or it must be clear that the “you” character is, in fact, a way for the narrator to reflect back on his or her own actions. - Third person: Through this view, the story is told by someone outside of the story itself by using “he” or “she.” The third-person narrator may be working from an omniscient view or a limited omniscient view. - Omniscient: This narrator is an all-knowing observer who can describe all the characters’ actions, thoughts, and feelings. - Limited omniscient: This is a storyteller who shares the thoughts and feelings of only one particular character or a select group of characters (clearly lacking or failing to share information about other characters). SPEECH PATTERNS – These forms include: - Dialogue – where characters of a narrative speak to one another. - Monologue – delivered by one character to other characters, or at least overheard by other characters if delivered to the audience. - Interior monologue – a character’s thoughts that addresses the character itself. - Soliloquy – A speech delivered alone by one character without any other characters overhearing. - Aside – A speech delivered directly to the audience without any other characters overhearing, the aside is a very short observation, whereas a soliloquy is a longer explanation of the character’s thoughts. - Stream Of Consciousness – A method of narration that describes in words the flow of thoughts in the mind of a character. The technique aspires to give readers the impression of being inside the mind of the character. Therefore, the internal view of the mind of the character sheds light on plot and motivation in the novel. - Apostrophe – A character breaks off from addressing one character to address a third party who may either be present or absent in the scene, or even to an inanimate object or intangible concept. CONFLICT: It is an issue in a narrative around which the whole story revolves. It is also the struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a story that triggers action. Conflict can be internal or external. - Internal Conflict = Man vs. Self: This is the conflict that takes place within an individual (an inner battle of conscience). - External Conflict = This is an individual’s struggle against something outside of themselves. There are five basic types of external - man vs. man (or group of people) - man vs. society - man vs. nature/animal - man vs. supernatural - man vs. fate or destiny conflict… Conflicts are also known as complications. When you read, keep in mind that there may be a single conflict that is uncomplicated or easy to recognize in the story or there may be several, more subtle conflicts involved. MOOD AND TONE: A general atmosphere of a narrative. Mood is the feeling a text arouses and creates in the reader/ audience (such as happiness, anger, sadness, depression, joy, etc.). It is the attitude of the audience/reader toward the subject matter he or she is reading. Tone is the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of words. Tone reveals the author’s attitude toward his own subject matter and the audience. So . . . mood is the attitude of the audience/reader toward the particular subject matter he or she is reading AND tone is the author’s apparent attitude toward his own subject matter and/or the audience THEME: It is central idea or concept of a story – the basic meaning of a literary work. It is a statement about life…specifically “the human condition”. Themes are UNIVERSAL truths about life. Because they are universal, they stand the test of time, and themes are repeated over-and-over in books, movies, songs, etc (and then they become what’s called a motif). Theme is rarely a moral/lesson (it is usually just a statement about life that we know/accept to be true). MOTIF: a narrative element with symbolic meaning that repeats throughout, eg: Martin Luther King Jr. used the motif of “I have a dream” to tie together different ideas such as the historic language of the United States of America’s “Declaration of Independence” with the more concrete images of people who once were at odds sitting down together. Literary Techniques, on the contrary, are structures usually a word or phrases in literary texts that writers employ to achieve not merely artistic ends but also for readers to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of their literary works. Examples are: metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, allegory etc. In contrast to Literary Elements, Literary Techniques are not unavoidable aspect of literary works. To have a better understanding of Literary Devices, it is useful to look at their definition and examples: Techniques, by their nature, are used by writers as an attempt to make the reader think in a certain way. These techniques can be used to intrigue, inspire, persuade or simply convey information to the reader. COMMON LITERARY TECHNIQUES IMAGERY: It is the use of figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to our physical senses. For example: The room was dark and gloomy. -The words “dark” and “gloomy” are visual images. The river was roaring in the mountains. – The word “roaring” appeals to our sense of hearing. SIMILE AND METAPHOR: Both compare two distinct objects and draws similarity between them. The difference is that Simile uses “as” or “like” and Metaphor does not. For example: My love is like a red red rose” (Simile); He is an old fox very cunning. (Metaphor) HYPERBOLE: It is deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of emphasis, eg: I have got a million issues to look after! PERSONIFICATION: It gives a thing, an idea or an animal human qualities, eg: Have you see my new car? She is a real beauty! ALLITERATION: It refers to the same consonant sounds in words coming together. For example: Better butter always makes the batter better. ONOMATOPOEIA: words that sound a little like they mean, eg: The autumn leaves and twigs cracked and crunched underfoot. ALLEGORY: It is a literary technique in which an abstract idea is given a form of characters, actions or events. For example: “Animal Farm”, written by George Orwell, is an example of allegory using the actions of animals on a farm to represent the overthrow of the last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II In addition, the actions of the animals on the farm are used to expose the greed and corruption of the Revolution. IRONY: It is use of the words in such a way in which the intended meaning is completely opposite to their literal meaning. For example: So nice of you to break my new PSP! - Situational Irony: A situation in which the outcome is very different than what was expected. - Dramatic Irony: Part of a piece of literature in which the reader or audience member has more information than the character(s) and there is thus incongruity between what the characters expect and what the audience knows to be true. - Verbal Irony: It occurs when a speaker means or feels something very different from what he or she says, often involving sarcasm. METAPHOR – a descriptive technique that names a person, thing or action as something else, eg: The circus was a magnet for the children. EMOTIVE LANGUAGE – language intended to create an emotional response, eg: A heart-breaking aroma of death filled the air as he surveyed the devastation and destruction that had befallen them all OXYMORON – a phrase combining two or more contradictory terms, eg: There was a deafening silence ANECDOTE – a very short story that is usually interesting or amusing, and concerns real people and real incidents. Anecdotes are often humorous, but also often impart a deeper truth. PATHETIC FALLACY – a type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object or the weather, eg: The clouds crowded together suspiciously overhead as the sky darkened. STATISTICS and FIGURES – factual data used in a persuasive way, eg: About 80% of people agreed that this would change their community for the better. RHETORICAL – A question asked just for effect with no answer expected. HYPOPHORA – a figure of speech in which the speaker both asks a question and immediately answers it. FLASHBACK – an occurrence in which a character remembers an earlier event that happened before the current point of the story. FORESHADOWING – the author gives clues about events that will happen later in the story. Often these clues are fairly subtle so that they can only be noticed or fully understood upon a second reading. ARCHETYPE – also known as universal symbol maybe a character, a theme, a symbol or even a setting or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature. BILDUNGSROMAN is a coming-of-age story, which focuses on a narrative of a young adult growing morally and psychologically into an adult. Thus, a bildungsroman is also sometimes called a novel of formation or novel of education. The most important element of a bildungsroman is the character development that the young adult undergoes through the course of the narrative. SATIRE is a genre of literature that uses wit for the purpose of social criticism poking fun at some failing of human behavior. Satire ridicules problems in society, government, businesses, and individuals in order to bring attention to certain follies, vices, and abuses, as well as to lead to improvements. It can either be gentle, amusing, and light-hearted or be biting, bitter, and even savage. ANTICLIMAX – a conclusion that is unsatisfying because is does not meet the expectations that the narrative has been building toward. HUBRIS – extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall. A character suffering from Hubris tries to cross normal human limits and violates moral codes. JUXTAPOSITION – to place two concepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other so that the reader will compare and contrast them. ANTITHESIS – the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentences within parallel grammatical structures. Antithesis is very similar to juxtaposition, as juxtaposition also sets two different things close to each other to emphasize the difference between them. However, juxtaposition does not necessarily deal with completely opposite ideas PARALLELISM – the usage of repeating words and forms to give pattern and rhythm to a passage in literature. SYMBOLISM – the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. TAUTOLOGY – states the same thing twice in slightly different wording, or adds redundant and unnecessary words. UTOPIA – an illusionary place that projects the notion of a perfect society to the reader. DYSTOPIA – a community or society that is undesirable or frightening. POETIC JUSTICE – an ideal form of justice in which the good characters are rewarded and the bad characters are punished by an ironic twist of their fate. CARICATURE – an exaggerated description used to create a silly or comic effect. TRIPLES – three points to support an argument. Safer streets means comfort, reassurance and peace of mind for you, your family and your friends. Function of Literary Devices In general, the literary devices are a collection of universal artistic structures that are so typical of all works of literature frequently employed by the writers to give meanings and a logical framework to their works through language. When such works are read by readers, they ultimately recognize and appreciate them -this is the ANALYSIS part required of High School students. They not only beautify the piece of literature but also give deeper meanings to it, testing the very understanding of the readers along with providing them enjoyment of reading. Besides, they help motivating readers’ imagination to visualize the characters and scenes more clearly. Only through practice will you get things right. Good luck in your endeavours. As of old: Be EMPOWERED and EXCEL!

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12 principles of animation These are the 12 principles of animation producers use while creating an animation, the quotation mark is marked by myself Squash and stretch: ‘In 3D animation, squash and stretch is a technique that is applied to an animated or in-motion characters to give them a more exaggerated movement.’ ‘An anticipation pose or drawing is a preparation for the main action of an animated scene, as distinct from the action and the reaction.’ ‘is the third of twelve basic principles of animation, and is often overlooked by animators, despite its ability to inform every aspect of a narrative. Simply put: Staging directs the audience’s attention toward the most important elements in a scene in a way that most effectively tells the story.’ Straight ahead action and pose to pose: ‘Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action. Straight Ahead Action in hand drawn animation is when the animator starts at the first drawing in a scene and then draws all of the subsequent frames until he reaches the end of the.’ Follow through and overlapping action: Follow through and overlapping action is a general heading for two closely related animation techniques which form part of the 12 basic principles of animation, identified by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in their authoritative 1981 book on Disney Animation, The Illusion of Life. Slow in and Slow out: ‘Slow In and Out. This refers to the spacing of the in between frames at maximum positions. It is the second and third order continuity of motion of the object. Rather than having a uniform velocity for an object, it is more appealing, and sometimes more realistic, to have the velocity vary at the extremes.’ In nature, arcs are the most economical routes by which a form can move from one position to another. Such arcs are used extensively in animation, since they create motion that is more expressive and less stiff than action along a straight path.’ A secondary action is an action that results directly from another action. Secondary actions are important in heightening interest and adding a realistic complexity to the animation. The secondary action of Luxo Jr’s forward motion is the rippling of his power cord. ‘The Principles of Animation, Timing. or the speed of an action, is an important principle because it gives meaning to movement.’ ‘Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation, as animated motions that strive for a perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of a specific artist.’ ‘Solid Drawing In 2D Animation, solid drawing is about creating an accurate drawing with volume and weight, and thinking about balance, and the anatomy in a pose. With 3D animation, animators are less likely to rely on their drawings, but the idea of solid drawing is just as important.’ ’12 Principles of Animation: Character Appeal. … Character Appeal is designing a character’s look in a way that’s real, interesting, and engaging to an audience. Character appeal is difficult to quantify – like trying to gauge “charisma” in an actor. Yet as in live action, star quality is important.’ Overall, what I understand from this is that while making an animation before you even get to designing you already know all these 12 principles will apply to it because these principles and basically what makes an animation, if you don’t use these you basically have nothing, just an something in your head, that’s it. This is the timeline of animation history. As we can see there has been a significant change between the years 1834 to 2012 and even in in the early 90’s the animation technology got very advance for it’s time for example ‘Snow White’. We are going to be looking at the ways HOW animation has changed these past bunch of decades. We have come a long way when we take a look at the timeline an the amusing thing is that 3350 drawing animation is still a way of animating to this day which is quite crazy. As we move on we find out about the ‘zoetrope’ which is quite often used in horror films where the thing is set to spin around and the animation comes alive when you look inside the circle. ‘The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. The Kinetoscope was designed for films to be viewed by one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the device.’ Now moving towards the 90’s the technology started to become more advance and as we can see this machine was just a move advance version of the zoetrope. Moving forward we find that the animation was in the forefront of production and now this would allow more people at once to view something like John Brays studios and from then on animation has become so very advanced from Snow White in 1937 (The Snow White also comes down to drawing production) and to now for example ‘Ice age’ which is fully computer based when designing. An Individuals Hope ‘A feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen’: Now, this is the example that google gives but I’m going to give you my own example of hope. I think the word hope can be used in many events and situations depending on how someone is taking it, for example I’m using Obama’s slogan for this part. The Poster states ‘hope’. He was the president of America so we clearly know who this is aimed at, yes, the people of america who were in search for hope, they were in a search of a leader that can give them hope for a better America. So this is where Obama came in and self chose himself to be Hope for America. This slogan somewhat did give hope to the people in that time. Thats my example for hope. Hope can also be used in negative situation so it’s not always good to hope. ‘I hope he/she dies’, this is false hope for someone and for the person hoping because there is a saying that if you think good for people good will happen to you. So hope is also used for pros and cons. A group of Hope Religion somewhat lives on hope as well. Majority of religions these days hope for word peace together, it’s their to live a peaceful life and they expect everyone to hope for more or less the same desire but every religion always has an extremist that that has a different type of desire. In this case i’m using terrorists as an example. They kill innocents and hope to live a happy after life in heaven which is complete nonsense according to the Holy books such as the Quran and Bible. So either hope for something good or don’t hope at all. Also as the terrorists or extremists get brain washed by their leaders, the leaders give them hope that after killing they will live a happily ever after which clearly isn’t the case. This is the animation storyboard I designed in my sketchbook using pencil. It shows a basic story example of how the animation will run, how long each scene is and where the camera will be shooting from. Animation Mood board This is a mood board which gives us a visual of what kind of animation gave me an idea of what kind of animation I wanted to make. At first I had an idea of making a character influenced by Johnny bravos body and using the face of action man from Dexter lab. Overall the character turned out great. However, To move this kind of character around in the animation would be so much effort and I hardly had enough time to make it so I made Second story board with a skinny character, that didn’t move much, only the background made movement. This idea helped me to finish the animation on time. This character was produced on Illustrator in 10 minutes because his face didn’t need much detail neither his body. When I looked into this 90s animation, I could not find any ideas from anywhere to what I wanted to do. I found influence from characters from couple of cartoon network cartoons such as Johnny bravo. His physic was perfect for my characters body style and for the face i got influence from a character from Dexters lab which was action man. My idea developed quite alot along the way because when you create one thing, another pops in mind and then you think, I can actually combine these two to make my piece. For my first idea, the background design developed due to the ‘power puff girls’. They tend to have a very bright coloured environment and thats what I wanted to make because in my opinion the surroundings gave a good example of hope. Also that kind of background changes the mood in a good way. My idea did change half way through because my character was so well designed, actually it was too well designed. What I mean by that is that is I would have to put so much effort into little movements of his body which I could do but I hardly had any time left. I changed my whole idea of the story due to that. My second idea was pretty good. The storyboard was well written in my judgment. The lighting was the only problem, the animation shown was a bit dull and didn’t show much of a crisp image to be honest. I think the movement could have been much better performed by the characters (MYSELF). This was designed on Illustrator and only Illustrator so we have to allow it. Next time, when i’m designing the scenes i’ll surely use Photoshop for better effects. I think my final overall all design was satisfactory because as I stated before, I had little time which was my own fault so what I produced at the end was rushed but in reality I think it gave a good image/example on hope. I could make a lot of changes in character movement, the background and the storyboard in general. Judging by the feedback I got it was exactly what I thought it would be ‘could of been much better’ so keeping that in mind I will do much better next time. I will give myself a lot more time. I also think my animation was too short and it could have been well longer Overall it may be considered that my animation did not meet the full requirements in success but its something to watch review and hand in. This is one of the responses I received from my a family member. I think the response was a on point to whatever I had in my head, what I mean by that is this survey overall indicates that this animation needs big improvement and that it wouldn’t be used for official production purposes. The bunch of responses i received also help me understand how I can produce a better storyboard , not only that the overall survey answered were similar and all mostly stated one thing in particular which was the character development could be improved to a good extent. In my opinion these survey answer will help me improve my animation because mostly all of the responses were what I already had in mind which means the responses were quite honest. I had overall 4 to 5 responses but the one I put up on my blog had gave me the biggest sense of how i could actually improved. In all the surveys one response was the same as I stated before and that answer was “character development could be improved”, keeping that in mind I also thought deeper into this issue and finalise what else i needed to improve on alongside the character, which was the background. One of the questions in my survey was, ‘would you consider this for production’ and the response was always not yet, meaning if I developed the background and the characters the consideration would change. ‘A Zoetrope is another animation device which is very similar to the phenakistoscope. In this case the Zoetrope consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides so people can look through and see the moving photographs or drawings.’ ‘This also produces the illusion of motion. The person who invented this was William George Horner. He was a British mathematician who was aware about the development of the Phenakistoscope and created the Zoetrope in 1833 or 1834.’ As we can see, William George Horner was a early animator and he produced the zoetrope which allowed people to view animation through a cylinder which spun around, the basic overall point was to view 2d animation through that cylinder because around that time there a wasn’t screen viewing such as tv cinema of any sort so this was a start towards development . When we look into the later years we find that disney released Snow white which was fully 2d animated, it was unrealistically good for its time because bearing in mind colour for movies was still in process and snow white came out in colour which is something to think about. When we think about the process from that ‘zoetrope’ time to after 80 years or so we now know audio, colour and a very dramatic and long story board went into making this snow white animation because while comparing to the early cylinder animation we know there was necessarily no audio or a dramatic story board put into the making. Nowadays, what the zoetrope provided at that time can be produced in a college on a Mac whereas at that time it was made a well developed man. So it’s something to think about how times change. obviously now in 2d animation we see there are computers in use even for snow white in 1937 and in that process comes along the 12 principles of animation which has already been stated before. IN the earlier days this might have not been acquired. As we can see, this video takes us through the steps of early animation. We find that this animation in the early days took a lot of effort. we also find that most of the times the animations were produced by hand. The process went something like this, First to start off with the producers would sit down in a room and and make the storyboard this would then follow up with the flip book or flip pages. This would mean that after drawing all the characters and background bit by bit with a slight movement on every page, it would then be put under a projector. The colour less animation would then be viewed by people on the projector screen. The music and sound effect production was quite fascinating, this is because to this day the music is produced live by people playing instruments and body on action (body on and voice action for sound effects. This is how snow white was mostly produced, it was hands on action. If we compare it to now, most and nearly all companies such as disney have upgraded to everything mostly computer based which in my opinion is better because it illustrates better colour and lighting. In comparison to my animation, i think flip book animation would make my animation look bad because in flip book or hand drawn animation there is more of a realistic body illustrations, for example a sneeze would mean the face would clench first and it would be easy to draw that with hand but with my animation there is a lot of stiffness. Overall the basic point of this video is that it shows how the early animation was made and how it relates to snow white 1937. PIXILATION STOP MOTION This was my specific research which was pixilation stop motion, it requires some camera movements if needed or else the camera is fixed in one place and the pictures are taken movement by movement. The whole point is that it will look like a picture video so pixel by pixel movements. My stop motion I started off my stop motion with two script designs in my sketchbook. This was so I could have an idea of how and where my 5 second stop motion would take place. So I decided to do a simple but effective design which was me pretending to take out pencils out of the pencil pack on amazon on the monitor which was pretty cool in my opinion. My second idea was to take pencils out of the phone screen but due to the size it would look unrealistic. This assignment was Stop motion based but I got given a specific area of it which was pixilation. This is where the Camera does not move at all and it stays in the same exact position for the remainder of the 5 seconds. The amusing part of this process is that it gives you a lot of freedom where you can make anything with anything and anywhere. This is the stop motion STOP MOTION STORYBOARD This is the storyboard I have drawn in my sketchbook to give a visual idea of how my stop motion animation would look like. Stop motion research ‘Stop motion -a cinematographic technique whereby the camera is repeatedly stopped and started, for example to give animated figures the impression of movement.’ Kubo and the two strings is all about stop motion, nothing about this has anything to do with anything other than stop motion. Other than the backgrounds and some of the characters and motions are green-screen to give it more of a better effect. In my opinion stop motion takes an intensely long time if you are making and over hour long movie and I struggled with just 5 seconds so we can now see how much effort it takes to make something like this. Of course, I only used pencils a camera and a Mac in one area but it was still hard to keep still and precise on the movement of the hand. This is because one foul shot or foul move could ruin all of the 5 seconds because if one picture was deleted all of them would have to be deleted. Normally how stop motion works is that if there are about 60 shots it will skip from 1 to 4 for 1 move and will get to sixty in a bunch of moves so every image has to be in sink. This is an example of stop motion animation. We have all watched these cartoons, shows on tv, some when we were younger like shawn the sheep and some new ones like caroline. I personally think this is a great way of making tv shows because when the younger audience grows up they tend to understand what kind of effort is put into stuff like this so they appreciate it more and then it gets popular. Moreover I also think that this is a hands on sort of animation which i would personally enjoy making and i’m sure a lot of you would also enjoy it. Stop motion EVALUATION I am quite pleased with my stop motion, as I stated before I placed the camera behind the chair in front of the desk. The camera visualising half of the monitor screen because I had to get more of the desk in the camera because the whole idea was to show how the pencils become the letter ‘E’. I got influence from many stop motions such as shawn the sheep and Wallace and grommet. My stop motion actually relates nothing to those two shows but for my research I looked into the close up scenes for example if the character was holding an object and the camera is zoomed in to show the little movement of how the hand moves. That was my main influence for my idea. My idea stayed the same throughout the process, that is because in my head i knew what i was trying to produce would really workout well as it was quick and easy to make. The camera was on auto shot mode and it took pictures while my hand moved in slow motion, so the amusing part was that it was all pictures that looked like a 5 second video. I did have some trouble, while the picture folder was in adobe premier there was a sudden glitch near the end when it was played. That is because I took a triple shot of the same movement by mistake which is also the fault of the auto shot mode, that basically showed me how not to always find the easy way out of these things. So to sort this out, The folder watched re-batched meaning the whole folder was looked over in adobe premier and the shots were re numbered from 200 to make it easier to understand where the first frame starts from, also the triple shot was taken out s that meant not one of my shots were missing which is bad. So to solve that i stretched the whole 3 seconds to 5 seconds so that meant the stop motion would skip two to three frames but would still look normal. The glitch still didn’t disappear because stretching just meant the whole 3 seconds were stretched as one not image by image. I had a long thought about that and i decided to work with it rather than re creating the whole thing again. I put a beat drop music at the point of the glitch which made it seem amusing creative. Overall I am happy with my work, I just think I could have planned it a bit better rather than jumping to the finale, I also think it somewhat meets the requirements.

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Wednesday, 27 March 2019 Galileo’s Revenge is based upon the life of the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) when he was a young man. Eventually Galileo became the most famous scientist of his day, thanks to his revolutionary astronomical discoveries with the newly-invented telescope. But his success didn’t come easily, or early, and there are big gaps in the historical record of his early life. So Galileo’s Revenge fills in some of those gaps. Galileo’s gap years When Galileo left the university of Pisa in 1585, aged 21, he had no proper job to go to. Returning to his family home in Florence, he struggled to make a living from a portfolio of activities: part-time teaching, casting horoscopes, playing on the lute . . . and gambling. At the same time he was trying to make a name for himself at the cultured but extravagant and debauched court of the Medici Dukes who ruled Tuscany. Grand Duke Francesco The current head of the family was Francesco de’ Medici (1541-87): aloof, capricious and self-indulgent. Some ten years earlier, for example, upon the death of his first wife, the aristocratic Joanna of Austria, Francesco had scandalized his family and Florence by marrying his charismatic mistress, Bianca Cappello (1548-87). She was considered an unsuitable match because her parents were relatively humble merchants from Venice[CL1] . Otherwise Francesco devoted himself mainly to lavish entertainments, to hunting and alchemy (of a largely practical kind, e.g. explosives, poisons), and to collecting – coins, curiosities, antiquities . . . and gems. And therein lay an opportunity for the young Galileo. At Pisa Galileo had been supposed to study the dominant Aristotelian philosophy of the day, with a view to further training to become a doctor. But he also became fascinated by mathematics, especially the mechanics of the ‘divine’ Archimedes (c.287-212 BCE). Archimedes had famously detected the fraudulent adulteration of a gold crown with silver by measuring its density – gold being heavier than silver. Now Galileo’s first published work, La bilancetta (1586), described his own invention of a neat ‘hydrostatic’ balance for quickly and accurately measuring the density of small objects. Such as gemstones. The Medici jewels Much of the Medici collection of jewellery had been lent to Catherine de’ Medici (1519-89) to wear at her marriage to the King of France in 1533. Catherine was a fairly distant cousin of Duke Francesco, but actually it was she who came from the senior line of the family that had made the family fortunes in the 15th century. Francesco came from a relatively minor branch. Catherine had been slow to return the jewels. When she did, could Francesco be sure that they were genuine? At this time there were no hard-and-fast criteria for identifying a ruby, say, as ‘genuine’, and not a garnet or merely cleverly coloured glass. At the end of Galileo’s Bilancetta there is a list of densities measured with his balance: specimens of gold and silver, of course, but also a lengthy list of the densities of some rather substantial gemstones. Where could Galileo have accessed such treasures to study? Galileo lab assistant It is my conceit (only in the old-fashioned sense, of course) that Duke Francesco engaged Galileo as his assayer, to help him identify any fakes among the family jewels. And perhaps that Galileo – very knowledgeable, ingenious and dextrous, amusing and charming if he needed to be – insinuated himself as an accomplice to the Duke in his alchemical investigations. In other words, Galileo became His Highness’ laboratorio assistant. In the basement of the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano – basically a huge hunting lodge some the miles outside Florence – the Duke maintained a small but well-equipped laboratory. So, in October 1587, Galileo might well have been summoned to attend the Duke during a lavish hunting holiday arranged by Bianca for the Duke and his brother, the Cardinal Ferdinando, and their entourages. With fatal consequences. As described in Galileo’s Revenge. Galileo’s Revenge has a subtitle A Cure for the Itch. I am very fond of Jacobethan drama, when the plays often had such subtitles – Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, for example. The origins of modern crime writing may be traced to the sub-genre of ‘revenge tragedy’ hugely popular at the time, from Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy (pre-1592) through Hamlet (c.1600) to Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (1633). In the middle of that series lies Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women (c. 1621?). This play is based on precisely the same events as form the backdrop to Galileo’s Revenge; it is a complex and moving story, but there is scarcely a member of the cast left alive at the end. Middleton got the story from his friend, the English traveller Fynes Moryson (1566-1630), who visited Florence in the mid-1590s, and recorded the story thus: Then seeming to make conscience to live a Concubine, at last, (his wife Joanna now being dead,) she [Bianca] had the power to make him [Francesco] to take her to wife; which done she bent all her wits to have her son legitimate, and admitted to succeed in the Dukedom. And whilst Cardinal Ferdinand, brother to Duke Francesco, opposed this her design, it happened that he came to Florence to pass some days merrily with the Duke. And they being to go out hunting early in a morning, the Duchess sent the Cardinal a marzipan for his breakfast, which he returned with due ceremony saying that he did eat nothing but that was dressed by his own cook. But the Duke by ill happ meeting the messenger, did eat a piece thereof, and when the Duchess saw it broken, she smiled and spoke some words of joy. But the messenger telling her the Cardinal’s answer, and that the Duke had eaten that piece, she with an unchanged countenance took another piece, and having eaten it, locked herself in a closet. And hereupon the Duke and she died in one hour, and the Cardinal Ferdinand succeeded in the Dukedom. Too neat by half, I say. You will find the true origins and significance of this story in Galileo’s Revenge, of course. Galileo and me Although theoretical physics was my first love, I subsequently became fascinated by the history of science. I especially like the medieval and early modern periods: roughly, that is, everything from the Venerable Bede (c.673-735) to the Honourable Boyle (1627-91) and a bit beyond. But Galileo was always my particular favourite: initially his work on falling bodies, projectiles, and pendulums and such, and then more broadly his character, life and the wider world in which he lived and worked. A few years ago, therefore, I started work on a new, up-to-date biography of Galileo. Unfortunately (for me) a couple of other excellent scholars had already had the same idea. J.L.Heilbron’s brilliant Galileo, for example, came out in 2010 and I shelved my own project. But all was not lost. I have always loved crime fiction and historical fiction and above all historical crime fiction. (Yes, yes, I admit it, I adore Cadfael, even if he is the veritable white line down the middle of the road.) So I had already started working on an early draft of Galileo’s Revenge. How hard can creative writing be, I wondered? You just make it up as you go along. And I won’t have to check my references. A much older and slightly wiser man, I finally stopped writing last year. Christopher J T Lewis Meaning of ‘laboratory’ etc. I.e. drama from the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, 1559-1627 or thereabouts. Unpublished chapters of Fynes Moryson’s ‘Itinerary’, ed. Charles Hughes (London, 1903), p.94-5 Friday, 8 March 2019 by Dominic Fielder Charles François Dumouriez is hardly the first name on anyone’s lips when having discussion of important figures in the wars of the coalitions against France, between 1793-1815. I had hoped to make it beyond the second sentence before saying the word ‘Napoleonic’ but so powerful is Napoleon Bonaparte’s stamp on the pages of history, that the wars of the First Coalition, the ‘Revolutionary Wars’, are often overlooked, dismissed with the status of BN, ‘before Napoleon!’ But in the early months of 1793, Dumouriez was centre stage, perhaps with even the control of France tantalisingly within his grasp. The early career of Dumouriez was somewhat chequered. Born to a noble family and proving himself a very brave soldier in the Seven Years War, Dumouriez undertook a series of military roles which eventually drew him into the Secret du Roi, one of the inner circles of Louis XV. A downturn in fortune followed when Dumouriez was ordered on a diplomatic mission to Poland. Far from the mission remaining purely political, Dumouriez organised his own militia formation, only for those forces to be routed in battle by the great Russian General Alexander Suvorov, at the battle of Lanckorona (1771). Dumouriez’ forces were apparently caught off guard in the dawn attack and this has led some historians to conjecture whether Dumouriez, who had expressed some anti-Polish sentiments, had been in some form of collusion with Suvorov. |Prayer of the Bar Confederates before the battle of Lanckorona – by Artur Grottger| Returning to France and taking a post under the Secretary of State for War, a position he was briefly later to hold as his own, Dumouriez found himself thrown into the Bastille for six months in 1773, under charges of diverting money intending for bribery and spying, to pay his own spiralling debts. With the death of Louis XV, previous sins were forgiven and, recalled to court, Dumouriez served Louis XVI in a post under the new Secretary of War, the Count of Saint-Germain. Somewhere in this time, Dumouriez had married but by 1789, the marriage ended in separation. Fortescue in his History of the British Army in Flanders informs us that Dumouriez was a handsome and popular figure at court, a phrase that resounds of Hilary Clinton’s description of her errant husband, ‘a hard dog to keep on the porch’. At the outbreak of the revolution, Dumouriez joined the Jacobin club, and took up a post as the military commander in the Nantes region. The was a change of political allegiance to the Girondins, a movement which believed in spreading the principles of revolution into Flanders and the countries beyond. This was no meeting of ideals. The Girondins needed a general in the army to improve their military clout and Dumouriez wanted voices in the assembly to further his career. August the 10th 1792 provided that another step up to power. The Tuileries Palace was stormed. Louis XIV, who had been rather hapless in operating within the constraints of the new constitutional monarchy, had ignored the will of the constituent National Assembly. His final act of indifference was to those most loyal to him, allowing his Swiss Royal Guard to fight outnumbered after he had fled the Tuileries. Elsewhere, the Marquis de LaFayette, a hero from the American War of Independence and ardent monarchist, had attempted to lead his army over to the allied forces of Austria and Prussia, who waited on the French border. Responding to the crisis, Dumouriez was appointed to command the ‘Army of the Centre’ (soon to be the Army of the North), directing his subordinate Kellerman to defeat of the Prussians at Valmy, in September 1792, and then his own forces defeated an Austrian army at Jemappes three months later. Under Dumouriez, the Army of the North and the Army of the Ardennes, nominally under his direction, pushed into Flanders and were welcomed as liberators. The next five months were the most critical in the life of Dumouriez; a life-time of acquired political skills, soldiery and personal flaws were about to converge. The National Assembly, unable perhaps even unwilling to properly supply the Army of the North, the remembrance of Lafayette’s treachery still weighing heavy, declared that the people of Flanders and Walloon were not to be protected as French citizens. Soldiers were at liberty to take whatever was needed to order to survive, as an army of occupation. At the stroke of a pen, friendly provinces became hostile to hungry and marauding soldiers as discipline evaporated. Lynn, in his excellent Bayonets of the Republic, estimates that the whole army shrank from around 450,000 to 290,000 as soldiers absented themselves, in the harsh winter. |Soldiers of the old royal army stood shoulder to shoulder with the new recruits of the Levée en Masse.| Between November and early February, Dumouriez returned to Paris, quarrelling with the National Assembly and sharing a private council with the deposed King, now sentenced to death. Dumouriez was, according to Fortescue, the last person to have such an audience with Louis XVI, a point that must have alarmed those Jacobin members of the National Assembly. Whatever Dumouriez planned to do next is open for discussion, his memoirs of the final weeks of his command put a bias on his actions, for a man who needed royal employment in the world of the late eighteenth century, a monarchist imperative: one not shared by J.W Fortescue. In Fortescue’s eyes, the lightning offensive that Dumouriez attempted was designed to seize Amsterdam and her deposits of gold. Nominally this objective was given to him by Paris but within a fortnight the National Assembly began stripping troops away from Dumouriez to reinforce the Army of Ardennes, now under the command of General Miranda, a friend and confident. Ultimately Dumouriez’ offensive was called off and the Army of the North moved to counter the threat of the Austrians under Prince Josias. Fortescue says that the actions of Dumouriez were done under ‘bad grace’, perhaps it’s this tone that alerts Paris to a potential problem, but that reason feels unconvincing. Two major actions were fought, one at Neerwinden on the 18th of March, where the Austrians were victorious against the Armies of the North and Ardennes, and another four days later, where the French fought a rear-guard action. Again, it was another defeat but the speed of the Austrian pursuit slowed. By the 25th Dumouriez had entered into discussions with Colonel Mack, Prince Josias’ trusted advisor and two days later, there was agreement on a formal alliance, with Dumouriez seemly convinced that the army would follow him over to fight in conjunction with Austria, to march on Paris and restore the House of the Bourbons to the throne. On the 1st of April, four members of the Convention in Paris arrive to arrest Dumouriez. Instead, he arrests them, surrounded by his loyal 1st Hussars, many of German extraction. Four days later Dumouriez rode into the Austrian camp. Five thousand men, around an eighth of his army followed him. In exile, he drifted from capital to capital, watching the revolution continue to survive and by the time that Napoleon had seized power, Dumouriez was an unofficial advisor in London; a nearly-man without a nation to call home. There is something in that narrative that troubles me. It’s a combination of the timings and just a hunch about the character of Dumouriez. Had he reached Amsterdam, Dumouriez would have been in a very strong bargaining position. Even if he had been forced to retreat, the army had shown itself adept at stripping the Belgian provinces of plate and just about anything else. The offensive feels more like a bank heist than a sound military manoeuvre. In William Hague ‘Pitt the Younger’ there is reference to British gold being involved in both the Dumouriez affair and the bribery of French officials; diverting money was an old skill of Dumouriez but now the stakes were much bigger. And then there is the arrival of the four men from Paris. There must have been something that alerted them to Dumouriez’ intentions days before the 25th March. Six days for secret negotiations to be discovered, Paris informed, a decision made and representatives dispatched is unworkable in the late eighteenth century. So, what I am suggesting? Collusion, probably with Austria and Britain: Dumouriez, the man who would be king. Well, not king but at least a more palatable form of government than offering the people the immediate restoration of the House of Bourbon. The National Assembly was able to act because someone within the Dumouriez inner circle was informing them. The master politician would have found a way to start negotiations before battle, perhaps selling the idea to Prince Josias that the Army of the North needed to fight, in order to not feel as though it were betraying France. Furthermore, a victory at Neerwinden would have significantly strengthen Dumouriez’ position with Austria and perhaps made the lie easier to sell to his men? Of course, none of that can be proved. That’s the beauty of fiction. And there is always that hope that one day, a note might surface, written in the days before the 18th of March 1793 to justify my faith in Dumouriez’ nature. In the aftermath of his defection, France and the revolution changed for the worst. Girondins were chased from office and in the Terror, that occurred a few months later, their opposition to the Jacobins was ended as thousands of Girondin supporters were sent to the guillotine. Commanders of the Army of the North also paid a heavy price for the treachery of Dumouriez. Two were executed: one, Houchard, after delivering victory over the Duke of York’s German allies at Hondschoote. Political infiltration happened throughout the army with Representatives en Mission, carrying the authority of the National Assembly and often with no military experience, could force commanders to undertake military actions which defied any logic. France teetered until eventually a man named Napoleon could do what Charles François Dumouriez could only dream of. About Dominic Fielder The King’s Germans is a project that has been many years in the making. Currently I manage to juggle writing and research around a crowded work and family life. The Black Lions of Flanders (set in 1793) is the first in the King’s Germans’ series, which will follow an array of characters through to the final book in Waterloo. The King of Dunkirk will soon be released and I hope that the response to that is as encouraging as the reviews of Black Lions have been. While I’m self-published now, I have an excellent support team that help me to produce what I hope is a story with professional feel, and that readers would want to read more than once. My family back-ground is in paperback book sales, so I’m very keen to ensure that the paperback design is something that I would be proud to put on my bookshelf. I live just outside of Tavistock, Devon, where I enjoy walking on the moors and the occasional horse-riding excursion as both inspiration and relaxation. From The Black Lions of Flanders Antwerp: 16th February 1793 Rain, driven by bitter north-easterly winds, ushered the ‘Army of the North’ away from Antwerp’s Grande Place and on towards the Dutch border. Buildings wore sagging and weary tricolours and under these a handful of inhabitants had gathered, as glad to see the French leave as they had been to welcome them, weeks before. In the previous November, the southern provinces of the Austrian Netherlands had waited keenly to receive the victorious French army, a sentiment long since passed. Serge Genet had watched the exodus from a partially frosted window for a few minutes before returning to a fastidiously tidy desk in one of the rooms of the Grand Palace, which formed part of the main square. A gently steaming coffee pot awaited an imminent arrival. Parallel tables contained an undisturbed breakfast array of pastries and cold meats on one side and a series of maps and plans on the other. Genet surveyed the scene with a degree of satisfaction, before removing delicate silver framed glasses and cleaning them on the silken tricolour sash tied about his waistcoat. “I’m not sure that’s the prescribed use for a sash of office, Serge?” said an assured voice. The double doors to the room had burst open amidst the task of spectacle cleaning. A slender, sodden figure unchained a blue cloak and hurled it in the vague direction of a cloak stand, followed by an equally saturated bicorne which cart-wheeled ribbons of spray over the varnished mahogany floor. General Dumouriez strode across the room, made for the silver coffee pot and poured himself a cup while a servant, wearing the livery of the household of King Louis, tidied the abandoned garments before retiring from the scene. The General drew back a chair and settled back with his feet on Genet's desk, rivulets of water running down the leather and threatening the neatly arranged correspondence. The servant returned with the intent of removing the heavy riding boots but Dumouriez shooed him away, wagging a playful finger. “No, no, leave that. I’m leaving soon and you should be packing.” The servant bowed and left the two men. Dumouriez ran his hand through thinning silver hair; he had long since lost the pretention and taste for formal wigs. Having just turned fifty-four he retained a lean physique. Piercing dark brown eyes shone from a face that retained the vestiges of youthful charm that had made him a favourite at the Royal Court for thirty years. Allied to this was an air of command which drew unconditional loyalty. Men followed Dumouriez, but both he and Genet knew a test of loyalty for every soldier setting out towards the Dutch border might come sooner than either man might wish. The man in clerk’s clothes moved sharply to rescue documents from a puddle forming on the green leather covering of the desk. Even though he found this intrusion into his world of order deeply disturbing, he was too respectful of the General to voice a rebuke. Refreshed by the hot coffee, Dumouriez contemplated the choice of overdue breakfast but instead seized a quill from the desk and motioned Genet to pass the documents to him. In truth only the last two were of interest but he took his time to read each before scrawling his signature. “You will have our best people on these?” Dumouriez asked, already knowing the answer but betraying just a hint of the gravity that each message contained. “Yes, sir,” replied Genet. “You will use the Countess for this?” Dumouriez asked, almost rhetorically, a relaxed smile returning to his face. “Yes, sir. And Beauvais will carry the message to Dunkirk and then on to Paris with the dispatches. It will give us the time we need, I think.” Genet’s words trailed away and Dumouriez looked at him but knew that pursuing the matter was of little value. Instead, he spoke with a reassuringly warm tone, “Don’t worry my friend, all will be well.” Craning his neck, the General called out, “Julien, get your sorry backside in here!” The door was flung open with a force that rattled ancient hinges, the void almost filled with the frame with of a man whose muscular torso was squeezed into a tightly fitted short green dragoon’s jacket. As the figure advanced Genet could see the grey, dead right eye and vivid vermilion scar that ran from chin to temple. Captain Julien Beauvais stood to attention. Genet never failed to find the sight of Beauvais both imposing and galling. The clerk had winced whenever Dumouriez recounted the tale that lead to an Austrian bayonet tearing the right-hand side of the dragoon’s face apart. There was little doubt that Beauvais had saved Dumouriez’ life and become a favoured pet in the process. “Prepare yourself and two men. You leave for Dunkirk as soon as these communications are ready.” Beauvais nodded at Dumouriez’ order. “But before you go, help yourself to some of that food Julien, you are starting to look like a bloody scarecrow; then Dunkirk. No stopping to ravage half the women in Northern France. And try not to kill any more villagers. The mayor of whatever shit-hole you slept in last week had the temerity to write and say that some demonic creature cut down half of the townsfolk before riding off into the morning.” “It was two men, sir and they did seem intent on killing me first,” the dragoon hissed. “Funnily enough the mayor forgot to mention that. These people already consider me the devil incarnate for the actions of the army. You are my emissary. Try and keep it to a maiming or two next time and you will make Genet’s task of drafting a suitably pliant reply a little easier.” Beauvais’ faced twitched into an awkward, broken smile and Genet marvelled at the General’s skill. With a few well-chosen plaudits and a thoughtful act, men like Beauvais would follow their General time and again, whatever the personal cost. While both soldiers breakfasted, Genet sealed several documents handing Beauvais all of the communications bar one. “You might find this useful in dealing with the Mayor of Dunkirk,” Genet paused. “Should his co-operation be less then complete, find the town’s garrison commander and have everyone on this list arrested.” Genet knew Grison, Dunkirk's new mayor, would not buckle. Only by a display of naked power could Grison be brought to heel. Without proper leverage Grison would protect the man he and Dumouriez needed. “His family and friends that I know of. Choose some and have them…” Genet waved his hand, the words dried in his mouth. Spying was Genet’s business, killing was Beauvais’. The dragoon pouched the note in a waistcoat pocket, nodded and turned away, returning for a final sortie at the breakfast table. The chief of intelligence had found a skill in setting challenges that one might previously think were beneath the compass of a cavalry officer. But in the month since his posting to Dumouriez’ staff, Julien Beauvais was clearly enjoying the freedom and opportunities that life at headquarters provided. Dumouriez had moved to examine a series of maps, gently drumming his fingers before looking at Genet, “How are you getting on with those diamonds? Paying the bills?” Since the arrival of the French, what little trade there had been in the port appeared to have ceased. Most of Antwerp’s diamond trade had relocated to Amsterdam. Genet had struck a deal with those who remained, a protection tax, but it did not yield anywhere near the money that the army needed to make good a deliberate shortfall from Paris. “Diamonds have been difficult, sir; to trade with I mean. We end up selling them back to the traders we had collected them from, who tell us the market is depressed because we have driven the buyers away. Gold would be more useful in that regard,” Genet offered. “Diamonds, difficult? You have clearly never had a wife and a mistress, Serge!” Dumouriez chuckled and then coughed almost apologetically at seeing the face of his Chief of Intelligence, a hapless bachelor. “You are right of course but in three weeks’ time none of that will matter. Amsterdam: that is all that matters.” Dumouriez returned to study the maps for a few moments. “We are going to capture Amsterdam, collect half the gold of Europe sat in its banks and win the war! That should bring a smile to even your worried face, my friend.” The General turned and swooped on an unmolested croissant on the breakfast table, polished it off and flashed a self-satisfied smile to his spy-master.

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The term “Canadian Literature in English” refers to that which is written in what is now territorially Canada or written by Canadians abroad (see also Literature in French). Writers have described Canada in many ways;for example, as a French or English colony, a “fifty-first state,” a Pacific Rim country, an Arctic giant, a friendly territory or an uninhabitable wilderness. Canadian literature has often had to deal with such differences in attitude, not just because many Canadian authors were born elsewhere and brought outsiders’ expectations with them, but also because popular attitudes often perpetuated stereotypes of Canada. Three pervasive stereotypes portray Canada as (1) a physical desert, (2) a cultural wasteland and (3) a raw land of investment opportunity and resource extraction. These distortions have created an audience for stereotypes, which Canadian writers sometimes reinforced by writing romantic adventures of the frozen North, in which everything local was savage or hostile and “civilization” was imported. But over time, they sought to record local experience and to use literature to shape their own culture rather than to imitate or defer to the presumptions of another society. Insofar as Canadian culture continues to be shaped by a range of languages in use and by wide variations in geography, social experience, Indigenouscultures, immigrationpatterns and proximity to Europe, Asia and the USA, the “Canadian voice” is not uniform. Nevertheless, however much their aesthetic practices and political commitments may differ, Canadian writers bring many shared perspectives to their representations of nature, civility and human interaction, whether at home or abroad. Some critical approaches to Canadian literature have attempted to identify national or regional characteristics in literature. Other criticism (see Literature in English: Theory and Criticism) has fastened on language and formal strategies, theories of knowledge and meaning, ethics (variously defined) and the politics and psychology of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, identity and environment. “Canadian literature” does not therefore restrict itself to a particular set of topics, terms or even Canadian settings, nor does any set of topics and terms constitute a required ingredient in a Canadian book. Motifs and Patterns Although the national character is not always the subject of Canadian literature, the culture’s social attitudes and values can be seen in the language and forms it uses (seeLiterature in English: Language and Literary Form). For instance, communication is often achieved through tone as much as through direct statement. Irony is a dominant mode, litotes (the negative positive: not unappreciated) is a common speech pattern, trickster (rather than hero) figures recur, and a sense of humour (understatement, parody, mimicry, wry satire) punctuates much serious literary work. Some commentators have interpreted Canadian tendencies toward literary indirectness politically and psychologically, finding in it a sign of national insecurity and a group feeling of inferiority. Others argue that indirectness is a healthy demonstration of the culture’s ability to adapt an inherited tongue to its own purposes. Irony, for example, can undercut as much as apologize, and the quiet demeanour of an onlooker figure in a narrative can effectively undermine positions of ostensible power. Several specific narrative patterns recur in Canadian writing, especially evident in fiction and life writing: (1) a community walls itself off from the wilderness (the “garrison mentality”); (2) a person leaves the homeland, adjusts to the new world, then finds the new “homeland” to be “alien”; (3) a person born in Canada feels like a permanent stranger in his or her own home; (4) people arrive in the new home only to find that they are excluded from power; (5) a person attempts to recover from the past the secret or suppressed life of a previous generation; (6) a woman struggles to come to terms with her own creativity and the inhibitions of her cultural upbringing (often told as conflict between colony and empire); (7) an apparently passive observer, surrounded by articulate tricksters and raconteurs, turns out to be able to tell both their story and his or her own, often ironically; (8) an adventurer turns failure into a form of grace; (9) a child grows up to inherit a world of promise, or a world of loss, frequently both at once; (10) a subjective historian meditates on place and memory; (11) characters celebrate space and wilderness, usually after a struggle to learn to accept that the wilderness provides spiritual therapy only on its own terms; (12) characters, adrift in a maze of words or a fog of ambiguity and anonymity, shape “acceptable fictions” into a workable life. Writing about their society, many writers of short fiction, thenovel, autobiography or memoir, biography, poetry and drama have recurrently portrayed particular historical figures, both to reveal their intrinsic interest and implicitly to suggest how they epitomize certain cultural attributes or qualities of character. Such figures include Samuel Hearne, Louis Riel, Susanna Moodie, Sir John A. Macdonald, Emily Carr and William Lyon Mackenzie. In the retelling, sometimes transposed from their own time into the present, each possesses a vision but remains an ordinary human being, one with frailties, not a conventional hero. Characteristically, Canadian writing resists the binaries associated with perfectionism (right-wrong, good-evil, hero-villain ), embracing notions of multiple alternatives, working pluralities, multivoicedness and negotiated or evolving resolution instead. In narrative, violence generally functions as an instigation of action and as a penultimate event rather than as a solution or act of closure. Repeatedly, individual rights balance against community responsibilities. In more recent drama, poetry, and prose—even in much popular genre writing (see Popular Literature in English)—open endings predominate over conventional strategies of closure, inviting readers/listeners to participate in the play of alternatives and possibilities. Settings often possess a symbolic dimension. CatholicQuébec recurrently figures in anglophone writing as a land of mystery, attractive but enthralling and morally dangerous; Ontario as an enigmatic blend of moral uprightness and moral evasiveness; Atlantic Canada as a repository of old values; the North as a land of vision; the Prairies as a land of isolation and acquisition; and the West Coast as a dream of the future in which people often mistakenly believe. Europe often appears as the home of refinement, deceit, and discrimination; the United States as a land of crass achievement and tangible success; and Africa as the embodiment of all that seems “other” to Protestant rationalism. In recent writing, Latin America and Asia (both East and South) are frequently configured as sites of political entanglement, which is expressed through inheritance and family ties or embodied in the complexities of larger communities. Within Canada, the land itself is recurrently associated with power, whether as property, region, a hostile force, a godly gift, the basis for resource extraction, the site of communication, the contested territory of competing cultural claims, the border or the ecological medium in which human life integrates with all other living beings in Nature. Although most Canadians live in cities, until recently writers used rural and small-town settings more frequently than urban ones, and to the degree that they adapted conventional adventure and pastoral formulas to Canadian settings, they seldom questioned unstated assumptions about status and race. From early on in Canadian literature, however, essayists (see Essay in English) and travel writers (see Travel Literature) analyzed and challenged as well as celebrated Canadian political life. Often, women writers used fiction and autobiography to reveal social divisions within Canada that male adventure writers ignored or underplayed, and to suggest reforms. Recent writing by both women and men focuses more directly and fully on urban life as well as on social issues (ethnicity, gender, poverty, health, education) that transcend setting. “Regional” writing also conveys political stances. The term is used in two ways: to refer to places ruled by a real or imagined centre, and to configure the variant parts that make up a collective unit or community. By rejecting a single definition of “Canada,” writing about regional distinctiveness sometimes declares separatist claims on identity and power and in other instances asserts the viability of a nation with a plural character (seeRegionalism in Literature). Increasingly, Indigenous writers and writers who draw on backgrounds other than western European ones have examined the political opportunities of Canadian pluralism, but also the social limitations of local convention. A rough chronological guide to changes and developments in Canadian writing should not be equated with a simple chart of “progress”; each age (Colonial, Early National, Interwar and Postwar, Contemporary) reveals differing conventions, preoccupations and accomplishments. Hence, as fashions and critical tastes change over time, so do determinations of value and significance. Canadian literature in English can be said to begin in the early 17th century with Jacobean poetry in Newfoundland; in the decades that followed with numerous explorers writing narratives of contact (seeExploration Literature); or in the mid-18th century with the epistolary fiction of the English garrison community in Québec. After 1776, in the Loyalistsettlements of Upper Canada and the Maritimes, many writers turned to political verse satire (see Humorous Writing in English; Literature and Politics). Newly founded newspapersand magazines(see alsoLiterary Magazines in English) became venues for political commentary, both conservative and reform-minded, as well as for literary expression, which in the 19th century generally followed Romantic, Sentimental and Orientalist fashions in Britain. Some scathing satire emerged in Nova Scotia. Novels and dramas followed historical romance and Gothic paradigms, as did most long poems. Mid-19th century autobiographies set in present day Ontario provide insight into daily life: Susanna Moodie’s Roughing It in the Bush (1852), Catharine Parr Traill’s The Backwoods of Canada (1836) and Anna Brownell Jameson’s Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada (1838) highlight British women’s various attitudes toward settlement, while the Nishnaabe missionary George Copway’s memoir The Life, History and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-Bowh (1847) both celebrates Christianity and emphasizes the value of Indigenous law, land use and religion. Short personal sketches of persons and places formed the basis for much travel writing and for the short fiction that emerged as a new genre during the 19th century. Folksong and folktale survive, but Native oral literature received scant literary attention until the later 19th century. In the years leading up to Confederation and during the five decades following, much attention turned to literacy and political organization. Schools and universities opened, as did several Carnegie Libraries, part of a network of public libraries across North America financied by the fortune of Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Writers celebrated their newfound nationalism and were drawn variously to such enterprises as the Mechanics’ Institutes, the Institut Canadien, the Royal Society of Canada, the Canada FirstMovement and Imperial Federation (see Imperialism). Philosophical and scientific writing flourished, encouraging thoughtful discourse across language lines. Travel (within Canada and abroad) encouraged other kinds of contact, and with it both impressionistic and reportorial writing. By the end of the 19th century, writers like Edith Maude Eaton (Sui Sin Far) addressed racism against Chinese North Americans, while proponents of Women’s Suffrage and Prohibition wrote stories and essays that focused on issues of social change. Many other social assumptions nevertheless remained largely unexamined. While attention turned to First Nations’ oral tales, writers treated them (despite the emergence of First Nations writers publishing in English) as “simple” texts, suitable in translation (if expurgated) mainly to entertain children. Tales and poems about “Indians,” such as Duncan Campbell Scott’s “The Onondaga Madonna” (1894), largely assumed that First Nations people were “a dying race” and their several complex cultures unsophisticated. Poet and performer E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) drew on her Mohawk and British heritage to challenge these stereotypes and address the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canadians. Nevertheless, the romance of the “Indians” was matched by a continuing romance of Empire. Ontario- and Maritime-based Canadian culture remained dominantly Celtic and anglocentric. Early creative narratives from the Prairies and the West Coast, while recurrently probing the real-life travails of immigrants and the exigencies of farm and forest management, were largely overshadowed in the popular imagination by Ontario romances of Presbyterian conversion. By the early 20th century, many Canadian books won widespread international popularity, notably L.M. Montgomery’s Anne Of Green Gables (1908), a humorous tale of an orphan’s life in Prince Edward Island. C.G.D. Roberts’s and E.T. Seton’s seemingly realistic animal tales provide other examples, as do the comic sketches of Stephen Leacock , which parodied literary stereotypes and dealt ironically with social platitudes. In poetry, the Confederation group (William Wilfred Campbell, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, Charles G.D. Roberts, Duncan Campbell Scott and Fredrick George Scott) produced the most important writings of the late 19th century; committed to closely observed details, they variously reshaped how the lyric represented nature, winter and the Canadian landscape. Interwar and Postwar Cultural and social attitudes changed during and after the First World War. One creative generation was lost but another emerged, objecting both to imperial assumptions of militarism and the language associated with it (see The First World War in Canadian Literature). New magazines affirmed the independence of Canadian thought. New prizes were established to recognize Canadian literary accomplishment. In the fiction of the 1920s, while some popular family chronicles continued to affirm conventional class distinctions, antiwar novels and class critiques began to appear, a trend magnified during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many writers focussed on uprooted or marginalized individuals and the troubled lives of non-English-speaking immigrants. Novelists championed industrial workers’ rights and sought fresh, more direct forms of speech, spurning the sentimental romance in favour of a more “realistic” (some called it a more “violent”) vocabulary. American literary practice—and the international avant-garde of postwar Paris—drew writers such as John Glassco and Morley Callagham; the short story genre thrived, espousing forms that resisted narrative closure. Young writers also rejected received social values by mounting left-wing agitprop drama, writing dramas that satirized nationalist pageantry, publishing erotica, finding inspiration in the Group of Seven painters, and embracing the modernist dicta of the poet T.S. Eliot and others. Chief among emerging Canadian poets at this time were those associated with the “McGill” (or “Montreal”) Group, especially F.R. Scott for his commitment to social justice and Abraham Klein for his passionate embrace of his Jewish heritage. Over succeeding decades Dorothy Livesay became the voice of socialist feminism and Scott, with the poet-critic A.J.M. Smith, became an influential anthologist, shaping the early teaching of Canadian literature. In the wake of the Second World War came a mix of propaganda, pacifist rhetoric, parodies of military ineptitude, and a new wave of progressivist writers, by turns humanist, anticlerical, community-minded and intellectually anarchist. Notable names include Irving Layton, Earle Birney, Gabrielle Roy (who remains one of the best- known francophone writers in translation), P.K. Page and George Woodcock. In the 1940s and 1950s, social policies were being drafted that would shape a Canadian sense of community for decades to come. New Literary Periodicals demanded a sharper, more locally grounded language. Radio technology also served this end. Public radio, established in 1932, led to a wave of cross-country spoken-word broadcasts, talks, dramas, readings of short stories and children’s programs, all reconfirming the sounds of Canadian speech as a literary medium, especially from 1943 on. Novelists such as Hugh MacLennan and Sinclair Ross urned again to local settings, rendering the prairies, the Maritimes and Montreal as sites of personal and political trauma. Critics now praise more highly the innovative stylistic practice of Ethel Wilson for her insights into women’s lives; Malcolm Lowry for his symphonies of despair and transient joy; Sheila Watson for her rendering of life as an elliptical mythology; and in a career that would last for half a century, Mordecai Richler for his frank and animated cultural politics. Contemporary: Three Generations Several social developments markedly changed Canadian society in the years following 1960. The large “baby-boom” generation matured, with the vocal “X” and “Y” generations following; immigration policies were altered to allow greater numbers of new citizens from Asia, Africa and Latin America; startling technological developments (from radio to the Internet) collapsed notions of space and sped up communication. All these changes had an impact on literary topics and techniques. Cross-border and cross-cultural contacts validated notions of cultural “hybridity” as a social norm, challenging conventional definitions of “ethnic purity” and “fixed identity.” Family biographies shifted focus from single lives onto lives-in-context. Multimedia presentations challenged conventions regarding the unity of literary form. Bilingual texts, triptychs (in fiction and drama), and discontinuous narratives in fiction and poetry all deliberately disrupted conventional linearity as a literary technique. Numerous integrated (but discontinuous) collections of short fiction appeared called sequences, cycles or “composite narratives.” Some of the major writers of these decades had just been emerging in the 1950s: Richler and two of the world’s foremost authors of short fiction, Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant, whose stories embed more than announce, reveal more than parade. They would be joined by Alistair MacLeod , Clark Blaise and numerous others. The number of Canadian universities, small presses, accessible academic and literary periodicals (from Canadian Literature to Geist), courses in Canadian literature and creative writing schools also increased, in part because of the recommendations of the Massey Commission and the emergence of the Canada Council in the 1950s. Further government policies led to such social developments as the Charter Of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, but a sudden shift to policies that favoured fiscal restraint and cultural cutbacks occurred in the early 21st century and have persisted; the publishing industry, libraries, public media and scholarship were all affected. New technologies opened up opportunities for local (and frequently more innovative) publishing (including experiments in syllabic and concrete poetry, mixed-media presentations, performance poetry and other formats), yet they did not guarantee access to publicity and sales. Coteries came and went; so did scores of journals and papers. Newspapers faced hardships, and some stopped publishing print editions; this was due in part to a readership that had shifted to online news sources. Publishers of formula fiction remained monetarily successful. Some writers of mystery and science fiction achieved international stardom and praise for their literary achievements, as in the case of William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1986), Nalo Hopkinson’s Brown Girl in the Ring (1998) and Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003, 2009 and 2013). But publishing houses that had thrived in the 1960s when American control over the information industry was resisted faced closure in the 2010s with the increasing influence of electronic publishing and multinational corporations. The CBC’s annual Canada Reads contest, which began in 2002, pits a selection of books against one another, each with its own celebrity endorsement. The event promotes Canadian writing and emphasizes the importance of a reading public yet simplifies literature and contributes to a competitive literary culture. Likewise, a plethora of prizes, often with corporate sponsorship, began to construct literature as spectacle. Many bookstores nevertheless closed. Throughout the decades from 1960 onward, while there has been some evidence of a literary return to older forms of expression and fundamentalist redefinitions of ethics, writers more characteristically in each generation embraced social justice and reformist causes: for women’s rights (see Women’s Movement), for gay and lesbian equality (See Homosexuality), against colonialism and against increasing poverty. Children’s literature, an enterprise that flourished at this time, ranging from nonsense verse to problem-centred novels for young adults, addressed some of these same issues of race, gender, alcohol, drug abuse and social identity. Science writing, social history, life writing, environmental inquiry and other forms of “creative nonfiction” also frequently combined discovery with protest. Critiques of social arrogance in one decade (foreign wars, napalm, racism) morphed into critiques of other disparities in the next (discrimination by sex, gender, ethnicity, economics). Margaret Atwood embraced the new nationalism of the 1960s and 1970s (with the Centennial celebrations in 1967) but later tempered her observations in dystopias such as The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), which challenges government control over women’s bodies. Robertson Davies’s Jungian novels expressed one pervasive understanding of myth and psychology; Robert Kroetsch’s poems and tales deconstructed such conventions and rerooted the epic in everyday vernacular experience. Language and literary form again became subjects for analysis and theoretical discussion, as in the work of Marshall McLuhan and Northrop Frye, as well as territories for dispute, as when Nicole Brossard’s critiques of French grammar influenced feminist writers in English, or when, in much of 21st-century fiction, conventional vulgarities became normative (and therefore potentially radical, culturally upsetting) speech. The Writers Union of Canada formed in 1973, reflecting writers’ numbers and endeavouring to help deal with the challenges they face. Other writers addressed cultural, social, and political alternatives in Canadian society, some of which were longstanding, others deriving from more recent changes in population, technology, language and communication. Many of these writers sought a balance between criticism of social practice (racism, passive dismissal, restrictive legislation) and celebration of social potential. A great number of Métis and First Nations writers have provided important commentary, variously critiquing colonialism and celebrating Indigenous life. More specifically (although authors address multiple topics in each work), Maria Campbell’s Half-Breed (1973), Lee Maracle’s Bobbi Lee (1973) and Jeannette Armstrong’s Slash (1985) depict journeys toward political consciousness; Ruby Slipperjack’s Honour the Sun (1987), Richard Van Camp’s The Lesser Blessed (1996), and Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach (2000) represent childhood and adolescence; Thomas King’s The Truth about Stories (2003) highlights the value of Indigenous creation stories; Marie Clements’s Burning Vision (2003) and Drew Hayden Taylor’s Motorcycles and Sweetgrass (2010) consider environment and land use; Tomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen (1998), Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road (2005) and Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse (2012) address the residential school system, which has been further investigated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2008–15). The poet Robert Bringhursttranslated some of the great classic Haida oral tales, Al Purdy created poetry out of the rhythms of ordinary speech, Jack Hodgins turned Vancouver Island idiosyncrasy into a comedy of human aspiration, George Elliott Clarke and Wayde Compton called attention to Black writing in Canada, and increasing numbers of writers (including Rohinton Mistry, Michael Ondaatje and Wayson Choy) drew on their Asian heritage both to reflect on adaptations to difference and to dramatize the challenges and rewards of a fractured or shared history. Developments in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the “war on terror,” and climate change awareness underscored global interconnectedness. While regions and places continued to provide inspiration for contemporary fiction, as in David Adams Richards’ Mercy Among the Children (2001) and André Alexis’s Pastoral (2014), stress was often laid on globalization’s impact on specific locales, as in Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief (1999) and Lisa Moore’s February (2009). Environmental concerns were made central in Hiromi Goto’s The Kappa Child (2001), Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being (2013), Thomas King’s The Back of the Turtle (2014), and Rita Wong’s Forage (2008) and undercurrent (2015), which share concerns about the global ramifications of overconsumption, waste disposal and polluted water. With a similar planetary focus, Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003, 2009 and 2013) explores the frailty of national borders in the wake of climate change. Globalization notwithstanding, literary interest in the nation-state persisted. Canadian writers’ attention to the United States increased after the September 11th terrorist attacks and Canada’s subsequent involvement in the “war on terror.” Dionne Brand’s encyclopedic Inventory (2006) and Douglas Coupland’s apocalyptic narrative Player One (2010) respond to the violence generated by terrorism and war. Historical narratives have provided an alternative way of engaging with Canada’s southern neighbour: Patrick DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers (2011) and Alix Hawley’s All True Not a Lie in It (2015) reinterpret myths of the American west, whereas characters’ movement between American and Canadian settings in Guy Vanderhaeghe’s A Good Man (2011) suggests that the two countries have a shared history, in some respects at least. Perspectives on contemporary human migration, in the form of refugees and illegal immigrants, is provided in John Vaillant’s The Jaguar’s Children (2015) and Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal (2015), thereby giving pause to literal and metaphoric borders, as well as the complex and multiple networks that connect people, places, environments and countries in a globalized era.

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Klallam, Clallam, Na'klallam or S'klallam (endonym: Nəxʷsƛ̓ay̓əmúcən), now extinct, was a Straits Salishan language that was traditionally spoken by the Klallam peoples at Becher Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. |Native to||United States| |Extinct||2014 (with death of Hazel Sampson)| |Revival||Klallam Language is still spoken through youth programs.| Becher Bay Klallam Jamestown KlallamLittle Boston Klallam Pre-contact distribution of the Klallam people and language Klallam was closely related to North Straits Salish, in particular the Saanich dialect of Straits Salish, but the languages are not mutually intelligible. There were several dialects of Klallam, including Elwha Klallam, Becher Bay Klallam, Jamestown Klallam and Little Boston Klallam. Use and revitalization effortsEdit The first Klallam dictionary was published in 2012. Port Angeles High School, in Port Angeles, Washington, offers Klallam classes, taught as a heritage language "to meet graduation and college entrance requirements." The last native speaker of Klallam as a first language was Hazel Sampson of Port Angeles, who died on February 4, 2014 at the age of 103. Sampson had worked along with Bea Charles (d. 2009) and Adeline Smith (d. 2013), other native speakers of Klallam, and with linguists Jamie Valadez and Timothy Montler from 1990 to compile the Klallam dictionary. In 1999, this effort led to the development of a lesson plan and guidebooks to teach students the basics of the language through storytelling. In 2015, a complete grammar of Klallam was published for second language instruction and preservation of the language. Klallam has 5 vowels: - The sound e is rare, and occurs only before ʔ or y and y'. - The schwa can be pronounced as /ʌ/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, or /ɑ/ depending on its environment: - Before ʔ or h, it becomes /ɑ/. - Around c and č, it becomes /ɪ/. - Before rounded dorsal consonants, it becomes /ʊ/. - Vowels may be stressed or unstressed. Unstressed vowels are shorter and lower in intensity than stressed vowels. - Unstressed schwas are often deleted. For example 'nətán' ("my mother") is often pronounced as 'ntán'. Schwa deletion is consistent for English-oriented opinion, but "for the best speakers this rule is variable". - In the case of schwa deletion after a nasal consonant, the nasal consonant is doubled. For example, 'ʔínət' ("what did you say") is pronounced as 'ʔínnt' even in very careful speech. - Vowels are lowered when followed by a glottal stop /ʔ/: - 'bird' /t͡sʼiʔt͡sʼəmʼ/ → [t͡sʼɛʔt͡sʼəmʼ ] - 'deer' /huʔpt/ → [ hoʔpt ] - 'salmon backbone' /sχəʔqʷəʔ/ → [ sχaʔqʷaʔ ] |glottalized||mʼ [mˀ]||nʼ [nˀ]||ŋʼ [ɴˀ]| |glottalized||pʼ||tʼ||kʼʷ [kʷʼ]||qʼ||qʼʷ [qʷʼ]||ʔ| |Affricate||plain||c [t͡s]||č [t͡ʃ]| |glottalized||cʼ [t͡sʼ]||ƛʼ [t͡ɬʼ]||čʼ [t͡ʃʼ]| |Fricative||s||ɬ||š [ʃ]||xʷ||x̣ [χ]||x̣ʷ [χʷ]||h| |glottalized||yʼ [jˀ]||wʼ [wˀ]| - Glottalized sonorants /mˀ/, /nˀ/, /ɴˀ/, /jˀ/, /wˀ/ are realized either - with creaky voice: [m̰], [n̰], [ɴ̰], [j̰], [w̰], - as decomposed glottal stop + sonorant: [ʔm], [ʔn], [ʔɴ], [ʔj], [ʔw], or - as decomposed sonorant + glottal stop: [mʔ], [nʔ], [ɴʔ], [jʔ], [wʔ] - /k/ occurs in only a few borrowed words from Chinook Jargon, English or French. - /l/ also rarely occurs in Klallam. It often replaces rhotics in loanwords from Chinook Jargon, French, and English, although it does occur in native words like laʔyaʔləmʼtú, meaning a group of small sheep or lambs. - The alveolar affricate /t͡s/ contrasts with a sequence of stop + fricative /ts/. - Doubled stops and affricates are pronounced as two separate sounds, but doubled sonorants and fricatives are pronounced as long versions of a single sound. In Klallam, strings of consonants are acceptable both at the beginning and ends of syllables. In the onset, consonant clusters are rather unstructured, so words like 'ɬq̕čšɬšáʔ' (fifty) can exist without problem. Similarly, codas can contain similar clusters of consonants, as in 'sx̣áʔəstxʷ' (to dislike something, to be no good). Stress in Klallam defines the quality of the vowel in any given syllable and can occur only once in a word. If a vowel is unstressed, the changes are entirely predictable, as unstressed vowels get reduced to schwas. In turn, unstressed schwas are deleted. Mark Fleischer (1976) argues that schwa may be the only underlying vowel, as all others can be derived from the environment. Klallam is a polysynthetic language, like the other languages of the Salishan family. Affixation is common for both verbs and nouns, and affixes provide temporal, case, and aspectual information. Every word contains at least one root. The Klallam word ɁəsxʷaɁnáɁyaɁŋəs ('smiling') includes prefixes, suffixes and an infix. In its component parts, Ɂəs-xʷ-naɁnáɁ-yaɁ-ŋ-əs means "be in a state of small laughing on the face" or more simply, "smiling". There are many forms of prefix, suffix, and infix; below are a number of examples. Allomorphy is common; often, a single affix with have multiple phonetic realizations due to stress structure or the phonology of the word it is being added to. A common form of prefix is the time prefix. These prefixes can be added to nouns, adjectives and verbs to project ideas of time into the root's meaning. Examples include kwɬ- (already), twaw̓ (still), čaɁ (just now), and txʷ- (first, for a while). Other prefixes add verbal semantics with meanings such as 'have', 'go to', 'go from', and 'be affected by'. Klallam has lexical suffixes, which are unique to the languages of northwest North America. They have inherently noun-like meanings and can function as the object of a verb, create a compound meaning, and act as the object of a number word. Many refer to body parts, but there are almost 100 lexical suffixes that cover a number of different ideas. Oftentimes, these suffixes can take on metaphorically extended meaning, so 'nose' can also be used to refer to a single point, and 'mouth' can mean 'language'. Below are examples of common lexical suffixes with alternate pronunciation in parentheses. Alternate pronunciations usually depend on the location of the stress in the root. - -ákʷtxʷ (-aɁítxʷ) – ‘dollar, round object’ - -áw̓txʷ – ‘house, building, room’ - -áy – people - -éɁqʷ – ‘head’ - -íkʷs (-íkʷən) – ‘body, of a kind’ - -tən (-ən) – ‘instrument, tool’ - -ucən (-cən, -cín, -úc) – ‘mouth, edge, language’ There are also activity suffixes that give more information about an activity, such as 'structured' with -ayu and -ay̓s, 'customary' with -iŋəɬ, or 'habitual' with -ənəq. Sometimes plurality is marked with an infix (however, there are many ways to mark plurality). This infix marks collective plurality, meaning that instead of strictly marking multiple of a noun, it creates a group of the noun. This infix takes one of the forms -əy̓-, -aɁy-, -éy-, or -éye- depending on the root structure and stress placement proceeding the infix. There are multiple forms of reduplication in Klallam, and each lends a particular meaning to the word. Two-consonant reduplication is a way to express plurality in about 10% of Kallam words. The first two consonants are copied and inserted before their location in the stem, and a schwa is inserted between them. For example, ləmətú (sheep) becomes ləmləmətú (bunch of sheep) through this process. First letter reduplication is one of three ways to create a continuative verb form. The first consonant of a word is inserted after the first vowel, sometimes with a schwa added afterwards; for example, qán̓ cn (I steal) becomes qáqən̓ cn (I am stealing). To create a diminutive form the first consonant is reduplicated with an additional 'suffix' of -aɁ afterwards and an infix of -Ɂ- later in the word. With this músmes (cow) becomes maɁmúɁsməs (little cow, calf). The diminutive is not limited to noun forms. When used on a verb, the meaning takes on the characteristic of 'just a little' or 'by a small thing'. With an adjective, the meaning is construed to a lesser extent then the original form. Other forms of reduplication exist with meanings of 'characteristic', 'inceptive', and 'affective' aspects. The typical word order in Klallam is VSO, but if the subject of the verb is obvious then the object and subject can be in any order. This means that VOS is a very frequent alternative structure. The subject is considered obvious when both participants are human and one possesses the other. For example, in kʷənáŋəts cə swéɁwəs cə táns, literally 'helped the boy his mother' (The boy helped his mother), the mother is possessed by the boy and therefore cannot be the subject. In this case, the sentence could also be written as kʷənáŋəts cə táns cə swéɁwəs, inverting the object and the subject. When an adjective is involved in a noun phrase, it comes before the noun it describes. After the first verb, either the main verb or an auxiliary verb, often there is one or more enclitic particles "that serve to situate the speech act". These particles will add information about tense and mode or serve as evidential or question markers. Cases in Klallam use an active-stative distinction. That is the choice of case depends on whether the actor is in control of the action (active) or not (stative). The suffix -t on a verb indicates control by the actor while a bare root implies the action was not on purpose. For example, in ćáɁkʷ cn ɁaɁ cə nətán "I got washed by my mother", the root is unmarked, but in ćáɁkʷt cn ɁaɁ cə nəŋənaɁ "I washed my child", the -t transitive suffix marks that the agent was in control of the action. In a similar manner, -nexʷ indicates a lack of control. There is additionally a middle voice in which the suffix -eŋ marks the agent of the verb. If no patient is mentioned in the middle voice, it is assumed that the patient and the agent are the same, as in an action being done to oneself. For example, ćáɁkʷeŋ cn would usually be taken to mean "I washed myself", but it is subject to some ambiguity, as it could also mean "I washed (regularly)" or "I did some washing". In main clauses, Klallam uses an ergative pattern to mark the third person (where they are unmarked) as, in subordinate clauses, all three persons are marked. The first and second persons in the main clause, however, and all persons in subordinate clauses follow an accusative pattern. - Kaminsky, Jonathan (2014-02-06). "Last native speaker of Klallam language dies in Washington state". Reuters. Retrieved 2014-03-05. - Klallam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) - Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Clallam". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. - "Linguist keeping language, culture of Pacific Northwest tribes alive". News, University of North Texas. 2002-09-26. Retrieved 2013-01-12. - "Clallam". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-01-24. - Timothy, Montler (2015). Klallam grammar. Seattle. ISBN 9780295994611. OCLC 891427525. - "Last native speaker of Klallam language dies in Washington state", Reuters, February 7, 2014. - Rice, Arwyn (2014-02-06). "Eldest member among Klallam tribes, last native speaker of language dies in Port Angeles at 103". Peninsula Daily News. Retrieved 2014-03-05. - Arwyn Rice (2012-12-13). "First Klallam language dictionary revives ancient Native American tongue". Olympic Peninsula Daily NEWS. Retrieved 2013-01-12. - Arwyn Rice, "Last Native Klallam Speaker Dies in Port Angeles," Peninsula Daily News, Feb. 5, 2014. - Timothy., Montler (2012). Klallam dictionary. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295992075. OCLC 779740399. - Montler, Timothy (1998). "The Major Processes Affecting Klallam V" (PDF). 33rd International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages. - Fleischer, Mark (1976). Clallam: A Study in Coast Salish Ethnolinguistics. Washington State University. - Montler, Timothy (January 7, 2012). "Traditional Personal Names in Klallam" (PDF). American Indian Personal Names: A Neglected Lexical Genre. - Brooks, Pamela. (1997). John P. Harrington's Klallam and Chemakum place names. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, 32, 144-188. - Fleisher, Mark. (1976). Clallam: A study in Coast Salish ethnolinguistics. (Doctoral dissertation, Washington State University). - Fleisher, Mark. (1977). Aspects of Clallam phonology and their implication of reconstruction. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salishan Languages, 12, 132-141. - Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X. - Montler, Timothy. (1996). Languages and dialects in Straits Salishan. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, 31, 249-256. - Montler, Timothy. (1996). Some Klallam paradigms. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, 31, 257-264. - Montler, Timothy. (1998). The major processes affecting Klallam vowels. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, 33, 366-373. - Montler, Timothy. (1999). Language and dialect variation in Straits Salishan. Anthropological linguistics, 41 (4), 462-502. - Montler, Timothy. (2005). [Personal communication]. - Montler, Timothy. (2012). Klallam Dictionary. Seattle: University of Washington Press. - Montler, Timothy. (2015). Klallam Grammar. Seattle: University of Washington Press. - Thompson, Laurence; & Thompson, M. Terry. (1969). Metathesis as a grammatical device. International Journal of American Linguistics, 35, 213-219. - Thompson, Laurence; & Thompson, M. Terry. (1971). Clallam: A preview. University of California Publications in Linguistics, 65, 251-294. - Thompson, Laurence; Thompson, M. Terry; & Efrat, Barbara. (1974). Some phonological developments in Straits Salish. International Journal of American Linguistics, 40, 182-196. |Klallam language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator| - Klallam language (Timothy Montler's site) (main page) - Nancy Kolsti, "Preserving a Culture", University of North Texas, 2003. - Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe - Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe - Washington Post: "Northwest Tribe Struggles to Revive Its Language" - Elaine Grinnell, Klallam storyteller and basket & drum maker

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You can tell a person by their deeds and actions, and the way they treat others. At our school, our three core school values are kindness, respect and perseverance. We have a Maori version too but remember that translating the Maori core value back into English can have an impact on meaning. This week I was in one of the junior classes and for their writing the children were describing our school values. Each day the teacher modelled one value using shared writing strategies. In addition she provided the children with sentence starters to help them frame their writing and support them depending on their abilities. Then the children went and wrote their own version. What the children wrote about our school values left such an impression on me that I thought I would also have a go but write them from a teacher perspective. So what I have done is put the values together and used the Maori version to help strengthen the English value. At Newmarket School kindness is one of our school values We teach our children the importance of being kind. As teachers we model being kind with our words and actions. We show empathy for each other by choosing the words we use when we are together and are conscious of the impact of our words. We are role models for our children and for each other by upholding a high standard of what we say and how we say it. We show kindness by taking pleasure and pride in our team work and produce great lessons that our children remember. We show kindness by building relationships with our children and their families and take the time to greet them using eye contact and remember their names and where they come from. Kindness is important because kindness is central to who we are at Newmarket School. We value people above all things and in doing so, we are ourselves uplifted. The very act of talking and writing about kindness encourages our children and us to be kinder. Let us make kindness visible. We can smile at people and ask how they are. We can make an effort to connect and act in kindness. We can practice being approachable by being gentle with words and actions. Kindness sits at the heart of well being. At Newmarket School respect is another one of our school values. We teach our children the importance of being respectful with a focus on manners. As staff we highlight respect beginning with greeting each other, our children and their parents whenever we see them. This year we have spent the year unpacking belonging and what this looks like in learning. The concept was developed by our student curriculum leaders. As a staff member of Newmarket school I am conscious of my rights as a person and also my responsibility to our children, my colleagues and our families. One major responsibility we have with our children is to build that reciprocal relationship with their families. At Newmarket school we have a history of creating shared experiences for our children. Their favourite event, as was highlighted by our leaving year six children, is our annual camp. This major event sees a huge input from our families and staff to ensure a safe and memorable event for our children. Respect is important because it serves to strengthen each member of our school group. Our third Newmarket School value is perseverance. We teach our children that perseverance is about never giving up, giving things a go, trying one’s best. However we must also remember that perseverance is also about duty and not just the playground grind. It is more like service and for us at Newmarket School it is about acknowledging our historic motte, ‘Not self but service.’ Perseverance is about knowing our heritage through storytelling and sharing our story. Again this was an area highlighted by our curriculum student leaders in their planning for learning for 2019. Our children wanted to know more about our school’s history. Perseverance is important because it is about guardianship and looking after our surrounding environment sustainably. It is about building a legacy for future learners. It is about leaving our school in a better place. Overall in today’s climate of learning, it is important for schools to have a core set of values that underpin all that they do and are communicated clearly with all involved. Often when we design learning ,we focus on what we can see and yet the greatest learning space is the space between the ears. When we focus on values, we focus on actions and again we focus on what we see and yet the greatest action is how we treat others. When I first approached our teachers with the idea, I suggested that in order for the project to work, they themselves must also create a migrant story about themselves or a family member. They must also use book creator to craft their story so they could experience that challenges their learners might have with the app. I shared my own journey to New Zealand that could be used as a model by both teachers and children. I applied for and gained book creator ambassador status and this opened up further ideas for collaboration. Another idea was for each teacher to share the code to their class library so that all teachers could learn from each other. This they did. Teachers used Seesaw to communicate with families. Most of the images came in this way for the children. Some teachers created a page in Google Docs and saved the families links there. That was so the children were then able to access their images. For art the children created patterns from countries that they associate with and this was also included in their books. They also included a reflection on the art process. All in all, the unit of work was successful. We learned so much about who we all are, belonging, and the diverse cultures that make up our school. Our families gave us positive feedback because the children came home and asked so many questions that conversations around family photo albums were animated and exciting. In addition several families needed to contact extended families overseas for further clarification for some information. When the books were completed, we printed out one paper copy for each child and also shared the digital copies with families in a hidden link via Seesaw. As an added bonus, I was also able to cocreate a story book with some of the children about the area that we live in. They created all the images using the new drawing tool. The book is called ‘The Patupaihere of Tāmaki Makaurau’ and retells the story of how the mountains appeared in Auckland. Where to next: I cannot stress enough the importance of going through the learning yourself first as a teacher. Two parts of the learning included: ‘How to write a recount’ and ‘How to learn to use Book Creator’. In addition, be really clear about driving the learning deeper and I do this using SOLO Taxonomy. Finally remember to leave time to reflect on the process. I can hear Ginny now, “Where is the SOLO Taxonomy rubric?” Over the past few days I noticed a surge in twitter followers. As in previous years I spotted they appeared to be coming from Stockton University. Today when I followed a group, one immediately responded with I was then able to direct message Mason and ask, how come I was being followed by students from the university. Here was his response: “Hi! There is a class where we are learning how to create PLN and other global learning techniques! I also believe your Twitter header is in our textbook and your page is a great one to follow!” I asked for a screen shot of the page and straight away, it was the entry from ‘The Global Educator’ by @JulieLindsay Aw such a small world. Mason shared the hashtag they were tweeting with #GEN2108. To be honest, the discussion made my day. This past year, I have been feeling a tad disconnected from twitter especially after losing wikispaces. This past month I had felt really disconnected when I received the youtube message that I am no longer able to live stream a Google Hangout. So yes tools come and go, but human connections is what helps keep us grounded. And Mason, @masonstockedu thanks for reminding me about acknowledging when I get followers. Good luck with your studies and tag me when you blog. She was already teaching at Newmarket School when I arrived and I had the good fortune of relieving in her class for the first term in 2009. It had been a while since I taught 5 year olds and coming down from senior students I might have spoken a bit stronger with the children than I intended. But Jane was there to subtly remind me about other people’s children. That first year I was reintroduced to Smarty Pants by Joy Cowley, one of Jane’s favourite children’s authors, and my senses were flooded with crazy 5 years olds interpretation of being a smarty pants. Those MASSIVE drawings took up the whole wall. I was also reminded about giving the 5 year olds extra time to have their breaks. Jane ensured that they began eating five minutes before the school bell rang. The week we had swimming, she asked me to lead like a mother duck. Those of you who know me know I walk really fast. I got halfway down Broadway before realising I had left Jane, the extra parent helpers and the children around the corner still coming up Nuffields street. When I got back to her, she shook her shoulders, smiled and said “ that is why we leave a little earlier.” Jane found out I was keen to learn about Tui’s and so she brought me old books to help me with my Global Project. We spend several sessions talking about Tuis and it was through Jane that I found out that Tuis don’t generally walk on the ground because they have curved claws from hanging onto branches. I also found out about their brush tongues through Jane. I wrote about Jane before when I wrote about our schools history and how she alluded me to the fact how huge it was. It is because of Jane that I began collating images and historical artefacts about our school. It was through Jane that I found out about ‘Ti Tutahi’. After she retired, Jane continued to work at our school supporting our children with reading. She always told me how amazing the children were and could stretch them through a passion. She would go out of her way to look for science books, insects books, story books, that would fit the level of the children she was working with. She had two sons of whom she was immensely proud. Sometimes she would ask me if I had caught up with their lives on Facebook. That always made me giggle because I spent several years trying to get her to turn her teacher laptop on. However she discovered the ease of the smart phone for keeping in communication. I would sometimes bounce her tidbits of information that she could watch on youtube or read on her smart phone. She would respond in kind with photos of the grandchildren. Just last week I had rediscovered Emere’s speech on the environment and had thought how I must share that with her. Jane had such an interesting life and she knew so many people. I remembered when the Prime Minister and Governor General visited to talk to our students about leadership. I often wondered if it was her connections that helped our case for a visit. She used to tell me about her life as a young wife for Hone Kaa. How the presbytery was the stopping in place for the various movements that passed through over the years. She was interviewed by our children about her part in the springbok tour and I remembered what an incredible impact that was for the children to hear from someone who was there. Jane hated photos and being photographed with a passion and had a way of sneaking away. But over the years I did manage to get a couple. When we set up the historic photos outside the hall, I even managed to sneak one of her in there. You do have to look for it. Ah Jane I am going to miss our talks. No one else quite gets those Tui’s like you do. I think of all the service you gave Newmarket School, all the families you have been a part of the dinner tables conversations, and how you helped leave the school in a better place. I know you will continue to read my blog from where ever you are. I have been using book creator on and off for a few years since @Allanahk introduced me to it. This year I began using it again but instead of an app on an iPad, I have been using it on chrome and absolutely love the new features. Last term I worked with the year 3 students at our school and wanted to publish their science learning into a book. Which I did. Here is the link to see all the science books collated together as one large book. I really like book creator because of the way I can control how the book looks. My favourite part of book creator is being able to use it with my learners. This term I have a writing project and book creator is at the centre. I think it is the ideal tool to showcase the children’s writing. As I investigated more about the tool, I found out that Book Creator headquarters is in Bristol, England. You can find out more about them here on their linked in page. My journey to New Zealand begins a little before the day we left. Some of the earlier footage shows me between the age of four years old to 10 years old. There is even a really short clip of me in New Zealand washing dishes with my sisters. I would have been about 4. My story is helped because my father had a movie 8 camera and so the memories of our journey were captured in movie form. Our travel story began at Faleolo Airport in Apia Samoa. The year is early 1973. I was born in Samoa during the year of independence. My father was a New Zealander who travelled to Samoa for overseas experience. He met my mother whose father was Danish and whose mother was Samoan. They fell in love, married and had a family there. They lived together in Samoa for 14 years and had four daughters. I was number three. Kathie was the eldest. Dad nicknamed her ka’avale because her initials spelt Kar. Then Astrid, who was known as Aiskulimi, named by my great grandmother, myself Sonya, named after my godmother and finally Biddy nick named after my paternal grandmother, shortened from her real name of Brigitte. My early years in Samoa were idyllic and I often view those early times with rose tinted glasses. I was able to grab some of those moments of sea swimming, of visiting grandparents each weekend, visiting Savaii and always seemed to be surrounded by cousins and extended family. I love Samoa, my culture, my language and my people. My childhood memories of Samoa are like a long summer holiday by the beach. The sun is always shining and the sounds of everyday life and life smells like the umu, ground oven fires, are vivid. The trees and grass are always vividly green and the sea and amazing colour. My narrative began the year I turned 10 and our family had an enormous adventure. We were moving to New Zealand for good. We would leave behind an extensive extended family with heaps of cousins and we would also leave behind maternal grandparents and childhood friends. So this day began at the airport. I was there with my mum, dad and three sisters. We had special outfits made for the journey. Us ladies were all dressed identically in pants suit with a white blouse. The three younger ones wore green. My hair was blonde and short. My eyes were grey more than blue. At the airport, all the extended family were there with us. Included in the farewelling family was my great aunty Else who was visiting my Grandpa. She lived in San Francisco. In the video there are snapshots of aunties and uncles and of course the cousins. Unfortunately I had to cut a lot of dad’s movies because of quality. Memories I have of that day was the weight of wearing shell necklaces. Also being given American dollars and at the time the total of $5.00 seemed like a fortune. The most I had ever held previously was $1.00 Samoan money. The biggest conflict we had as a family was deciding what was important enough to take with us. I do not remember much of the decision making, but can remember packing and packing and repacking. Mum had to downsize the house contents. I remember the wooden packing boxes, but little else. The treasures I brought with me were my doll collection, my stamp collection, my Langelinie Danish blue plate and my Hans Christian Anderson book of fairy tales. I cannot remember packing clothes but I must have included clothing. Another conflict was saying goodbye to everyone we knew. Saying goodbye to grandpa and nana was the hardest because they were such a huge part of our lives. After saying goodbye to all the family who had come to the airport to farewell us, we flew to Nadi, Fiji. I believe we overnighted there. My main memory of Fiji was being sick with my first migraine and my older sister Astrid taking care of me. She held my hair from my face while I was sick and she massaged the back of my neck. She kept wetting the flannel because I was so hot. Our next stop was Auckland where we paid a toll to cross the harbour bridge and we stayed with my Uncle Einer and family. Those memories included picking and eating strawberries for the very first time. My aunty Sigrid whipped creme and again this was my first experience. We played and got to know our New Zealand cousins and those early visits remained such an important part of our extended family relationships. This family had a massive pohutukawa tree growing right in their back yard. Then dad hired a car for the journey south. The car seemed enormous in memory but the video shows not that large. In the car we had our luggage and we all piled in. The memories of that trip included the sounds of the lamp posts whooshing past, like the sound of helicopter blades, We travelled really fast compared to how we would travel on the pot holed roads in Samoa. We saw hundreds and hundreds of sheep. Their noise sticks in my mind and there was a lot of open farmland. Our next stop was Foxton where we stayed with my Aunty Shirley, my dad’s older sister and her family. We had fish and chips. I had never eaten that before either. From Foxton we travelled to Wellington and we must have crossed the ferry but I have no memories of that part of the journey or of travelling down the south island to Christchurch. My next memories were of the motel we stayed at while our house was being finalised. We watched Coronation street and I could not understand what the actors were saying because of the strong accents. Coronation street is an English programme. We visited my paternal grandfather and he took my little sister and me down to feed the ducks on the Avon river. Soon we moved into our new home and I remember thinking how small the new house was. There was not much land and the neighbouring houses were really close together. There was the most incredible vegetable garden with several fruit trees growing. The fence supported a massive grape vine with three varieties of grapes. We spent the rest of the summer making friends with the neighbouring children. They were curious about us and us of them. They all spoke so fast that I was continually challenged to understand them. I had grown up in the Samoan language and all of my previous schooling had been in Samoan. Even though we spoke English when dad was around, my English was not as strong as my Samoan language. Another memory I have is the telephone. In Samoa we had to call the operator but in New Zealand we could dial using a rotary dial phone. Then school began for the new year and I was placed in standard three. (Year 5). My teacher was Mr Syme. I was the oldest in the class because in Samoa I was the generation that began school at six years old. For the rest of my school life I was always the oldest pupil in the class. During my first week at school, I received an absolute growling because I had run on the verandah. I knew I was in trouble because of the teacher yelling at me. I had no idea what he said, but all I knew I was in big trouble. Luckily my own teacher rescued me and explained what I had done wrong and spoke with the growling teacher. I was terrified. My other memory of school was being asked to read aloud in class. I read the word guinea pig as gunner pig and all the children laughed. My second year of school was much better. I had a really nice teacher called Mr Marshall who helped me heaps with my maths. So I think at that time my maths was not the best. He used to read to us everyday and let us draw. He also played softball with us regularly at lunchtime. The school seemed so rich with a large swimming pool and we had class lessons every day. My other memory of that pool was ice on the water before we got in. We would swim with the ice if we went in first for the day. The school had flushing toilets and they even had toilet paper. In Samoa we had to take our own toilet paper. The classrooms had windows and the desks were individual. So there was a lot to get used to. One was having lunch at school. Lunchtime at school always felt wrong and really weird because we were not used to that. The school days seemed so long too. In Samoa we began at 8.00am and finished at 1.00pm. I spent many lunchtimes in the library because I felt so odd and the other children would continuously ask me questions. I played softball and was really good at catching long balls. I learnt the violin which was an instrument my oldest sister Kathie played. One of my biggest challenge at school was learning the children’s names. The names were so different to what I had been used to. Names like Carmel, sounding like camel. Robert, Stephen and Nicola are some names I remember. The other difference was the school we attended was a state school and in Samoa we had attended a Catholic school. Dad bought us each a second hand bike and I was soon riding to and from school. That first year, Canterbury had heat waves and chickens died on the farms. Then that winter we had snow and got a week off school. I had never seen snow before. I biked to and from school regardless of the weather. I biked when it hailed and I biked when it snowed. The winter season was always so cold. I wove a scarf on the school loom that I wore to keep my nose and ears warm and I made myself some gloves from sheepskin. I have no idea where the sheepskin came from but those gloves saw me right through to high school. In those days we did not wear hats at school. Years later I found out that we had moved to New Zealand for two reasons. One was to be closer to my fathers aging parents and the other was so that we could have a good education and go to the local university. Dad continued to travel back to Samoa for his work while we stayed in New Zealand with mum. When he returned he always brought island food and letters from Samoa. This was before the internet. On some journey he brought us tape recorded messages and so we could hear our grandparents and cousins voices. The food was a challenge. I remember eating cauliflower for the first time and at how disgusting it was. The coffee was instant and we were used to bean coffee back in Samoa with heaps of sugar. I missed eating taro and having fresh tree ripened bananas. The store bought bananas took a lot of getting used to, if we could get them. Other than that we were able to buy rice and eat similar food to what we ate in Samoa. We hung out for palusami and ground oven cooked taro when dad came back. My father’s father passed away in the second year we were in New Zealand. I am glad we were able to spend some time getting to know him. We all had a good education and a couple of us went to university. Before I know it, I have lived in New Zealand for over forty years. The years have flown by and I now love New Zealand and call New Zealand home. But Samoa will always be my first home. I still visit Samoa when I can and have taken my own sons back for visits. I still speak Samoan and recently learned how to master chop suey like how my grandmother made it. I have learned to make palusami using spinach leaves, but the taste is not quite the same. I learned to love cauliflower when I discovered that it needed serving with cheese sauce. Sometimes I do wonder about what might have happened if we had remained in Samoa. I wonder what my life would be like now. I wonder if I should have returned and brought my sons up in Samoa when I had the opportunity. I also wonder what I would take if I moved to another country. Like the bird in my proverb, I already was grown and had all my markings when I left Samoa. Coming to New Zealand to a new environment does not change who I am. What the new environment does is add to my story. For you reading this: Are you a migrant, or a descendent of a migrant? What is your story? If you write one, can you please share your story with me? Those of you who know me will understand why this reflection is endorsing Hapara Workspace and how fabulous it is for leading professional learning. I have all my badges for Hapara and here is my Hapara Champion Trainer certificate to confirm that I have completed all three levels of training. I love using Hapara Workspaces for learning and this year I added all our Newmarket School teachers as learners in Hapara Workspace. As part of my Champion Trainer Certification I built a workspace for teachers. However I did not build this from scratch. I took our 2018 PLG workspace that our ISL and I collaboratively created, made a copy and then ensured that it was framed with Visible Learning Concepts in that all the goals and rubrics were clear and explicit for each section. Our current workspace ensures that our Newmarket School teachers can learn from the In School Leaders (ISL) in our school and they can do so on their own time, without the need for face-to-face meetings or substitutes. Our workspace allows us to experiment with leading professional learning in our school. Each section is packed with resources including readings and videos to help explain the focus of each professional learning strategy. Each part has a landing page so that everything is one click away. Each part has an assignment that we ask teachers to do to help drive their own learning deeper. These have been framed using a SOLO Taxonomy rubric co-constructed with the ever fabulous Pam Hook. For us as ISL and ASL in our school we can quickly pull up examples of our teachers professional learning and lessons that are active in the workspace. Within our workspace, my favourite section for 2019 is our newest section. We asked our teachers to ‘To video teaching a targeted strategy which gives attention to student learning.’ and to share the link on Hapara. This part has been really exciting because by the end of term 2, all of our teachers had carried out videoing a mathematics lesson and nearly all had shared it on Hapara. My principal asked us how did we manage to get our teachers to do this. My response was, transparency using Hapara Workspace. The goals and the rubric were clear. Also our ISL expected it to happen and continually reinforced this during staff meetings and team meetings. I took many of the ideas from the Hapara trainer course and incorporated these into our workspace. I have to give a shoutout here for our fabulous Senior Management Team at Newmarket School. They were the first to line up to complete their Champion Educator Certificates using Hapara for teaching and learning. They would never ask us to do something that they were not prepared to do themselves. Also for our teachers at Newmarket School because just about all of them have completed the Hapara Champion Course. Just waiting on a few more then I will get a Hapara Grelfie, ‘Group Selfie’. I also give a shout out to our ISL leaders @Nikki_From_NZ and @BelindaHitchman who lead professional learning in our school and were the first to get their maths lessons videoed and shared with their teams. Talk about Teacher Agents at Newmarket School. They make things happen. What a fabulous evidenced example of teachers preparing to share their learning with their peers and to give and receive feedback. I wonder if I can push our teachers just a little further and see if they are willing to take up the Hapara Champion Scholar course. This second course focuses on pedagogy and looks deeply at learning from student perspective. This course also ensures that learning is really transparent for the learner with goals and forms of assessment really clear on their workspaces. They need to be aware that they will get feedback on their workspaces from their peers in the course. I also wonder if our teachers would be keen to video and share a writing lesson. Imagine the resources being created for our future teachers by our current amazing teachers.

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Technology advances at a rapid pace. So fast that it often outpaces advancements in education policy and practice. Students are often way ahead of the curve while teachers who learned pedagogical methods in days when there were many less avenues for incorporating technology into classrooms lag far behind them in terms of technological facility. This is compounded by the fact that every student learns in a different way, and with more and more options, it gets increasingly difficult to cater to the individual needs of students. This is what makes the Design Thinking in Middle School: A Human-Centered Approach to 21st Century Learning Vision project really stand out. They aim to bolster the technological aptitude of their educators while designing more individualized curriculum for their students. In pursuit of this vision for student learning, a team of teachers at Southeast Middle School applied with their Board of Education to open a magnet center on campus. The focus of this magnet center is to bring a three “I” – Interest, Impact, and Innovation- driven approach to teaching and learning. In order to better understand where they find themselves as of their last progress report, it’s important to understand the goals they set out to accomplish. Students will work on collaborative, cross-curricular projects that center on design thinking, a powerful learning tool that teaches students to use empathy and critical thinking to tackle problems of any kind from a human-centered point of view. In their model, the teacher’s role is to provide opportunities for discovery and to guide students to understanding through their innovation projects. The transition from a teacher-centered, depository learning framework to a student-centered, design-based learning approach requires teachers to work in a highly collaborative environment to develop cross-curricular and student-centered projects. So, in their first year, how did they go about doing this? Before they could start they had to answer a few key questions for themselves, and anyone looking to replicate this program would do well to do the same. - What resources are currently available and/or necessary to obtain in order to successfully realize their stated vision? - How might the concepts learned in the theme-based professional development activities be applied to their specific school context? - What effect(s) might a design thinking approach to teaching and learning have on school performance, as measured by five instructional pillars (teaching) and the ISTE 21st century skill standards (learning)? These questions guided their approach and the following methods were applied. - Conduct a needs assessment and establish a teacher growth plan, - Plan and implement teacher developed lessons tailored to the classroom context, and - Evaluate the impact of the project on student learning and extract teacher learning through reflective practices. Their first year found its focus in the first two milestones. One of their priorities this year was to help the new magnet teachers build a theoretical grounding in the foundations of design thinking in K-12 education. They found early on in the project that this looked different for every teacher, based on their subject area, experience level, and their personal interests in areas of growth. Because of these disparate levels of experience, as a team, they decided that more experienced teachers would take on a more robust menu of learning opportunities that were designed to fill in gaps in theoretical and clinical knowledge and to prepare themselves to be teacher leaders in the new school. Their primary learning focus as a teacher leader team was to increase their capacity to understand and teach in alignment with a program theme of design thinking through project-based learning. So, a year in, where are they? Their collection of professional development opportunities during Year One has helped teachers develop a greater capacity for executing the magnet program’s vision of developing a human-centered approach to 21st century learning. Teacher leaders are using their learnings from model school visits, workshop and trainings, and collaborative planning sessions, to develop a comprehensive instructional technology plan, to plan and implement theme-based lessons tailored to their classroom contexts, and to develop a comprehensive introductory professional development plan for novice teachers. This included the teacher leaders themselves sharing their learnings through professional development sessions that they curated from their experiences in Year One of the project. Students were able to develop their skills as digital citizens, innovative designers, knowledge constructors, creative communicators, empowered learners, and global collaborators through design-based, project-based learning tasks throughout the school year. Additionally, they were able to showcase their learning at multiple community events at their school site and within the larger learning community of South Gate. News and pictures of the events were shared on the school website at <http://southeastms-lausdca.schoolloop.com/>. Teacher-leaders are currently designing their digital portfolios to showcase their student projects on the magnet program website <www.dreamsmagnet.org>. But no project is without challenges. What were some that they faced? The biggest thing they had to contend with was finding substitute teachers within the budget. This allowed the participating educators to take time off from class for professional development. This is being solved in the second year by reallocating some of the grant money to pay for that. It’s never too late to educate yourself on the latest technology. Even though chances are, by the time you’ve mastered it there will be something new. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to narrow the technology gap between students and educators, and this project sounds like one way to do it. LAMusArt’s Playmaking project approached their goals with a lot of ambition and spirit. Their program was an exciting one, aimed at engaging students ages 9 – 11 in the fundamentals of playwriting over the course of 10 weeks, culminating in a full scale performance of the student written plays by adult actors. It can be extremely difficult to schedule several adult actors to appear in one place at any one time, but in Los Angeles this difficulty can be compounded. So the fact that they were able to get 11 kids plays up and running cast with professional actors is something that on it’s own should be applauded. But before we get into what they accomplished, let’s take a dive into what goals they set out to accomplish. 1) to give underserved students in their East Los Angeles communities a public opportunity to experience success and recognition through artistic expression, authorship, and performance regardless of race or gender. 2) to aid the growth and development of each student’s important life skills, including their cognitive and emotional evolution, and their creative, academic, social, and behavioral progress by way of artistic opportunities. 3) to validate each student’s unique voice by giving them an opportunity to tell and see their own stories about their respective experiences. 4) to bridge the gap between our community and the life-affirming power of the arts, which they’ve been traditionally barred from due to barriers like language, finances, and exposure. 5) to provide students with the academic attention they lack in public schools, including inclusive and enriching creative programs and better student/adult ratios. 4) to increase student learning in fundamental theater concepts and practices. Now, a number of these goals seem a bit hard to quantify. Many of which won’t be fully known until long after the student has left the program. But, you might be surprised by the results that the parents are reporting. But we’ll get to that shortly. So how did they accomplish their goals? Over the course of 10 weeks, each student kept a notebook of their weekly writing exercises, vocabulary lessons, and understanding of key concepts. Each student was able to grasp these exercises, as proven by the completion of their original plays. Although some plays were more complex than others, every student completed a play with at least two characters and a central conflict between those characters. The driving idea that was used to emphasize dramatic storytelling was “Want. Conflict. Change.” They started the course by establishing that every character must have a strong want or wish. To move the story forward, they put characters with different wants in a scene together to establish a high-stakes conflict, in which the characters want to get in the way of each other. To resolve the story, they needed a change, from either one or both characters, or an outside force. The idea of “Want. Conflict. Change.” was interpreted in different ways by each student, resulting in wildly different, but entirely vibrant and entertaining works. And having personally attended the event I can say that what resulted was a wildly surreal night of shows. Even though their concepts were simple… or often nonsensical (like the boy and his friend, and a slice of pizza) what they demonstrated was unfiltered creativity. It’s not often that playwrights get to write without self consciousness, and while it’s doubtful that they approached it without self doubt — the final product betrayed a sense of fun, unfettered imagination, and clear encouragement to tell the story they want to tell. So where are the students now and how are they doing? According to reports from the parents, the students have seen vast improvement in all areas that the program set out to address. - 100% said they would recommend the program to others; - 100% said that the elementary school their student attends does not offer a program similar to Playmaking, which tells us the program is unique and needed in the community; - 100% said their student’s literacy and writing skills developed over the 10 week course; - 100% said their student’s listening skills developed over the 10 week course; and - 100% said their collaboration and creativity skills developed over the 10 week course. Now, I’m no math teacher, but 100% returns across the board seems to me to be pretty good results. If not pretty great. But no program is without its challenges. How can this one improve? The most notable challenge was the coordination of rehearsal time for all eleven groups of adult actors and directors. It was difficult to fit adequate rehearsal time for all eleven plays into a two week period, causing them to schedule additional rehearsals with actors and a prolonged tech period in the theater space. Another challenge they faced was giving the composer sufficient time to compose an original song for each play. Because the songs and plays were not written until Play Day, the composer was unable to read the plays and lyrics until a day before the first rehearsal, giving barely enough time to compose a new piece. They believe this can be improved by having the composer present on Play Day to aid the students in writing their lyrics. This will also give the composer a better idea of what the student has in mind stylistically for their song. Completely surmountable challenges aside, this program seems to have legs that are going to carry it into the future and help improve the confidence, writing, and collaboration skills for any students involved. Fourth graders stimulate the thinking processes involved in creativity through an Academic Enrichment Grant As we face many challenges in educating our children, it is important to emphasize creative thinking and problem solving. Creative thinking and problem-solving are essential parts of the process to turn ideas into innovation and open up avenues to creativity. What were the goals of the Cigar Box Odyssey project? The overall goal of the Cigar Box Odyssey project was to teach creativity by integrating the Outcomes of their gifted program with the Objectives of their Fourth Grade Curriculum. Their goal was achieved by emphasizing the gifted process skills of performance, presentation, research, creativity, self-directed learning, group dynamics, and understanding and creating art. The students analyzed the creative process used by musicians to design the cigar box guitar using the SCAMPER (Substitute; Combine; Adapt; Modify; Put to another use; Eliminate; Reverse) technique. What is the SCAMPER technique? The SCAMPER technique (introduced Bob Eberle, as described in the design thinking blog, Designorate, by Rafiq Elmansy) is based on the idea that what is new is actually an adaptation of something that already existed. It is considered one of the easiest and most direct methods to creative thinking. The SCAMPER keywords noted above represent the necessary questions students should address during the creative thinking process. For example, for Substitute one could ask, “What part of the process can be substituted without affecting the whole project?” or for Combine, one could ask, “Can we merge two steps of the process?” What skills did students use to build their Cigar Box Guitars? The students researched the origin of the Delta Blues and how the Blues form travelled and changed, influencing other American music forms. They used measuring skills, basic knowledge of sound, and creative principles to build their own cigar box guitars. Then the students wrote original songs and performed them in a Blues Café that was set up in their classroom. The students attended the New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Music Festival where they were well received and able to meet professional performers. And, to top it off they have been invited to perform at the Festival next year. To prepare for their performance, they plan to invite T. J. Wheeler, creator of the Blues in Schools program, to College Park and help the students prepare for this performance. He taught this year’s fourth graders a few things in just a short time at the festival. How has this program affected learning? Because of this program the students have experienced the intersection of research and reality. They have had a taste of living what they researched and were exposed to adults who built the same instruments and performed the same kind of music. They were also able to extend the program to include some cutting-edge technology by 3D printing their own guitar picks. So, what’s next for the students? With the purchase of a 3D printer students will learn how to program CAD and create (not just print) their own picks. So, both the technology and the performance components of the program will be lifted to a higher plane when they learn to program CAD and perform formally in front of a festival audience. While there are always needs in the schools in our own country, it is important to remember that other countries have students that have the same potential but lack even the basic resources available to many U.S. students. This is what Candacia Greenman is aiming to address by working with the Loreto Primary School in Rumbek, South Sudan. The Village Science Project (VSP) aims to use an inquiry-driven, hands-on and play-oriented approach to improve access to high quality science education for over 200 disadvantaged students over a 3-year period in this MDEF funded academic enrichment project. How can educators address barriers to high quality science education? VSP intends to target the four main hindrances to science learning in their community in order to better serve the students: - Limited resources for practical, inquiry-driven science exploration - Poor English language acquisition - Little community engagement - Psychological barriers to learning VPS’s proposed addressing these in the following ways: - Providing students with the resources needed for science exploration through the use of science experiments and engineering and robotics projects. - Implementing techniques to improve English language skills in science learning by promoting reading through tablets, facilitating peer learning experiences and encouraging student presentations through science fairs - Stimulating community engagement through science fairs combined with field trips and career talks from local community members. - Creating low-stress environments for our students, especially our girls to become interested in learning science (students are also given opportunities for “tinkering” or “free play” with science kits through the formation of an after school “tinker club”) How can teaching methods improve students’ love for science? Loreto Primary School serves over 600 students, with an emphasis on girls’ education and VSP will benefit about 200 different upper primary students over 3 years. The students live in a community with limited access to electricity and potable water and currently, classes are conducted outdoors under trees. Most of these students never get a real chance to find a love of science because it’s taught almost exclusively in a theoretical, teacher-centered manner. As such, VSP is ground-breaking because of its use of a more hands-on and child-centered methodology to elevate student learning. They’ll do this by keeping a strong focus on inquiry-driven science exploration, which will help these students to develop their critical thinking skills. VSP will also deepen students understanding of, and interaction with the local physical environment as well as addressing social issues that adversely affect science education such as gender inequity, trauma-induced stress and poor community engagement. At the end of year one the educators working on the VSP conducted initial baseline assessments of science performance and interest of Primary 5 and Primary 6 students after the following programs were implemented: - Teacher demonstrations - Laboratory exercises/activities - Robotics and engineering projects - Tablet usage - Mathematics manipulatives usage - Science fair - Career talks - Field trips - Tinker Club Revealing effective science and math teaching The VSP team members have conducted baseline assessments in both science and mathematics enabling the teachers to tailor the rest of their programs according to how best to serve the students needs. In light of a mathematics assessment revealing gaps they’ve launched a mathematics intervention program targeting student understanding of number operations for Primary 3 through Primary 6 students. All teachers have adapted their teaching programs to allow for more time for Mathematics instruction and they have expanded their focus on number operations. In addition, all of the primary school teachers attended a month-long training workshop to learn how to integrate demonstrations into their lesson plans for effective science teaching. In order to maximize the use of the science teaching aids, they expanded their focus to include demonstrations in Electricity, Magnetism and Weather modules. Best of all, afterschool programs to supplement students’ science education have also been implemented. In these programs, the students use science kits to expand their learning of material covered in their Electricity, Magnetism and Weather modules. Those aren’t the only exciting things going on after school for Loreto Primary School students. VSP has also introduced programs to introduce students to engineering principles and robotics. In these programs, students have been using Engino engineering blocks to build simple machines and learn how to code using the Lightbot app as a first step towards understanding robotics. The engineering afterschool program encompasses the proposed ‘Tinker Club’ in which ‘free play’ is encouraged and students build simple machines of their choice. Students are also being provided with tablets to use in the afterschool programs to aid them in their mathematics and science courses. One of the most exciting additions have been the science fairs which give the students a place to shine in front of Teachers, parents and other community leaders also attending the event. The science fair focused on energy and engineering and students gave presentations on the design of solar toys, the basics of electricity, and the design and utility of simple machines. One of the greatest feathers in the cap of the VSP project is that all of their after school programs and the science fair were conducted in English and has resulted in a vast improvement in English comprehension. In addition, students have learned how to use technology and the basics of coding through the use of tablets. Their teachers have reported that tablet usage has also helped the students with Mathematics anxiety. Lessons learned in academic enrichment The accomplishments of this project have not come without challenges. The VSP team have reflected on ways they can improve their program in later years. Their biggest challenge was the field trips due to security concerns. As a result of this challenge, they have shifted their focus and are currently designing a “Mathematics and Science for Life” program in which students will attend weekend sessions to learn how mathematics and science are useful in everyday life. Being able to adapt and shift strategies in response to challenges is a necessity for success for a program like this. The VSP team also learned the difficulties of relying on applications that are not as readily available on the international networks. Google Play is not enabled in South Sudan. As such, all apps must be pre-loaded before transportation to Rumbek. Unfortunately, this means that updates cannot be installed as needed. Furthermore, a lack of consistent and fast internet access has limited the utility of many apps that would be very useful for the students. And in addition to these challenges, having electricity in the classroom has been an issue. As such, they recently invested in solar energy to provide electricity to their school campus and are have installed solar electricity panels for our primary school which will improve their internet access. All in all, it sounds like some really exciting things are going on with the VSP in Rumbek. They’re swinging with the punches and adapting when necessary. The McCarthy Dressman Education Foundation is excited to see where they go in the years ahead. If they succeed, other schools in the region will benefit enormously from the pedagogical strategies that these educators are pioneering. Learn more about the topics in this post - Science and Math Education for Development - SIAM: Developing Mathematics in the Developing World - Science Education in Developing Countries - Revealed: World pupil rankings in science and maths - Redefining education in the developing world Two things that are rarely taught in tandem, outside of college elective courses, are Art and History, yet these two disciplines are inextricably linked. Art gives us a window to the minds of humans living in another time. Every detail can tell a story, from the subject and the setting to the style of a time period. Each of these things gives us hints as to what life, attitudes, and technology were like when those pieces were created. Art as old as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as that created in modern day can shed light on how humanity has evolved and provide a glimpse to human potential. Some might argue, if you don’t know the history – how can you create the future? This important connection between human expression and history has inpired the educators at NYOS Charter School in Pflugerville, Texas, in the Art History Enrichment Club. According to the project team, the goal is for students to better understand how history and art are interwoven throughout the ages. This understanding will allow students from all backgrounds to connect the art they studied to the community and world around them. By studying the craft of painting in a variety of techniques, they will not only grow as artists, but also make connections between advances in art, history and culture, from paintings in famous museums to those found in their local community. How does art history after school enrichment support cognitive and social skills in intermediate grades? The Art History Club was open to students in 4th and 5th grades. Students applied, with parent permission, and thirty of them decided to stay after school one day a week for an hour. This allowed the school to serve up to 20% of their student population. The classes were offered for 20 weeks and were capped off with a trip to the Blanton Art Museum in Austin, Texas. Not only did the project allow students of all backgrounds to connect with history and their communities, it also gave them a new visual language to identify styles and techniques. Research has shown that students who are enrolled in art programs increase cognitive and social skills that are then applied in daily classroom activities. An important part of this enrichment program is that it wasn’t just passive observation. These students received hands on experience, so to speak. Not only did students see and study the art and varying techniques, they also put those lessons to the test. A weekly display of the information about an artist and the students work was also shared in a common area for all students to view. Additionally, there was an art show displaying student’s artwork open to the NYOS community. NYOS also has a collaborative relationship with local business. These business were able to display artwork allowing students to share their achievements with their local community. What other benefits came from this project? According to Melissa Hefner, project awardee, the project was designed to make broad connections between art, history, and real life: “The first goal of the project was to teach how history and art were interwoven. The second goal was to show the different styles of art that have been created throughout history, starting with Egyptian Art and ending with Modern Art. The third goal was for students to identify famous pieces of artwork on clothing, TV shows, movies, posters, etc. making the connection that masterpieces are all around us. The fourth goal was to have them identify art in their community and then add their own art to the community.” The students have discussed art throughout many historical periods and created pieces of artwork in many different styles in the after school program, every Thursday for an hour. In April, students showcased their work at Fine Arts Night, and even the parents managed to learn a little something they didn’t know previously. In the beginning of May they took the field trip to a local art museum and graffiti wall. A great contrast between fine and street art, and a great lesson about the importance and impact of both. As a direct result, students have become aware of how much art exists around them in the books they read, historical events they study, current events they hear about, and even in their social media feeds. This project is off to a strong start and continue to impress us at the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation. Here’s to a few more years of making art and creating history! App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth increases Learner Confidence and Problem Solving Skills through Maker Magic “Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit.”-App Development Instructor Becoming good at anything is a process. Educators know that students must develop confidence in the face of mistakes and failure, because they are truly an opportunity for learning. As Bob Lenz explains in Edutopia, “failure is an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths as well as their areas of improvement — all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher,” (Failure is Essential to Learning, 2015). In this report from App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth, you’ll hear more about how a partnership at Helensview Alternative High School in Portland, Oregon, helped students build confidence and work through failure by developing 3D printed objects and apps. By integrating “maker” culture which focuses on DIY (do it yourself) engineering, students gained confidence and developed problem solving skills. Learn more below! Why support students in making and developing? According to the funding proposal “When Google released their diversity stats it came as no surprise that nearly every field was dominated by white men” so with an interest in building interest in STEM careers, the non-profit organization ChickTech partnered with high school teacher Brian Granse to offer making opportunities in the classroom. ChickTech, which focuses on increasing gender diversity in technology through hands-on activities, supported Helensview educators in pursuing the following project goals: - Provide at-risk students from Helensview Alternative High School with technical workshops - Allow students to create unique 3D printed objects and apps - Improve students’ confidence and interest in learning - Create lessons that can be improved upon next year and shared with others How can you use 3D printing and app development to enhance learning and student interest? In this project, students were offered access to workshops instead of their regularly scheduled classes. For five weeks, regular 3 hour sessions were offered on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Initially, others in the school were concerned about the length of the sessions, given that most students had a hard time staying involved in 45 minute classes. As the students became engaged and interested, the school community was pleasantly surprised. Students were not only engaged, but some stayed after school had ended to continue to work on their projects, a feat the report called “unheard-of” for this school. Workshops focused on two types of making, 3D printing and app development. 3D Printing Layers Learning in Geometry and Measurement with Practical Knowledge In the 3D printing workshops, students created multiple unique 3-D printed objects they could later take home. These included: - personalized name plates - custom-shaped containers - bracelets (also personalized) - toy cars The workshops supported the students in learning important concepts and skills for 3D printing (explained here by 3Dify) over the course of creating the various designs, including: - creating 3D objects using basic sketch tools such as rectangles and circles - customizing objects with text - adding loops to an initial sketch to build a 3D object in successive layers - using a computer to navigate three-dimensional space - drawing complex sketches using geometry for practical objects such as containers - creating objects based on real-world measurements - creating objects with functional wheels - sketching flat designs onto curved surfaces The more that the students learned, the more creativity they expressed. The most rewarding project for the instructors was the most complex and required the students to integrate all of the skills they were learning over time. By creating a custom built car model including customized mufflers, tailpipes, headlights, spoilers and wheels the students moved way beyond 3D modeling and into the real world – their designs even had to follow strict guidelines in order to be printable. “By the end, the students who clearly wanted to be designers stood out as did the students who wanted to be the builders of 3D printers” (Project Report) highlighting the effectiveness of the workshops focused on these skills. App Development Builds Confidence in Problem Solving and Learning from Failure The second series of workshops focused on app development, which also required the students to demonstrate complex problem solving skills. To get started, students followed a tutorial to learn TouchDevelop, an app creation tool, before brainstorming ideas for apps they would like to create. Once they decided what apps they wanted to develop they worked in teams to create them. Learning how to develop apps required the students to practice and apply the following skills: - problem solving - content creation - following directions - managing time - working in teams Each app went through several iterations over the three week period. Two groups worked on two separate apps. One app taught about telling time on a conventional handed clock and the other taught about geometric math formulas that many students must learn for exams. Students also worked to incorporate a quiz feature that would test the app user’s knowledge of the content presented. Through trial and error, students learned about the complexity of app creation. According to the report, “Because the focus was on the process and not the finished app, students were able to explore many issues involved in developing technology for a wide audience of users. Students expressed how appreciative they were of apps that effectively solved problems as they understood how difficult it was to create and maintain a bug-free application.” Although students came into the app creation workshops enthusiastically having already explored 3D printing, they needed a fair amount of encouragement to work through the challenges of app development. The instructor of the app development workshops wrote: “Successful developers (app or otherwise) have a unique ability to manage frustration well, and this skill really only comes with practice and time. I did see students give up quickly at first. There was a lot of waiting for instruction rather than self guided discovery. My impression was that there was still a lot of fear attached with “failure.” Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit. After explaining that to students, they were more inclined to try and try again without feeling frustrated. I noticed around this time, too, that students were starting to share what they were learning. If a student came up against the same bug or error message as another student had previously, it became an opportunity for those students to collaborate, and learn from one another. We are fortunate enough to live in a world where apps are plentiful and most are very well made and fun to use. Once students learned how complex and time consuming the process really is, they were initially put off by the amount of work that loomed in front of them. Students came up with ideas that were really fun but ambitious. And once the hard work started, it was a struggle to keep the students motivated. The enormity of making an entire app that looked as flashy as something already on the market started to seem like a “why bother” scenario. But, by breaking our apps into smaller, more manageable pieces, the students had consistent success with creating new features. There are almost infinite solutions to solving even the same problem in computer programming, so we really tried to communicate to the students that giving up is not an option. There is always something new to try. At points I know the students would have preferred to give up altogether, but I did see them gradually start to shift away from one problem to tackle another-rather than abandoning the entire project altogether. That is a very evolved problem solving technique, and one that even professional developers don’t learn until years on the job.” Celebrating Results of a Maker Nurturing Project After 5 weeks of workshops, the project team held a celebration party for all students, teachers, school and school representatives, and the workshop instructors. During this celebration, students showed off their projects and received feedback from the community. Positive Response from Administration The response was outstanding; Helensview High School administrators highlighted the value of partnerships for academic enrichment, explaining in writing: “Schools are constantly challenged with the task of offering varied, meaningful hands-on projects, while public education is placing more focus on core academic standards and high stakes exams. Most programs lack the personnel, money, and equipment to experiment with cutting edge technologies. However, outside organizations can help tremendously with this challenge. In the case of our program, both the McCarthy-Dressman Foundation and Janice/ChickTech have made incredible contributions that have provided at-risk youth with eye-opening, confidence-building activities that are both inspirational and academically enriching. The workshops facilitated in this program are the perfect example of how collaboration between schools and outside organizations can deliver fresh experiences that are meaningful, cutting edge, and connected to real industry people who operate beyond the walls of the public school system. By producing 3D printed objects and phone apps, our students learned that acquiring new skills isn’t just for passing tests and earning diplomas. They learned to take an idea, develop a plan, and create something real with several weeks of dense, action-packed courses in 3D printing and application development. We are grateful for the foundation’s support, and thrilled with Janice’s/ChickTech’s implementation of the programming. For everyone involved, this is time and money well spent on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for youth who will remember this experience forever.” Strong Evidence of Student Growth According to results of pre and post surveys, students were definitely enriched by this program. Of the group (93% non-white students – mainly African-American and Latino/a with a 63% parent education level of high school educated or below), some exciting increases were noted: - “I plan to go to college”: 21% increase - “I can work through problems”: 22% increase - “I have resources I can go to when I have tech questions”: 22% increase In addition, students self-reported an increase in technology skills. On a 1-4 reflective scale there was an increase from 1.9 to 2.9, a 52% increase. In addition, responses to the question “Would you be more interested in school if more classes were like this?” also on a 1-5 scale, averaged 4.2. The project team found this especially exciting, writing: “Although this is a great experience for the students who attended, what if all of their classes were hands-on and interactive? What if they got to solve interesting problems, learn how to work as a team on things that affected them, and learned useful skills in every class? Can you imagine what the above numbers would look like for these students? I can, and it gives me hope for our society’s dismal track record of serving its highest-risk students. All but one student said they would recommend that their friends take this class next year. We expect to see a strong increase in students who want to attend next year, and our instructors are so excited to improve and continue increasing their impact.” Lessons Learned and Ideas for Improvement ChickTech described the challenges for project implementation included finding experienced instructors, curriculum developers and drag and drop software for app development. They also noted that the educators involved were already meeting many demands in the classroom which affected the overall timeline – in fact, the student post-surveys were obtained after the project concluded which may have decreased the amount of enthusiasm shown in comments on the surveys. In the future, the team plans to work with the same instructors so that less time can be spent on planning and their existing rapport with the students can be leveraged for more enthusiasm and interest. Even though some of the students are moving on before next school year, some of them plan to come back as teaching assistants or to work on more advanced projects with the support of the instructors. Funding for the project provided by the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation supported this effort in several areas including instructor fees, teaching assistants, curriculum development, materials and evaluation costs. Sixteen students participated (50% male/50% female) which was perfect for the availability of resources within the school and the number of instructors. Learning More about Making Projects in Education If you would like to learn more about integrating maker culture in the classroom to build student confidence, increase gender diversity in technology, and develop complex problem solving skills, we recommend the resources below. - MakerEd Resource Library (Maker Education Initiative, 2016) - Jaw Dropping Classroom 3D printer Creations (Edutopia, 2015) - MIT App Inventor (MIT, 2015) - Mobile Makers Academy brings Mobile App Development to Schools (Tech Republic, 2014) - App Creation Inspires Student Entrepreneurs (EdWeek, 2012) - A Guide to Teaching Mobile App Development (Scholastic)

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Lower School Curriculum Overview: Grades One Through Five We strive to create a learning environment that is joyful, engaging, challenging, and multi-faceted. It is a place where students grow in confidence and independence within a broad program where they feel safe to take intellectual risks and grow. With basic academic skills built upon responsibility, creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on learning, we endeavor to teach the “whole” child. Co-curricular teachers tap into the various interests and talents of the students as they work closely with the homeroom teacher to meet the needs of the class and grade. Being a part of a community of learners where students work together and respect differences is a critical element to the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade experiences. - Fine and Performing Arts - Global Languages - Physical Education - Social Studies - Speaking and Listening - Study Skills Art: First and Second Grades Artistic expression and art fundamentals are critical aspects of the first and second grade art curricula. At these stages, students are exposed to techniques, specifics artists, and great works of art, as well as key elements of art including: line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color. Students often study important works of art and then practice the techniques unique to creating a similar piece of art. Key aspects of the experience include: developing a sense of aesthetic judgment and color theory, understanding how visual arts relate to history and culture, and showing appreciation of the creative works of self and others. SMART Board and iPad technology are used in the classroom to enrich understandings and to offer a unique form of multi-media art-based experiences. Art: Third Grade Critiquing each other’s work, investigating the full range of mediums, understanding the relationship between culture and art as well as exploring color theory and aesthetic education, are combined to create a vibrant studio art program. This class meets twice a week in the art studio. Through these experiences and with two and three-dimensional work displayed throughout the school, students come to appreciate each other’s work and enjoy the creative process and how it connects to other disciplines in their school and to world cultures. Art: Fourth Grade Through art history and self-expression, students will create works using a variety of mediums. In particular, at this grade, level students will learn about the Elements of Color and be able to communicate their ideas using them; understand the visual arts in relation to history and culture; reflect upon and critique the merits of their own work and the work of others; and make connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Art meets twice a week in the art studio. Art: Fifth Grade This is a studio art course in which art history provides an introduction to each art project, and an inspiration for the students. Drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, as well as mixed media, are central to each student’s experience. While art history and the exposure to various mediums of expression are at the center of the students’ work; art theories regarding color and design are also integrated into their projects. Student artwork is continually displayed throughout the school. The annual All School Student Art Show at Stony Brook University and the Young Illustrators Challenge, in which student art work from around the region is judged, are two centerpieces for our year as well. Students have one block period for art and one class period each week. Music: First and Second Grades Students attend music class twice a week and participate in both our choral and instrumental programs. Chorus is an important aspect of our music curriculum, as it fosters a sense of community, responsibility, and teamwork. Students perform in the winter and spring concert each year and develop skills such as following a conductor, pitch-matching, and concert etiquette. First and second grade students also participate in our recorder program. It is designed to challenge and stimulate a developing sense of multitasking and coordination skills. Through a differentiated approach, each student progresses through the program at his or her own rate, allowing for an individualized experience tailored to each student. Music: Third Grade Music class centers on music theory, music history, vocal skills and instrument skills. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history and culture of music, students build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. There are two major performances each year and music class meets twice a week in the music room. Music: Fourth Grade Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fourth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room. Music: Fifth Grade Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fifth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room. First Grade Through Fifth Grade At the end of the lower school years, students should have familiarity with basic vocabulary and rudimentary styles of conversation. In order to encourage global citizenship, special attention is paid to culturally authentic materials and activities such as: art crafts, foods, greetings, etiquette and customs of the countries studied. First Grade through Fifth Grade This is a multi-faceted class where students broaden their background and exposure to a range of types of literature, library resources and technology while becoming more independent in how to negotiate the resources in the library. Students read independently, take out books for outside reading, are read to, and learn about how best to use the atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus. Students listen to various stories, authors and genres, learn about multiple print resources, and understand and use the Internet catalog system as they take books out on a regular basis. Students visit the library for their regular library period, and visits to the library happen throughout the year as needed for research. In first grade, students reinforce the skills learned in kindergarten but also begin working with fractions, place value, and data interpretation. By second grade, students review all that has come before in grade one and then move into certain areas more deeply. They study place value, addition, subtraction, and begin multiplication and division. Problem solving is a major focus in every unit. Confidence in mathematics grows as each concept is introduced, understood, practiced, and mastered. In third grade students solidify their knowledge of number facts, numerals through 100,000, place value and money. Basic number operations of addition and subtraction with re-grouping and understanding multiplication and division concepts are also major elements in third grade. Reading is fundamental here as well with word problems incorporated into the class. The fourth grade mathematics program’s goals focus on understanding the theory behind the numbers, computation skills and, most importantly, having students build confidence and an interest in learning math. Whole number operations, place value, fractions, decimals, geometry, data analysis, measurement, probability, time, measurement and problem solving are part of the fourth grade curriculum. We also focus on problem solving and using math vocabulary to explain the meaning behind the math computation. Harbor fifth graders learn to reason mathematically and use mathematics to solve problems in authentic contexts. Students learn about numeration, operations, patterns and functions, geometry, measurement and data through exploratory activities. Supplemental materials are used to extend and enrich student experiences and ideas. Lessons, assignments, and homework are differentiated in order to meet the needs of each student. Teaching is responsive to the individuals and is consistently monitored to make sure the level of enrichment and reinforcement is appropriate. First Grade through Fifth GradeLower school students participate in Physical Education (PE) in our gymnasium or on the athletic fields, depending on the weather. We build a physical education program as a life skill class where responsible behavior, good health, teamwork and knowledge of and exposure to athletic games and physical movement all play a role. Competency in motor skills, using a wide range of age-appropriate athletic equipment, physical fitness, cooperation in team play, nutrition and competition are a part of the curriculum. First graders are developing the skills needed to improve independent reading and are beginning to read to learn. As decoding gives way to fluency, a first grader’s reading comprehension improves. Focusing on high frequency words helps improve fluency. The first grader begins to fall in love with characters in stories, becomes familiar with folktales, and use illustrations to support comprehension. First graders begin developing understandings of letter patterns known as blends and diagraphs. Nuances of word patterns, such as the concepts of plurals, contractions, compound words, and synonyms/antonyms, greatly expand reading skills. In writing, students learn to add details to stories, to write sentences, and to vary their sentence structure. They practice writing stories with a beginning, middle, and ending. Second Grade is a time where reading fundamentals are becoming established and students are now reading to learn new things or to make connections to what they already know. By second grade, non-fiction reading becomes more important as students do more research and learn to organize their ideas. In writing, emphasis is placed on writing descriptive sentences, compare/contrast, writing “how-to’s” and relying on themes as a backdrop for writing. Writing is often based on content related to cultures. Students are also trying their hand at scientific writing such as with making predictions. The Teachers' College Reading & Writing Project is used at this grade level to support biographical writing, informational writing and research papers. Students in third grade have a wide range of interests in the types of books they read and in the level at which they read. Our goal in third grade is to create an environment throughout the day and year, where students build on their love for words, books and reading. Exposing them to a range of genres provides the right context for this to happen with fiction, non-fiction and poetry. This is an exciting time in their lives as they turn from solidifying reading skills – depending on the reading level of each child – to using reading to learn about the world around them. The third grade teacher takes the time to learn about, through a variety of means, what authors and literature will continue to ignite a child’s love for reading. Decoding, using context clues to improve comprehension, understanding the structure of a story including details about the characters, setting and plot, predicting, summarizing and, importantly, making personal connections to the reading are all skills developed at this level. Students also develop fluency through guided practice and repeated readings with appropriate expression and phrasing. Engaging our students in regular repeated readings will improve their word recognition, reading rate, comprehension, and overall reading proficiency. Reading is one of the keys to success in school and life. The homeroom teacher focuses on the reading level of each student to build a reading program that will challenge them appropriately and excite them to become life-long readers. We use a variety of means to learn what kinds of books will interest each child and at what level is just right. Through both conversation and the choices students make in their free reading to regular assessments around fluency, expression and comprehension will help us fine-tune the kinds of literature that will stretch each child’s mind. Students are exposed to fiction, non-fiction and poetry and a range of genres and authors. In addition, we teach the basic academic skills about character, setting and plot. Improving comprehension, learning how to summarize, inferring meaning, decoding unfamiliar words and making personal, global and text connections help to create a firm base for future growth and development of each child’s reading foundation. The fifth grade reading program focuses on building essential comprehension skills while keeping students engaged in a variety of texts. Students read a range of literature, both as a class, in small groups and independently. We utilize the Reader's Workshop method, which blends whole group mini-lessons, small needs-based groups, and individual conferring to guide students through the application of seven basic comprehension strategies. Instruction is designed to meet students at their skill levels and to raise their abilities and confidence as readers. There is a focus on developing critical-thinking skills, such as drawing conclusions from a text and making predictions. In addition, students are taught and encouraged to make connections to their reading in a variety of ways, which helps them to internalize the deeper meaning of the text. Independent reading is a critical component to being a successful reader, and this is heavily emphasized. As students progress through the fifth grade program, they become comfortable and adept at thinking, speaking and writing about what they read. Students in first grade learn about insects and spiders, cold and warm blooded animals, and use measurement to make scientific observations. Field trips to go apple picking with kindergarteners and a trip to the local grocery store, to study nutrition, take place during the school year. The scientific method is introduced. Second grade science is a time for exploration and creativity. Students study innovation; they create their own inventions and they assemble and program robots. Robotics features strongly in the second grade science curriculum. Within the biological sciences, second grade students raise Monarch butterflies in early spring. Third grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the three branches of science. This course examines life, physical and earth science. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year are living things in our environment, understanding the earth’s surface and how we can protect its resources, understanding matter and mixtures and how they change and, finally, energy. Fourth grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the natural world. This course examines earth, life and physical sciences. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year include watersheds – a critical catalyst to life on our planet electricity - natural resources and marine life of Long Island and electricity. In fifth grade, we unite theory with practical applications through field trips to natural outdoor settings on our nearby coastline and Long Island’s regional science centers. The scientific process forms the backbone for our laboratory work, and lab reports are the culmination of the students’ research and hands-on studies. Basic academic skills, such as note-taking, proper lab report writing, discussion and collaboration, are reinforced throughout the year. The fifth grade studies all three scientific disciplines: life, earth and physical. In first grade, students develop understandings related to citizenship. They study important historical figures as well as U.S. states, with special emphasis on New York. Map skills are explored to a greater extent, especially through the unit related to Flat Stanley. Students are given opportunities to problem-solve, to negotiate, and to develop understandings related to facts versus opinions. A strong emphasis is placed on the ideas of citizenship, community, and respect. In second grade, the curriculum focuses more on map skills, landforms and explorers. Students work to a greater extent developing the idea of citizenship. There are a number of social studies project in second grade including a research project related to Hawaii, a geography project related to rainforests and a habitat project related to penguins. Child development tells us that children at this stage in their growth are beginning to understand that they are not just an individual in this world but a contributing member of a group of people. Parallel plan continues, but it is less and less a part of what they are naturally inclined towards. There are myriad lessons learned as children become cognizant of and a valuable member of partnerships and group work. This is why the theme of third grade social studies focuses on Community. What role do people play? What role should each member play? What examples exist in our school and local regions? Beyond our localities, the third grade will learn about the fifty states as well where we are in the global community. The theme of the fourth grade social studies program is the State of New York. From the first inhabitants, explorers and slave trade to the Revolutionary War, founders, local and state government structures, and immigration, students become well-informed historians about our regional history. The fifth grade social studies curriculum focuses on the study of people from around the world, beginning with the emergence of mankind and continuing through to ancient China. Traditional skill building through note-taking, research, debating, writing and reading are core elements to our history program. How we speak and listen to each other is a natural connection to our social studies theme and is an important part of child development at this age. There are many opportunities to speak in third grade in pairs, groups, with one’s homeroom teacher and in public forums. Presenting information in a clear manner with good eye contact and a loud voice are skills we reinforce. As a considerate member of a community knowing how to share, listen and brainstorm effectively students learn how to work as a team to solve problems and create solutions. There are many forms to speaking in school and we believe in providing frequent opportunities for each student to become self-assured, poised speakers. Summarizing current events, explaining the processes used in answering questions, reading aloud fluidly and with expression, as well as presenting projects in a public forum, are examples where students gain confidence in themselves a public speakers. The pace of life in school can be fast, but by concentrating on attentive and thoughtful listening skills, students learn more about the world around them from their classmates and teachers alike. By listening carefully and patiently to oral directions, student discussion and storytelling, for example, students appreciate the power of listening. Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and social studies as students strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas. One of the backbones of establishing a solid foundation for future school success is in laying the groundwork in study and organization skills. As part of a community where each student develops skills around cooperation, responsibility, preparation, collaboration, children learn to become contributing members of a class and school. They also grow into independent, self-assured individuals. Constructing a reliable and predictable set of study skills paves the way for deeper learning. Organizing desks, books and folders, as well as developing consistent homework, project and classwork timelines, builds confident learners. It takes a combination of skills to achieve academic success. These skills are practiced as students work on various projects throughout the year. The skills are organization, time management, prioritization, concentration, and motivation. First Grade through Fifth GradeTechnology is an integral part of the curriculum and it is integrated into the homeroom teacher’s program. Through instruction of basic skills, familiarity with various hardware sources, and projects, students gain an appreciation for and confidence in their computer skills. Learning about safe use of the Internet, students are exposed to the computer, laptop and iPad. Google programs are introduced and reinforced – email, Google Drive, and the calendar. Students will continue to learn about Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Google Chrome, and improving keyboarding skills. By leaps and bounds, students in the third grade grow as writers as they publish their own work on an increasingly sophisticated level. Students are introduced to the basic concept of paragraph writing. They learn the essential parts of a paragraph, which include main ideas, topic sentences, supporting and body sentences, and conclusions. The reading and writing programs work like hand-in-glove in developing each child’s writing. Writing about what they read and about what the teacher read to them, we provide an opportunity for students to express themselves in writing every day. It starts with a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable writing and in generating their own ideas independently. From understanding that stories need a beginning, middle and end to building a logical story line with character development, setting and plot, students gain confidence as authors of their own work. Learning about the mechanics of writing fine-tunes their work as the gain knowledge about capitalization, punctuation and formatting. Students come to appreciate the essential need revision plays in becoming great writers. One of the mainstays to a robust language arts program is its writing curriculum and with it, creating confident writers. Writing often is one of the keys to this and using a variety of styles and techniques in another. We do this with practice in writing narrative, persuasive, expository and creative writing pieces. Building a foundation of basic skills by solidifying each child’s knowledge of and familiarity with the importance of writing an essay with an introduction, supportive evidence and a concluding sentence all with proper mechanics are essential skills. Creating an energetic style within each exercise includes instruction around transition words, description language, fluid phrases, a varied sentence style allow students to develop their own unique style in writing. Research is also a part of the writing program, which includes not only finding credible and varied sources, but also citing research. Writing in fifth grade is based on a writers' workshop model. The goals of writers' workshop are to develop students’ awareness of the process and craft of writing and to increase their ownership of their writing. Teachers expose students to a variety of writing styles and aim to develop each student's unique writing voice. Students are carefully guided through the writing process, and writing lessons scaffold to allow students to build upon strategies and skills learned throughout the year. Beginning with brainstorming and planning, children learn specific conferencing and revision techniques so that they are able to share their ideas effectively with one another. Following the conference, the children proofread and edit their own work, and ultimately publish selected texts. Teachers work with individuals and small groups, discussing genre, teaching skill lessons, helping with the editing process and asking questions to provide feedback.

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Folklore and Oral Traditions Folklore and Oral Traditions FOLKLORE AND ORAL TRADITIONS Between 1870 and 1920, folklore studies in the United States blossomed. By the 1870s the analysis of Native American folklore already was in full swing, and serious interest in transplanted Old World traditions and American ethnic, regional, and occupational traditions was emerging. NATIVE AMERICAN FOLKLORE From the late 1870s through the first couple of years of the twentieth century, John Wesley Powell, head of the Bureau of American Ethnology, oversaw the publication of many of the important works on Native American folklore as annual reports of the bureau. These included A Study of Siouan Cults (1894) by James Owen Dorsey; The Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians (1898) and Myths of the Cherokee (1900) by James Mooney; Outlines of Zuñi Creation Myths (1896) by Frank Hamilton Cushing; and The Mountain Chant: A Navaho Ceremony (1887) by Washington Matthews. Daniel Garrison Brinton, who published The Lenâpé and Their Legends (1885), tried to find a home for the study of Native American folklore in American museums beginning in the 1880s. This coincided with the early activities of Franz Boas (1858–1942), who launched his career as an anthropological folklorist in 1883 by conducting field research among the Eskimos of Baffin Island. Five years later he was serving on the faculty of Clark University in Massachusetts and producing his monumental collections of folklore from the tribes of northwestern North America—some, such as Chinook Texts (1894) and Tsimshian Texts (1902), were published as annual reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Eventually Boas established a base and a method for studying Native American folklore at Columbia University, where in 1899 he began his long career as professor of anthropology. His talented students continued to carry the torch in Native American folklore studies throughout the early part of the twentieth century. Among his students who became renowned for their work in Native American folklore were Alfred Louis Kroeber, author of Indian Myths of South Central California (1907); Robert H. Lowie, who wrote Myths and Traditions of the Crow Indians (1918); and Paul Radin, author of Literary Aspects of North American Mythology (1915). It was an aim of Boas and some of his students to reconstruct Native American history and culture through oral traditions. Though published in 1929, the classic collection Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson is extremely useful for those interested in Native American oral literature between 1870 and 1920. Many of the tales in the anthology and many of the collections and studies cited in his thorough comparative notes and exhaustive bibliography fall into the period under review. Native American tales collected during this period include myths of the origin of the world and of humans; other etiological myths, including those explaining peculiarities of animals, birds, and plants; stories of tricksters and heroes; tales of journeys to other worlds, usually to the sky world; and stories of marriages between animals and humans. Native Americans also adapted folktales they borrowed from Europeans, as Thompson's eighth chapter of Tales of the North American Indians and his published dissertation, European Tales among the North American Indians (1919), show. Although Native Americans freely borrowed and adapted European tales, European settlers, save perhaps the French, did not borrow Native American oral tales. AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE Though much attention was paid to Native American folklore throughout the nineteenth century, little work was done on the folklore of other North American groups until after the Civil War, when some writers discovered African American folklore. The local color writer George Washington Cable, who published a couple of articles on Creole folksongs in Century magazine in 1886, was one of these writers. Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908), another regional writer, published an article on "Folklore of the Southern Negroes" in Lippincott's magazine in 1877. It was Harris's book Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings (1880), however, that produced the most interest in African American folklore. In all, Harris published six collections of Uncle Remus tales, including his highly regarded Told by Uncle Remus: New Stories of the Old Plantation (1905). Harris's animal tales inspired others to collect African American folklore in the United States. The publication of William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison's Slave Songs of the United States (1867) stimulated an interested in another genre of African American folklore—folksongs—that has never abated. Many African American folksongs are functional. African work songs were fresh in the minds of newly arrived slaves, and on the plantations slaves created new work songs for picking cotton, plowing, husking corn, and other jobs in the field. When slavery was abolished, African American labor groups—often working on southern chain gangs, in prisons, and in construction camps—inherited the work song tradition. Their songs helped make the back-breaking work more bearable, and the rhythm of the songs kept the workers swinging their sledgehammers and picks more effectively than the whips of overseers. African Americans sang lyrical and narrative folksongs, too. In spirituals and blues, among the best of American lyrical folksongs, they sang their feelings. Though spirituals are religious and sung in groups and blues are secular and performed by individuals, both often express the same general feelings of bitterness and a desire to escape, sometimes employing the train as a symbol of getting away from unpleasant situations. From the southern fields, African Americans moved to cities after the Civil War, hoping for freedom but often finding a different kind of servitude in city slums, where crime frequently provided the only means of making a living; consequently, many African American ballads deal with crime and often with murder. While white Americans sang of Jesse James, Sam Bass, and Billy the Kid, black Americans sang of Stagolee, Bill Brady, and John Hardy, with some of their ballads being historical. The ballad "John Hardy," for example, is based on a real event. On 19 January 1894, John Hardy was executed at Welch, West Virginia, for killing a fellow miner in a crap-game dispute over twenty-five cents. It was not a bad man, though, who inspired one of the great African American ballads but a hard-working, steel-driving man named John Henry, who died "with his hammer in his hand." The exact origin of "John Henry" will never be known, but it is thought that the John Henry legend got started around 1870 during the construction of the Big Bend Tunnel on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. Whatever the origin, African Americans have largely been responsible for the preservation and diffusion of songs and stories about John Henry, and every state in the South claims him. REGIONAL AMERICAN FOLKLORE Between the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century, regional folklore was best preserved by regional realists or local color writers. Representative of these authors was Rowland E. Robinson (1833–1900), a Vermont farmer, sports enthusiast, and illustrator who did not begin to write until after middle age, when his sight began failing. He wrote most of his stories and nature essays after he was blind. Robinson had a lifelong interest in the oral traditions of his region. While hiking, hunting, fishing, trapping, and sketching in the vicinity of his Ferrisburgh home, he encountered a wide variety of Vermont folk traditions. In realistic stories such as Uncle Lisha's Shop: Life in a Corner of Yankeeland (1887), Sam Lovel's Camps: Uncle Lisha's Friends under Bark and Canvas (1889), Uncle Lisha's Outing (1897), A Hero of Ticonderoga (1898), and A Danvis Pioneer (1900), Robinson drew upon nearly every form of folklife, including speech, proverbs, riddles, rhymes, games, beliefs, cures, songs, tales, customs, arts, crafts, and architecture. What is more, utilizing the frame device, he presents this lore in authentically reconstructed social and physical contexts. Because his main purpose for writing stories, as he points out in his author's note in Danvis Folks (1900), was to preserve folklore and because he was interested in context as well as in texts, his writings offer a literary ethnography of nineteenth-century Vermont folklife. In the Midwest, the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) grew up at a time when the nation was making a transition from agrarianism to industrialism. Throughout his life he always looked back with nostalgia on his boyhood days in an Indiana village, as he suggests in one of his sentimental poems, "The Old Times Were the Best." Riley, like other regional writers, was selective in his use of folklore and altered and adapted the material to suit his purpose. But like Robinson, Riley consciously preserved folklore and believed that the creative writer who draws upon folklife should be faithful in his or her presentation. In "Dialect in Literature" (1892), for example, he says "the true interpreter" of common life should permit "his rustic characters to think, talk, act and live, just as nature designed them. He does not make the pitiable error of either patronizing or making fun of them. He knows them and he loves them" (pp. 2682–2683). Although Riley is remembered for his poetry and not for his prose, his prose sketches, especially, indicate his thorough use of proverbs, superstitions, games, tales, songs, material culture, and customs. His work is also remarkable for its accurate transcription of regional speech. One value of his writings, as those of other regional authors of the period, is that they preserve a picture of folk practices from a time when no systematic field collections were made. Many regional writers were inspired by tall tales—humorous narratives of lying and exaggeration—which were especially popular on the American frontier among hunters, fishermen, farmers, and river men, as the tales frequently deal with hunting, fishing, rough weather, fertile soil, big crops, and fabulous animals. Many tall tales deal with the legendary logger Paul Bunyan. As Daniel Hoffman shows in Paul Bunyan: Last of the Frontier Demigods (1952), this figure quickly passed from a folk hero of lumberjacks celebrated for his sexual prowess to a mass-culture hero found mainly in advertising and children's literature. Printed texts of Bunyan's exploits, however, fail to capture the tall tale's art, which, as Mark Twain suggests in "How to Tell a Story" (1897), lies in its manner of telling, not especially in its content. Twain (1835–1910) cites an old tale, "The Wounded Soldier," as told by James Whitcomb Riley in the character of an old farmer, to illustrate what he means. For his retelling of the tale, Riley, like Robinson, re-created a context of performance. This, according to Twain, is what makes Riley's treatment of the tale effective. In suggesting the importance of context and performance in oral storytelling, Twain predated the social scientists' interests in contextual folklore studies by at least forty years. Twain, himself, made good use of southwestern tall tales in his first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1867), and also in Roughing It (1872). Some of his later works, such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade) (1885), are storehouses of all kinds of regional American folklore. THE AMERICAN FOLKLORE SOCIETY Twain, in fact, along with his friends Joel Chandler Harris and the Indiana writer Edward Eggleston (1837–1902), were charter members of the American Folklore Society when it was founded in 1888. The goals of the society, enumerated in the first issue of the Journal of American Folk-Lore, involved collecting "the fast-vanishing remains of Folk-Lore in America." This included English "ballads, tales, superstitions, dialect, etc."; folklore of "Negroes in the Southern States of the Union"; folklore of "the Indian Tribes of North America (myths, tales, etc.)"; and folklore of "French Canada, Mexico, etc." (Journal of American Folk-Lore, p. 3). Though the founders' notion of "fast-vanishing" traditions has proven false, their emphasis on English and other European folklore in the United States, African American folklore, and Native American folklore echoed the early research in American oral traditions and set the stage for folklore studies in the United States during the last part of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. A prime mover among the founders of the society was William Wells Newell, who published Games and Songs of American Children (1883), the earliest annotated compilation of children's folklore in the United States. A forgotten founding member of the society, mainly because he wrote in German, was Karl Knortz, a prolific early collector of all kinds of folklore, including customs, beliefs, legends, games, riddles, rhymes, and proverbs. Francis James Child, first president of the American Folklore Society, made British ballads his life's work but did not do any fieldwork in the United States; however, at Harvard he trained several notable American folklorists, including George Lyman Kittredge (1860–1941). While Kittredge continued Child's work on British ballads, he enlarged his range of folklore interests to include tales, beliefs, proverbs, European folklore in America, and folklore in ancient and medieval literature. What is more, he trained at least half of the American folklorists, including Stith Thompson, active in the first half of the twentieth century. Another of Kittredge's students was John Avery Lomax, who since childhood had been collecting cowboy songs in Texas. Kittredge recognized the importance of these songs and was instrumental in securing for Lomax three summer Sheldon Fellowships from Harvard to collect more cowboy songs in western states, resulting in the publication of Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910), one of the early collections of cowboy songs. It had an enormous impact on the study of occupational folklore in the United States. AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL FOLKLORE As a matter of fact, many American oral traditions from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were collected from occupational groups. In addition to cowboys, these included loggers, sailors, miners, railroaders, oil drillers, and steelworkers. The heyday of the cattle drive, documented in Andy Adams's Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (1903), occurred during the 1870s and 1880s. Adams (1859–1935) spent twelve years in the saddle, mainly herding horses, not cows, though he did herd cattle at least once. The realistic Log accurately depicts the life of the cowboy on a drive of three thousand cows and four hundred horses from Texas to Montana in 1882, emphasizing the long hours, hard work, difficult terrain, inevitable stampedes, and predictable skirmishes with rustlers and Native Americans. Though Adams's book is fiction, his intimate knowledge of cowboy life equipped him to depict the cowboy as an occupational figure and present a more accurate picture of the cowboy than most plays, novels, and films dealing with the mythical or idealized cowboy. Adams is especially good at re-creating storytelling sessions around the campfire, even providing texts of some tales, but he also includes cowboy songs, beliefs, and sayings. Most early compilers of cowboy lore, however, focused only on songs. An early example is Songs of the Cowboys (1908) by N. Howard "Jack" Thorp (1867–1940), which includes versions of "Little Joe the Wrangler" and other familiar cowboy tunes. Cowboy songs tell a lot about the occupation. "The Buffalo Skinners" tells of hardships on the buffalo range, "Git Along, Little Dogies" deals with the cattle, "I Ride an Old Paint" celebrates the horse, "The Old Chisholm Trail" describes a trail drive, and other songs deal with branding, roping, and night herding. The logging industry began in Maine and passed through Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota on its way to Washington and Oregon, taking with it a body of oral traditions and place names. Historically, no other country experienced such an intensive and prolonged period of logging. Franz Rickaby, in Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy (1926), called this era the "Golden Age of American Lumbering" (p. vii), and he sets its dates as 1870 to 1900. Rickaby—who collected songs from loggers who worked in the woods of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota during this period—claimed that no group celebrated itself in folksongs more than the lumberjack. Though many of the tunes of lumberjack songs were borrowed from Irish street ballads, the texts were unique. The songs celebrated cutting trees; hauling, rolling, and driving logs; breaking logjams; and the romance between a logger and a town girl, often ending in tragedy. Loggers preserved all kinds of songs, though, including some not dealing with their occupation. This resulted from the fact that they came from a variety of ethnic and occupational backgrounds and did not have much else to do to while away their time in the lumber camps except play checkers, tell tales, and sing songs like "Lost Jimmie Whalen," "The Banks of Gaspereaux," "The Jam on Gerry's Rock," "The Little Brown Bulls," and "Canada I. O." In parts of the United States mining was an important occupation that produced a body of folklore, especially stories and songs but also speech, beliefs, naming, and other traditions. Coal miners generated most of the mining lore since more Americans worked in coal mining than in lead, gold, silver, or copper mining. Coal miners' songs are especially important for historical and sociological interests, for unlike the songs of cowboys and lumberjacks, coal-mining songs represent mass protest. In their songs there is a growing passion for unionism that does not appear in the songs of most other early occupational groups. Miners' songs tell of greedy bosses, long hours, dangerous work, poor working conditions, and disasters. In addition, miners lived with their families close to the shafts, so miners' songs reveal a domestic life that does not appear in the songs of lumberjacks and cowboys. George Korson published two important books—Minstrels of the Mine Patch: Songs and Stories of the Anthracite Industry (1938) and Coal Dust on the Fiddle: Songs and Stories of the Bituminous Industry (1943)—on mining folklore. Although published after 1920, many of the traditions Korson reports date from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Ore boats on the Great Lakes and steamboats on the big rivers generated all kinds of folklore, too, including tall tales. Along the big rivers comic legends were told of steamboat and keelboat pilots, especially Mike Fink, hero of the boatmen. A Treasury of Mississippi River Folklore: Stories, Ballads, Traditions, and Folkways of the Mid-American River Country (1955) by B. A. Botkin provides broad coverage of Mississippi River folklore. What Korson did for mining folklore, the Texas folklorist Mody C. Boatright did for oil field workers in a couple of books, including an excellent one on Gib Morgan, an oil-driller hero who told fabulous tales about himself that other drillers later retold. Following the Civil War, the fast-developing railroad industry produced another body of occupational lore, including a ballad about a brave engineer, John Luther "Casey" Jones, who in 1900 "died with the throttle in his right hand." Such tales follow a familiar pattern in American occupational folklore, for countless cowboys, loggers, miners, and railroaders get killed performing their jobs in American ballads. Another example comes from the steel industry, where there is a legend about a worker who fell into a furnace and came out in an ingot. BRITISH BALLADS IN THE UNITED STATES After World War I, there was renewed interest in regional folklore, especially ballads and folksongs, largely because of Cecil Sharp's fieldwork in Appalachia between 1916 and 1918. At the encouragement of Olive Dame Campbell, who began collecting folksongs in the Southern Highlands in 1908, Sharp, a native of England who was an experienced collector of folksongs, spent forty-six weeks collecting surviving British ballads and other folksongs in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Accompanied by an assistant, Maud Karpeles, he found a rich folksong tradition—collecting about 35 songs a week, a total of 1,612 songs with tunes, one of the largest and best collections of folk music from the United States. The efforts of Campbell, Sharp, and Karpeles not only inspired other folklorists to collect ballads and songs in other regions of the United States, they forever identified Appalachia as the region most closely linked with American folklore. Adams, Andy. The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of Old TrailDays. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1903. Journal of American Folk-Lore 1, no. 1 (April–June 1888). Rickaby, Franz. Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1926. Riley, James Whitcomb. The Complete Works of JamesWhitcomb Riley. Vol. 10. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1916. Robinson, Rowland E. Works of Rowland E. Robinson. 7 vols. Edited by Llewellyn R. Perkins. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle, 1934–1938. Thompson, Stith. European Tales among the North AmericanIndians: A Study in the Migration of Folk-tales. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Board of Trustees of Colorado College, [1919?]. Thompson, Stith. Tales of the North American Indians. 1929. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966. Twain, Mark. Selected Shorter Writings of Mark Twain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. Dorson, Richard M. America in Legend: Folklore from theColonial Period to the Present. New York: Pantheon Books, 1973. Dorson, Richard M. American Folklore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959. Johnson, Guy B. John Henry: Tracking Down a NegroLegend. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1929. Korson, George, ed. Pennsylvania Songs and Legends. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1949. Laws, G. Malcolm, Jr. Native American Balladry: A DescriptiveStudy and a Bibliographical Syllabus. Philadelphia: American Folklore Society, 1964. Leach, MacEdward. "Folklore in American Regional Literature." Journal of the Folklore Institute 3 (December 1966): 378–397. Lomax, John. "Self-Pity in Negro Folk-Songs." The Nation, 9 August 1917, pp. 141–145. Ronald L. Baker

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This post was first published in 2017. It was updated in March, 2019. Technology is changing the way we live, work, and learn. The lines between our online and offline worlds continue to merge and blur. This is exciting! It means students can be more empowered than ever before to connect, create, grow, and make the world a better place. Of course, as our world becomes increasingly digital, our challenges, rights, and responsibilities are changing too. Teaching students about digital citizenship and internet safety is more important than ever. This post breaks down the theory of digital citizenship and offers practical tips that you can use in your classroom tomorrow, whatever your level of experience. Scroll down to find a set of 11 summary posters. How Can I Teach This Subject? Feeling daunted by the thought of teaching students how to be safe online? There’s no need to be. You don’t need to be an expert to help your students become safe, responsible, and productive users of technology. Adults play a crucial role in guiding young people to navigate life offline and online. You can make more of a difference than you might know! Digital Citizenship? Internet Safety? Cyber Safety? Not so long ago, our school “internet safety” programs were pretty narrow. We’d talk about “cyber safety” or “cyberbullying” without exploring the broad range of important concepts associated with using technology. Because we’re now using technology differently and more immersively, there are many important concepts that need to be explored. These concepts are defined as coming under the umbrella of digital citizenship. What is digital citizenship? This term has evolved and become more well-known in recent years. Many years ago Mike Ribble described 9 elements to digital citizenship, which he called, “The norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use.” ISTE now tells us that, “digital citizens are learners who use their technology-driven powers conscientiously — and with empathy — to help make the world a better place.” They divide digital citizenship into three spheres: Digital Agent, Digital Interactor, and Digital Self. Common Sense Education describes digital citizenship simply as, “the responsible use of technology to learn, create, and participate”. Common Sense Education’s lesson resources for digital citizenship are now divided into these six topics: - Media balance and wellbeing - Privacy and security - Digital footprint and identity - Relationships and communication - Cyberbullying, digital drama, and hate speech - News and media literacy I like to think that being a “good digital citizen” is similar to being a “good citizen” in general — just with the addition of technology! Why is digital citizenship so important? Just like in the offline world, we want our students to be safe, secure, happy, kind, and ethical online. Students don’t always have the life experience or brain development to navigate digital dilemmas or use technology safely and effectively. So, like many other areas of life, they need guidance from trusted adults, including teachers and family members. Even if students are not online very much during the school day (or online on “protected platforms”), many begin connecting, sharing, creating, and viewing as soon as they step out of the classroom. As educators, we can’t ignore this fact or waste the opportunity to tap into students’ interests and lives, and help steer them in the right direction. How Do You Teach Digital Citizenship? All teachers want the best for their students, but many educators feel like they don’t have the skills or confidence to include digital citizenship in their curriculum. This can be one area where teachers are afraid that their students know more than they do. The good news is, you don’t need to be an expert. You just need to be willing to listen, talk, and learn. A Teaching Approach Beyond “Dos and Dont’s” We live in a digital world where we can’t avoid using technology. And why would we want to? The amazing potential to connect, learn, and create shouldn’t be avoided. So, we obviously don’t want to either block technology or create an atmosphere of fear. With technology use comes a responsibility to put digital citizenship education on the agenda. But what is the best approach for teaching about digital citizenship? I don’t think providing students with a list of dos and don’ts around digital citizenship and cyber safety is powerful enough. I do think it’s a good start and I have created a series of posters with this blog post as handy reminders to use in your classroom. However, I believe the topic has the most impact when the following four areas are covered: - INTEGRATION: Digital citizenship is embedded into the curriculum in an ongoing and authentic way. - STORYTELLING: Students are presented with “real-life” scenarios to consider, discuss, and learn from. - STRATEGIES: Practical strategies are taught so students build a toolkit of actionable ideas and skills. - COMMUNITY: Messages from parents and educators overlap and there is ongoing communication. Let’s take a look at each layer… 1) INTEGRATION: Gain real world experience “Okay students, put away your maths equipment; it’s time for reading.” “Art class is over now; it’s time to head to sport.” In the traditional curriculum, a lot of subjects are seen as separate areas. Digital citizenship is not like this. Some standalone lessons can certainly be useful, but I strongly believe elements of digital citizenship need to be weaved into the curriculum frequently and authentically. I have always found blogging to be an excellent way to teach students about being responsible digital citizens and members of online communities. Of course, blogging is not the only tool that can be used to promote positive internet behaviours. Many online platforms can be used as vehicles to drive messages about digital citizenship. This will be especially powerful when those tools or platforms are open to the public. In Ross Cooper’s discussion of closed platforms, he wisely states, We’d be a bit hypocritical by first declaring, “Digital citizenship is important; let’s practice it!” and then saying, “Use this, because we don’t want you to experience what’s out there.” I’ve always been an advocate for public classroom blogs but they’re not for everyone. In 2018, I published an article about the pros and cons of public blogs. It’s not a black and white issue but it’s worth considering how you can incorporate some authentic, public experiences into your classroom program, even if it’s heavily moderated and teacher-controlled initially. 2) STORYTELLING: Discuss scenarios and real-life situations Lecturing students about dos and don’ts isn’t enough for digital citizenship messages to have an impact. We all know the power of storytelling. Sometimes messages can seem abstract or less important when delivered as simple statements or advice. For example, you might hear facts and statistics about sufferings in war-torn countries that you barely pay attention to, but when you read or watch a story about real people you may feel deeply impacted. Furthermore, if you were to hear someone’s story in real life, you may feel even more moved and transformed. Stories can stay in your memory and leave a lasting impact. Stories, scenarios, and real-life situations involving digital dilemmas are ideal for classroom use. Students can relate and reflect on issues, and may even feel comfortable sharing their own experiences. There are a number of places online where either videos or written scenarios are published. These can be ideal prompts for discussions, responses, reflections, or role plays. Check out my Pinterest board for a collection of digital citizenship scenarios. Please let me know if you have anything to add! 3) STRATEGIES: Build a practical toolkit Apart from teaching students what we should not do, we need to equip them with practical strategies so they know what to do instead. - You can’t use any image off Google to illustrate your digital work, so we need to teach students about using Creative Commons. - We don’t want students sharing their YAPPY (personal) information online, so we need to help them generate ideas of safer information to share with others in their online communications. Brainstorm nicknames, safe topics to talk about and so on. - We don’t want students creating short passwords with identifiable information, so we need to help them understand what a strong passphrase is. - We don’t want students accessing inappropriate content, so we need to teach them what to do if they come across a website that doesn’t look safe or appropriate (e.g. closing tabs, telling adults, not clicking on random links etc). - We don’t want students to leave a negative digital footprint, so we need to teach them about creating a positive online presence. Having no digital footprint at all probably isn’t the answer. Many of these ideas can be mini-lessons that are touched on as part of your regular curriculum. 4) COMMUNITY: Involve families Research tells us that family participation in schooling is one of the biggest predictors of a child’s success. When schools and families work together there can be positive outcomes for all. Digital citizenship education is no different. We need to bring parents into the conversations we are having in our classrooms. Digital citizenship education should be a community effort. The impact will be more powerful when students have multiple trusted adults they can discuss issues with, and when they’re hearing the same messages reinforced from both home and school. This can create a holistic approach where everyone can feel supported and involved. LEARN MORE: Check out this post with lots of information and tips about involving parents in your digital citizenship education. There’s even a poster to distribute to parents or display on your school website. 10 Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety Tips for Students The following is certainly not an exhaustive list but are key messages that I believe all students should be aware of. Scroll down to find a set of 11 posters to print or embed on your blog! 1) CHECK LAWS Many sites have age restrictions and you’re not allowed to sign up for an account if you’re not old enough (e.g. Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Musical.ly etc.). Often these age restrictions are 13+ or 18+. An adult can help you check in the terms and conditions on the website if you’re not sure. Most of the images, text, and videos you find online are protected by copyright unless stated otherwise. This means you can’t reuse them. For example, you can’t take an image you find off Google Images and put it in your website or project. There are some sites where you can find free content to use. Read more about that there. Talk to your parents about what you’re doing online and let them know when you’re going on the internet. If anything you see online makes you feel uncomfortable, worried, sad, or unsure, leave the site and talk to a trusted adult. Don’t add people as online friends unless you know them in real life or have parent permission. Never arrange to meet an online friend without talking to a parent. Don’t send personal information or photographs to an online friend. Never send private photos or videos of yourself to anyone (whether you know them in real life or not). Remember, you can’t trust everything online friends tell you. Anyone can pretend to be anyone on the web. Keep your personal information private online. YAPPY is a useful acronym to help you remember the personal information you should not share online… - Your full name - Address (including your home address, email address, and school name/address) - Phone number - Your plans and birthday Don’t publish this information or provide it in response to questions in emails, private messages, chat rooms, or forums. Even if you think these are private. Protect your digital footprint and don’t publish anything online that you wouldn’t want all your friends, family, teachers, and future employers to see. You can read more about digital footprints and explore a poster with 10 tips in this post. You cannot believe everything you read or see online. Publishing online is easier than ever so there is a lot of inaccurate or biased information out there. When you come across information, question who wrote the message and why it was created. Find more advice about evaluating websites here. Know what cyberbullying is and tell someone if you think it’s happening to you or others. Cyberbullying is when someone picks on you, annoys, embarrasses, hurts, or threatens you repeatedly using technology, such as the internet or a phone. There are things adults can do to deal with cyberbullying or inappropriate online behaviour: - Talk to your school - Report the abuse to the social media platform - Don’t delete the content until it’s dealt with. Collect your evidence - Report the behaviour to a government organisation (for example, eSafety Office in Australia) 8) ACCOUNTS, PASSWORDS, AND USERNAMES Think carefully when choosing your username for your online accounts and email address: - You don’t want to choose anything that identifies your full name or personal information. - You also don’t want to choose a silly or funny username or email address. You might regret this later when you’re connecting with teachers or applying for a job. Being a digital citizen means you’ll need to have a lot of passwords. Tempting as it is, avoid using the same password for all your accounts. You need to use a password that you can remember but is not easy to guess. One strategy is to use a modified passphrase. Here’s some advice on creating a passphrase I wrote for The Edublogger: - Come up with four or more words such as mysterious triangle bingo nurse - Avoid using personal information or well-known quotes or song lyrics (these can be easily guessed) - Add some uppercase letters, symbols, or numbers if you wish eg. #MYsteriousTr1angle=Bin.go.nur5e - Avoid making the passphrase too complex when you add the punctuation and numbers. It’s important that you can still remember it! It’s extremely important that you never share passwords with others. Even your best friends! Be polite and respectful online just as you would be offline. Always treat others the way you like to be treated. Before posting, ask yourself: - Would you say that to someone’s face? - Could someone take your message the wrong way? - How would you feel if someone said that to you? Life is all about balance. It’s not good for our health and wellbeing to be online all the time. Balance screen time with green time. Get outdoors, move, play, and interact face-to-face. Don’t let life pass you by! Posters: 10 Tips for Students Here are 11 posters summarising the digital citizenship and internet safety tips. I hope these are useful to use in your classroom! Click here to download a PDF copy. A lot of these ideas come down to “think before you post”. - Slow down and think about your choices. - Talk to someone about your dilemma before posting or acting. - Your initial response might not be the best one. Useful Resources and Lesson Ideas There are many digital citizenship resources available online for educators, parents, and students. The following sites are particularly useful, and I have also curated more on a Pinterest board. A very comprehensive US non-profit organization with resources, information, and advice. They’ve recently updated their digital citizenship resources and there are lots of lesson ideas you can use with all age groups. An Australian government site with lots of resources for educators, parents, and children. Also includes a complaints service. The classroom resources section has helpful multimedia and lesson plans for primary and secondary school educators. Resources such as videos, games, and presentations for children, educators, parents, and law enforcement. This is a US site run by National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The teaching resources section has some useful lesson plans, presentations, and tip sheets. You do need to register for a free account to access these. Google’s digital citizenship program. It includes games, curriculum, and courses for teachers and students to learn about navigating the online world safely and responsibly. Another useful discussion starter from Google for older students (or staff) is their Phishing Quiz (phishing is an attempt to trick you into giving personal information by pretending to be someone you know or recognise). Final Thoughts: Start early, don’t stop, involve others Digital citizenship is a topic that’s important for all ages. Common Sense Media reports that children are accessing devices and the internet at increasingly younger ages, well before coming to school. The amount of time young people are spending on screens is also increasing to a significant amount — about 6 hours a day for tweens and 9 hours a day for teens. Along with learning about opportunities, children need to learn about the responsibilities that come with using technology. When students develop habits and behaviours without guidance, problems are sure to occur. My hope is that teaching students some key messages from a young age will help them navigate their way safely through the online world as they grow older. While it’s unlikely young people will never experience an issue online, I believe it is a good aim to both minimise potential harm and ensure students feel like they always have someone to talk to. Digital citizenship education is an ongoing process, and the work of one teacher is not enough. Ideally, we need parents, students, educators, community members, and school leaders to unite. Most of all, we need to create a positive culture where students feel empowered to use technology safely and purposefully. As ISTE tells us, Respect, education and protection are still important foundations of digital citizenship, but today’s digital learners also need to understand the power they have to advocate, collaborate and drive change through technology. Leave a Comment What other ideas or tips would you add? How do you teach digital citizenship in your classroom or school? Scroll down to find the comment box. I’d love to hear from you. Let’s Stay in Touch! If you haven’t already signed up for my email newsletter, maybe you’d like to? My newsletter showcases the blog posts I’ve written and I also share other useful links, tips, or resources I’ve come across. When you sign up, you’ll also get instant access to my two eBooks. - The first one explains a straightforward 5 step process for teaching students how to research and filter information. - The second eBook simplifies the topic of free images, copyright, and Creative Commons. These are both suitable for primary and secondary teachers and include a selection of classroom posters. Fill out the form below or simply click here to find the sign up form in your browser. Of course, there is no pressure and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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The history of Cambodian culture and art stretches back centuries to ancient pottery, silk/ basket weaving, and stone carving. The height of Khmer art occurred during the Angkor period; much of the era’s stone carving and architecture survive to the present. In ancient times, art and crafts were generally produced either by rural non-specialists for practical use or by skilled artists producing works for the Royal Palace. In modern times, Cambodian culture and art have been carefully considered as the tourist market has increased and governments and NGOs have contributed to the preservation of Cambodian culture. The Cambodian produce many hand-made items including rattan furniture, intricate stone and wood carvings, colorful woven mats and baskets, and a variety of silver and silk ware. Many of these items are used regularly in the daily lives of the Cambodian people. You can readily witness master artisans at work and purchase such gifts in markets and specialty shops throughout the Phnom Penh Capital, Siem Reap Province, Preah Sihanouk Province, and other potential provinces of Cambodia. - Cambodian Dancing The Cambodian dancing comes into three categories, namely classical dance that is performed in the royal courts and at cultural festivals, folk dance that portrays everyday life, and vernacular dance which is performed for social functions. 1.1. Khmer Classical Dance or Cambodian Royal Ballet (Declared “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO on 7 November 2003) The Khmer Classical Dance, also known as the Cambodian Royal Ballet, was originally performed only for royalty, but now is also held for dignitaries and the public at major official festivals and at theaters. It is called “Rabam Preah Reachea Troap” in the Khmer language, which means the dance of royal property. The classical dance, playing a significant role in Khmer literature, encompasses Apsara, Tep Monorom, Sovann Machha, Moni Mekhala, Makara, Neary Cheachuor, Phuong Neary, etc. - Apsara Dance Involving a fragment of the Ramayana “the ancient Indian epic”, the Apsara Dance has had its roots in Hindu animism since the 1st century. During the Angkor era (the reigns of King Jayavarman II to VII), this dance took on its own unique form, graceful movements, and deep meaning. By the 13th century, it was the typical Khmer than the Indian. The images of wanton dancers, adorned with gold headdresses and silken tunics and skirts, were carved on the walls of Angkor Temple and many other temples. Three thousands of Apsara images were found on the walls of the 12th-century court of King Jayavarman VII. Over the centuries, classical Khmer dancing lent its influence to the classical ballet of the neighboring countries. Some of its postures and movements are similar to other Southeast Asian dancing. However, Princess Bopha Devi said, “The Khmer kingdom started its cultural tradition in the 8th century, 500 years before Thailand.” Based on Khmer mythology on bas-relief on the walls of the Angkor Temple, all of Apsara dancers “heavenly women” were born from the foam surface of the ocean of milk when Devoda (heavenly beings) and Assura (demons) churned the ocean of milk with the gigantic Naga in search for the elixir of immortality. This dance portrays Mera dressed in white for purity, dancing in her garden. She is accompanied by her handmaidens “Apsara”. They all produce flowers expressing great love of the people and the country. The Apsara Dance is deemed to be a main part of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, which was declared “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO on 7 November 2003, and it is particularly valued as a national art treasure. - Tep Monorom Dance or Happiness Dance of the Gods The Tep Monorom Dance typifies all the grace, elegance, beauty and refinement that define the Cambodian classical dance repertoire. It reflects the highly formalized and ritualistic relationships between male and female gods. The dancers portray the Cambodian gods and goddesses of antiquity descending from the heaven and enveloping the earthly realm in happiness and joy. The mannerisms of the gods are adopted as part of the Cambodian court ritual and as an artistic courtship ritual. - Sovann Machha Dance or Golden Mermaid Dance Sovann Machha Dance is a short scene of the classical ballet, actually excerpted from a famous Cambodian legend called Reamkér (Ramayana), on the episode of King Ream mobilizing monkey forces to build a stone bridge to liberate Neang Sita who had been captured by Rahwana, the giant king of Lanka. In this dance, Hanuman, the white monkey general, led an army of monkeys to build a bridge across the ocean to rescue the captive princess. As they piled up stones for the bridge, the stones mysteriously disappeared. Hanuman dived into the sea to investigate and discovered a beautiful golden mermaid, named Sovann Machha, who had ordered shoals of fish as her entourage to bring out the stones obstructing their traffic. When he saw her, he fell in love with her and soothed her. With his clairvoyance, Hanuman persuaded her to order shoals of fish to transport stones to rebuild the bridge, leaving an appropriate passage in the center to let her and her entourage go through. After they rebuilt the bridge successfully, he disguised himself as big to fill that passage and ordered his army to cross this bridge to fight against the enemies. He eventually defeated Rahwana and liberated the princess. - Moni Mekhala Dance or Moni Mekhala Drama Moni Mekhala Dance, or Moni Mekhala Drama, is the story involving two of the Cambodian deities, Moni Mekhala (Goddess of Water) and Ream Eysor (Storm Spirit). These two have been engaged in a celestial contest of wills as the Storm Spirit tries to steal a magic crystal ball from the Water Goddess, the source of her enormous power. At first, the Storm Spirit tries to beguile Moni Mekhala with flattery and charm. The Water Goddess will not have any of it. Wise to the ways of the Storm Spirit, she rejects his advances and makes a mockery of his efforts. This enrages the Storm Spirit and the battle is joined. As he advances toward the goddess, Eysor brandishes his magic axe. With precision and grace, the goddess counters him by displaying her crystal ball, by blinding the Storm Spirit, and by staggering him. Frustrated by one repulse after another, the Storm Spirit is forced to concede defeat and withdraw, muttering that he will seek his revenge another time. According to the popular Cambodian legend, the thunderstorm is all that we mortals are allowed to see of this recurrent battle in the heaven, with lightning representing Moni Mekhala’s crystal ball and thunder representing the Storm Spirit’s magic axe clattering across the heaven as it slips from his nervous fingers. This dance is said to symbolize the victory of virtue over seduction. The Moni Mekhala drama represents Cambodian storytelling at its best. - Makara Dance or Mkor Dance Makara Dance, or Mkor Dance, is one of the great sacred dances of the court repertoire relevant to the domain of gods, symbolizing water, earth, fire, and wind. It is performed to remind us of the victory of the Khmer Navy during the Angkor period. Annually, this dance is performed for His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Baromneath Norodom Sihamoni, the King of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Samdech Preah Maha Ksatrei Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, Cambodian Queen-Mother with Freedom, Dignity and Happiness, at the royal banquet in the Chann Chhaya Pavilion during the final day of the Water Festival. As regards the above-mentioned dance, Mkor is an aquatic creature symbolizing bliss. Mkor in full regalia opens its mouth and bites a crystal ball to please the eyes of all on-lookers. - Neary Cheachuor Dance Neary Cheachuor Dance is a Khmer classical dance describing the beauty of young women in their elegant costumes. This dance reminds the Khmer people of the rich culture that has been kept and nourished through generations, and it is well known among the neighboring countries. - Phuong Neary Dance The Phuong Neary Dance accompanied by the music and the melodic song admirably describes the great beauty of a Khmer woman compared to a golden flower. Although she is practical and strong, she is admirable and soft. - Fan Dance The Fan Dance is performed to represent Indra’s blessing and to express best wishes to Khmer sovereigns and their people. - Seven-Day Color Fashion Show It shows seven beautiful Cambodian women dressed in vibrant color Phamuong for seven days of the week: Sunday – Red, Monday – Yellow-Orange, Tuesday – Purple, Wednesday – Mustard-Green, Thursday – Green, Friday – Blue, and Saturday – Burgundy. On special occasions, the Cambodian people believe that choosing the right color of clothes in accordance with the color chart will bring good luck and happiness. 1.2. Folk Dance The folk dance here refers to a performing art, which is performed for an audience. This dance is fast-paced. The movements and gestures are not as stylized as the Khmer classical dance. The folk dance comes into two forms: ceremonial and theatrical. Generally, the theatrical folk dance is presented in public performances, and the ceremonial folk dance is reserved for particular rituals, celebrations and holidays. The theatrical folk dance, such as the popular Harvest Dance and the romantic Fishing Dance, is usually inspired by rural life and practices of hill tribes, farmers, and peasants. Some folk dances are about love, or are folktales about animals. The folk dance music is played by a Mahori orchestra, which is similar to a Pinpeat orchestra except that it contains many stringed and plucked instruments and a type of flute in place of the Sralai (an oboe-like instrument). - Peacock Dance The Peacock Dance shows a courting scene between a peacock and a peahen, representing happiness and prosperity of the Pailin province of Cambodia. During the Khmer New Year and other festivals, this dance is performed to show the Kola people’s tradition and their exploitation of precious gems in Pailin Province. - Buffalo Sacrifice Dance The Buffalo Sacrifice Dance is inspired by rural life and practices of Phnorng hill tribes living in Rattanak Kiri and Mondul Kiri provinces located in the northeastern part of Cambodia. A buffalo sacrifice is to express their gratitude to tutelary spirits for blessing their crops. They drink rice wine and dance around the jar as a libation for perfect harmony and supernatural power. - Fishing Dance The Fishing Dance is a dance symbolizing love and romance of the young people in a fishing quarter. Love and romance are favorite themes in Khmer stories and dance. In the traditional Cambodian society, young people are carefully watched and do not have many opportunities to get to know one another. However, the fishing quarter is one place where they have the chance to meet. - Cardamom-Picking Dance The Cardamom-Picking Dance is performed to show livelihood of the Poar people inhabiting the highland in Pursat Province, Cambodia. Their farming includes growing teas, picking cardamoms, harvesting fruits, and extracting sap. - Coconut Shell Dance The Coconut Shell Dance is <a Khmer traditional dancing with dancers knocking coconut shells together to sound sweet. It is truly held to mark the harvest season in Cambodia and to show a close romantic relationship between young men and women during the harvest. - Pestle Dance The Pestle Dance has originated from the ethnic minority, Kuoy, who have derived the dance style from their daily life activities. It is usually performed during the Khmer New Year and during the post-riceharvest time. Phloy is a gourd-shaped wind instrument the ethnic groups always use and preserve. Originating in Kampong Speu Province of Cambodia, the Phloy Dance is a kind of folk dance with dancers blowing Phloys. This dance is performed to commemorate the origin of time and the myth of the eternal return. It is associated with legends from India to Southeast Asia. - Butterfly Dance The Butterfly Dance illustrates a story of bug busters working diligently to maintain the garden and keeping unwanted bugs away. At the same time, a group of young female butterflies is flying, singing, and looking for pollen to extract in the garden. To their surprise, the butterflies are quietly caught by the bug busters. They try to convince the bug busters to release them by claiming they were just beautifying the garden. - Mantis Dance The Mantis Dance has originated in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia. This dance imitates a mantis’s gesture. During the dance, the dancers beat coconut shells to produce an attractive sound. Each dancer uses three pairs of coconut shells, one pair in hands, one pair on the elbows and another pair on the knees. It is performed during Khmer ceremonies to show happiness and prosperity nationwide. - Kantèrè Dance The Kantèrè Dance is a traditional Khmer dance representing ancient Khmer civilization. Once upon a time, there was a daughter of Neak Sachaing named “Kantèrè”. One day, she was bored and decided to pass time under a tree with her two tiger-followers. While Kantèrè was dancing, two tigers tapped their feet in rhythms. She was dancing while caressing the tigers to the left and to the right. That time, a hunter observed the scene and reported to the king. The king ordered the followers to invite her to perform for him. Since then, it has become a traditional Khmer dance. - Kèn Dance The Kèn Dance has originated in the northeast province of Cambodia. It is traditionally performed when the Cambodian gather to celebrate the Khmer New Year. Like many Cambodian folk dances, the Kèn dance has a courtship theme. Many of the young men in this part of the country play a mouth organ called “Kèn” made of strips of bamboo and decorated with flowers. The dance demonstrates how men would play music in the open area of villages to attract young women passing by. - Drum Dance or “Chhay Yam Dance” The Drum Dance is a kind of folk dance the Cambodian people believe that whenever drums are beaten together, they always take away the evils from the village. The dance with a comic is performed during traditional Khmer festivals to bring happiness, prosperity, and victory back to their whole family. It makes the audience laugh, enjoy, and forget all of their sadness. - Palm-Leaf Hat Dance The Palm-Leaf Hat Dance, a sense of Khmer national identity, is impressively performed to promote artistic creativity in the Khmer ancestral palm-leaf hats and to attract support for the protection and conservation of Khmer sugar palms. 1.3. Vernacular Dance or Social Dance The vernacular dance, or social dance, is performed at social gatherings, including Ram Vong, Ram Kbach, Saravan, Lam Leav (literally, “Lao dance”) and so on. Some of these dances have much influence from the traditional dances of Laos. Nevertheless, Ram Kbach, for example, takes heavily from the classical dance of the royal court. Ram Kbach is a simple dance performed with hand gestures similar to the classical dance and with classical songs combined with traditional Khmer and Western instruments. Other social dances from around the world, including Chha-chha, Bolero, and Madison, have had an impact on the Cambodian social culture. Such dances are often performed at Cambodian wedding receptions and banquets. - Khmer Shadow Theater The Khmer Shadow Theater comes into two forms: Sbèk Thom (big puppets that are actually panels depicting certain characters from the story) and Sbèk Toch (small articulated puppets). The black leather puppets are held in front of a light source, either in front of or behind a screen, creating a shadow or silhouette effect. Sbèk Thom is the more unique feature, restricting itself to stories from the Reamker. The performance is accompanied by a Pinpeat orchestra and by narration, and the puppeteers move the panels like a dance. Sbèk Toch, having a far lighter feel, presents popular stories of heroes, adventures, love and battles, with or without orchestra and with the puppeteers often doing the narration. The Khmer Shadow Theater “Sbèk Thom” was declared “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO on 25 November 2005, and it is particularly valued as a national art treasure. The Cambodian produce many hand-made items including rattan furniture, colorful woven mats and baskets, pottery, ceramics, and a variety of silver and silk ware. Many of these items are used regularly in the daily lives of the Cambodian people. - Work of Silversmiths: The work of silversmiths reached its height during the 11th century when artisans attained perfection. Workshops supported by the Royal Palace and the School of Fine Arts also flourished from the 19th century to the early 20th century. Today, riparian artisans predominate in Kampong Luong District, Kandal Province. They use silver imported from Laos and China. It varies in purity from 70-92 percent. Artisans produce objects such as Buddha images, jars, chopsticks, jewelry, knives, forks, and tiny ankle chains “Chang Krang Cheung” for babies. Small betel nut boxes in animal motifs such as rabbits, ducks, cats, deer and citrus fruits are most popular. Ornate filigree work is in the Khmer traditional style. Contemporary silverware can be found at various markets and shops in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. - Silk Weaving: Silk weaving can be seen in Koh Sotin District, Kampong Cham Province; Kean Svay District, Kandal Province; Bati and Prey Kabas Districts, Takeo Province; Prèk Changkran District, Prey Vèng Province; and Prèk Luong and Koh Dach Districts, Kandal Province. The traditional silk weaving of Cambodia is purely decorative. Weavers form sophisticated patterns of birds and flowers, mythical and realistic, often depicting Khmer tales, scenes from Angkor Temple, and the life of Lord Buddha. They today produce a style of intricately patterned and dyed silk called “Kha Bang Neang Sok Kra Ob”. Designs incorporate images of flowers, animals, peacocks, crowns, jewels and other motifs inspired by the Angkor era, or handed down from previous generations. Dyes are made from plants in glowing hues of greens, blues, violets, ochres and reds. The technique involves wrapping strands of raw silk on to a frame, and then tying the strands with banana-leaf threads into patterns. The silk is removed, dyed, and remounted on the frame to be re-tied for the other colors in the pattern, up to five times. Base color silk is strung lengthwise on to the loom. The dyed threads are the wefts, the crosswise threads, woven into the pattern originally created by the tie-dying process. It takes a week to string the warp threads onto the loom, and two weeks to weave a length of silk for a Sarong. Various silk products include checkered Sarong and Sampot worn at home and patterned Hol and Phamuong worn on formal occasions. - Scarf Weaving: Cotton and silk scarf weaving is very popular with Cambodian residents inhabiting Kandal, Takeo, and Kampong Cham provinces. Since ancient times, Cambodian farmers have used a scarf as a bathing cloth, a piece of fabric worn for warmth, or a decoration around the neck or over the shoulders or hair. Furthermore, this scarf is generally used to wrap their food in when they go to field. - Non-textile Weaving: Many Cambodian farmers weave baskets (Tbanh Kantrak) for household use or as a supplemental source of income. Most baskets are made of thinly cut bamboo. Regions known for basketry include Siem Reap and Kampong Cham. Mat weaving (Tbanh Kantél) is a common seasonal occupation. Mats are most commonly made from reeds, either left a natural tan color or dyed in deep jewel tones. The region of Cambodia best known for mat weaving is the Mekong floodplain, especially around Lvea Em district. Mats are commonly laid out for guests and are important building materials for homes. Wicker and rattan crafts (Tbanh Kanhcheu) are also significant. Common wicker and rattan products include walls, mats, furniture, and other household items. Cambodian pottery traditions date to 5000 BCE. Ceramics in the shape of birds, elephants, rabbits, and other animals were mostly used for domestic purposes such as holding food and water. It was very popular with the Cambodian people, especially members of the royal families between the 11th and 13th centuries. Potting traditionally was done on a pottery wheel or using shaping tools such as paddles and anvils. Firing was done in clay kilns, which could reach temperatures of 1,000-1,200 °C, or in the open air, at temperatures of around 700 °C. Primarily green and brown glazes were used. In rural Cambodia, traditional pottery methods remain. Many pieces are hand-turned and fired on an open fire without glaze. The country’s major center for pottery is Kampong Chhnang Province. - Wat Murals Few historic Wat murals remain in Cambodia. The best-known surviving murals are at the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, Wat Rajabo in Siem Reap province, and Wat Kampong Tralach Leu in Kampong Chhnang Province. Cambodia’s surviving older murals are generally more refined and detailed. - Lacquer Ware Cambodian traditional lacquer ware reached its height between the 12th and 16th centuries. Some examples of work from this era, including gilded Buddha images and betel boxes, have survived to the present day. Lacquer ware was traditionally colored black using burnt wood, representing the underworld, red using mercury, representing the earth, and yellow using arsenic, representing the heaven. Lacquer on Angkorian stones dates to the 15th or 16th century. In modern Cambodia, the art of lacquer work nearly faded into oblivion: few lacquer trees survived, and lacquer was unavailable in local markets. Today’s revival is still in its infancy, but 100 lacquer artists have been trained by a French expert under the guidance of Artisans d'Angkor, a company that produces traditional crafts in village workshops. Some artists are beginning to experiment with different techniques and styles to produce modern and striking effects. - Stone Carving Cambodia’s best-known stone carving adorns the Angkor temple renowned for the scale, richness and detail of its sculpture. During the late 20th century, efforts to restore Angkor resulted in a new demand for skilled stone carvers to replace missing or damaged pieces, and a new tradition of stone carving is arising to meet this need. Most modern carving is traditional-style, but some carvers are experimenting with contemporary designs. Interest is also renewing for using stone carving in modern pagodas. Modern carvings are typically made from Banteay Meanchey sandstone. - Martial Arts Khmer martial arts date back more than a thousand years, as evidenced by carvings and bas-reliefs in the Angkor temple. The martial arts include Bokator, Pradal Serey, Baok Chambab, Kbach Kun Dambong Vèng, etc. Nowadays, they are particularly popular with youths and visitors. - Bokator “an Ancient Khmer Boxing Art” Bokator, known formally as Lbokkator (which means wielding a wooden stick to fight lions), is an ancient Khmer martial art said to be the predecessor of Southeast Asian kickboxing styles. Depicted on the bas-relief on the walls of Angkor Temple, Bokator was the close quarter combat system used by the armies during the Angkor era. It is believed that King Jayavarman VII, the illustrious ruler of the Khmer Empire, was a practitioner of Bokator. Bokator weaves together ancient Cambodian religious traditions of Buddhism and Brahmanism. Unlike kickboxing that is a sport fighting art, Bokator was a soldier’s art used on the battlefield. It can be considered a complete martial art, using strikes, throws, drags, trapping, locking, and some elements of ground fighting. Every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Bokator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, and head. Even the shoulders, hip, jaw, and fingers can be used to fight an opponent to submission or death. When fighting, Bokator practitioners still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A Kroma (scarf) is folded around their waist and blue and red silk cords called Sangvar are tied around the combatants’ head and biceps. In the past, it is said that the cords were enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial. The Kroma shows the fighter’s level of expertise. A series of grades, each taking at least five months to complete training seven days a week and two hours a day, are represented by different colors. The first grade is white, followed by green, blue, red, brown and then black which has ten degrees. After completing their initial training, fighters wear a Black Kroma (scarf) for at least ten years. To attain the Gold Kroma you must be a true master and must have done something great for Bokator. Moreover, to become a true master, it will definitely take some time as just in the unarmed portion of the art there are between 8000 and 10000 different techniques, only 1000 of which you have to learn to attain the black Kroma. The art contains 341 different styles some of which are the duck, crab, horse, bird, dragon, eagle, crane, wind, fire, water, earth (or stone), king monkey, lion, elephant, Apsara (traditional Hindu sacred nymph), and crocodile. Because of its visually similar style, Bokator is commonly wrongly described as a variant of modern kickboxing. Bokator has many forms based on styles as well as practical fighting techniques. - Pradal Serey “Khmer Kickboxing” Pradal Serey is a traditional Khmer kickboxing. A match consists of five rounds and takes place in a boxing ring. There is a one- or two-minute break between each round. Before a match, boxers perform the praying rituals known as Kun Krou. Traditional Cambodian music is played during the match. The instruments used are Skor Yaul (a type of drum), Sralai (a flute-like instrument), and stringed Chhing. Boxers are required to wear leather gloves and shorts. - A boxer is not allowed to strike his opponent while he is on the ground. - A boxer is not allowed to bite. - When an opponent cannot fight anymore, the referee stops the fight. - Blows to the back of the opponent are not allowed. - A boxer may not hold on to the ropes. - Blows to the genitals are prohibited. Victory is instantaneously granted when a boxer knocks another boxer out and the boxer knocked down is unable to continue fighting after a 10-second count by the referee. Victory is also determined at the end of the match when judges decide by a point system which a fighter was more effective. If fighters end up with the same score, a draw is called. Pradal Serey has made a strong comeback since its banishment back in the 70's. Numerous gyms have opened and large masses of students, local and foreign, have come to train in Cambodia. There are currently about 70 boxing clubs. Matches are held weekly at CTN Station, Bayon Television Station, Phnom Penh Municipal Television Station, and Kong Yothapol Khemara Phoumin Television Station, and these are televised live. - Baok Chambab “Khmer Wrestling” Baok Chambab is Khmer wrestling in which two opponents try to pin (hold) each other's back to the ground. A match consists of three rounds. Wrestlers perform pre-match ritual dancing. A wrestler wins a match by two of three rounds. However, after each round, the loser is asked if he wishes to continue with the match. The match is accompanied by the music of two drums known as Skor Nhy and Skor Chhmol “female drum and male drum”. Traditional matches are held at the Cambodian National Olympic Stadium during the Khmer New Year and other Cambodian holidays. - Kbach Kun Dambong Vèng “Long Staff Art” Kbach Kun Dambong Vèng literally refers to an ancient Cambodian martial art form involving the use of a long staff. It has traditionally been practiced to prepare to fight against enemies bearing eventual malice towards their villages and their country. Nowadays, it is particularly popular with youths in main sport clubs in Cambodia. Cambodia’s kite-making and kite-flying tradition, which dates back many centuries, was revived in the early 1990s. It is now extremely popular throughout the country. Kites (Khlèng Ek) are generally flown at night during the northeast monsoon season. A bow attached to the kite resonates in the wind like a musical sound. - Traditional Games Cambodia is home to a wide variety of games played to transform the dullest days into a memorable occasion. Throughout the Khmer New Year, street corners are often crowded with friends and families enjoying traditional Khmer dancing and games. Typically, Khmer games help maintain mental and physical dexterity of humans. A game is played by throwing and catching a ball with one hand while trying to catch an increasing number of sticks with the other hand. Usually, chopsticks are used as the sticks to be caught. - Chaol Chhoung A game is played by two groups of boys and girls on the first nightfall of the Khmer New Year. Each group comprising 10-15 people stands in two rows opposite each other. One group throws the "Chhoung" to the other group. When it is caught, it will be rapidly thrown back to the first group. If someone is hit by the "Chhoung," the whole group must dance to get the "Chhoung" back while the other group sings. - Chab Kon Khlèng A game is played by imitating a hen as she protects her chicks from a kite. Adults typically play this game on the night of the first New Year. Participants usually appoint a person with a strong build to play the hen leading many chicks. Another person is picked to be the kite. While both sides sing a song of bargaining, the kite tries to catch as many chicks as possible as they hide behind the hen. - Bos Angkunh A game is played by two groups of boys and girls. Each group throws their own "Angkunh" to hit the master "Angkunhs," which belong to the other group and which are placed on the ground. The winners must knock the knee of the losers with the "Angkunh." "Angkunh" is the name of an inedible fruit seed, which looks like the knee bone. - Leak Kansèng A game is played by a group of children sitting in circle. Someone holding a "Kansèng" (Cambodian scarf) twisted into a round shape walks around the circle while singing a song. The person walking secretly tries to place the "Kansèng" behind one of the children. If that chosen child realizes what is happening, he or she must pick up the "Kansèng" and beat the person sitting next to him or her until the person runs a circle back to his/her place. - Bay Khom A game is played by two children in rural or urban areas during their free time. Ten holes are dug in the shape of an oval into a board. The game is played with 42 small beads, stones or fruit seeds. Before starting the game, five beads are put into each of the two holes located at the tip of the board. Four beads are placed in each of the remaining eight holes. The first player takes all the beads from any hole and drops them one by one in the other holes. He or she must repeat this process until they have dropped the last bead into a hole lying beside an empty one. Then they must take all the beads in the hole that follows the empty one. At this point, the second player begins to play. The game ends when all the holes are empty. The player with the greatest number of beads wins the game. - Khla Khlok A gambling game is fun for all ages. There are three dice of which each has six angles with six animal pictures and a paper with each of six animal pictures that is put inside a four-angular line. Six animal pictures comprise deer, lobster, rooster, gourd, crab, and fish. You put money on an animal picture that you believe the person rolling the dice (which are usually shaken in a bowl) and you wait. If an animal picture faces up on the dice at the same as the picture you put money on, you will get an amount of money as the amount you bet. If two animal pictures face up on two dice at the same as the picture you put money on, you will get double paid. In addition, if three animal pictures face up on three dice at the same as the picture you put money on, you will get triple the amount of money you bet.

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The music of the Lesser Antilles encompasses the music of this chain of small islands making up the eastern and southern portion of the West Indies. Lesser Antillean music is part of the broader category of Caribbean music; much of the folk and popular music is also a part of the Afro-American musical complex, being a mixture of African, European and indigenous American elements. The Lesser Antilles' musical cultures are largely based on the music of African slaves brought by European traders and colonizers. The African musical elements are a hybrid of instruments and styles from numerous West African tribes, while the European slaveholders added their own musics into the mix, as did immigrants from India. In many ways, the Lesser Antilles can be musically divided based on which nation colonized them. The former British colonies include Trinidad and Tobago, whose calypso style is an especially potent part of the music of the other former British colonies, which also share traditions like the Big Drum dance. The French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe share the popular zouk style and have also had extensive musical contact with the music of Haiti, itself once a French colony though not part of the Lesser Antilles. The Dutch colonies of Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba share the combined rhythm popular style. The islands also share a passion for kaseko, a genre of Surinamese music; Suriname and its neighbors Guyana and French Guiana share folk and popular styles that are connected enough to the Antilles and other Caribbean islands that both countries are studied in the broader context of Antillean or Caribbean music. While Lesser Antillean music is very often discussed as a music area, this division is of limited usefulness. The islands of the Lesser Antilles divide musically along linguistic lines, with the most significant overlap coming from Dominica and Saint Lucia, both primarily Anglophone but strongly influenced by a French colonial past. Because the islands are divided linguistically, the term Antillean music is usually used in reference to one such music area. Thus, for example, the Rough Guide to World Music features a chapter on "Antillean music", which is entirely about the French Antillean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, with a brief sidebar specifically about the Dutch Antilles. In the context of Anglophone music, the term Antillean music most commonly refers to Trinidad and Tobago, home to the well-known calypso style. Music author Peter Manuel, for example, treats all the Anglophone islands as a subject of Trinidadian calypso traditions, while using the title Music of the Lesser Antilles for Francophone Antillean music. Manuel also, like many authors, treats Suriname and Guyana as integral aspects of Caribbean music; due to the Dutch colonial history of both countries, they are often grouped with Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. Nevertheless, Antillean music can be characterized by the prominence of the Carnival celebration (prominently from Trinidad and Tobago), and the importance of calypso-like song traditions. The Lesser Antilles is also home to a strong Indo-Caribbean population; though Indo-Caribbean music is found elsewhere in the Caribbean, the prominence of Indian-influenced styles is a hallmark of the Antillean music scenes. Regional forms can also be found outside of the Caribbean entirely, most notably in New York City, where Brooklyn's Labor Day Carnival features music and parades, mas and steel bands; this Carnival is distinct to New York, and reflects elements of a pan-Caribbean nature. Calypso is most closely associated with the island of Trinidad, but it has spread throughout the Lesser Antilles, and abroad. Similar traditions can be found natively on many of Caribbean islands. Within the Antilles, most of the popular calypso stars have come from Trinidad and Tobago; the majority of the exceptions, such as Arrow from Montserrat, have come from other Anglophone islands. Music author Peter Manuel has argued that, despite the modern Anglophone focus to calypso-like song forms, their origins lie in the "Afro-French creole culture", and notes that the ancestor of the word calypso, cariso, was first used to refer to a Martinican singer. The calypso song complex is characterized by satirical, political, risque and humorous lyricism, a competitive and celebratory nature and its function in social organization and informal communication. Jamaican mento is perhaps the most well-known form of calypso-like music. The island of Carriacou is home to a calypso-like song style, as well as canboulay feasts, calinda songs and steel bands, all similar to though distinct from the related Trinidadian traditions. Modern influences from Trinidad have organized the Carriacou song style, and there are competitions similar to calypso tents on the island. The Antiguan benna is part of the same song complex, featuring news-oriented and ribald, often satirical lyrics and a rhythmic, uptempo style. Annual Carnival celebrations are an important part of the culture of all the Lesser Antillean islands. Carnival is celebrated at varying times of year, either pre-Lent, Christmastime or in July and August, and feature a wide variety of dances, songs and parades. Contests are common, especially Calypso King and Queen contests, which are held on most of the British Antillean islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as French Saint Martin and elsewhere. The British Antillean Carnivals are also mostly united by the J'ouvert tradition, which involves calypso and soca band parades and are the highlight of their celebrations. Summer Carnivals include those on Antigua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Saint John, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saba, Nevis and Anguilla, the latter two of which are especially known for popular calypso competitions. Christmastime Carnivals are held on Montserrat, Saint Croix, Saint Martin and Saint Kitts; Montserrat's distinctive Carnival includes masquerades and steelbands, and both islands also feature calypso competitions. The Carnival of Sint Maarten, which takes place a month after Easter, is known for the burning of King Moui-Moui as the culmination of the festival. Many islands, especially the French and Dutch Antilles, are home to pre-Lenten Carnivals, including Martinique, Aruba, Saint-Barthélemy, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica, Saint Thomas and Guadeloupe. There are many popular traditions common to the English-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles. Calypso, originally an old folk music–based genre from West Africa, is popular throughout the islands; other popular traditions, like soca originally from Trinidad, are also well known throughout the region. Steel drum ensembles is also found throughout the English-speaking Lesser Antilles (and abroad), especially in Trinidad and Tobago as well as Antigua and Barbuda. The British Antilles also share in certain folk traditions. Eastern Caribbean folk calypso is found throughout the area, as are African-Caribbean religious music styles like the Shango music of Trinidad. Variants of the Big Drum festival occur throughout the Windward Islands, especially in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Carnival is an important folk music celebration on all the islands of the Lesser Antilles, and the rest of the Caribbean. Calypso is part of a spectrum of similar folk and popular Caribbean styles that spans benna and mento, but remains the most prominent genre of Lesser Antillean music. Calypso's roots are somewhat unclear, but we know it can be traced to 18th-century Trinidad and other Caribbean islands like Saint Lucia. Modern calypso, however, began in the 19th century, a fusion of disparate elements ranging from the masquerade song lavway, French Creole belair and the stick fighting chantwell. Calypso's early rise was closely connected with the adoption of Carnival by Trinidadian slaves, including camboulay drumming and the music masquerade processions. Popular calypso arose in the early 20th century, with the rise of internationally known calypsonians like Attila the Hun and Roaring Lion. calypso remained popular throughout the Caribbean in the later 20th century, the islands began producing calypso stars. In the 1970s, a calypso variant called soca arose, characterized by a focus on dance rhythms rather than lyricism. Soca has since spread across the Caribbean and abroad. Steel drums are a distinctively Trinidadian ensemble that evolved from improvised percussion instruments used in Carnival processions. By the late 1930s, bamboo tubes, a traditional instrumental, were supplemented by pieces of metal used percussively; over time, these metal percussion instruments were pitched to produce as many as twenty-some tones. Steel bands were large orchestras of these drums, and were banned by the British colonial authorities. Nevertheless, steel drums spread across the Caribbean, and are now an entrenched part of the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Though Trinidadian popular music is by far the most well-known style of Lesser Antillean music, the other Anglophone islands are home to their own musical traditions. Carriacou and Grenada are home to Carnival celebrations that feature distinct form of calypso, canboulay feasts, calinda stick-fighting songs and the steelband accompanied jouvert, as well as the Big Drum dance, which is also found in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines share other musics as well including the funereal music of the saraca rite, a call-and-response form with both European and African lyrics. French Creole music is most famously associated with Martinique and Guadeloupe, though the islands of Saint Lucia and Dominica are also home to French Antillean music. Creole music is characterized by the prominence of the quadrille dance, distinct from the French version and related to the Haitian mereng. The quadrille is a potent symbol of French Antillean culture. Martinique and Guadeloupe are also home to their own distinct folk traditions, most influentially including Guadeloupan gwo ka and Martinican tambour and tibwa. Gwo ka is a type of percussion music which consists of seven basic rhythms and variations on them. It has been modernized into gwo ka moderne, though traditional rural performances (lewoz) are still common. Tambour and ti bwa ensembles are the origin of several important Martinican popular styles, including chouval bwa and biguine, and also exerted an influence on zouk. Lucian folk music features ensembles of fiddle, cuatro, banjo, guitar and chak-chak (a rattle), with the banjo and cuatro being of iconic importance, and recreational, often lyric song forms called jwé. The French Creole folk music of Dominica is based on the quadrille, accompanied by ensembles called jing ping. Folk storytelling (kont) and songs (bélé) are also a major part of the country's musical identity. In the 1970s, a wave of Haitian, mostly musicians, to Dominica and the French Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique) brought with them the kadans, a sophisticated form of music that quickly swept the island and helped unite all the former French colonies of the Caribbean by combining their cultural influences. These Haitians drew upon previous success from mini-jazz artists like Les Gentlemen, Les Leopards, and Les Vikings de Guadeloupe. Later in the decade and into the 1980s, the French Antilles became home to a style of cadence music called cadence-lypso. Gordon Henderson's Exile One innovated this style, as well as turned the mini-jazz combos into guitar-dominated big bands with full-horn sections and keyboard synthesizers, paving the way for the success of large groups like Grammacks, Experience 7, among others. Drawing on these influences, the supergroup Kassav' invented zouk and popularized it with hit songs like "Zouk-La-Se Sel Medikaman Nou Ni". Kassav' formed from Paris in 1978. Cadence-lypso is the Dominican kadans of the 1970s. The leading figure in the promotion of the Cadence-lypso was the Dominican group Exile One (based on the island of Guadeloupe) and Grammacks that featured the Haitian Cadence rampa or compas with the Trinidadian calypso, hence the name cadence-lypso; however, most of the bands repertoire was kadans This fusion of kadans and calypso accounts only for a small percentage of the band's repertoire: Exile One like all Dominica kadans bands featured reggae, calypso and mostly kadans or compas music. The Dominican kadans has evolved under the influence of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms, as well as rock guitars, soul-style vocals and funk bass and horn styles - music from the United States. By the end of the 1970s, Gordon Henderson defined Cadence-lypso as "a synthesis of Caribbean and African musical patterns fusing the traditional with the contemporary". It was pushed in the 1970s by groups from Dominica, and was the first style of Dominican music to find international acclaim. Exile One, based in Guadeloupe, is a leading Dominican kadans group of the 1970s that was very influential in the development of caribbean music. The full-horn section kadans band Exile One led by Gordon Henderson was the first to introduce the newly arrived synthesizers to their music that other young cadence or compas bands from Dominica, Haiti (mini-jazz) and the French Antilles emulated in the 1970s. Exile One was the most promoted creole band of the Caribbean. The first to sign a production contract with major label Barclay Records. The first to export kadans music to the four corners of the globe: Japan, the Indian Ocean, Africa, North America, Europe, The Cape Verde islands. The inspiration for Zouk's style of rhythmic music comes from the Haitian compas, as well as music called cadence-lypso - Dominica cadence popularized by Grammacks and Exile One. Elements of gwo ka, tambour, ti bwa and biguine vidé are prominent in zouk. Though there are many diverse styles of zouk, some commonalities exist. The French Creole tongue of Martinique and Guadeloupe is an important element, and are a distinctive part of the music. Generally, zouk emphasises star singers, with little attention given to instrumentalists, and performances consist almost entirely of studio recordings. Ethnomusicologist Jocelyn Guilbault believes zouk's evolution was influenced by other Caribbean styles especially Dominica cadence-lypso, Haitian cadence and Guadeloupean biguine. Zouk arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s, using elements of previous styles of antillean music, as well as importing other genres. The band Kassav' remain the best known zouk group. Kassav' drew in influences from balakadri and bal granmoun dances, biguine's and mazurka's, along with more contemporary Caribbean influences like compas, reggae and salsa music. Zouk live shows soon began to draw on American and European rock and heavy metal traditions, and the genre spread across the world, primarily in developing countries. Zouk has diversified into multiple subgenres. These include zouk-love, pop ballads by artists like Edith Lefel and Gilles Floro, Zouk-R&B, and ragga-zouk bands like Lord Kossity who fused the genre with other influences. The music kizomba from Angola and cabo-love from Cape Verde are also derivatives of this French Antillean compas music style, which sounds basically the same, although there are notable differences once you become more familiar with these genres. A main exponent of this subgenre is Ophelia Marie. Other Zouk Love artists come from the French West Indies, the Netherlands, and Africa. Bouyon (Boo-Yon) is a form of popular music of Dominica, also known as jump up music in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The best-known band in the genre is Windward Caribbean Kulture (WCK), who originated the style in 1988 by experimenting elements of kadans (or cadence-lypso), lapo kabwit drumming, the folk style jing-ping, and a quick-paced electronic drum pattern. From a language perspective, Bouyon draws on English and Dominican Creole French. More recently, deejays with raggamuffin-style vocals (bouyon-muffin) have moved to the fore, updating the sound for the New Generation. Due to the popularity of Triple K International, Ncore, and the New generation of bouyon bands who toured the French Antilles, a popular offshoot of bouyon from Guadeloupe is call bouyon gwada. The jump up had its heyday from the 90s with songs such as Met Veye WCK, but remained stamped background music or carnival. Over the years, thanks to inter-trade with the Dominicans and the mass participation of Guadeloupe at the World Creole Music Festival, the flagship group as Triple kay and MFR band began to democratize and local artists were inducted including the remix Allo Triple kay with Daly and "Big Ting Poppin 'Daly alone. A popular offshoot within the bouyon gwada is call bouyon hardcore, a style characterized by its lewd and violent lyrics. Popular Bouyon gwada musicians include, Wee Low, Suppa, Doc J, Yellow gaza, etc. Though zouk is the most well-known form of modern French Antillean music, the island of Martinique has also produced the chouval bwa and biguine styles, which were especially popular in the early 20th century. Chouval bwa is includes multiple distinctive instruments and internationally famous performers like Claude Germany, Dede Saint-Prix, Pakatak and Tumpak, while biguine has achieved international fame since the 1920s and has since been modernized and adapted for pop audiences, making it a major influence on zouk. Between the 1930s and 1950s, the dance biguine was popular among the islands' dance orchestras. The biguine uses a cinquillo variant related to that found in other Caribbean genres like méringue and Compas. In the 1940s and 1950s, these dance bands absorbed influences from Cuban, American and Haitian popular music. The islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin share musical styles, as well as maintain their own sets of folk and popular dances, ranging from the impromptu Statian road block to calypso, zouk and soca. African, indigenous and European ancestry predominate, though more recent immigrants have brought musical styles from Lebanon, China and India. In popular music, the islands are known for the Combined Rhythm, like local favorites the Happy Peanuts and Expresando Rimto i Ambiente. Kaseko music from the mainland country Suriname is also popular. Traditional music of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, however, is primarily African, characterized by the use of complex, highly developed polyrhythms, dance styles and drums like the tambú. Other African-derived instruments include metal percussion rods, agan, the rasp wiri, aerophones like the cachu trumpet, becu transverse double-reed wind instrument, and the bow benta. The tambu is an instrument, and a form of music and dance found on Aruba, Bonaire (where it is sometimes known as bari), and Curaçao. The tambu is an especially important symbol of Curaçaoan identity. Instrumentation for the tambu uses the agan, chapi, triangle, wiri and other instruments, many of which are also part of the African-derived muziek di zumbi, or spirit music, of Curaçao. Curaçao's folk music also includes a rich tradition of work songs with apentatonic lyrics sung in Guene or a Papiamento variant called seshi. The Simadan harvest festival is found across the islands, and features the cachu trumpet, made from a cowhorn. Bonaire's Simadan festival is also notable for the use of the becu, an aerophone made from the stalk of a sorghum plant, and the kinkon, made from a conch shell and known elsewhere as the carco. Folk song forms range from the harvest seu, simadan and wapa. Other songs were imported beginning in the 19th century, including the South American joropo and pasillo, Spanish Caribbean merengue and other new songs, dances and instruments. This diverse mixture was the origin of the Dutch Antilles' most distinctive and long-standing popular tradition, the tumba. The smaller islands of Saint Martin, Saba and Sint Eustatius largely share in the same folk instruments, dances and songs as their neighbors; however, these islands remain largely unstudied. Saba is home to a vital percussive music tradition, most closely associated with private parties, using instrumentation similar to Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba. Saint Martin is home to a national dance form called the ponum, which dates to the 19th century and was only displaced by string bands in the mid-20th century. Saint Martin is also home to a calypso-like quimbe song form, that remains a major part of the island's culture. Indo-Caribbean people in the Lesser Antillean music area are clustered in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Indo-Caribbean folk traditions include the chowtal songs from the springtime festival phagwa, and Hindi bhajans which are still sung at temples despite there being few people who understand Hindi. Guyanese and Trinidadian Indo-Caribbeans developed a tradition that fused elements of calypso with the folk music of North India, a style that was referred to as local music. Indo-Caribbean music plays a vital role in various annual festivals like the springtime phagwa, where chowtal is traditionally performed competitively and in teams. Indo-Caribbean Shia Muslims celebrate Hosay (Muharram) with floats accompanied by barrel drums called tassa. Wedding music is another important part of Indo-Caribbean music, and is dominated by tan singing. Tan singing is accompanied by the dholak drum and dhantal, and sometimes includes verbal duels influenced by picong. Indo-Caribbean popular music gained international attention in the late 1980s, with the rise of chutney music. Chutney is a dance music, in its modern form accompanied by soca instrumentation, such as synthesizers and pressure drums. This style is called chutney-soca.

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In Hinduism, the Rāmāyaṇa is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). The name Rāmāyaṇa is a compound of Rāma (the hero of the Epic) and ayana (meaning "going, advancing"), thus translating to "the travels of Rāma." The Rāmāyaṇa consists of 24,000 verses in seven cantos (kāṇḍas) and tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon king of Lanka, Rāvana. In its current form, the Valmiki Ramayana is dated variously from 500 B.C.E. to 100 B.C.E., or concurrent to early versions of the Mahabhārata. As with most traditional epics, it has gone through a long process of redactions and is impossible to date accurately. One of the most important literary works on ancient India, the Ramayana has had a profound impact on the devotion, art and culture in the Indian Subcontinent. The Rāmāyana also had an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry, primarily through its establishment of the Sloka meter. Like its epic cousin the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyana is not just an ordinary story. It contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents them through allegory in narrative form. The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanumān and Rāvana (the villain of the piece) are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India. The story of Rama also inspired a large amount of later-day literature in various languages, notable among which are the works of the sixteenth century Hindi poet Tulsidas and the Tamil poet Kambar of the thirteenth century. The impact of the Ramayana has also spread beyond India. Starting from the eighth century, the colonization of Southeast Asia by Indians began. Several large empires like the Khmer, the Majapahits, the Sailendras, the Champas and Sri Vijaya were established. As a result of this, the Ramayana became popular in Southeast Asia and manifested itself in text, temple architecture and performance, particularly in Indonesia (Java, Sumatra and Borneo), Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. Valmiki's Ramayana, the oldest and most widely read version of Ramayana. The text survives in numerous complete and partial manuscripts, the oldest surviving of which is dated from the eleventh century C.E.. The Valmiki Ramayana has been traditionally divided into seven books, dealing with the life of Rama from his birth to his death. There have been speculations on whether the first and the last chapters of Valmiki's Ramayana were indeed written by the original author. Many experts are of the opinion that in spite of the many differences in style, and occasional contradictions in content, between these two chapters and the rest of the book, the chapters are still an integral part of the story. These two chapters contain most of the mythological interpolations found in the Ramayana, such as the miraculous birth of Rama and his divine nature as well as the numerous legends surrounding Ravana. Rama, the hero of Ramayana, is a popular deity worshiped by Hindus; the route of his wanderings being, each year, trodden by devout pilgrims. The poem is not a mere literary monument, it is a part of Hinduism, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or certain passages of it, is believed by the Hindus to free them from sin and grant every desire to the reader or hearer. According to Hindu tradition, Rama is an incarnation (Avatar), of the god Vishnu, who is part of the Hindu Trinity. The main purpose of this incarnation is to demonstrate the righteous path (dharma) for the life on earth. Brahma, creator of the universe, could not revoke a boon he gave the demon king Ravana, as a reward for his severe penances, that he should not be slain by gods, demons, or spirits. Having been thus rewarded, Ravana began with the help of his evil supporters, the Rakshasas, to lay waste the earth and to do violence to the good, especially the Brahmin priests, disturbing their sacrifices. All the gods, watching this devastation, went to Brahma to find a way to deliver themselves and the earth of this evil. Brahma went to Vishnu and conveyed the anguish of the gods and requested that Vishnu incarnate on earth as a human to destroy Ravana, as Ravana had not asked for protection against humans or beasts in his wishes to Brahma. Meanwhile, the good king Dasharatha of Ayodhya, who had ruled over his kingdom of Kosala for a long time, was beginning to become anxious about his successor, for he had no sons to take over the kingdom after him. Taking advice from his ministers and priests Dasharatha organized a Putrakameshti Yagna, a sacrifice for progeny. Vishnu decided to be born as the eldest to Dasharatha and caused a divine being to emerge from the sacrificial fire. The divine being gave Dasharatha a golden vessel filled with nectar and asked him to give it to his queens. Dasharatha divided it amongst his three queens, Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. In due course they became pregnant and gave birth to four sons: Queen Kausalya gives birth to the eldest son, Rama. Bharata is born to Queen Kaikeyi, and twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna, are born to Queen Sumitra. The boys grew up learning the scriptures and the art of bowmanship from the sage Vasishta. One day, the sage Vishwamitra visited the kingdom and asked King Dasharatha to send Rama to protect him from demons who had been disturbing his sacrifices. Although very reluctant, Dasharatha agreed to send Rama and Lakshmana with Vishwamitra. As the brothers fulfilled their duties, Vishwamitra was pleased with them and bestowed upon them various celestial weapons. Towards the end of their stay with Vishwamitra, Rama chanced to pass near the kingdom of Mithila and heard that its king, Janaka, had offered his daughter, Sita, in marriage to the man who could bend the mighty bow of god Siva, which had been kept at Janaka's court. Rama at once determined to accomplish the feat, which had been tried in vain by so many suitors. When he presented himself at court Janaka was at once won by his youth and beauty. Five thousand men drew in the mighty bow, resting upon an eight-wheeled chariot. Rama without any apparent effort bent it until it broke and, Janaka gladly gave him his beautiful daughter. After the splendid wedding ceremonies were over, the happy pair travelled back to Ayodhya. King Dasharatha, began to feel weary of reigning, and decided to make Rama, his eldest son and heir-apparent, the co-regent (Yuvaraja). His happy people received the announcement of his intention with delight and the whole city was in the midst of the most splendid preparations for the ceremony. Dasharatha went to discuss the celebrations with his favorite wife Kaikeyi. However, Kaikeyi was jealous because her darling son Bharata was not to be made co-regent, so she fled to an ante-chamber where Dasharatha found her in tears. To Dasharatha's concerned queries, Kaikeyi recalled that, ages ago, the old king had granted her two boons. She now demanded the fulfillment of these before she would consent to smile upon him. Dasharatha agreed and Kaikeyi revealed her demands. She required him, first, to appoint her son Bharata as co-regent and, second, to exile Rama for 14h years to the terrible forest of Dandaka. Dasharatha was grief-stricken, but agreed to abide by his promise. Rama, the obedient son, immediately agreed to relinquish his claim to the throne and started to leave for his exile. His faithful wife Sita and his loving brother Lakshmana also decided to go along with Rama. With Dasharatha lying grief-stricken, Rama left for the forest, followed by the lamenting people of Ayodhya. Soon after, King Dasharatha died, overcome by grief. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana left behind Ayodhya and its people, crossed the river Ganges and went into the forest. They found an idyllic place called Chitrakuta to establish their hermitage. No more beautiful place could be imagined. Flowers of every kind, delicious fruits, and on every side the most pleasing prospects, together with perfect love, made their hermitage a paradise on earth. In the forest, Rama befriended the old vulture-king, Jatayu. Meanwhile, Bharata returned to Ayodhya and, being also devoted to Rama, became furious with Kaikeyi for her role in exiling Rama and for the death of his father. Determined to bring back Rama, he headed for the forest. When he found Rama and pleaded with him to return and assume the throne, Rama politely refused, saying that he was duty-bound to see that his father's promise was fulfilled. Reluctantly Bharata agreed to return to the kingdom, requesting that Rama give to him his sandals. Back in Ayodhya, Baratha placed Rama's sandals on the throne of Ayodhya, and ruled as Rama's proxy from a village called Nandigrama near Ayodhya, awaiting his return. He also vowed to end his own life if Rama failed to return after 14 years. One day, the demoness Surpanakha, a sister of the demon king Ravana, chanced upon Rama's hermitage and saw the handsome Rama and became enamored. Taking the form of a beautiful young girl, she tried to seduce Rama. Rama, ever faithful to his wife Sita, did not respond and asked her to approach Lakshmana. Lakshmana too refused, stating his duty towards his brother and his sister-in-law while in exile. An infuriated Surpanakha blamed Sita to be the reason for her being scorned and charged at her in her original form. But Lakshmana, saved Sita by severing Surpanakha's nose and ears. Surpanakha flew back to Ravana complaining. Ravana, after hearing of the beautiful Sita from Surpanakha, resolved to kill Rama in revenge and take Sita for himself. With the help of the demon Maricha Ravana lured Rama and Lakshmana away from the hermitage, leaving Sita alone. Before leaving Lakshmana drew a circle in the dirt saying that Sita would be safe as long as she stayed in the circle. Ravana approached the hermitage in the guise of an old man and asked Sita to give him some food. Initially hesitant to step out of Lakshmana's circle, Sita finally stepped out to give the old man some food. At this moment Ravana grabbed Sita and fled in his airborne vehicle, (Pushpaka Vimana). Jatayu, seeing them fly, attempted to save Sita, but Ravana engaged Jatayu in combat and chopped off the vulture's wings. On returning to the hermitage, Rama and Lakshmana found it empty and anxiously began a search. Through Jatayu, whom they found lying mortally wounded, Rama and Lakshmana learnt of Sita's fate. Continuing their search, they encountered the monkey king of Kishkindha, Sugriva, and Hanuman, one of his generals, among whom Sita had dropped from the chariot her scarf and some ornaments. Sugriva had been deposed from his kingdom by his brother, Vali, who had also taken his wife Roma from him. Rama agreed to defeat Vali if Sugriva would assist in the search for Sita. The agreement made, Sugriva challenged Vali to a duel. While the duel was progressing, Rama shot from his bow and killed Vali. Sugriva regained his kingdom and his wife. Sugriva and Rama sent the monkey soldiers in various directions in search of Sita. However their efforts didn't bear fruit until they met another ancient vulture, Sampati, who was the brother of the slain Jatayu. Sampati was earthbound and deformed - his wings were burnt when he flew too close to the Sun (a story that can be considered to be the inspiration to that of Icarus's). His brother, being hardier, had saved him from falling to his death. While Jatayu was the physically stronger of the two, Sampati possessed a compensating gift of vision. Sampati's vision was incredibly powerful, spanning several hundred yojanas and enabling him to see farther than anyone else. On hearing of Ravana's killing his brother, he readily agreed to help the monkeys. He was soon able to spot Sita in the southern direction. He could see her imprisoned in a garden of Ashoka trees on the island of Lanka, beyond the southern ocean. Sugriva dispatched his monkey army to the south with his nephew Angad at the head. Hanuman went with Angad as his general. Whey they reached deep south, they found a great ocean stretching between them and land of Lanka. They could find no means by which to cross the ocean. Commanding his soldiers to remain where they were, Hanuman expanded his body to enormous proportions, leaped the vast expanse of water, and alighted upon a mountain Trikuta from which he could look down upon Lanka. Perceiving the city to be closely guarded, he assumed the form of a cat, and thus, unsuspected, crept through the barriers and examined the city. He found Ravana in his apartments, surrounded by beautiful women, but Sita was not among them. Continuing his search, he at last discovered her, her beauty dimmed by grief, seated under a tree in a beautiful asoka grove, guarded by hideous rakshasas with the faces of buffaloes, dogs, and swine. Assuming the form of a tiny monkey, Hanuman crept down the tree, and giving her the ring of Rama, took one from her. He offered to carry her away with him, but Sita declared that Rama must himself come to her rescue, and as proof of finding her Sita gave Hanuman a priceless jewel to take back to Rama. While they were talking together, Ravana appeared, and, after fruitless wooing, announced that if Sita did not yield herself to him in two months he would have her guards "mince her limbs with steel" for his morning repast. In his rage, Hanuman destroyed a mango grove and was captured by the rakshasa guards, and brought before Ravana. Hanuman proclaimed that he was a messenger of Rama, and demanded that Ravana restore Sita to Rama or fall victim to Rama's wrath. Furious at hearing Hanuman's words, Ravana ordered Hanuman's death. Vibhishana, Ravana's righteous brother, intervened and counseled Ravana to follow the scriptures, reminding that it was improper to execute a messenger, and instead told him to exact the appropriate punishment for Hanuman's crime. Ravana accepted and ordered his rakshasas to set fire to Hanuman's tail. As soon as this was done, Hanuman made himself very small, slipped from his bonds, and, jumping upon the roofs, spread a conflagration through the city of Lanka. He leaped back to the mainland, conveyed the news of Sita's captivity to Rama and Sugriva, and was soon engaged in active preparations for the campaign. Rama decided that as long as the ocean was not bridged, it was impossible for any one but Hanuman to cross it. Rama meditated for three days, but in vain. In his anger at being so ignored, Rama turned his weapons against the ocean, until from the terrified waves arose Varuna, the god of the ocean, who promised him that if he built a bridge, the waves should support the materials as firmly as though it were built on land. Terror reigned in Lanka at the news of the approach of Rama. Vibishana, Ravana's brother, deserted to Rama, because of the demon's rage when he advised him to make peace with Rama. Fiercely fought battles ensued, in which even the gods took part—Vishnu and Indra taking sides with Rama, and the evil spirits fighting with Ravana. After the war had been fought for some time, with varying results, and a great number of troops on both sides were killed, it was decided to determine the victor by single combat between Ravana and Rama. Even the gods were terrified at the fierceness of the conflict. At each shot Rama's mighty bow cut off a head of Ravana, which at once grew back, and the hero was in despair until Vibishana told him to aim at Ravana's belly-button. Rama took careful aim. As Ravana fell by this weapon, flowers rained from heaven upon the happy victor, and his ears were ravished with celestial music. Touched by the grief of Ravana's widow, Mandodari, Rama ordered a splendid funeral for his foe, and then sought the conquered city. Sita was led forth, beaming with happiness at finding herself re-united to her husband; but her happiness was destined to be of short duration. Rama received her with coldness and with downcast eyes, saying that she could no longer be his wife, after having dwelt in the house of Ravana. Sita assured him of her innocence; but on his continuing to revile her, she ordered her funeral pyre to be built, since she would rather die by fire than live despised by Rama. The sympathy of all the bystanders was with Sita, but Rama saw her enter the flames without a tremor. Soon Agni, the god of fire, appeared, bearing the uninjured Sita in his arms. Her innocence thus publicly proved by the trial by fire, she was welcomed by Rama, whose treatment she tenderly forgave. The conquest won, Ravana defeated, and Sita restored, Rama returned in triumph to Ayodhya, and assumed the governance to the great delight of Bharata and the people of Ayodhya. Ayodhya was prosperous, the people were happy, and for a time all went well. It was not long, however, before whispers concerning Sita's long stay in Lanka spread through the city, and Rama came to hear the gossip that a famine in the country was due to the guilt of Sita, who had suffered the caresses of Ravana while in captivity. Under the pressure from the citizens of Ayodhya, Rama banished her to the forest in which they had spent together the happy years of their exile. Without a murmur the unhappy Sita dragged herself to the forest, and, torn with grief of body and spirit, found the hermitage of Valmiki, where she gave birth to twin sons, Lava and Kuça. Here she reared them, with the assistance of the hermit, who was their teacher, and under whose care they grew to manhood, handsome and strong. It chanced that about the time the youths were twenty years old, Rama began to think the gods were angered with him because he had killed Ravana, who was the son of a Brahmin. Rama became determined to propitiate them by means of Ashvamedha, the great sacrifice, in which he caused a horse to be turned loose in the forest. When his men went to retake it, at the end of the year, they found it caught by two strong and beautiful youths who resisted all efforts to capture them. When his men could not retake the horse, Rama went to the forest in person, only to learn that the youths were his twin sons, Lava and Kuça. Struck with remorse, Rama recalled the sufferings of his wife Sita, and on learning that she was at the hermitage of Valmiki, requested her to come with him. Sita had had time to recover from the love of her youth, and the prospect of life with Rama, she felt, was not altogether pleasant. She appealed to the earth, if she had never loved any man but Rama, if her truth and purity were known to the earth, let it open its bosom and swallow her whole. While the people stood trembling with horror, the earth opened, a gorgeous throne appeared, and the goddess of earth, seated upon it, took Sita beside her and conveyed her to the realms of eternal happiness, leaving the too late repentant people to wear out the remaining years in penitence. In his Ramayana, Valmiki expresses his view of human code of conduct through Rama. He thus adopts the view that Dharma is what is proclaimed in the Veda and it should be followed for its own sake, not for what it brings you in pain or pleasure. Doing this will ensure one's welfare in this and the next world. In addition, the Ramayana also reinforces the need for thinking about the consequences before making promises, for if you make them you must keep them, no matter how hard it may be. Sankshepa Ramayana, the brief narration of the entire Ramayana story by the sage Narada to Valmiki, forms the first sarga of Valmiki Ramayana. Narada lists the sixteen qualities of the ideal man and says that Rama was the complete man possessing all sixteen of these qualities. Although Rama himself declares "he is but a man, and never once claims to be divine, Rama is regarded by Hindus as one of the most important Avatars of the god Vishnu and as an ideal man. Valmiki portrays Rama not as a supernatural being, but as a human with all the attendant shortcomings, who encounters moral dilemmas but who overcomes these by simply adhering to the dharma—the righteous way. There are several instances narrated in Valmiki Ramayana which cast shadows on the pristine character of the hero. When Rama killed Vali to aid Sugriva regain his throne, it was not in fair combat, but while hiding behind a tree. When Sita was freed from Ravana's prison, Rama forced Sita to undergo an ordeal by fire to prove her purity and later as the king, Rama killed the Shudra Shambuka for performing a yogic penance not in keeping with his perceived low station in the society. These and many more instances within Ramayana illustrate the very human nature of the hero Rama help to reinforce the basic moral behind the story that men do not have to be supernatural to be righteous. Traditionally the epic belongs to the Treta Yuga, one of the four eons of Hindu chronology and is attributed to Valmiki, an active participant in the story. It is composed in Epic Sanskrit, an early variant of Classical Sanskrit, so that in principle the core of the work may date to as early as the fifth century B.C.E.. After hundreds of years of transmission, the epic has gone thorough numerous variations and thus cannot be dated by linguistic analysis as a whole. It should be considered to have emerged over a long process, spanning maybe from the fifth century B.C.E. to the fourth century C.E. The core events told in the epic may well be of even greater age, the names of the characters, Rama, Sita, Dasharata, Janaka, Vasishta and Vishwamitra are all known in the Vedic literature such as the Brahmanas which are older than the Valmiki Ramayana. However, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry, is a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. There is general consensus that books two to six comprise the oldest portion of the epic while the first book (Bala Kanda) and the last (the Uttara Kanda) are later additions. The author or authors of Bala Kanda and Ayodhya Kanda appear to be familiar with the eastern Indo-Gangetic basin region of northern India and the Kosala and Magadha region during the period of the sixteen janapadas as the geographical and geopolitical data is in keeping with what is known about the region. However when the story moves to the Aranya Kanda and beyond, it seems to turn abruptly into fantasy with its demon-slaying hero and fantastic creatures. The geography of central and south India is increasingly vaguely described. The knowledge of the location of the island of Lanka also lacks detail. Basing his assumption on these features, the historian H.D. Sankalia has proposed a date of the fourth century B.C.E. for the composition of the text. A. L. Basham, however, is of the opinion that Rama may have been a minor chief who lived in the eighth or the seventh century B.C.E. The events of the epic have also been dated to as early as 6000 B.C.E. by adherents of archaeoastronomy. As in many oral epics, multiple versions of the Ramayana survive. In particular, the Ramayana related in north India differs in important respects from that preserved in South India and the rest of South-East Asia. There is an extensive tradition of oral storytelling based on the Ramayana in Thailand, Cambodia, Malayasia, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In many Malay versions, Lakshmana is given greater importance than Rama, whose character is considered somewhat weak. There are diverse regional versions of the Ramayana written by various authors in India. Some of them differ significantly from each other. During the twelfth century C.E., Kamban wrote Ramavatharam, known popularly as Kambaramayanam in Tamil. Although based on the Valmiki Ramayana, Kambaramayanam is unique in that Kamban has modified and reinterpreted many anecdotes in Valmiki Ramayana to suit the Tamil culture and his own ideas. Valmiki's Ramayana also inspired the Sri Ramacharit Manas by Tulasidas in 1576, an epic Awadhi (a dialect of Hindi) version with a slant more grounded in a different realm of Hindu literature, that of bhakti. It is an acknowledged masterpiece of India. It is popularly known as "Tulsi-krita Ramayana." Gujarati poet Premanand wrote a version of Ramayana in the seventeenth century. Other versions include, a Bengali version by Krittivas in the fourteenth century, in Oriya by Balarama Das in the sixteenth century, in Marathi by Sridhara in the eighteenth century, a Telugu version by Ranganatha in the fifteenth century, a Kannada Ramayana by the sixteenth century poet Narahari, Kotha Ramayana in Assamese by the fourteenth century poet Madhava Kandali and Adhyathma Ramayanam Kilippattu, a Malayalam version by Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the sixteenth century. There is a sub-plot to the Ramayana, prevalent in some parts of India, that relates to the adventures of Ahi Ravana and Mahi Ravana, the evil brother of Ravana, which enhances the role of Hanuman in the story. Hanuman rescues Rama and Lakshmana after they are kidnapped by the Ahi-mahi Ravana at the behest of Ravana and held prisoner in a subterranean cave, ready to be sacrificed to the goddess Kali. There is a version of the Ramayana story prevalent among the Mappilas of Kerala. This version, known as Mappila Ramayana, forms a part of the Mappillapattu. Mappillapattu is a genre of folk singing popular among the Muslims of Kerala and Lakshadweep. Being of Muslim origin, the hero of this story is a sultan. There are no major changes in the names of characters except for that of Rama's which is changed to 'Laman'. The language and the imagery projected in the Mappilapattu are in accordance with the social fabric of the earlier Muslim community. Many other Asian cultures have adapted the Ramayana, resulting in other national epics. Aspects of the Chinese epic Journey to the West were inspired by the Ramayana, particularly the character Sun Wukong, who is believed to have been based on Hanuman. Kakawin Rāmâyaṇa is an old Javanese rendering of the Sanskrit Ramayana from the ninth century Indonesia. It is a faithful rendering of the Hindu epic with very little variation. Phra Lak Phra Lam is a Lao language version, whose title comes from Lakshmana and Rama. The story of Lakshmana and Rama is told as the previous life of the Buddha. In Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, Dasharatha is the great-grandson of the Prophet Adam. Ravana receives boons from Allah instead of Brahma. Thailand's popular national epic Ramakien is derived from the Hindu epic. In Ramakien, Sita is the daughter of Ravana and Mandodari (T'os'akanth (=Dasakand) and Mont'o). Vibhisana (P'ip'ek), the astrologer brother of Ravana, predicts calamity from the horoscope of Sita. So Ravana has her thrown into the waters, who, later, is picked by Janaka (Janok). While the main story is identical to that of the Ramayana, many other aspects were transposed into a Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography, and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. It has an expanded role for Hanuman and he is portrayed as a lascivious character. Ramakien can be seen in an elaborate illustration at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in Bangkok. Other Southeast Asian adaptations include Ramakavaca of Bali, Maradia Lawana of the Philippines, the Reamker of Cambodia and the Yama Zatdaw of Myanmar. Contemporary versions of the Ramayana include Shri Ramayana Darshanam by Dr. K. V. Puttappa (Kuvempu) in Kannada and Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu by Viswanatha Satyanarayana in Telugu, both of which have been awarded the Jnanpith Award. The modern Indian author Ashok Banker has so far written a series of six English language novels based on the Ramayana. Amongst the ruins of the Vijayanagara empire near Hampi, is a cave known as Sugriva's Cave. The cave is marked by coloured markings. The place holds its similarity to the descriptions of 'kishkinda' in Sundarakanda. Rama is said to have met Hanuman here. The place is also home to the famous Hazararama temple (Temple of a thousand Ramas). All links retrieved July 27, 2019. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

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Click on these children's book titles to go directly to the activities you want or browse them below. Also, email us your own creative ideas for sharing Pat's books. Include your name and the name of your school or library. Curriculum ActivitiesAgua, Agua, Agua (Spanish edition: Agua, Agua, Agua) - Create a science experiment on water displacement. - Older students can study fables in the library and on-line and then write an original fable to present to the lower grades using very simple text. - All of these books can be part of your April 30th, Día de los niños/Día de los libros celebration. Visit the REFORMA site for ideas of library events. A school in South Texas some years back had a book parade by decorating A-V carts with favorite books. Feature bilingual books, books in other languages or that include other languages, and books about bilingual children. - Create scary abuelos masks using white paper bags, crayons or paints or paper mache. - Read the Author's Note in the back of the book. Pat Mora mentions a cultural tradition similar to los abuelos which is practiced in Japan. Find out if there are similar traditions in other countries. - Talk about other multi-generational holidays, festivals, traditions, and activities you know about that are practiced in your family or community. - Locate New Mexico on a map of the United States. Visit your school or public library and research 5 facts about the state and the people. - Act out a scene of los abuelos coming down from the mountains, or for a long-term project, create a class play based on the story Abuelos by Pat Mora. Perform the play for other classes, teachers and families. Serve bizcochitos (see recipe below) and empanadas after. - Share something you're afraid of with the group and talk about scary feelings. - Read a story about another cultural tradition with similar elements to Abuelosthat interests you. The Bakery Lady (Spanish edition: La señora de la panadería) - Studying bread-making traditions popular in different cultures can be connected to math (measurements), science (reactions), social studies (community helpers), geography (grain production) and history (craft production). - Enjoy art-making projects in which students shape and decorate either traditional breads or their own creations. - Visit a bakery willing to have the students not only tour but also interview the bakers. Have students discover other community helpers seldom noticed whose work is both utilitarian and aesthetic. The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish edition: La hermosa Señora: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) - After sharing the book, join students in making paper flowers. Sample instructions: http://www.ehow.com/how_6217356_mexican-tissue-paper-flowers-instructions.html. - Share two to three books of other cultural stories/legends. Invite students to share a story from their culture. - Invite students to create art (drawings, collages) depicting a story from their culture. - Plan a Readers' Theater of the book. A Birthday Basket for Tía (Spanish edition: Una canasta de cumpleaños para tía) - Introduce children to birthday customs around the world. - Enjoy storytelling baskets created by the children with items brought from home. - Students could also bring a favorite book to share. - Students can create memory gift baskets for a family member or friend. - Counting skills and games can be part of the basket activities. Anita Canteenwalla and Jean Thornton of Longwood Elementary in Seminole County, Florida, have suggested a Tia lesson planning idea for struggling readers that "Brings a Gift to the Whole Class." Download the lesson plan. Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros - Before reading the book, show Book Fiesta! to the group asking them to look closely at the book cover and illustrations on each page/spread. Ask children to guess what’s happening in the story by looking at the pictures. - Invite students to write a poem about the books they like to read. - Teach students the Book Fiesta! song and have them perform it for another class or group. If there’s a music teacher at your school, involve that teacher in planning this singing activity. - Rafael López paints with acrylics on sanded wood. Children can paint a mural in the style of Rafael on a large piece of plywood or on large sheets of paper and display the mural in the school library or hall. - Does the classroom have a reading corner? Rename it the “Bookjoy Corner” and have children design signs or pictures for the space. Change these every week so that all signs have a turn being displayed. - Have children create dioramas of a place where they enjoy reading and then display them in the hallways. - Share the suggestions for celebrating El día de los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day that are printed in the back of the book. Involve parents, your colleagues and the principal in creating these celebrations annually at home and school. Download a teacher's guide for Bookjoy, Wordjoy from the publisher, Lee & Low Books. Bravo, Chico Canta! Bravo! - Plan a Reader’s Theatre of the book using props suggested from the book’s illustrations. - Enjoy a field trip to a local children’s theatre. - Ask students who are bilingual what languages they speak and what some of their favorite words are. Create a display list of the words and their meanings. - Invite students to create a language for their favorite animal and to prepare a glossary of common words to share with the group. - Invite students to choose a favorite story and to draw a picture of the set designs and characters on stage. Confetti: Poems for Children - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Lee & Low Books. - Students could study both egg-decorating traditions around the world as well as Mexican folk arts. Students could then make cascarones, dry egg shells filled with confetti. Mayhem possible! - Ask students to prepare and share a Me Bag that contains items about their culture(s). Strive to help them see that though cultural expressions include food, folklore, fashion and festival, cultures are complex and reflect a group’s values, geography, history and knowledge. - After a field trip to a neighborhood bakery, for example, students could learn about bread-making traditions and the connections between food and culture. - Using an array of children’s toys from around the world, let children discuss differences and similarities. Delicious Hullabaloo: Pachanga deliciosa - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Piñata Books/Arte Público Press. In Spanish. - It’s hard to resist a food activity given the appetites of the main characters. After learning about the indigenous foods of the Americas, students can prepare their own pachanga deliciosa. They could also illustrate and publish their own cookbook of recipes of the Americas. - Teach students about Mexican music and instruments and have them learn a Mexican song. - Students can explore the diversity of the U.S. Latino population, the differences and the similarities such as enjoying a pachanga with friends and music. - Students can select a kind of lizard (collared, gila monster, horned lizard) and compare and contrast what they learned. The Desert Is My Mother: El desierto es mi madre - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Piñata Books/Arte Público Press. - After learning about mural art, students can plan and create a large desert mural. - Students can create a desert diorama, art boxes, mosaics, desert animal masks, cartoons of desert creatures, riddles, bookmarks. - Students can learn about protective coloration—camouflage, warning coloration and mimicry. - After learning about the desert, students can listen to one of the many tapes available of nature sounds and write as they listen, and share their work in small groups. - Students can practice observation skills essential to a writer by spending time outdoors and recording in their small poetry notebook what they hear and see in preparation for writing. Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart (Spanish edition: Doña Flor: Un cuento de una mujer gigante con un gran corazón - Enjoy two audience-participation poems (Young Children) (Older Students) for use with Doña Flor. - Introduce the tall tale tradition and have students explore if it is a uniquely American tradition. Have them select their favorite tall tale and illustrate it. - Have students do a comparison of Flor and another tall tale. - Of course, have students write and illustrate their own tall tales and, if possible, present them to another class. These could make wonderful dramatizations that could include music and technology. The Gift of the Poinsettia: El regalo de la flor de nochebuena - I love etymology including horticultural etymology, details such as the origin of the name tulip possibly coming from the Arabic dulband meaning turban. After learning about the origin of the name poinsettia, have students read about flower folklore and write a story based on their research or create a name for an imaginary flower and write and illustrate that story. The flower could, of course, be named after themselves or their friends which could lead to some interesting descriptions. - Humans enjoy celebrations. Have students study celebrations around the globe and share a holiday celebration important to their family. - Students can learn about legends and either re-tell a legend, particularly one native to their area or place of birth, or create their own legends. - Ask the students to draw what they're grateful for and to share their drawing with a partner or small group. - Ask the students if they know how to say "thank you" in other languages. Teach them to say "thank you" in some of the languages spoken locally or connected to the children's cultures. - Have children make and decorate "gratitude baskets" to take home for sharing with their families. Students can invite family members to write down what they are thankful for on a slip of paper and leave it in the basket. These can be read aloud at a family gathering or special meal. - Depending on the age of the students, have them write and illustrate their own GRACIAS book (a great present to share at Thanksgiving). With younger students, write a group poem. Here Kitty, Kitty/¡Ven gatita, ven! (Book 3 of My Family/Mi Familia)> - Ask the class or group to draw pictures of their favorite hiding places. - Read aloud some nursery rhymes and poems about pets to the children. Poems are an excellent way to introduce rhythm and rhyme to children, and they enjoy the humor that is found in many poems for the young. - Guide the class in writing a group poem about a kitten. Write the completed poem on a large sheet of poster board and hang it in the classroom. - Create your own Kitty Hides math game. Make cut outs of 10 kittens and a "hiding place" pocket. Reinforce counting and introduce subtraction and addition by hiding the kittens and returning them to the group. You can play a matching game by making some of the kittens the same color or with the same spots or stripes. - Ask the class to create a list of ways to take good care of our pets. I Pledge Allegiance - Download the Educator Guide from the publisher, Random House. Aligned with CCSS. Join Hands! The Ways We Celebrate Life - The poem describes "ways we celebrate life." Ask the children to share some of the ways they celebrate life in their family and community. - Name ways to celebrate life with books. Try starting a Mother-Daughter Book Club; donating "gently-used" books to children's hospital; making your own alphabet book; or acting out a story from a children's book. - Joining hands is a way of showing togetherness. Name other ways of being together with family and friends. - Create a celebration collage using students' own photos or photos from magazines. - Older children can write their own pantoum; it's a fun form to create and illustrates the power of repetition. Use the color-coded lines of the poem in the back of the book as a guide or by numbering the lines to use as a map. Let's Eat ¡A comer! (Book 1 of My Family/Mi Familia) - Ask children to share examples of what their family eats for dinner and chat about how different families and different countries have favorite foods. - Have children draw a picture of dinnertime at their house. - Ask what Dad means when he looks around at everyone at the table and says "Yes, we're rich." - Ask the children to define what "grateful" means. Create a morning circle time and ask children to tell one thing they are grateful for. Try to do this regularly. - Ask children to bring in the recipe of their favorite food. Create a class cookbook, copy and distribute to families. A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés Teachers, search engines can take you to many interesting sites on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Here are ideas for your students: - Students can contrast life in Nueva España (now Mexico) with life in the United States in the 17th century: politics, the arts, daily life, etc. Students can create a time-line of the history of Mexico up to the 17th century beginning with the Olmec. - Sor Juana loved word games. Students can create a class book of riddles. - Sor Juana enjoyed collecting scientific instruments. Students can prepare group reports on the instruments available at that time or reports on the scientific instruments of today that students might like to collect. - When Juana went to Mexico City, she was fascinated by the many languages she heard and included one indigenous language (Nahuatl) in some of her work. Students can listen to their world and learn about languages other than English that they or other students around the country might here. Encourage students to include words from another language in a poetry project. - Enjoy a cyber-visit to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts that opened July 2002 in Santa Fe, www.spanishcolonial.org. Listen to the Desert: Oye al desierto - Students can make desert puppets and stage a play. - Learning to make desert sand paintings provides an opportunity to teach about native cultures and the art of the Southwest. - Students enjoy writing group poems on a theme such as, “Listen to the Playground.” - Students can research early musical instruments of the Americas, make their own and use them to accompany the words. - Try choral reading with this book. Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers - Invite students to read other anthologies connected by theme such as In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall. Students can create their own theme anthologies and include original work and poems by others. The books can be illustrated or enhanced by other kinds of student art such as collage. - Students can select one of the poems in the collection and write a prose piece on the same theme. - Using one of the poems in the book as a model, students can write their own poem using an existing format. - Students can collect compelling photographs of mothers and grandmothers and write brief poems as captions. This is a good opportunity for a global photography project. - Of course, students can write and/or draw their own poetry gift for their mother or grandmother. Maria Paints the Hills - Create a “Paint the Hills with Maria” event that encourages young readers to study and paint their landscape using a variety of media. This can provide a good opportunity for learning about local geological features and the names of local flora and fauna. - Maria Hesch modeled her style after the work of Grandma Moses. Students can study the work of Grandma Moses and do a comparison of the work of these two women artists. Students can also select a visual artist whose style they would like to imitate and create their own art piece for display. - Students can learn about the history and crafts of Northern New Mexico and contrast Maria’s life with their own. Students can enjoy making adobe or a simple weaving project. - Water is an issue of growing global importance. Students can learn about the acequia or irrigation system of Maria’s region and contrast it with our own piped water systems and with other water systems around the world. - Enjoy a cyber-visit to the Museum of International Folk Art that hosted the Maria Hesch exhibit in 1997, www.moifa.org. ¡Marimba! Animales A – Z - Plan a Marimba Fiesta. Work with a music teacher to teach some of your students or a group of older students to play the marimba and have them accompany the reading of the book. Students could also learn a few of the Latin dances mentioned in the book and bring samples of the foods mentioned. - Students, alone or in pairs or groups, can learn more about the animals they don’t know in the book and share the information with the class. This could include facts, drawings and original work such as a poem about the animal. - If there’s a zoo in town, ask your students to visit the zoo and write about their visit or select three favorite aspects to share with the class. You might also invite a zoo staff member to visit your class and talk about not only the animals but also about jobs at the zoo. - Excite your students about writing and illustrating their own alphabet book or create a class alphabet book. You could together create a list of other cognates. - Explore other musical instruments popular in Latin America and create an art project connected with them—bringing some to class and accompanying music with them, drawing them or making them out of clay, etc., writing haiku about them. The Night the Moon Fell (Spanish edition: La noche que se calló la luna) - After introducing folktales, ask students to find other folktales about the moon or have them write a folktale about a part of their environment. - Students can study the phases of the moon and the relationship of the moon and tides. - Students can research the topic of endangered languages and report on current strategies for language revitalization. - Students can learn about folklife and folklore studies, the folklore of their area, and then help document the folklife and lore of their neighborhood or region perhaps with the guidance of a local folklife expert. For resources, visit the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress at www.loc.gov/folklife/. - Using branches, have students create their own tree for a special person or to remember a specific birthday of their own. Teaching origami or making clay wind chimes are possibilities. - A number of my books describe relationships between children and an older relative. Invite students to share traditions from their families. Invite grandparents or older relatives and friends to visit the class and perhaps to share a memory, game, tradition, or song in their native language. - Students can make items for Pablo’s sixth birthday. - Using “dress-up props,” children can stage a scene about an event with an older relative or friend. A Piñata in a Pine Tree - Ask the students when and where they hear languages other than English. Do they like to learn new words in other languages? What new words did they learn in this book? - After sharing the book, have students draw the book, or a few pages, as you read the book. - Help students make their favorite gift in the book and give it to their amiga/o. - Learn to sing the song and perform it for another class or group. The Race of Toad and Deer - Since students are interested in ancient cultures and often don’t know very much about the indigenous cultures of Mexico and Central America, this book and The Night the Moon Fell provide opportunities to create large time-lines comparing the major ancient cultures of the world as well as specifically learning about the advanced civilization of the Maya. - Much of what we know about the ancient Maya comes from the careful work of archaeologists. Create a digging experiment to teach the concept of super-position, layering. Older children could help create the experiment. - Have students research the rainforest and its diversity including its people, how and why rainforests are threatened, and strategies for saving them. - Students can research Guatemala, its languages, history, geography, music, its past and its present. The Rainbow Tulip - Explore the value of oral history with students. - After discussing the value of oral histories and teaching basic interview techniques, ask students to interview a family member and create an artistic response: a story, play, poem, dance, collage, etc. - Given the many kinds of families, students can design their own symbol (which need not be the standard family tree) to illustrate their connections to the special people in their lives, those who constitute their family. - Students can take photographs (or draw) their families and neighborhoods and create their own books. Some students could even create a video. - Students could role play a scene about the discomfort of feeling different. The Remembering Day - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Piñata Books/Arte Público Press. - Invite students to share stories about their relationship with a remembered loved one. Students can also share a photo or their own drawing. - Invite students to write a poem about a deceased family member or friend. - Invite students to bring photos or special objects of remembered loves ones and create a classroom, library or school display. - Plan a remembering day event at your school or library. You can include flowers, songs, favorite foods of loved ones, funny stories. Create a celebration of special people we have known. The Song of Francis and the Animals - A good opportunity to explore the complex process of making woodcuts. Perhaps a local woodcut artist or an art teacher could explain the process and devise a safe method for students to create their own art. - Invite students to discuss the relationship Francis had to each creature. Have students share stories of their own habits of treating animals. - If possible, invite a veterinarian or veterinary student or a staff member of a humane society, animal shelter, or animal rescue program to do a presentation on how to be a good pet owner. - As you know, this book is an extended poem. Invite students to write their own poem/song about their favorite animal. Sweet Dreams ¡Dulces sueños! (Book 2 of My Family/Mi Familia) - Ask children to share their bedtime routine. Do they have a glass of water? Does someone read to them? Sing to them? Is a language other than English part of their bedtime routine? - How many children in the class have members of their extended family living with them? Ask children to name something they've learned from a grandparent or an aunt or uncle. - Read some bedtime poems to the class. Try to find "classics" and contemporary examples. Ask the children what they like about these poems. - Listen to a selection of lullabies illustrating different musical styles and lullabies from different countries. - Ask the children to create a group list of their favorite nighttime words. Write them down and post the list decorated with stars, moons etc. This Big Sky - Students can create poetry anthologies of the natural life in a specific region-- theirs, an area of interest, or an imaginary landscape. - Especially during April, National Poetry Month, students can treat one another to a poem a day. - The poet who shares the poem receives an apple. - After discussing “Old Snake,” students could draw or make their own snakes and write on the back one of their fears or self-doubts. - Among the many responses possible after a discussion of student’s personal dreams, they can make and then release kites on which they’ve written their dreams. - Students can study how plants and animals conserve water in the desert. Tomás and the Library Lady (Spanish edition: Tomás y la señora de la biblioteca) - After exploring with students the qualities of heroes and why some people such as sports or music figures are noticed and others like nurses, school bus drivers, migrant workers or park rangers aren’t, work with students to write brief biographies or biographical poems about unnoticed heroines and heroes. They could also draw portraits. - The discussion on heroines and heroes offers an opportunity to teach media literacy to help young viewers assess what they see. - Few of us know enough about migrant workers. Students can learn about the history of migrant workers in this country and about their difficult lives and the discrimination they encounter. - Using maps, students can share their families’ historical journeys and facts about the family’s countries of origin. - Students can also learn about the history of libraries, the library as a career, and the kinds of librarians and libraries. Further they could study how libraries are funded and what a library board is. - Fourth grade students at Pattison Elementary School in Milford Ohio who read TOMAS suggested to their teacher, Christina North, that they pretend they were Tomás and write postcards (which they made) to the library lady. They sent their postcards to Pat who enjoyed them thoroughly. The Family Involvement Storybook Corner at Harvard University has created a tool kit for Tomás and the Library Lady. Choose to Read Ohio created a tool kit when they chose Tomás for their 2019-20 booklist. At Perkins Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa, with the help of Des Moines Performing Arts' Applause Series, each class did a different type of performance based on their experience of reading Tomás. Watch the video: Uno, Dos, Tres: One, Two, Three - Have students draw their own Spanish counting dictionary or write a story using the numbers from one to ten in Spanish. - Students could write and illustrate counting books using other languages. - Students can learn about the folk arts of Mexico and how those traditions are maintained. Students could then make a simplified or simulated version of tin work, papier-maché, straw art, piñata making, clay art, papel picado, etc. Water Rolls, Water Rises/El agua rueda, el agua sube - Download activities (pdf) - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Lee & Low Books. - Download a teacher's guide that aligns with TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards and curriculum for first and second grades, written by Kendall Miller, the Logistics and Outreach Coordinator for the Texas Book Festival. Kendall also runs the TBF literacy outreach program Reading Rock Stars. Wiggling Pockets/Los bolsillos saltarines - Ask the students to discuss their reaction to the book. Was it funny? What have they or other family members done to make the family laugh? - After sharing the book, ask the students ask the students to draw a picture of their favorite scene in the book. - Have the students act-out the book as you read it after an initial first or second reading. Part of the class could provide sounds to the story. - Make frog shapes from colored or pattered paper and play a matching game. Cut out frogs of different sizes and ask children to arrange them in sequence - larger to smaller; one small, one large, repeat etc. - Read some poems about frogs to the class. - If you're feeling ambitious, build a terrarium and keep a frog(s) in your classroom. Talk about the kind of habitat a frog needs to live in. - This is the last book in the series My Family * Mi Familia. Have the students discuss their favorite scenes. Would they like this family as their neighbors? Yum! ¡Mmm! Qué rico! America's Sproutings (Haiku) - Download a teacher's guide from the publisher, Lee & Low Books. - Invite students to create an art piece (watercolor, collage, etc.) incorporating the 14 foods in the book. - Students can visit a grocery store and make a list of how many of the 14 foods they find. They might select one food to prepare in a recipe or as is and share with their family. - Students could read the ingredients on one box in their pantry and list which of the 14 foods they find. - Invite students to make a list of 14 of their favorite foods and write a haiku about one. - Plan a Yum! Party with your colleagues or class. Guests can choose one or a combination of the 14 foods in the book to use in a dish to share at your event. Leslie Wills, a second grade teacher at Woodbrook Elementary School (VA) submitted this idea: "Yum! ¡Mmm! Qué rico!"affirms Hispanic culture in such a positive way and prompts ALL students to think about the origin of foods that we enjoy regularly. Check out the printable created for ‘Food Poetry,’ Poetry on My Plate." A few more good ideas:Plant Poems: Here’s a good idea from my friends at the Princeton Day School. When the first graders planted flowers for the library and teachers’ lounge, they also planted their poems. They worked with their third grade poetry partners on their writing. The printed poems were then glued onto wooden sticks and planted for all to enjoy. Author Visits: Deck the Doorways My friends at Neshannock Elementary School in New Castle, PA provided the perfect end to an author visit in 1999: a booklet of photos. What a special gift! Thank you, Cheryl Massie. Doors throughout the school had been decorated with children’s art connected to my books. The collages, painting, poems and stories also spilled over into the hallway walls and into the library. When the young create their own art prompted by what they read, their reading experience is enriched and deepened as teachers and librarians well know.

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John R. Bourne This paper was created to stimulate thinking about the art of the possible in using storytelling for online education. We explore the possibilities for storytelling, visualization, peer discussion, gamification, and interaction as a learning paradigm. Written for educators and instructional designers/technologists, this paper provides concrete ways to engage in digital nonlinear storytelling at no cost by using open source software. KEY WORDS: digital story telling, unity, twine A story provides a description and event or events. In the traditional worlds of storytelling, both oral and written linear stories are commonplace, often becoming the basis for books, papers, films, and television. A detailed description of both historical and contemporary storytelling is provided in Wikipedia (Storytelling, 2016). In this paper, we are primarily concerned with a form of storytelling called “Nonlinear Storytelling” and specifically because we believe that a strong link in nonlinear storytelling with gamification can dramatically improve learning in online education. Others have cited that storytelling provides improved recall over simple presentation of hard facts (Gillett, 2014). While this paper is not a scientific study, it is hard not to believe this finding; we think everyone has experienced the ease of recalling a story as contrasted with a collection of disjointed facts. This paper is dominantly for online educators with little to no experience in digital storytelling. How educators can use stories, create digital stories, and disseminate stories to online students, while increasing the achievement of desired learning outcomes will be explored. Where is storytelling most useful in higher education? While the focus of this paper is on higher education, clearly storytelling is also useful at earlier educational levels. Some academic areas in which storytelling can be used in higher education are shown in Table 1, ranging from traditionally used to almost never used. TABLE 1: Disciplinary Span in Storytelling |English, Languages||Stories are extensively used in teaching, especially in English as a second language| |History||History is a discipline ideally suited to stories| |Religion||Religious studies make use of stories in many studies| |Business||The case study is a core element of business education| |Health Care||Health care, especially nursing, is filled with storytelling. Medicine uses stories, but often do not explicitly label clinical finding as stories| |Physics/Chemistry Science||Physics and chemistry seem to not provide stories; perhaps are found only as adjuncts to simulations| |Engineering||Storytelling is almost unknown in engineering studies| What can be learned from considering the span of storytelling in the disciplines? First, storytelling, broadly defined, seems more widespread than might be suggested from a literature review. Second, however, one might deduce from the above listing that many disciplines do use some storytelling but also do not specifically label the activity as storytelling. An example is in medical education (“The patient presented with…”). Recounting a patient's problems is obviously a “kind of” story but not cast as a “story” in the medical education world. Third, the hard sciences, including engineering, do not frequently use stories, and instructors prefer to focus on analysis of hard data. Some use in civil engineering instruction is made using stories about disasters, for example, the Tacoma bridge failure (Tacoma Bridge Disaster, 1940) or other infrastructure collapses (Engineering Disasters, 2016). Although stories about such disasters are reasonable to have in a civil engineering course, it is more difficult to find stories in other areas of engineering. Other engineering disciplines should likely use more stories about improper designs and, more important, allow students to create and test designs in a story context. In contrast to engineering, business education is usually about connecting a core business method to a story about that method and how it is used in a real-life case. Business stories come in the form of motivational case studies that add very significant realism to learning about business. Can the adding of motivational materials assist educators to provide more realism to their teaching? We advocate creating materials that will do just that through the use of the relatively simple, recently invented, and open source digital storytelling methods described below. The literature on digital storytelling is relatively sparse. Various papers in conferences and journals have appeared. Examples of paper are referenced at the end of this paper. Most are old but nevertheless do not vitiate the usefulness of their findings (e.g., Robin, 2006; Barrett, 2006; Brenner, 2014; are more recent paper). Paper about storytelling in learning English (including as a second language) are a popular topic in the literature. Adding multimedia to a story is also often discussed. Research has been conducted that shows that storytelling enhances recall and learning (e.g., Oaks, 1995; McDrury and Alterio, 2004). “The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicated that the use of technology in education can increase various skills of learners. The findings also suggested that digital storytelling can enhance several learning skills including writing, designs, library and research, technology and communication” (Smeda, et al. 2014). Hence, one might wonder why storytelling has not been more prominently used throughout higher education. In some disciplines, storytelling is natural and well used (English, business), but in others (science, math, engineering), there is little evidence for storytelling as a learning paradigm. In a digital world, we have the opportunity to have flexible stories, often cast in the form of a nonlinear story. Nonlinear stories are just that—the stories don't proceed from beginning to the end; instead they give the learner/reader the choice of going down different paths. A problem with this paradigm, although very attractive, is that it is difficult and time consuming for the author to provide multiple pathways to pursue. As a learner, the “power of choice” is an empowering and motivating strategy that some believe should be included within curricula. One of the main issues that students experience with motivation is not having a sense of autonomy. Autonomy represents a sense of personal responsibility over the learning process, paired with advising, when necessary. Autonomy be achieved through nonlinear storytelling, because the choices made by the reader in the story change the final outcome. Through those choices, learner/readers have the ability to learn from their mistakes in a safe, risk-free environment. Another benefit comes from the availability of immediate feedback, since the story changes with every decision made. The word “gamification” has been used to define how one introduces gamelike capabilities into venues traditionally outside a game. Video games permit solving puzzles, engaging play in simulated venues that provide challenges, often connecting with others in multiplayer games, feeling achievement in “winning” a game, and assessing the learner's skills. These are all educational virtues that can be adapted to games that have a purpose of educating. First-person shooter games are commonplace, but educational games are less well-known. Business games (e.g., Capsim, 2016) have attracted faculty at hundreds of universities to use the game/simulation of building a business. There are games that mimic reality, games that are completely fictional, adventure focused, sports-related, and many other types. Our interest in this paper is educational—how can a gamelike, storylike activity help people anchor their learning in a memorable experience with takeaways that permits analogic application of learning to other areas. Games and stories are close cousins, indeed. Linear stories provide a step-through learning experience, but nonlinear stories engage the learner by having the learner have to make choices. Likewise, the choice-making paradigm is clearly observed in many adventure games (e.g., take the right fork, take the left fork). The game's story develops differently, depending on choices made. A homely example is the story of Little Red Riding Hood [Wikipedia on Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH), 2015] taking food to her grandmother in the woods. Of course, you can read about LRRH in a text story, but if you are actually playing the part of LRRH in the game, you will recall the experience longer. And, perhaps, if you replay the LRRH game you can avoid the clutches of the wolf. Interesting games in a variety of topics are available on the web. Consider the board game in which players are cast as theater managers who must recruit players (Shakespeare Board Game, 2015). Or, consider the Public Broadcast Company (PBS) game for choosing a play to write, created entirely from simple html scripts (PBS Game, 2015). The authors believe that nonlinear stories cast in the form of a game provide a remarkably simple way for students to experience this mode of learning. One technique for creating a simple text-based story, with graphics and video, as needed, is to use Twine* (2016), an open source and free computer tool that permits creation of a story/game with almost no technical knowledge (at least at the start). An example of a game/story will be provided below, but first Twine will be examined more closely. Twine can be downloaded from http://www.twinery.org. Originally created by Chris Klimas, a web developer in Baltimore, the software is provided free to the world by Klimas. Installation is straightforward, and running Twine provides a screen on which one can graphically create the story. If you wish to create a story without loading the program on your computer, you can do that from a URL on the http://www.tiwnery.org page. Figure 1 shows what an opening screen might look like with the beginnings of the LRRH story stored in nodes. There is a play button (bottom right); when it is pressed, play begins and a page is shown that transitions from one node to another. Nodes are enclosed in two left and two right brackets, and play proceeds along different paths depending on what choices the player makes. One can see the progression of the story by following the nodes. Creation of the story is accomplished by typing in the story that moves from node to node. The author specifies transitions from node to node using the brackets (as in Figure 2) to direct from node to another and to enter images, videos, questions, etc. Fortunately, for the faint at heart, in the example provided, we have left out what the wolf is doing to LRRH (Figure 3). FIG. 1: Node-based story example in Twine FIG. 2: Writing a story in Twine FIG. 3: Little Red Riding Hood in a game setting By now the reader has an appreciation of the possibilities for integrating storytelling into a curriculum. Moving forward, a layer of nonlinear complexity can be added. Traditional storytelling is linear. Little Red Riding Hood (2016) journeys through the woods to take food to her sick grandmother. On her way, she is stalked by the Big Bad Wolf, who finds out where she is going. He travels ahead, only to swallow her grandmother whole, disguises himself as the grandmother, and awaits the arrival of “dessert.” This is a linear story; one that goes in one line; never diverging. However, nonlinear storytelling can become even more valuable to an educator. Imagine if the learner, as the game character Little Red Riding Hood, has the ability to take a boat down the river to Grandmother's. What if Little Red had the choice to take a friend? Would the outcome change? How would this affect the story? How would this affect the lesson? Ultimately, one might consider connecting the story to a visual representation of LRRH in the forest in which one could play the part of LRRH, as shown below. This mockup was created in Unity3d (2016). Free versions of Unity3d are available online, which can be used to construct games. Another example of a nonlinear story is work done at American Sentinel University to develop a computer-based nonlinear story for assisting nonclinical professionals in learning about healthcare fields. In the story, the learner is the main character; a consultant brought in to assist in the integration of a hospital's Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR). The story is essentially a change-management scenario. Throughout the story, the user must make decisions on where to glean information from within a fictitious hospital. Interviews are conducted in an effort to detect the issues needing to be addressed prior to moving forward with the execution and installation of the EHR system in the hospital. If all the necessary information is not detected, the student finds that he is unable to offer recommendations to the hospital administrator and therefore may have to try again to access additional viewpoints from other characters in the story. Returning to interviews, another character is made possible by using the nonlinear backtracking capability. By immersing themselves in the story, the student learns what he should look for and who might be most involved in the integration. The story has graphical elements. Figure 4 shows the opening screen in which the student is welcomed. Upon entering the hospital, the student has a discussion with “Mr. Brown,” the hospital administrator, who sets up the problem of changing to a particular EHR system and is asked to provide results of discussion with hospital employees. The learner's goal is to formulate a recommendation for how to proceed. Upon returning to the main corridor, the student “sees” a list of departments to visit. The student may choose which one to visit first. Figures 4, 5 and 6 show some of the interaction upon visiting the nurse's station and radiology. FIG. 4: Opening screen of a Twine Story about health care FIG. 5: Visiting the nurses station in the virtual hospital story FIG. 6: Drilling down in the story to radiology information The story is nonlinear in that the student may randomly visit any department in the hospital and secure viewpoints from any person that is available in the study. No guidance is given in advance; only instructions are provided. There is a gamelike feel to the hospital exploration in that the student is striving to secure enough information to make a recommendation to the hospital administrator. At the end of the game, students are rated by the faculty on how good their advice was. Nonlinear storytelling can assist us in achieving learning outcomes in a variety of disciplines. Business programs, and other disciplinary concentrations, often use case studies to demonstrate a course concept. Business programs use case studies because they offer real-world analyses of how businesses have succeeded or failed. Case studies are a business school's version of storytelling. However, the studies come from facts; only nonfiction. But what would be the affordances of using fictional stories as well? Perhaps using fictional characters allows for imaginative exploration of a topic. When this occurs, we have the ability to morph the story presented into one that applies to scenarios that we are familiar with on an individual level. An example would be a story in which the player (i.e., student) is cast as a member of a failing start-up. The story proceeds with the player responding to discussions about what to do to improve the likelihood that the company can survive. The student soon understands that what he does in the interaction with simulated team members will determine the fate of the company. These interactions can be a powerful immersive learning experience. No longer are cases simply reading about what happened, but the learner can influence what happens in the story. Naturally, in well-developed stories, the learner can assume different persona and secure a different experience. If a student plays the part of the CIO, they would make suggestions differently from, say, what the marketing person would make, thus creating a healthy tension, which accentuates the learning experience. Short courses can be easily authored in Twine. The capability of providing questions and answers adaptively is straightforward. Of special note is the capability of modifying questions to adjust to the level of the user. The hospital exploration game described above could well be a short course. Another idea is to embed reading materials in a game. As faculty, we have always had trouble getting students to read materials. Perhaps one might even create a textbook in nonlinear form. Consider embedding a linear story for analysis and then using Twine conversations to provide that analysis. Natural language systems might be a better way to do this, but Twine stories could have an advantage by easily capturing a list of the decisions that a student makes as they branch along multiple paths. How are the storytelling activities that have been discussed useful in online courses? And, what are the obvious affordances? The major affordance for storytelling in a game setting can be found in student engagement. If the learning activity is sufficiently gamelike and provides constant feedback about performance to the student (more than “good job”), the student will keep moving through the game. Always having the student trying to find something out is a good model to follow in constructing the game. In the hospital example provided above, the learning was tailored to a real-world outcome; that is, providing advice as a consultant. A clear need is to create a set of learning objectives and tie those objectives to student actions in the “game.” A more complicated scenario is to meld Unity with Twine. Unity is a 3D world (free) that educators can use to build gamelike learning scenarios with avatars, scenery, and things to do, and connect those things with a text story in Twine. Connecting Unity and Twine enables activities such as LRRH losing her basket causing the basket to disappear in the 3D world. Or hitting the wolf with the basket could cause the wolf to collapse. These visual occurrences can have a dramatic impact on student recall of their experience as Little Red Riding Hood. Mashups of Twine with other systems are the most likely advances in making stories using Twine more appealing. Adding multimedia to Twine is simple. By using the image-calling methods of html, images can be inserted into the text story. Similarly, videos (e.g., YouTube videos) can be embedded. By recognizing these capabilities, the look and feel of Twine can extended rapidly. Twine also has the ability to use CSS (cascading style sheets), thus enabling styling the look of the page to almost any desired presentation. One interesting experiment we did with Twine was to put Twine in one iFrame and Unity3D in another iFrame of a webpage and have them communicate. An example is that one may make a choice in a story and that choice is reflected in a change in the 3D world. Red Riding Hood's basket could be stolen or lost during the dialog interaction, and it would disappear from the scene in the 3D world. Likewise, the basket could disappear as the wolf grabs the basket from LRRH in the 3D and that would be reflected in the inventory of items that LRRH carries in the Twine environment. Adding multiplayer capabilities to Unity permits user-to-user interaction in the 3D world, thus effectively creating multiplayer storytelling capabilities. Barrett, H., 2006, Researching and Evaluating Digital Storytelling as a Deep Learning Tool, in C. Crawford, R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber, and D. Willis, Eds., Proc. of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Int. Conf. 2006, Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), pp. 647–654. Brenner, K. (2014), Digital Stories: A 21st-Century Communication Tool for the English Language Classroom, English Teaching Forum, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 22–29. Capsim (2016). Retrieved October 27, 2016 from http://www.capsim.com. Classroom Salon (2016). Retrieved October 27, 2016 from http://classroomsalon.com. Engineering Disasters (2016). Retrieved October 27, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_disasters. Gillett, R. (2014), Why Our Brains Crave Storytelling in Marketing. Retrieved September 22, 2016, https://www.fastcompany.com/3031419/hit-the-ground-running/why-our-brains-crave-storytelling-in-marketing. Little Red Riding Hood (2016), Wikipedia, Retrieved September 22, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood. McDrury, J. and Alterio, M. (2004), Learning through Storytelling, Sterling, VA: Kogan Page. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr= &id=gVr0dVVLfeIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP7&dq=storytelling+and+l#v=onepage&q=storytelling%20and%20l&f=false. Oaks, T. (1995), Storytelling: A Natural Mnemonic. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Tennessee. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3943&context=utk_graddiss. Robin, B. (2006), The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, in C. Crawford, R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber, and D. Willis, Eds., Proc. of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Int. Conf. 2006, Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), pp. 709–716. Siemon, J. R., Henderson, D. E., and Schoenberger, M. (2015), Shakespeare Studies, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Pr. (September 30, 2015), Reference, p. 116. Shakespeare Board Game (2015), Retrieved September 22, 2016, from https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/180511/shakespeare. Smeda, N., Dakich, E., and Sharda, N. (2014), The Effectiveness of Digital Storytelling in the Classrooms: A Comprehensive Study. Smart Learn. Environ. Smart Learning Environ., vol. 1, no. 6, doi:10.1186/s40561-014-0006-3. Storytelling (2016), Wikipedia. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling. Tacoma Bridge Disaster (1940), Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge_(1940). Twine (2016). Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.tiwnery.org. Unity3d (2106). Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.unity3d.com. * At the time of writing, American Sentinel University was using Twine but is now using Articulate Storyline 360.

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French Literature During the Enlightenment French Literature During the Enlightenment French Literature during the Enlightenment As in other parts of Europe, the Enlightenment in France had been preceded by the publication of a number of works that were critical of the Roman Catholic Church, traditional Christianity, and received wisdom in general. Although the French court had come to be affected powerfully by a renewed sense of piety in the last quarter of the seventeenth century, these years had also seen the publication of a number of works that were to be widely read in the eighteenth century, and to form the basis for the Enlightenment's attempts to establish an "Age of Reason." Newton's ideas of a world held together by the opposing forces of gravity and John Locke's teachings concerning the necessity of liberty in civil societies came to be almost as important in eighteenth-century France as they were in England and America. Yet France also produced its own scientists and political theorists in this period, intellectuals that challenged the wisdom of past ages. Among these, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757) and Pierre Bayle (1647–1706) were two of the most important thinkers of the years around 1700, and their ideas formed one of the foundations of the Enlightenment in France as it gathered strength in the years following Louis XIV's death in 1715. Fontenelle was a scientist and a productive author who tried to make the implications of the latest scientific experiments available to a more general readership. He published widely on all kinds of topics, from the Classics to political theory and science, eventually winning a place for himself among the immortals of the French Academy. His most influential work, A Plurality of Worlds (1688), promoted the notion of the Copernican heliocentric or sun-centered universe. Although Copernicus had advanced this notion as early as 1543, and Galileo had elaborated upon his theory in the early seventeenth century, the Catholic Church's condemnation of the notion of a sun-centered universe had helped to dampen its rise to prominence, even among intellectuals in France in the later seventeenth century. Much of Fontenelle's scientific theorizing in the Plurality of Worlds was clearly wrong, and was soon disproven by the publication of Isaac Newton's Principia in 1689. Yet Fontenelle wrote vigorously and convincingly for the Copernican theory, and helped as a result to establish its acceptance in the country's intellectual society. Pierre Bayle, by contrast, singled out the entire edifice of Roman Catholicism for his most vigorous attacks. A Protestant, he was forced to emigrate from France as a result of Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had previously granted a degree of toleration to France's Protestant population. Bayle helped to establish the tradition of French writers publishing in exile that was to play an important role in the eighteenth century. His and his successors' works were often printed in London, Amsterdam, or in Switzerland before being smuggled into France, where they were avidly read by French intellectuals. In his works Bayle attacked the fanaticism of the traditional Catholic Church, but he was at the same time critical of the developing rationalistic strains of thought found in many European thinkers. His works were important, especially his Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697), because they celebrated toleration and championed a society of pluralistic views. His vision was not realized in late seventeenth-or early eighteenth-century France, although the thinkers of the Enlightenment were to champion many of the same causes that Bayle had. The concerns that Bayle and Fontenelle had expressed soon were taken up by many others, including the Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755), the first great thinker the French Enlightenment produced. Montesquieu entrusted his business interests to his wife, who was an astute manager, so that he could devote himself to study, writing, and his position in the Parlement of Bordeaux, an important court and administrative institution. In 1721, Montesquieu's first great work, The Persian Letters, appeared and soon prompted considerable debate. It was styled as a series of letters written between two Persian travelers during a visit to France. It mocked French civilization and customs by holding them up to the lens of supposed outsiders. In these letters Montesquieu ranged far and wide, and no one in France seems to have escaped the penetrating gaze of his considerable intelligence. The work attacked the absolutist system of government set up by Louis XIV, the Catholic Church, and all the country's social classes. In its allegorical portrait of a race of Troglodytes, it set forth a cogent discussion of Thomas Hobbes' seventeenth-century notion of the state of nature. Fueled by his success in prompting intellectual ferment, Montesquieu soon left his provincial home in Bordeaux and made his way to Paris, where he circulated in high court circles. In these years in Paris, he came into contact with several English aristocrats, and from his discussions with them, he, like other Enlightenment figures, came to admire the flexibility and greater freedom of England's political system. Eventually, he traveled to England to witness firsthand the country's government at work. In the years following his return to France, Montesquieu began his great classic, The Spirit of the Laws, a work that was largely complete by 1743, but not published until 1748, when he had deliberated over his arguments for a number of years and considerably refined them. In its final printed form it was almost 1,100 pages long. The originality of Montesquieu's vision as a political theorist can be seen in the ways in which he takes up subjects that were common among political writers at the time. Instead of insisting, as past theorists had, that governments should be divided for purposes of examination into aristocracies, monarchies, and democracies, Montesquieu instead treated the spirit that he believed produced each kind of political system. Republics, he argued, arose from a spirit of human virtue; monarchies from a spirit of honor; while despotisms were the product of fear. A second feature of the work proved to be of major importance in the later political history of France and the United States: Montesquieu's notion of the separation of powers. He argued that it was not enough for a government merely to separate functions, but that the legislative, judicial, and administrative duties in a state should be confided to completely separate groups that acted autonomously of each other. In this way his political theory anticipated the political innovations of the U.S. Constitution and the French Revolution. Although Montesquieu shied away from controversy, the implications of his work were widely recognized and attacked at the time. In the Sorbonne, Paris' distinguished university, they were condemned, and the French clergy widely attacked his conclusions as well. In 1751, his Spirit of the Laws was placed on the Catholic Index of Prohibited Books. The greatest author of the French Enlightenment was François-Marie Arouet (1694–1774), who was always known by his pen name Voltaire. He began his career as a secretary before turning to writing, although troubles soon plagued his career. For his early plays, tragedies in the tradition of Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine, he was pronounced the great successor to seventeenth-century classicism. But when he fell afoul of members of the court, he was banished for a time from France. In these years he lived in London and came to admire the greater liberty of English life. When he returned to France, he published his reminiscences of his time among the English as The Philosophical Letters (1734), a work filled with keen insights and irony about the differences between French and English societies. In religious matters, Voltaire always professed to be a deist, that is, a follower of the naturalistic religion that had been popular in England among some intellectuals at the end of the seventeenth century. His criticisms of French life, manners, and religion eventually made his life in Paris uncomfortable and, turning his back on France, he traveled for a time to Prussia, where he was offered a position in the court of Frederick II. There intrigues followed him, and eventually he left Germany, only to be captured and imprisoned for a time by Frederick's forces before regaining his liberty. The remainder of his life he spent in Switzerland and at a château he owned on the French border at Ferney. Controversies continued even there, although Voltaire established a salon wherever he went that frequently was sought out by the best minds of Europe at the time. He was also an avid correspondent who kept in touch with many other Enlightenment figures. Besides his plays, Voltaire's greatest literary achievement was his short fictional satire, Candide (1759), a work that viciously attacked the philosophical optimism of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, an early German Enlightenment thinker. Leibniz had taught that nature showed a gradual evolution and improvement towards the most perfect forms. Voltaire, by contrast, argued that such complacency was a fundamentally wrong-headed attitude toward the world. Life presented everyone with sheer random events as well as inexplicable evils that every human being should strive to correct. The characters in his Candide start with an essentially optimistic view of the world, a view from which they are soon disenchanted by the stunning series of tribulations they experience. The work presented Voltaire's alternative to Leibniz's philosophical optimism. In it, he argued that human society could be changed for the better, but only if, as in the work's conclusion, everyone tended to "cultivating their garden." Diderot and the EncyclopÉdie. Voltaire's fame spread far and wide throughout eighteenth-century Europe, in large part because of his popular plays but also because of his voluminous correspondence and his literary works. Denis Diderot (1713–1784) did not enjoy such an exalted reputation among France's Enlightenment philosophers and authors, but he came nevertheless to exert a significant influence over literary and artistic tastes in the country in the second half of the eighteenth century, primarily through his role as editor of the Encyclopédie. Diderot's publisher had intended this project to be merely a translation of the Cyclopaedia written by Ephraim Chambers and published in England in 1728. In his capacity as editor, though, Diderot soon vastly expanded the work, and together with his co-editor, Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783), the pair made the publication into a major organ for promoting the ideals of the Enlightenment. The radical character of some of its articles, which were solicited from like-minded figures, soon led the government to censor parts of the publication. Despite such efforts and the work's 25-year production schedule, the Encyclopédie was eventually completed, a significant work that helped to establish many of the new teachings about art, literature, and politics among its broad, cultivated readership in France and Europe. The French Novel. While political philosophy and works of social and literary criticism attracted some of the finest minds of the French Enlightenment, the period was also a great one in the development of the novel. An important genre of roman de moeurs or "moralistic novels" developed throughout the period. In this regard, the works of Alain René Lesage (1667–1747) were widely influential. After producing several works that were influenced by Spanish novel traditions, Lesage began to publish his Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane) in 1715. When the final installment was completed in 1735, it was a work unlike any other written to that time in French. The story followed its hero, Gil Blas, through a series of positions as a valet. Unlike the picaresque novels of Spain, the story is less tragic and brooding. It tells of Blas' adventures, crimes, and amours, before recounting his marriage and retirement from a life of exploits. More tragic, but no less popular was Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (History of the Knight des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut), the best known of the novels of the Abbé Prévost (1697–1763). It tells the story of a nobleman who falls in love with a courtesan. As a result, he falls into a seamy life to support his passion. In this widely read novel, realism combines with the taste for romance. The result produces a work that stood far above most of the novels written at the time. The tale follows the couple's fateful romance to its final destination, colonial Louisiana, where Manon dies. The overwrought but realistic description of her death was irresistible fare for operatic and ballet composers, as it was for eighteenth-century readers. Several composers relied on the story in the nineteenth century for operas and ballets. In contrast to Prévost's hard-edged realism, the novelist and playwright Pierre Marivaux (1688–1763) preferred plots that allowed him ample room to explore human psychology and his characters' thoughts. His two most accomplished works in this strain were The Life of Marianne, published between 1731 and 1741, and The Fortunate Peasant, published between 1734 and 1735. In both works Marivaux showed that he was a master of analyzing feelings and their effects on the human character. His works are now seen as anticipating the popular "novels of sentiment" that became common in both England and France in the second half of the eighteenth century. Rising Literary Quality. Despite its great popularity, novels were considered slightly disreputable forms of literature in France—that is, until some of the country's greatest authors began to write them. Although they had long been consumed in France's elite society, fiction generally was associated in the elite mind with the lower classes and country folk. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries thousands of cheap fictions were sold in France's villages through colporteurs, itinerant peddlers who carried with them everything from bows to buttons to escapist fiction. The figures of the colporteurs, immortalized in François Boucher's eighteenth-century painting The Galant Colporteur, had helped to create a whiff of disreputability for the novel in French high society, even though the evidence suggests that many in high society read these texts. But the traditional concerns of French classicism, with its efforts to create a national literature that was immortal and timeless, continued to discourage efforts to see the novel as a literary form that might rise to the status of high art. In the later eighteenth century, though, this situation changed rather quickly. In the articles he wrote for the Encyclopédie, for example, Denis Diderot celebrated realistic bourgeois fiction as a vehicle for inculcating moral values, and he pointed to the English novelist Samuel Richardson's Clarissa as an appropriate source for authors to emulate. Diderot eventually tried his hand at writing such an "elevated" novel, but the resulting product, Jacques, the Fatalist, did not appear in print until 1796. A generation earlier, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), perhaps the greatest political and social theorist of the Enlightenment, had already taken up Diderot's call for a morally uplifting fiction. He was the first French philosopher to embrace the novel form as a serious vehicle for treating moral and philosophical issues. But he would not be the last. Until modern times, the novel in France has retained a centrality in philosophical discussions that it lacks in many other cultures. The great twentieth-century philosophers, Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, for example, continued to write novels, as their Enlightenment and nineteenth-century forebears had. Rousseau's Julie, or the New Heloise (1762) stands at the beginning of this trend. Today, it hardly appears as a great work of art. It is long, overly sentimental, and often dry, but eighteenth-century readers loved it all the same. They seemed to have found in the work a precise description of a world they recognized, combined with a moral commentary they thought was appealing. Rousseau himself seems to have labored over Julie, working on the novel for about five years before its publication. The subject he chose was modeled after the medieval romance between Abelard and Heloise, an event that ended tragically with Abelard's castration and AN END TO MISERY introduction: The Abbé Prévost, a clergyman, was also one of France's most successful eighteenth-century novelists. His Manon Lescaut (1731), a sentimental and over-wrought piece of fiction, was widely popular in its day. It tells the story of a young aristocrat who takes up with a courtesan, to disastrous effect. Both he and his lover are eventually destroyed by their passion, although her death on the Louisiana frontier is certainly the grimmer punishment. In the following passage, Prévost plays upon his readers' desire for sentiment. The work's influence on other arts was longstanding, perhaps because of this death scene, which was widely depicted in several nineteenth-century operas and plays. We had thus tranquilly passed the night. I had fondly imagined that my beloved mistress was in a profound sleep, and I hardly dared to breathe lest I should disturb her. As day broke, I observed that her hands were cold and trembling; I pressed them to my bosom in the hope of restoring animation. This movement roused her attention, and making an effort to grasp my hand, she said, in a feeble voice, that she thought her last moments had arrived. I, at first, took this for a passing weakness, or the ordinary language of distress; and I answered with the usual consolations that love prompted. But her incessant sighs, her silence, and inattention to my enquiries, the convulsed grasp of her hands, in which she retained mine, soon convinced me that the crowning end of all my miseries was approaching. Do not now expect me to attempt a description of my feelings, or to repeat her dying expressions. I lost her—I received the purest assurances of her love even at the very instant that her spirit fled. I have not nerve to say more upon this fatal and disastrous event. My spirit was not destined to accompany Manon's. Doubtless, Heaven did not as yet consider me sufficiently punished, and therefore ordained that I should continue to drag on a languid and joyless existence. I willingly renounced every hope of leading a happy one. I remained for twenty-four hours without taking my lips from the still beauteous countenance and hands of my adored Manon. My intention was to await my own death in that position; but at the beginning of the second day, I reflected that, after I was gone, she must of necessity become the prey of wild beasts. I then determined to bury her, and wait my own doom upon her grave. I was already, indeed, so near my end from the combined effect of long fasting and grief, that it was with the greatest difficulty I could support myself standing. I was obliged to have recourse to the liquors which I had brought with me, and these restored sufficient strength to enable me to set about my last sad office. From the sandy nature of the soil there was little trouble in opening the ground. I broke my sword and used it for the purpose; but my bare hands were of greater service. I dug a deep grave, and there deposited the idol of my heart, after having wrapt around her my clothes to prevent the sand from touching her. I kissed her ten thousand times with all the ardour of the most glowing love, before I laid her in this melancholy bed. I sat for some time upon the bank intently gazing on her, and could not command fortitude enough to close the grave over her. At length, feeling that my strength was giving way, and apprehensive of its being entirely exhausted before the completion of my task, I committed to the earth all that it had ever contained most perfect and peerless. I then lay myself with my face down upon the grave, and closing my eyes with the determination never again to open them, I invoked the mercy of Heaven, and ardently prayed for death. source: Abbé Prévost, History of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux (Paris and New York: Société des Beaux Arts, 1915): 186–187. both lovers' entrance into convents. In Rousseau's updated retelling of the story, Julie instead dies, but before she does, she composes a letter to her lover that asks him to accept her death and their unresolved passion. The novel thus set up an interesting interplay between erotic attachment, sexual desire, and its ultimate renunciation in death. The effect of this ending galvanized Rousseau's reputation as a novelist of the highest merit, particularly among his female readers. In this work, Rousseau had intended to accomplish for the French novel what Samuel Richardson had done for the English genre through his Clarissa. In the wake of his Julie, Rousseau was barraged with letters from his fans, particularly his female fans, a testimony to the way in which he modulated his storytelling to the sentiments of his time. Later Eighteenth-Century Novels. Two other novelists produced works in the later eighteenth century that stirred similar emotions, and which continued to experiment with ways of presenting moral and intellectual dilemmas to their readers. In 1782, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Les liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) caused an excitement similar to Rousseau's Julie. The work has stood the test of time better than the earlier philosopher's fiction, and it remains an extraordinary piece of literature today. In fashioning his story Choderlos de Laclos (1741–1803) was also influenced by Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, a tale of a corrupt aristocrat who brutally rapes the heroine when she refuses to submit to his will. By contrast, the central story line of Les liaisons dangereuses involves, not a rape, but the gradual, entirely calculated seduction of a virtuous woman, who proves unable to resist the protestations of love of the anti-hero, Valmont. In the end it is the wicked Valmont who is consumed by his deceit, although the transforming experience of love that he undergoes with his heroine redeems him, so that even in his death he is restored to a state of moral goodness. But before this sublime transformation occurs, the work's complex plot twists reveal love among the "high and mighty" as nothing more than a cynical game, untouched by true passion, a diversionary amusement shaped by the desire for possessions and reputation. Choderlos de Laclos' brutal and contemptuous portrait of the dissolution of French high society remains unparalleled for its descriptions of aristocratic decadence. Its publication seven years before the outbreak of the French Revolution, when mounting criticism of France's idle aristocrats was steadily rising, helps to explain the sensation it caused, but the work transcends the problems of its own era and is one of the great Western depictions of hypocrisy and trickery. Evil of a different kind is also to be found in the works of the last great French novelist of the eighteenth century, the Marquis de Sade (1740–1814). His descriptions of sexual pleasure mingled with pain, particularly in his Justine, helped coin the word "sadism." The work is a "black novel," recounting the lives of two sisters, Justine and Juliette, the first virtuous, the second wicked. The religious Justine sees good in everyone, but is taken in by a libertine who gains her trust before subjecting her to his perversions. Like Rousseau's Julie and Choderlos de Laclos' Les liaisons dangereuses, the story line is also shaped by a reading of Richardson's Clarissa and the many "novels of sentiment" popular in late eighteenth-century Europe. The themes that Sade developed here—sexual desire, misplaced trust, and depraved wickedness—had frequently been treated in many other works, but certainly not with the degree of candor or overt sexuality as in Sade's fictions. The perversions he related in Justine as well as in many of the other writings he undertook while imprisoned for his own sexual deviations were, in large part, drawn from his own repertory of experiences. J. P. Bertaud, Choderlos de Laclos (Paris: Fayard, 2003). P. V. Conroy, Jean Jacques Rousseau (London: Twayne, 1998). H. Mason, Voltaire: Optimism Demolished (New York: Twayne, 1992). A. Niderst, Fontenelle (Paris: Plon, 1991). S. Werner, The Comic Philosophes: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Sade (Birmingham, Ala.: Summa Publications, 2002). R. Whelan, The Anatomy of Superstition: A Study of the Historical Theory and Practice of Pierre Bayle (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1989).

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Class activity: local frontier narratives Before students begin reading the novel, teachers can engage students’ prior knowledge by leading a discussion about the way stories have been told in Australia about the frontier or first contact. Ask students about the stories of first contact in their local area or provide them with some of these accounts. As a class, brainstorm the common elements of these frontier narratives and consider whether there is a common narrative or formal representation that has been established in Australian history. Part of this discussion should be about the language or discourse used in the telling of these narratives. The words ‘frontier’ and ‘contact’ are particularly important to this discussion. Class genre study: comparing representations of history As a class, view and compare some of the more recent television representations of Australian history, for example, Banished or The Secret River versus First Australians or First Contact. Consider the differences between the way history is represented in these different productions and the way it affects the audience. This would be helpful preparation for the class debate later in this resource. For a more genre focused study of this novel it would be helpful to also explore the historical novel’s recent history in Australian literature. Looking at some of the debates surrounding Kate Grenville’s The Secret River would provide interesting contextual information about the reception of archival work and the ownership of ancestoral stories in telling an Australian history. It could also be helpful to look at the publishing history of historical fiction in the post-bicentenial and post-Mabo moment. Individual investigation: the historical novel The historical novel is an extremely popular form with both contemporary writers and readers. Students should write a summary of their experience of this form and what they feel to be its appeal. Author’s note: locating the narrative Kim Scott’s note at the end of the novel clearly locates the narrative in a specific historical and geographical context. Spend some time understanding the location of King George Sound and the southern coast of Western Australia, as well as some of the historical sources that this representation of the ‘friendly frontier’ draws upon and a brief history of the whaling traditions in this region. Class wiki/blog: Noongar culture Create an online space that all students have access to. One area of this space should be dedicated to developing a degree of understanding about the Noongar people – their history, cultural traditions (lore, beliefs, social structures), connections to place, their stories and language. Allocate students to be the moderators of each of these categories and allow research time to create the repository of information. Teachers might wish to have students present this information to the class as an oral task, but it could also be used as a class resource. Some helpful information can be located through the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. (ACELR053) (ACELR054) (ACELR055) (ACELR056) Personal response on reading the text Individual task: the indigenous voice The construction of voice in this novel is important to the telling of the story. As they read the novel, students should make notes about their response to the voice. The story is told from the perspective of Bobby and other indigenous characters, but the point of view employed is third person. There are moments of great closeness between the narrator and Bobby and moments where there is a greater distance. This is quite unusual in Australian literature where the indigenous voice is often silent or in some way removed from the centre of the novel. At the end of reading, students should write a summary of the importance of the voice used in the novel and use one particular instance from the novel as an example of their observations. Creative visual task: place As the novel unfolds we learn more details about the locations and the environment where the story takes place, but we find the descriptions are often so closely embedded within this place that it can be hard to establish a clear image. From European traditions we are trained to understand landscape in terms of wide, establishing views and sweeping panoramas of a location. This is not the case in Scott’s writing; the descriptions of place are close to the land itself, a ground or water level experience. Students should create a collage of images or a Pinterest page where they collect a range of images in line with the descriptions of place in the novel: specific plants and animals of this location, precise locations, types of rock and subterranean structures. This more detailed but almost fragmented visual construction will help students to adjust to the different experience of description of setting and place, but also appreciate the closeness of connection to place. Group discussion: expectations of genre and Australian history That Deadman Dance plays with a disruption to our expectations of frontier narratives and most versions of Australia’s colonial history. Asking students to discuss their expectations about this form of narrative before, during and after reading the novel will provide interesting and helpful points for their study. Students should outline their expectations about plot, characterisation and setting in the table below and at the completion of reading, hold a class discussion where each student reflects on the way their expectations influenced their reading and reaction to the text at particular points of the novel. |Before Part I| |Before Part II| |Before Part III| |Before Part IV| |Reflections on the impact of our expectations| Outline of key elements of the text That Deadman Dance is a story of prehistory, historical flashpoints and future, but it does not adhere to a traditional narrative trajectory or chronology to tell the story. It is a story told through recollection, a ‘yarn’ of experience and a tale embedded in a place and its people. This is not a reading experience that students might be familiar with so working firstly to make sense of this story telling will be critical to their response to the text – a timeline activity for this is listed in the next task. Individual and group task: shifting narratives Bobby’s story, and the story of the settlement, are not told in a linear or chronological narrative. Instead the story shifts between time periods, between different moments of the past, so that locating a ‘present’ is often difficult for the reader. Students should try to establish a timeline of the narrative as they read. This could be initially based around the timeframe indicated by the sections of the novel (1826–1844), but students may also choose to locate certain moments outside of this period. Once reading is complete, and each student has their timeline in place, students might display their timelines for the class to consider and then form groups of four. In this group they should ask each other questions regarding their views of time allocation and discuss the effect of this narrative structure. Class activity: prologue Consider the origins and the important function of a prologue in the process of storytelling. Compare other texts that students might have read or seen that have a prologue. Some common examples might be Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Rings (each of the film adaptations has a separate prologue also), Star Wars, The Canterbury Tales. (A selection of these could be read or film versions shown.) Ask each student to write their definitions of what a prologue is and what is its function. One definition to share after this might be: The primary function of a prologue is to let the readers/audience be aware of the earlier part of the story and enable them to relate it to the main story. This literary device is also a means to present characters and establish their roles. Reading or re-reading the “Prologue” to That Deadman Dance, students should locate the common elements of the form and establish a purpose/s for its inclusion. This is a story of an emerging community and there are many characters who weave in and out of the narrative. Students should create a symbolic diagram/map of the colony and, using the list of characters below, place them in particular camps (literally – Indigenous, Whaler, Settler, Sealer, Barracks, etc.), or move between these camps, or to another space (a spiritual presence or away from the settlement). This would be a useful resource for students to create and refer to throughout their study. Important characters to include are: Bobby Menak Manit Wunyeran Wooral Binyan Dr Cross Geordie ‘Kongk’ Chaine Mrs Chaine Christine Christopher Killam Skelly Governor Spender Mrs Spender Hugh Jak Tar Jeffrey James Students could use their smartphone or another digital tool to record the changes to the diagram/map as the narrative develops, or record the movements/routes of particular characters around this coastal site. Class wiki/online space Unlike many Australian novels and plays that operate as narratives of nation, the treatment of themes in That Deadman Dance is extremely subtle. However, they are also extremely powerful. Some of these themes are: Exchange (commercial, cultural and personal); Relationships; Language; Connection; Communication; Cultural processes; Spirituality; Loss; and Community. Students may need assistance in locating themes and considering the novel’s presentation of and perspective on these ideas. For this reason, providing students with an online space that identifies themes within the novel could be useful, and rather than requiring students to identify them, they can instead record their encounters with these themes and how they understand the novel to be treating them. Teachers should create a wiki or online document using individual themes as headings (e.g. Exchange, Relationships, Language, Connection, Communication, Cultural Processes, Spirituality, Loss, Community) and students can add to the collection of ideas under each theme. Organising students contributions into categories such as related characters, critical scenes, significant quotes and important symbols/motifs might also assist. Individual task: close reading Teachers should select one of the passages below for this task. - ‘Returning on a Rope’ pp. 9–11 - from ‘Chaine’ pp. 17–19 (passage beginning, “The sun dropped below…” to “…holding him in its gaze.”) Students should present a response or reading of one of the passages. The instruction to students might simply be to respond to the passage, or it might be in the form of a prompt or question such as: - Explain the significance of place in the following passage. - How does the passage construct ideas about people? - Describe the effect of point of view in the following passage. - How is the reader positioned by the text? Individual task: oral response In the style of a press interview, students should respond to the following question. The response should be no longer than 30 seconds in length and be submitted as a voice recording. This is an opportunity for students to practise their selection of supporting evidence as well as their refinement of ideas. Kim Scott’s novel That Deadman Dance presents a different story of the Australian frontier narrative than we often read. The representation of Bobby’s world in the ‘Prologue’ of the novel depicts an intimacy between Wirlomin locals and white settlers. This intimacy is demonstrated through language and connected stories. While the closing of the novel shows an altered relationship, what is your response to this initial intimacy? The writer’s craft Scott’s writing style is considered distinctive. That Deadman Dance gained much attention and praise as an Australian novel at the time of its publication, including winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Both Scott’s reputation and the response to the novel can mainly be attributed to the poetic style of the writing and the way that traditional and Indigenous constructions of form are blended for particular effect. Order and placement of events As described earlier in this resource, the structure of That Deadman Dance is not linear. Its order is disrupted, as is our reading of the story. Ask students to cite other examples of this narrative structure from their own reading and viewing and consider the effect that the choice often has on the audience. Students should experiment with this device by creating a small autobiographical passage. It might be a moment of reflection where the narrator goes back to explain the story so that the location and further action will make sense or have significance. It might be a moment of revelation that has only been achieved by piecing together information from the past. This passage should be no more than two pages. After this experimentation, consider the order of Scott’s story and as a class discuss the effect and possible reasons for this disruption. Class investigation: time and Indigenous storytelling Go to the Wirlomen story site and listen to the various stories that appear online. Consider the way time is treated in this cultural form; it is not necessarily linear or seen as significant to meaning or didactic messages. As a class discuss how this might play a part in the storytelling style of That Deadman Dance. Approach to characterisation As has also been explained earlier in this resource, the personal history of Bobby frames the entire narrative. It is his story and the way it is intertwined with the new settlement that create this larger story of contact. Aside from his individual experiences, it is his interaction with other characters that enables Scott to embed the reader within this story. It is not just what the groups represent that enlightens the reader about history, it is how they are portrayed. Choosing their favourite character from the novel, students should select four scenes in which something is revealed about them and locate them in their copies of the novel. Looking at how the language brings the character to life, students should note the different ways that similes, metaphors and descriptive language are used. It is the construction of each figure and how this positions us to respond to the character that needs to be noted. Here are four significant quotes about Bobby. ‘Such a closed-in life made Bobby ill, and for a long time he saw the trees and sky only through the frame of a window or doorway…The paper of his lessons was old skin beneath his fingers.’ (p. 26) ‘Bobby looked into future graves, and into some people’s hearts and minds, went into the hollows within them, into the very sounds they made. All his friends and their goodness kept him alive. And he never learned fear, because he was not just one self. He was bigger than that, he was all of them.’ (pp. 127-8) ‘The smell of earth in the ochre and oil, his increasing sense of the fine and delicate paths of blood and nerves and the many fine sinews connecting him to this place, this perpetual moment.’ (p. 334) ‘We will sign a paper with them about how we might live. There will be no more gaol. We show our talent and good grace, and Wooral and them no longer need use fire and spears and fight them and their guns.’ (p. 390) (ACELR058) (ACELR059) (ACELR060) Use of parallels and contrasts Group activity – relationships and character pairs Relationships and community are critical themes in That Deadman Dance and this is largely communicated through character pairs in the novel. Below are five different pairings that are crucial to our understanding of power, culture, exchange and language. Divide the class into five groups, one for each character pairing. Ask them to locate the most powerful scene involving this pairing and explain what the pairing enables us to understand through the similarities or differences represented. - Cross and Wunyeran - Menak and Manit - Bobby and Chaine - Jeffrey and James - Christopher and Christine - (Other pairs can be added) Narrative point of view We know that this story is told through a third person narrator that is ambiguous, omniscient and shifting, but mostly the narrator rests close to Bobby. Guide the class through a discussion of the significance of this fluid use of point of view in the following passages. “We thought making friends was the best thing, and never knew that when we took your flour and sugar and tea and blankets that we’d lose everything of ours. We learned your words and songs and stories, and never knew you didn’t want to hear ours.” (p. 106) “Wooral was in the pilot boat now, heading for where the ship rested, its wings folded and tied. But it is a ship, not a bird, Menak, reminded himself again.” (p. 14) “Bobby sang, and it happened just as in the song: the boats left the shore and home receded, but the singer was on the boat, not on the shore like in the old songs, not on a hill and watching others leave, not scanning the seascape for a first or last sight of whale spout or tilting sail. Singing, Bobby thought of the marks he’d made when he was on lookout: his pen on paper, his chalk on slate, his roze a wail and the like, but there was no getting those marks into song, though sometimes he wrote letters in the sand, to show whaling men he knew their schooling and way of being civilised, too.” (p. 317) In addition, consider writing from different narratorial positions. How would this text affect us if it was written from: - Bobby’s first person position, - Chaine’s first person position, - Cross’ first person position, - a more distant third person position? Language and style One of the distinctive elements of Scott’s work is his choice of language. His stories are often described as ‘yarning’ and the language used in this novel connects his work in a culture and place – that of the Wirlomen people. The first word of this novel is significant – “Kaya”. Discuss the power of this word in relation to Australian history and linguistic traditions, then read the following passage. ‘Nitja wadjela. Your friends? the old woman said, no longer so friendly and playful. Tjanak! Devils! Smile to your face but turn around and he is your enemy. These people chase us from our own country. They kill our animals and if we eat one of their sheep . . . they shoot us. Baalap ngalak waadam! The very smell of them kills us.’ (p. 24) Students should consider how the use of both English and Wirlomen language affects the reader and how the reader is positioned to respond to such language use. Locate other passages to analyse in this same way, finishing with the passage pp. 390–393. The quote reproduced below is significant to target within that passage. “In moments, Bobby wore little more than a thin belt made of human hair, with blonde strands woven through it. A mysterious, well-dressed human form hovered on its toes in the corner of the room like a ghost, a silent witness, a hanging man; like all those things at once. Bobby was singing softly … There are relatively few specific settings in the entire novel of That Deadman Dance. Where there are buildings, huts or ships, it is often their placement within the natural world that is most significant and this helps us to understand the significance of the locations to the characters of the novel and to ideas of culture, spirit of place and belonging. Allocate groups within the class to locate and read around the following quotes. Consider the construction, significance and effect of the following passages. Share each group’s reading with the class and summarise the novel’s construction of setting through a discussion. ‘Because you need to be inside the sound and the spirit of it, to live here properly. And how can that be, without we people who have been here for all time?’ (p. 394) ‘All day they worked to escape the confinement of scraggly, twisted, pressing scrub. It was as if a great many limbs restrained them, disinterestedly; as if thousands of fingers plucked at their hair and clothing. Tree roots tripped them.’ (p. 49) ‘The trees were women leaning to the water to wash their hair, and when the children stood under their limbs they were among loved ones.’ (p. 204) ‘The tightly bound mallee all around him was like waves of the ocean. Clouds in waves, too, and the moon a ship, itself plummeting.’ (p. 226) Governor Spender and his wife Ellen think: ‘You might drown in forest, sink and never be seen.’ (p. 174) ‘Beneath his feet the bow tossed foam and water like scattered applause, and the swollen sails were all pride and power.’ (p. 19) Bobby’s awareness of the white man’s power is poetically described here, as it is later: ‘Chaine, rising up and down on his toes like a buoy bobbing on the ocean swell, watched them.’ (p. 197) ‘The only thing worse than sailors in a ship was whalers in a ship; maggots in a floating abattoir.’ (p. 303) The depiction of the littoral is critical to the setting in this novel. See the notes about the littoral in the next section, “Significance”. Symbolism and motif Complete the table connecting important symbols or motifs with the characters and ideas of the novel. |Symbol or motif||Explanation of meaning||Connected characters||Important references||Connections to theme/ideas| As a timed, in-class activity students will be given a copy of the chapter ‘People’s attention scatters like sheep do too’ (pp. 252–255). After reading the passage and annotating the use of narrative devices, students should respond to the following statement with close reference to the passage: explain how the use of narrative devices positions the reader to understand ideas about culture in the passage. (ACELR058) (ACELR060) (ACELR062) Ways of reading the text Contextual reading: post-colonial spaces Both Scott’s context of production and our own reading contexts are post-colonial spaces and this should be an important consideration for a classroom study. Placing Scott’s work against other writers from different spaces shows the impact of this space on the novel. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness both occupy very different spaces in relation to post-colonial thought. Reading Scott’s work in comparison to either work would make a rigourous and enlightening program. Reading Scott’s novel within the concept of genius loci is a valid literary position. Providing students with an understanding of this concept, and its importance within particular literary traditions is crucial. While Scott draws heavily on the Indigenous story telling traditions of old stories and yarning, his writing is also infused with European traditions and theoretical understandings. Some helpful starting points for students are the two quotes below; ‘Definition of GENIUS LOCI 1: the pervading spirit of a place 2: a tutelary deity of a place’ ‘… you begin to realize that the important determinant of any culture is after all the spirit of place.’ Durrell, Lawrence. (1969) Spirit of Place (London, Faber), p. 169. Scott’s novel has received some criticism for its representation, or lack of representation, of women in the narrative. There are many reasons why there are few female characters, and even more reasons for a lack of interaction between Bobby, whom we follow, and many of the female figures in the colony. Consider the presence in the novel of each character listed below and, as a class, discuss whether the criticism of Scott’s work is valid. - Mrs Chaine - Mrs Spender Another aspect of gender that could be explored through the figure of Bobby is the concept of masculinity. As the narrative spans the lifetime of Bobby, his journey to ‘manhood’ is also represented as a highly constructed process that negotiates indigenous and western cultural expectations. Scott’s novel is a novel of a specific regional location. This location is defined by indigenous borders and connections to place, as well as the historical narrative that played out in this location. Other works by Kim Scott are also closely connected to this region, as is the writing of other Western Australian writers such as Tim Winton, Dorothy Hewitt, Jon Doust, Lucy Dougan and Amanda Curtin. As a class compare the ideas, style and representation of place in the “Prologue” from That Deadman Dance and Dorothy Hewett’s poem “The First House” from her collection, Wheatlands. Australian literary scholar Philip Mead’s chapters “Nation, literature, location” in The Cambridge History of Australian Literature (ed. Peter Pierce, Port Melbourne: Cambridge, 2009) and “Connectivity, Community and the Question of Universality: reading Kim Scott’s chronotype and John Kinsella’s Commedia” in Republic of Letters: Literary Communities in Australia (eds. Kirkpatrick, P and Dixon, R., Australia: University of Sydney Press, 2012) are both useful reading for teachers on this topic. Reading from a World Literature perspective, or a postnational space, can be a liberating experience for students who have always read Australian literature within a national paradigm. Aside from its comments that are specific to an Australian story of settlement, That Deadman Dance connects with ideas that are global, both in terms of literary traditions and universal themes and ideas. There are a number of ways to do this, but here are some that could be accessible for secondary students. World canonicals – That Deadman Dance and Moby Dick Scott’s novel draws much from Melville’s literary classic. Aside from the prevalence of whales in both novels there are also connections between characters, natural imagery and geographic locations. Reading the novels together or taking passages from Moby Dick could be an extension activity for students. Comparisons with the biblical story of Jonah could also function in this way. Cosmopolitan site or figure The regional location of Albany can be read as a cosmopolitan site with the connections between Noongar culture, the Yankee whalers and sealers, French explorers and whalers, Chinese seamen and settlers and the imperial British marines and settlers. The depiction of the interactions between cultures (mainly based on archival information) is largely that of a harmonious relationship. Look closely at the scene where United States sailors attempt to overthrow the British governor as an exception to this, as well as the closing ‘dance’ by Bobby. In relation to the cosmopolitan elements of this novel, Bobby can be read as a cosmopolitan figure. This characterisation is not in keeping with the traditional depiction of Indigenous figures in literature. Bobby looks out to sea, he travels (as do other Indigenous figures), learns languages easily and converses with the many cultural groups who arrive on the south coast and acts as a mediator between various groups and individuals. While there are moments where he appears naïve, he is generally aware of the politics of trade and exchange and acts throughout as an intermediary for all forms of negotiation. Allocate scenes throughout the novel for students to consider this non-archetypal construction. The littoral zone is the area of the coastline bound by low and high tide. This zone is literally an area of exchange, where a geographic location becomes connected to other parts of the world through the sea. In That Deadman Dance this littoral zone is a critical location and has an extremely symbolic, liminal significance to the themes of the novel. Other writers from this region also consider issues within the littoral zone, most notably Tim Winton, and reading passages of his work, The Land’s Edge, would be helpful in understanding the significance of the motif to Scott’s novel. Other writers throughout the world also explore the littoral: Melville, Hemingway, Richard Flanagan, Defoe, Proulx or Derek Walcott. Comparison with other texts Versions of the text in other modes, media and contexts Mamang (picture book) Created as a community language reclamation project, Mamang (Whale) is a traditional story, or an ‘old story retold’ that belongs to the Wirlomin people. The story is immediately recognisable to those who have read That Deadman Dance as the ancestral story of the whale and the young Noongar man, which reappears throughout the novel and is closely connected to Bobby and Menak’s experiences. Visit the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project website to explore the close connections between these texts, and to hear the story read in its original language. This is extremely helpful for students to understand the language used in Scott’s novel and the themes of cultural exchange and language. Aspects of genre Historical fiction and Remembering Babylon The genre of the historical novel has dominated Australian fiction in the post-bicentenial and post-Mabo period. Novels, often based on archival research or historical accounts, function as commentaries about Australia’s past and the way that that past continues to be part of the present and the future. That Deadman Dance is considered by some to be a continuation of this genre’s development, others consider it a disruption to the genre. Compare the first appearance of Indigene Bobby in “The Prologue” to the first appearance of non-Indigene Gemmy in David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon with his critical first line of dialogue in the opening pages, “Do not shoot, I am a B-b-british object!” Other texts using similar approaches or dealing with similar ideas Last of the Mohicans (novel) This novel is referred to twice in That Deadman Dance and its exploration of a different colonial experience makes an interesting comparison. Students should be aware of this novel and the significance of the references to it, particularly it’s circulation within the King George Settlement, even if they don’t read or study the novel. Benang by Kim Scott (novel) Scott’s other novel is a complex exploration of later stages of settlement and the resulting lives of Indigenous Australians. Its discussion of eugenics and the family histories of people during a particular period of Australian history can be read as a continuation of Bobby’s story. Aside from thematic connections, reading Benang alongside That Deadman Dance provides an extension to the study of Scott’s writing style. Benang is too complex a text for most Year 12 classes but reading some selected passages as comparative examples would be an interesting task. Jandamarra by Steve Hawke (stage drama) A project that emerged from the Bunuba people, this play explores the historical story of Jandamarra and the Bunuba resistance. Not only is Jandamarra an interesting historical figure for students to explore (and there a number of ways that his story has been told: documentary, picture book, etc.) but he is also an interesting counterpoint to the character of Bobby in That Deadman Dance. This play is a community project that places language at the centre of the writing process. Visit the Jandamarra website to see the interesting study that could be created by studying Jandamarra and That Deadman Dance together. A comparative focus on language, community, culture, form and historical narratives could be easily created. Translations by Brian Friel (stage drama) This text is an example of a postcolonial play from Ireland. Although written in a slightly earlier postcolonial context and time to That Deadman Dance, considering this play would assist students to understand the transnational connections between those disenfranchised by British colonialism, and how the stage production context can influence the ideas and views represented within a text. Like Scott, Friel focuses in the importance of language to cultural heritage and identity. Seamus Heaney’s “Act of Union”, “Digging” and “Relic” (poetry) A small selection of Heaney’s most well-known poems, these three provide a focused comparision with the Irish experience under British colonial rule, as well as the cultural significance of time, language and land. No Sugar (stage drama) Fellow Western Australian and Noongar man, Jack Davis, is a helpful figure to study alongside Kim Scott. Not only are there comparative possibilities in terms of region, Davis’ conceptualisation of British, white Australian and Indigenous relationships also explores the importance of language as a signifier of culture and power. See also the Reading Australia teaching resource on the work. To the Islands by Randolph Stow (novel) Stow is an acclaimed novelist and poet whose Western Australian writings can provide helpful comparisons through representations of historical events within fictional texts. This particular novel of Stow’s also represents the Oombulgurri Massacre and the policies of assimilation and missionary institutions, a later story in the settlement process from Scott’s. Stow’s representation of Western Australian landscape would also provide many opportunities in a regional study and his written style would make a strong comparison to Scott’s. This comparative study could also focus on the literary prize culture, with both novels being Miles Franklin Literary Award prizewinners. The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan (picture book) This is a powerful allegory which assists the teaching of postcolonial perspectives. Explore allegory as an important literary device and have students attempt their own allegorical telling of a situation as an experiment of how carefully crafted the device must be. It also makes an interesting comparison to Scott’s almost visual and extremely symbolic construction of the deadman dance, and the implied meanings that it carries. Rich assessment tasks (Receptive) 1. Response: in-class essay “He has a language for the real story inside him, but it is as if a strong wind whips those words away as soon as they leave his mouth. People say he twists words, but really it is the wind twisting and taking his words away to who knows who will hear them.” (p. 165) Respond to this quote in the form of an essay. On completing the study of this novel, students should write an essay in timed conditions that explores some of the main themes of this novel, such as language, culture and power. Provide the students with the quote above one day before the assessment. They may bring 100 words of notes and this quote when writing the essay. Notes may be summary points or quotes, and allow students a reasonable time in which to complete the essay (45 minute to 1 hour). In this time students should be able to write approximately 600–1000 words. (ACELR062) (ACELR063) (ACELR064) 2. Reading genre: response Consider these questions. - Are you more attracted to writing that is driven by ideas about social issues or interior states of mind? - Do you look to fiction for knowledge about our social, historical and political realities in the present? - Do you think fiction writing can address moral issues of the past? Choose one of these questions and record (audio or video) a response that considers how you view reading historical fiction. You might like to refer to some passages from the novel or other texts you have read. This response could be a formal discussion, a personal reflection or simply a series of points or ideas. Recordings should be submitted for teachers (and possibly other students) to listen to or watch. Evaluation could be based on the clarity of expression, structure of argument points and accuracy of references. (ACELR063) (ACELR064) (ACELR065) Synthesise core ideas by: Reconsidering your response Students should revisit the predictions they made about That Deadman Dance recorded in the table as they initially read the novel. Considering these earlier thoughts students should write an evaluation of the accuracy of the predictions with detailed references to knowledge about genre, context and style. Debating: evaluation of the text as representative of Australian culture Create groups of six students to debate the topic, “Historical fiction can provide an understanding of a nation’s past that history alone cannot.” Three students will argue the affirmative, three students the negative, in accordance with formal debating rules. Rich assessment tasks (Productive) 1. Create an imaginary text The vivid characterisation of Bobby is critical to the impact of this novel. Closely consider the prologue of That Deadman Dance and the way the figure of Bobby is built, starting simply with the word “Kaya” through to a complex cultural and historical figure with an intimate connection to “the spirit of place”, all in five pages. Experiment with Bobby’s voice and write a series of four paragraphs that might fit within this prologue. It might be a further description of his surrounds, an interaction with Cross or Chaine, or a further connection with the whales. They needn’t be sequential but might fit into the prologue at different points. Writing should be approximately 1000 words in total. (ACELR066) (ACELR067) (ACELR068) (ACELR069) 2. Response: essay In publicity for the novel the following statement is used repeatedly. “It is a story for our times.” Discuss this statement with reference to That Deadman Dance. You might write specifically about the text or about it as an example of its form, the historical novel. 3. Response: tutorial discussion In the style of a shared discussion between students and teacher, explore the following quote by Kim Scott taken from the Author’s Note at the end of the novel: “I wanted to build a story from [Noongar] confidence, their inclusiveness and sense of play, and their readiness to appropriate new cultural forms – language and songs, guns and boats – as soon as they became available. Believing themselves manifestations of a spirit of place impossible to conquer, they appreciated reciprocity and the nuances of cross-cultural exchange.” Students should be given an opportunity to prepare for this discussion and create notes to aid their participation in the discussion. Teachers should consider how much structure the class requires for this discussion to occur. (ACELR053) (ACELR054) (ACELR062) (ACELR064)

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A recent article in The Atlantic (Christakis, 2016) lamented the overemphasis on academics that characterizes much of early childhood education today, noting that the preschool and kindergarten years serve more as gatekeepers than supporters and “welcoming mats” to the elementary school years, particularly for children at risk. Indeed, the first five years of a child’s life are dedicated to the preparation for “kindergarten readiness,” and many teachers today are under pressure to engage in didactic teaching practices aimed at promoting young children’s literacy and math competencies. Unfortunately, such teaching methods often require young children to sit for long periods of time and reflect the use of highly structured teaching methods, paperwork and worksheets that are not in tune with the developmental needs of young children. Even more concerning is that less developmentally appropriate practices are not only ineffective but also stressful for young children. In fact, studies have shown that children in classrooms characterized by developmentally inappropriate practices show twice the level of stress (and stress-motivated behaviors) than their peers in more developmentally appropriate classrooms (Hart et al., 1998). What do we mean by developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood? For young children, play in the context of warm, supportive teacher-child relationships characterizes an optimal learning environment. David Elkind once said, “Learning teaches us what is known, play makes it possible for new things to be learned. There are many concepts and skills that can only be learned through play.” Unstructured play, also known as free play, provides so much opportunity for growth. As Horne (2018) explains, play allows young children to acquire and master skills across a variety of developmental domains. Further, children are free to invest their full emotional energy in their exploration and learning when they share predictable, warm relationships with their teachers, and teacher-child relationship quality is related to children’s more advanced play. What skills are learned through play? Play builds a variety of skills! Play in all areas of the early childhood classroom (e.g., centers such as the block area or pretend play area) offers opportunities for solitary play as well as play near and in collaboration with others. Such experiences help children build important social skills and mastery motivation (the desire to learn a new skill or master a new competency, for example). Allowing children to make their own choices about play promotes autonomy and mastery. In a world in which children have little power, play allows children to make choices according to their interests and goals. Additionally, play promotes communication and language skills — critical competencies given that it is through communication and language skills that our needs are met and desires are known throughout our lives. Language skills such as holding a conversation, negotiation, vocabulary, and listening skills are supported in play in all areas of the classroom. Moreover, through play, emotional skills — the foundation for so much learning — are also challenged and developed. The following are examples of skill development supported through play: Blocks and Manipulatives Building block towers invites opportunities to experiment with cause and effect and practice balance and eye-hand coordination. Building structures involves planning and reasoning, opportunities to notice and sort blocks by shape and size (categorization, seriation, classifying objects, parts and wholes) and provides practice in spatial orientation (e.g., how blocks fit together). Working with puzzles involves experiments with spatial orientation, problem solving, and eye-hand coordination. Explorations with Duplos, chunky Legos and similar materials invite experimentation with planning and problem-solving as well as exposure to sensory experiences. Toys that produce interesting effects, like a jack-in-the-box, promote young children’s more rapid cause and effect learning and application of that knowledge in later play (Hauf & Aschersleben, 2008). Over time, block play and play with manipulatives expose children to mathematical concepts in meaningful ways. For example, observing that two small square blocks equal one rectangular block is math, specifically fractions, at work! Sensory, Art and Music Experiences Painting, play dough, water play, sand play and other sensory experiences engage all five senses and provide cause and effect experimentation (e.g., what happens if I use a light stroke versus a heavy stroke; what happens when I keep pouring water into the cup?) Zero to Three (www.zerotothree.org) describes the development of cause and effect understanding as one of the foundational cognitive discoveries in the early childhood years. Like other areas of play, sensory play offers opportunities to explore rich new language as teachers and children notice interesting textures and scents and engage in visual exploration of interesting materials. Music experiences such as songs and chants promote literacy and language skills and also give young children practice in sequencing and memory skills (i.e., what comes next in this familiar story or repetitive chorus). The development of these types of cognitive skills creates a positive early foundation from which the child can grow; such skills are related to a variety of later school-readiness and academic outcomes. Pretend Play Experiences Pretend play promotes perspective-taking and has been linked with the development of children’s self-regulation skills. For example, as pretend play becomes more advanced, it requires children to modulate their emotions and behaviors in response to others so that the play continues. Self-regulation, the ability to alter our emotions and behaviors in response to internal (e.g., our thoughts) or external (e.g., others’ behaviors) signals play a role throughout life in helping us navigate social relationships, school and work environments. Pretend play also offers opportunities for practicing language skills, and children’s language acquisition is richer in the context of play than in other classroom activities (Cohen & Uhry, 2007). Stanley Greenspan explained that through pretend play children also explore major themes in life, such as what it means to love and be loved. The child cradling and feeding a doll in the pretend play area is not only imitating observed behaviors but also enacting how loving relationships look and feel. Motor Play Experiences Learning about our bodies is a fundamental task of early development. Through physical activity, children learn spatial awareness skills (e.g., imagine a toddler learning how to move her body around another child rather than walking into the other child), balance and how to be safe. Opportunities to practice fine and gross motor skills are also associated with children’s acquisition of strength and motor coordination. Moreover, providing interesting and novel materials promotes motor exploration. For example, infants make different types of stepping movements on coarse textures than they do on smooth textures. Motor play also offers opportunities for language exploration and for developing cognitive concepts, such as opposites (in/out of the sandbox; over/under the slide). Additionally, motor skills are related to many other areas of development. For example, the ability to crawl or walk allows a young child to move away from a caregiver or teacher and return, allowing infants and toddlers to practice managing brief separations. Even this type of brief separation and reunion reinforces that infants and toddlers can be effective in finding their “safe base” whenever needed. So, in short, motor skills are related to attachment relationships! Books provide opportunities for motor and sensory explorations as infants and toddlers explore books with their eyes, hands, and mouths. Books and storytelling invite toddlers and preschoolers to hypothesize what will happen next (e.g., “If you give a mouse a cookie…. What do you think he’ll want next?”) Books and storytelling proving opportunities to practice cognitive skills like sequencing (e.g., the repetitive text of “Caps for Sale” provides practice in sequencing). Young children’s stories addressing affective experiences (joy, sadness, anxiety) provide important openings to talk about the emotional cues, the contexts of emotions, empathy and perspective taking. From manipulating books, children acquire literacy knowledge including understandings of written language, letter and word identification and book knowledge. Sharing books and stories together, as with other forms of play, offer relationship building experiences as children, their peers, and teachers share interests and joy in being together. Cooperative Mealtime Experiences Mealtimes also offer developmental opportunities. Meals build a sense of community as children engage in prosocial behaviors such as setting the table, passing bowls of food around the table, talking and being together. Sensory explorations of food textures, scents, sights, and tastes promote sensory development and language skills. Math concepts, such as one to one correspondence, are supported as children place one cup and one plate at each place setting or as a teacher or other children notice: “I had three crackers. I ate one and so I have two crackers left.” Children’s sense of self and autonomy are supported as children serve themselves in family-style dining in the classroom. What does play look like? Play offers many developmental benefits when supported and promoted in ways that are sensitive and responsive to children’s cues and interests. Rymanowicz (2015) summarizes many of the key characteristics of high-quality play. - Self-chosen and self-directed. The beauty of play is that it is based on children’s emerging interests and goals rather than on those of the adults. This is a critical feature of play. For example, studies have shown that child-selected activities predict greater vocabulary skills than do teacher-directed activities (Lippard, Choi & Walter, 2019). - The process, not the product. It is through the process of play that skills are practiced and acquired regardless of what a final product might be. For example, it is the joy of feeling grass on the feet that promotes sensory development not the end result of walking outside. It is not a completed block structure that promotes skills development; it is the journey of selecting blocks, stacking them, determining what makes the structure balance or topple, and so on that builds competencies. Some play is exploratory with no particular goal in mind outside of experiencing the moment. Other play has a goal determined by the child, and, often such goals are more about the creation process than a particular product (e.g., consider how many times you notice a child’s process and ending outcomes change and morph as the child engages in play). - Individually constructed. The child or children in play together determine the structure of the play — that is, the organization, pace and boundaries of play. As I explain below, teachers can support and scaffold children’s experiences but their actions should be guided by children’s processes and cues. - Imaginative, Active, and Fluid. One of the most interesting things to watch in children’s play is that it is not always tied to the rules of the “real world.” In their play, children will escape the bounds of reality and, at other times, they will practice their understanding of the real world as expressed in their play. Play themes morph frequently, and these are examples of creative thinking and problem-solving. Teachers can learn a great deal about how children are feeling and what they are thinking by observing their play. It is important to understand that every child develops differently and because of this each child’s play will look differently. It is through play that young children learn about our “symbolic world” and the themes and subjects we experience every day. Child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan created the Floortime approach, which emphasizes the importance of child-led floor time to engage the child in complex play scenarios that build on real world readiness skills. Floortime encourages children to take initiative but also learn to negotiate and tolerate frustration, to engage in longer play episodes as skills are acquired, to communicate interests and needs, and to plan and carry out actions. Greenspan’s model has most often been applied to children with special needs, but the principles of his approach are relevant to children of all developmental abilities. Greenspan’s approach also emphasizes the importance of the symbolic world and recommends identifying and supporting real-life experiences (e.g., encouraging role playing) that are known to the child and are of interest to the child. How do we support learning in play using a relationships-based approach? In an early childhood classroom, play should comprise the majority of the day. When children are enacting their own choices, they are fully engaged, which means their focus and attention are in full bloom and the opportunities are endless. Not only does this promote brain development and skill development, but it makes a young one want to come to school, want to learn and want to explore. But how is play best supported by relationships? Relationships promote play in two key ways. First, from an attachment-based perspective, young children’s experiences reflect a balance between the need for autonomy and exploration and the need for emotional security. When the needs for emotional security are not met, emotional and physical energy is channeled to security needs at the expense of autonomy and exploration. So, building close, predictable, warm relationships with young children affords them greater energy to devote toward autonomy and exploration, and that equates to greater learning and more optimal development. For example, research has shown that warm, secure teacher-child relationships promote preschoolers’ self-regulation skills (Cadima, Verschueren, Leal, & Guedes, 2016), and teachers’ responsive interactions with children are linked to children’s cognitive skills (Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta, & Jamil, 2014). Second, relationships provide the context in which teachers scaffold children’s play in individualized ways. As we observe young children in play, an infant mental health perspective leads us to ponder not only “What about the baby?” but “What about this child?” We ask ourselves, “What is the child thinking, feeling, experiencing in this moment? What does this child want and need in this moment?” From this reflective stance, with the goal of understanding the child’s internal states (e.g., thoughts, feelings, needs, goals), teachers respond with intention to support and scaffold children’s play in ways that are aligned to the child’s interests and goals. By carefully considering what children need from us, teachers communicate respect and appreciation for young children as individuals each with their own unique experiences, interests, and goals. In short, teacher-child relationships enable the child to feel felt and heard, and, in turn, children are emotionally fueled to learn and grow. Below are teaching practices that use the relationship to scaffold play and learning. - Be physically and emotionally present. Teaching is complex, challenging work. Given high rates of teacher stress, it can be difficult to be fully present in the moment with the child. Teachers have the difficult task of managing competing demands for their time, attention and support while also regulating their internal thoughts, emotions, and perceptions of stress. Yet, it is the teacher’s emotional presence and participation with children that promote children’s learning in the most optimal ways. - Watch and Respond to Cues: As noted by Rymanowicz (2015), teachers participate most sensitively by watching and responding to children’s cues. This allows the child to stay in the lead of play while also helping children to form connections between concepts in play. When teachers allow children to take the lead and wait for invitations to play, children are more likely to feel felt and heard. - Use Open-Ended Questions and Comments Wisely: Research has shown that teachers’ sensitive (well-timed and not intrusive) open-ended questions promote children’s more complex block building and pretend play skills. Well-placed questions and comments (e.g., observations about children’s activities) promote and extend play. - Value the Importance of Observation: Sally Provence once wisely advised, “Don’t just do something. Stand there and pay attention!” Sometimes being physically and emotionally present does not always involve direct interaction with the child. Sometimes supporting play means observing and learning about the child’s development from your observations. Being an active observer and learner alongside the child gives teachers important insights into children’s developmental needs and interests. These observations come in handy when planning future learning experiences. Sometimes supporting means interacting and scaffolding sensitively. - Share the Same Level in Space: Finally, being physically and emotionally present also extends to where and how teachers place themselves in the classroom. Taking time to talk with children at their eye level and using open body position/body language communicates to children that their thoughts, communicative intentions and/or words are valued and desired. - Respect the child’s discoveries. From our adult perspectives, we know how things are “supposed” to work; we understand the most effective and efficient ways to engage materials. We want to see children succeed. Collectively, this means that teachers may be tempted to show children the “right” way to engage materials or carry out play. Yet it is the creative process, the mistakes, the rethinking and execution of a new plan and “owning” the experiences and discoveries that promote children’s critical thinking, problem solving skills, conceptual development and sense of mastery (Rymanowicz, 2015). Support the child by using well placed open-ended questions to allow deeper investigations to take place. Early childhood teachers are most effective as partners in children’s play rather than as supervisors or leaders of the play. - Trust the process. Growth and development progresses in each child in unique timetables. A “one size fits all” approach to curricular development and teaching rarely works. Individualizing experiences for children and tailoring our interactions to each child’s temperament, prior experiences, interests and goals is most effective in promoting early development. - Avoid interruption and be flexible. As a teacher, I’d like to add another important attribute to this section. Play needs to be uninterrupted. Uninterrupted play means allowing a child to be an explorer and learner and being flexible when young children are immersed in play. For example, teachers who allow a child to finish play or come to a natural pausing or stopping point before inviting the child to diapering or toileting communicate respect for the child as an individual. Extending free play time for a few minutes to allow children to complete their play or supporting children who wish to bring a toy with them for self-care routines are other examples of flexibility. Finally, relationship-based approaches also inform how teachers create the early childhood environment. The environment is thought of as the third teacher and reflects teachers’ perspectives about relationships. Here are some aspects to think about when setting up a learning environment. - A classroom should be an inviting space that the children see as their own. Spaces for personal belongings, such as a cubby, and spaces for community belongings, such as where the watering can for the class plants is stored, help children know what to expect and to feel welcomed and valued. Other strategies include displaying children’s work throughout the classroom, involving children in care of the classroom, and creating photo books featuring children in the classroom, families, and shared experiences reflect high-quality relationship-based practices. Experts also suggest using the language of community, such as referring to the children in the classroom as “friends” and referring to “our classroom” to build relationships and emotional closeness (which translates into emotional energy for well-being and learning). - Another important element is the design of the room. Materials should be chosen for a reason rather than to fill shelves. Making materials easily accessible to children builds autonomy. The room should be created to inspire and promote wonder and curiosity. Play is for a critical component in healthy, early development. When supported and facilitated in effective ways, play has a dramatic impact on cognitive, language, physical and social-emotional development. As early childhood educators we have a huge job on our hands. A job that when done in effective, relationship-based ways contributes to children’s bright futures. I challenge you to imbed play into your curriculum. Allow children the time for uninterrupted, meaningful play and you will see the results! Good luck! Cadima, J., Verschueren, K., Leal, T. & Guedes, C. (2016). Classroom interactions, dyadic teacher–child relationships, and self–regulation in socially disadvantaged young children. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 44(1), 7-17. Christakis, E. (2016). The new preschool is crushing kids. The Atlantic, January/February. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/the-new-preschool-is-crushing-kids/419139/. Cohen, L. & Uhry, J. (2007). Young children’s discourse strategies during block play: A Bakhtinian approach. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 21(3), 302-315. Hamre, B., Hatfield, B., Pianta, R., & Jamil, F. (2014). Evidence for general and domain‐specific elements of teacher-child interactions: Associations with preschool children’s development. Child development, 85(3), 1257-1274. Hauf, P. & Aschersleben, G. (2008). Action-effect anticipation in infant action control. Psychological Research, 72(2), 203-210. Horne, A. (2018). All Work No Play. Bridges Care and Education Center https://www.bridgescareandeducationcenter.com/single-post/2018/11/15/All-Work-and-No-Play?fbclid=IwAR0UrQsUzJt3mGFDqaX32T1-to0tZ5CCJcvrRjcoL56a_wumdMvhsg2M_E4 Rymanowicz, K. (2015, Oct. 19). The power of play — Part 2: Born to play. In Michigan State University — MSU Extension. http://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_power_of_play_part_2_born_to_play

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By: Heidi Ingram This post is part of a series focusing on Multiple Intelligences. The ability to perceive and make distinctions in the moods, intentions, motivations, and feelings of other people (e.g., as a teacher, politician, actor, or philanthropist). The ability to process information both verbally and nonverbally through interpretation of all forms of dance, hand gestures, body movements, and music (e.g., as a dancer, mime, actor, or musician). This intelligence operates primarily through person-to person relationships and From an infant's bonding with his parents to the meaningful relationships with others outside the family, the ability to understand other people and their actions, moods, and feelings develops as young children deal with person-to-person relationships and communication. The learning environment should provide opportunities for children to relate to others by cooperatively participating, sharing, negotiating, and communicating in groups or with individuals. Children who show interpersonal abilities learn through listening, cooperating in shared projects, demonstrating leadership skills, seeing things from other perspectives and organizing and negotiating group activities. Interpersonal intelligence focuses on the ability to recognize and distinguish the moods, intentions, and motivations of other individuals. These children often emerge as leaders and organizers. They are sensitive to the needs and desires of others. Young children with interpersonal talent: · interact easily with both children and adults · are sought out by other children for play · are able to enter an already-playing group of children and be accepted · can influence other children toward their goals (positive or negative) · understand cause-and -effect as it relates to behavior and consequences · recognize when their behavior yields certain predictable results · can take another child's perspective · are better at resolving conflicts and negotiating disagreements · can motivate and organize peers toward their goals (positive or negative) · have strong leadership abilities · have a sense of justice and fair play for themselves and others By: Heidi Ingram Naturalist Intelligence is the ability to discriminate among living things (e.g. as a botanist, biologist, veterinarian, or forest ranger) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world) e.g. as a meteorologist, geologist, or archaeologist). The adeptness to recognize and classify cultural artifacts such as cars or sneakers may also depend upon the naturalist intelligence. A child's interest in seeing, smelling, and touching a flower, reacting to the sound of a bird, or playing with the family pet demonstrates his ability to recognize important distinctions in the natural world. The learning environment should offer opportunities for exploring outdoors. Also you should bring the outdoors inside by providing field trips, books, visuals, objects and materials relating to the natural world. Children who show naturalist abilities learn through observing nature, being sensitive to all features of the natural world, and enjoying books, visuals, and objects related to the world around them. Naturalist intelligence is the ability to discriminate among living things (plants and animals) as well as other features of the natural world such as clouds and rock formations. In the past this ability had great survival value (Checkley, 1997). It involves a kind of pattern recognition that is valued in certain sciences. Today this ability may enable individuals to discriminate among makes and models of cars or even sneakers. Young children with naturalist intelligence: ~ are interested in pets and concerned about their care. ~ are curious about nature and look for and collect plants, bugs, rocks, or other natural objects. ~ are interested in identifying plants and gardening. ~enjoy the outdoors and activities such as hiking, camping and fishing. ~ are curious about the human body and the way it works. ~ may enjoy cooking. ~ are interested in electricity and magnets and the way things work. By: Heidi Ingram Musical Intelligence is the capacity to perceive (e.g. music aficionado), discriminate (e.g., as a music critic), transform (e.g., as a composer), and express (e.g., a performer) musical forms. The musical learner also has the ability to pick up sounds and remember melodies. This intelligence is based on the recognition of tonal patterns, including various environmental sounds and also sensitivity to rhythm and beats. Starting with the prenatal awareness of noises and rhythms and later imitations of sounds and pitches, a child soon develops the ability to produce and recognize simple and then complex songs and to perceive pitch, tone, and rhythmic pattern. The child becomes immersed in the music and sounds of the world. The learning environment should provide opportunities for singing, listening, movement activities, sound awareness, and musical instrument appreciation and practice, while emphasizing cultural awareness through music. Children who are strong in musical-rhythmic abilities think in rhythms and melodies; enjoy listening to music, singing, dancing, humming, and playing musical instruments; and exhibit a sensitivity to environmental sounds. Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence refers to the ability to use musical elements (pitch, rhythm, tone) at an unusually sophisticated level. Some children may have perfect pitch and the ability to identity a wide range of musical scores when only a few bars are played. Musically talented children are intrigued with and noitce sounds in their environment. By: Heidi Ingram Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence is the ability to use one's whole body to skillfully express ideas and feelings (e.g. as an actor, an athlete, or a dancer) and facility in using one's hands to produce or transform things (e.g., as a craftsperson, sculptor, mechanic, or surgeon). This intelligence is related to physical movement and the knowledge/wisdom of the body, including the brain's motor cortex, which controls bodily motion. From an infant's looking for and grasping different objects to the strength and coordination of an older child, the ability to use the body for self-expression develops through information gained from muscles, sensations, reflexes, coordination, and movement. The learning environment should reflect opportunities for physical challenges throughout the day, not just outdoors but indoors as well. The classroom should facilitate tactile experiences and the use of manipulatives in math, science, and language arts. Children who are resourceful in bodily-kinesthetic abilities learn through moving, doing, and touching. They enjoy physical activities, such as those involving hand-eye coordination and hands-on experiments. Psychomotor-kinesthetic intelligence refers to the ability to control one's body parts skillfully. These children move expressively and are good at both informal and organized games and sports. Young children with psychomotor talent: · are skillful at movements such as running, jumping, and climbing, dancing and other movement activities. · have an accurate and relaxed sense of both static and dynamic balance (hopping on one foot, walking a narrow line, balancing a beanbag). · use gestures, body movements, and/or facial expression to show or mimic emotions and ideas and can adapt motor skills in game situations By: Heidi Ingram The ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately (e.g. as a hunter, scout, or guide) and to perform transformations upon those perceptions (e.g. , as an interior decorator, architect, artist, or inventor ). This intelligence involves sensitivity to color, line, shape, form, space, and the relationships that exist between these elements. It includes the capacity to visualize and graphically represent visual or spatial ideas. From the infant's ability to discriminate among the faces around him to the toddler's first steps, the facility to perceive the visual world with a great deal of understanding continues throughout early childhood. Creating visual images with shape, color, and form opens up new understanding. The learning environment should be a graphic-rich classroom that encourages opportunities for visual processing as well as thinking and planning in three dimensions. Children who are highly capable in visual-spatial abilities think in images and pictures; like to draw, design, and create things, and often see things from different points of view. Visual-Spatial intelligence is the ability to perceive the visual world accurately and the re-create that visual experience in art or graphics. It involves mental imagery and the ability to manipulate and transform images. These children are adept at puzzles and other spatial problem-solving activities. Visual talented young children: · show advanced drawing, painting, and sculpting with both technical skill and fine detail · remember in detail items ,places and pictures they have seen · have advanced eye-hand coordination · show attention to texture, color, and balance · respond emotionally to photos, paintings, or sculpture · share feelings and moods through drawing, painting or sculpture Starting with babies inspecting their world to the recognition of similar characteristics of objects by toddlers, the ability to categorize and to use numbers, patterns, sequencing, and cause and effect to solve problems continues to develop and grow throughout early childhood. The learning environment should offer opportunities to relate math and science to real life situations while providing activities that make math and problem solving fun, relevant, and challlenging. Children who are adept tin logical-mathematical abilities learn through asking questions in a logical manner, making connections between pieces of information, exploring, and developing strong problem-solving and reasoning skills. The capacity to use numbers effectively (e.g. as a mathematician, tax accountant, or statistician) and to reason well (e.g. as scientist, computer programmer, or logician). This intelligence also follows traditional teaching practices, using number facts and scientific principles, as well as observation and experimentation. Children who are logic smart respond well to "what if" questions. Logical -Mathematical intelligence is characterized by scientific reasoning, a love for abstraction, and an interest in mathematical operations. These children are interested in graphing, counting, and manipulating numbers. They are fascinated by how things work. Mathematically talented young children: · use advanced arithemtic skills · use highly orginal reasoning · ask a series of logical questions focused on solving a problem · apply reason to solve concrete and abstract problems · enjoy using hands-on tools such as uniflex cubes, blocks, puzzles, and abacus to solve logical- mathematical problems · enjoy computer games and applications related logical-mathematical reasoning Linquistic (Word Smart) is the capacity to use words effectively, whether orally ( e.g. as a storyteller,orator,or politician)orin writing ( e.g.as a poet,playwright, editor or journalist). Most teaching today is geared to the expectation that children absorb information by listening, reading, speaking, and writing. From the babbling of infancy to the toddler's simple sentences, the ability to use language and words continues to grow throughout early childhood. Whether written or spoken, it develops with sensitivity to the order and rhythm of words. The learning environment should include a language-and print-rich classroom with opportunities for reading, writing, speaking, and creative writing. Children who are accomplished in verbal-linquistic abilities enjoy reading , writing, telling stories, playing word games, and communicating effectively. Verbally/Linguistically talented children: · Speak and read clearly · Have accelerated literacy skills in stories, poems, drama, and writing · Use advanced vocabulary · Employ longer and more advanced sentence structures ( may use words like however and although ) · Make up elaborate, coherent stores and fantasies · Describe experiences with unusual depth and accuracy · Memorize and recite stories and poems · Prefer books with more words and plot than pictures · May be bilingual or interested in learning a second language · Are interested in language in its many forms This post is the first in a series contributed by Heidi Ingram to discuss the overall theory of Multiple Intelligences, the different intelligences and ideas to do with your children to promote growth in these areas. When you try to learn something new, you may prefer to learn by listening to someone talk to you about the information. Others prefer to read about a concept to learn it, and still others need to see a demonstration of the concept. Learning Style Theory proposes that different people learn in different ways and that it is good to know your own preferred learning style. Most of us have a particular preference as to how we channel information to our brain. Some of us are auditory. This means that it is easiest for us to pay attention to information that is presented to us orally. Others are visual, which means that we learn best when we are allowed to actually look at what is being presented to us. Still others are kinesthetic. This means that we pay attention best when we are allowed to explore “hands on" the information we are trying to learn. In few cases, individuals are equally balanced, which means they use each learning style to the same degree when attempting to learn. Let's look at an example from the early childhood classroom. When a teacher reads a story, she speaks, which benefits the auditory learner. She shows the illustrations as she read which assists the visual learner. The kinesthetic learner is involved if allowed to actually hold the book (or a copy of the book) or help turn the pages as it is read. If teachers use all three approaches to learning when they are providing information to children, it is more likely that they will use the channel that is their preference and attend to what is being The theory of Multiple Intelligences comes from the work of Howard Gardner and was first published in 1983 in his book, Frames of Mind. Until Gardner proposed the existence of seven, and now eight, ways of demonstrating one's high ability levels, popular belief held that intelligence was measured by the score obtained when taking an intelligence test, primarily the Stanford Benet. The problem with intelligence tests was that they measured only an individual's linguistic and mathematical skills. Gardner argued that there were other ways an individual could be smart. For example, musicians demonstrate a high ability to perceive, discriminate, transform, and express musical forms. Actors, dancers, and athletes demonstrate an expertise in using their whole body to express ideas and feelings. Craft persons and sculptors show facility in using their hands to produce to transform things. Gardner not only expanded the identification of the number of ways an individual can be intelligent, but also the definition of intelligence. He suggests that intelligence has more to do with the capacity for solving problems and fashioning products in a context-rich and naturalistic setting than it does with performing isolated task on a test. Gardner believes that intelligence does not just exhibit itself in the score on a test. As a matter of fact, he used a stringent system of eight criteria through which all potential skills, talents, and mental capacities have to pass before they are determined to be true human intelligences. Thus far, only eight ways of being smart have passed the test to be recognized as intelligences. Gardner also believes that everyone possesses all eight intelligences in varying magnitudes. Some intelligence is stronger than others, and the profile of intelligences varies from person to person. Each of the intelligences can improve with practice and will continue to be enhanced over a lifetime. In the next part of this series, we will break down the various intelligences. Stay tuned! Advisor Heidi Ingram: We take alot of road trips this time of year due to the holidays and stopping and getting fast food is at times unavoidable. If we do end up stopping what are some healthier choices to get? Typically, fast food is low in nutrition and high in trans fat, saturated fat, sodium and calories..for example, a single meal of a Double Whopper with cheese, a medium order of fries and an apple pie from Burger King contains more saturated fat than the American Heart Association recommends we consume in two days!! Moderation is key. It's OK to indulge a craving for French fries every now and then, but to stay healthy you can't make it a regular habit. Finding a healthy, well-balancd meal in most fast food restaurants can be a challenge, but there are always choices you can make that are healthier than others. Use common sense guidelines to help you make your meal healthier. For example , a seemingly healthy salad can be diet-minefield when smothered in high-fat dressing and fried toppings, so choose a salad with fresh veggies, grilled toppings, and a lighter dressing. Portion control is also important, as many fast food restautants serve enough food for several meals in the quise of a single serving. Tips for making healthier choices at fast food restaurants · Make careful menu selections- pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. Dishes labeled deep-fried, pan-fried , basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, Alfredo, au graton,or in cream sauce are usually high in calories, unhealthy fats, or sodium. Order items with more vegetables and choose leaner meats · Drink water with your meal -Soda is a huge source of hidden calories. One 32-oz Big Gulp of regular cola packs about 425 calories, which can quickly gulp up a big portion of your daily calorie intake. Try adding a little lemon to your water or ordering unsweetened iced tea · "Undress" your food. When choosing items be aware of calorie - and fat packed salad dressings, spreads, cheese, sour cream, etc. For example, ask for a grilled chicken sandwich withour the mayonnaise. you can ask for a packet of ketchup or mustard and add it yourself controlling how much you put on your sandwich · Special order. Many menu items would be healthy if it weren't for the way they were prepared. Ask for your main dishes to be served without the sauces. Ask for olive oil and vinegar for your salads or order the dressing "on the side" and spoon only a small amount on at a time. If your food is fried or cooked in oil or butter, ask to have it broiled or steamed. · Eat mindfully. Pay attention to what you eat an savor each bite. Chew your food more thoroughly and avoid eating on the run. Being mindful also means stopping before you are full. It takes time for your body to register that you have eaten. Mindful eating relaxes you, so you digest better, and makes you feel more Tips for what to AVOID at fast food restaurants · Supersized portions. An average fast food meal can run to 1000 calories or more, so choose a smaller portion size, order a side salad instead of fries, and don't supersize anything. At a typical restaurant, a single serving provides enough for two meals. Take half home or divide the portion with a dining partner. · Salt. Fast food restaurant food tends to be very high in sodium, a major contributer to high blood pressure. Don't add insult to injury by adding more salt. · Bacon. It's always tempting to add bacon to sandwiches and salads for extra flavor, but bacon has very few nutrients and is high in fat and calories. Instead, try ordering extra pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, or mustard to add flavor without the fat · Buffets - even seemingly healthy ones like salad bars. You'll likely overeat to get your money's worth. If you do choose buffet dining, opt for fresh fruits, salads with olive oil& vinegar or low-fat dressings, broiled entrees, and steamed vegetables. Resist the temptation make sure you are hungry before going back for more. Less healthy choice Double-patty hamburger with cheese, mayo, special sauce, and bacon. Fried chicken sandwich, Fried fish sandwich, Salad with toppings such as bacon, cheese, and ranch dressing, Breakfast burrito with steak, French fries, milkshake, Chicken"nuggets" or tenders, Adding cheese, extra mayo, any special Regular, single-patty hamburger without mayo or cheese, grilled chicken sandwich, Veggie burger, Garden salad with grilled chicken and low-fat dressing, Egg on a muffin, Baked potato or a side salad, Yogurt parafait, Grilled chicken strips, limiting cheese, mayo, and special sauces. Heidi's BiMonthly Nutritional Questions Answered! Check out Cape Cod Moms latest nutrition questions to Heidi... if you have questions for Heidi, please email us at email@example.com or comment below! Also check out Heidi's Daycare page on Facebook! What are your thoughts on LAKE Dyes (artificial dyes, in U.S. foods, banned especially red 40 - rash, head banging, loss of eye contact, basic Dr. Jeckle, Mr. Hyde. After I stopped eating red 40 - I stopped having migraines. If these chemicals have such a bad effect and or reactions, can these chemicals be good for anyone? Why are these chemicals still found in our foods? What makes Twinkies appear unchanged, even after months on the shelf? In part, it’s the food dyes. Some government -approved food dyes also cause hyperactivity in children, leading the British government to ask food companies to stop using them. Industrialization of the food system, including a rise in food processing, has increased the use of food additives such as food dyes; preservatives and sweeteners. The FDA maintains of list of over 3,000 food additives, which includes those that are FDA-approved as well as those bypassing the approval process because the FDA has designated them as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). Scientists have long been concerned that synthetic food dyes and other additives may contribute to hyperactivity and other disturbed behavior in children. Water soluble "dyes" are added to beverages, baked and dairy goods, and other products; non-soluble dye versions of the colors, called "lakes,” are used in hard candies, chewing gums and to coat tablets. Since 1990, all synthetic food dyes must be listed in food products by their common name. In 2008, based on recent science, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the FDA to ban the use of the existing food dyes in the U.S., and to require for the first time that new food additives be tested before going on the market for their toxicity to the brain and behavior. The petition also demands that the FDA remove the obviously false statement from its Web site that there is "no evidence that the food color additives cause hyperactivity or learning disabilities in children." We know synthetic food dyes are unnecessary. So, while more study could shed light on the exact impacts of food dyes on children, we know enough right now to choose safer substitutes, whether as parents, consumers or as food companies. Things you can do? Eat whole foods, whole foods are better for you, and allow you to avoid the inspection of food labels necessary to avoid toxic food dyes. At home or at restaurants, avoid foods with synthetic food dyes, especially if your child duffers from hyperactivity, ADHD, or other learning or developmental disabilities and finally garden with your kids, visit a farm or join a CSA to help teach your children how ripe whole foods should actually look, smell and taste. My son is 5 and has been beyond a picky eater since we started solid food. He literally gags and vomits when asked to even lick a new food. As the years have gone by he has now begun eliminating foods he has always eaten. He is now down to about 5 foods he will eat. When we bring this up to his pediatrician we are told that he falls on the height/weight chart so we shouldn't worry. This doesn't sit well with me. He basically eats pasta. I am concerned all those carbs are not good for him. We have an appointment for a feeding evaluation, but it's not for a few weeks...Do you have suggestions? I would recommend involving your child in the preparation of the meals he is to consume, making it a fun time where he has some control and enjoyment in the process. I think the more you allow him to participate, the more he would be willing to try different and new foods. It may also be a matter of texture. Sometimes the texture of the food is a turnoff. I would experiment with different texture foods or possible using smoothies to add nutrients he may be lacking from not eating a variety of foods. Cape Cod Moms

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Courtesy Library of Congress Music in the Early American Republic Early American ears pulsed, lips hummed, and feet shuffled to the multitude of sounds infusing life’s rhythms. During the earliest decades of the nation, virtually everyone heard, made, and moved to music. In an age before broadly accessible commercial entertainment, where one’s routine labors begged for distracting relief, song and dance enlivened life’s tedium. Music filled an important social niche in the publically lived do-it-yourself world of early America. During an era before recording devices, the ephemeral life of sound resonated solely around those who made it. Early American music constructed a momentary community of listeners who could create or transcend the young nation’s refashioning social order. Describing this world of early American music challenges any historian precisely because of music’s ubiquitous presence in the lives of all Americans. Because nearly everyone made music, and because music could be used in any number of ways, the shear variety of sounds and sites of performance preclude easy generalization. Music held the social order together, but it might also be used to challenge the status quo. People sang privately to sooth their sorrows and publically to celebrate joyous events. Song might awaken the sacred forces to one’s aid; it might also embody profane desires and accompany riotous behaviors. Bells pealed to mark the seasons and to call a community to arms. Some worked to music, while others played. Music might even provide one’s livelihood. Musical acumen and literacy gave the educated elite status, while common folk employed music to express equally as meaningful identities. In all these ways, music symbolized, expressed, and transcended the diversities of early America. This essay treats some of the particular music making activities of Native Americans, the enslaved, new immigrants, and American-born United States citizens. Interwoven with an exploration of some of the sounds made by these groups of people, it considers the ways music contributed to their religious, festive, political, and artistic activities. Early Americans made music in multiple sites and for diverse ends. Our recognition of its significance to them opens new avenues of historical discovery. Native American Music Native American music styles in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries remained as diverse as there were tribal communities. Despite this, some broad generalization can be made when compared with non-Native sounds and uses of music. Singing rather than instrumental performances grounded Native music making, although drums and other percussion instruments accompanied many songs, as did flutes and whistles in certain regions. Indigenous songs nearly always connected to spirituality even if ostensibly made for other reasons, and the efficacy of a ritual might require the appropriate song to be sung. Yet like music-makers the world over, specific pieces accompanied dancing, storytelling, or even games. Certain songs would be used for a particular ceremonial or seasonal event in traditional and innovative ways. With the increasing arrival of newcomers to the continent, tribal people adopted and adapted European instruments, such as the fiddle, to indigenous music making practices. Records kept by Spanish missionaries in California and New Mexico reveal the centrality of music to their conversion efforts. These priests used fluency with European music and instruments to measure degrees of assimilation, an important gauge in their efforts towards complete and permanent conversion. Yet even after integrating aspects of European music, to Native Americans, as one scholar notes of Ojibwa music, “songs fundamentally did things in the world.” As such, Native people categorized songs in terms of their usefulness, for example as love songs, dream songs, or pipe songs. Songs also mediated personal bonds and functioned as part of ceremonial protocol. Music built and stabilized relationships within a tribe, between tribes, and between tribal and non-tribal people. Native American music facilitated interactions, including those between the human and spiritual worlds. Music performed in the context of sacred observances was also important to African and European born and descended people. By the turn of the nineteenth century, the hymns of Congregationalist Churches had shifted from ritual to art with a full support system of church choirs, singing masters, published psalters, and singing schools. The first known black American published composer, the African-born former slave Newport Gardner of Rhode Island, emerged from this singing-school movement. By 1810, over 5000 musical compositions by American psalmodists had appeared in print, including Richard Allen’s 1801 hymn collection for his Philadelphia African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first known compilation of sacred music for a black congregation. By the 1820s, singing societies influenced by German Romanticism, such as the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, attached moral uplift to certain song styles. Such institutionally supported sacred music competed with the music culture enlivened by the Second Great Awakening. These styles necessitated accessible and individual expressiveness as part of revivalist religiosity. A lack of musical literacy in the rural areas of the revivals led to call-and-response song patterns and singing “marked by spontaneity, immediacy, emotionality, and the use of well-known tunes.” This trend remained true among black urban congregations as well, in which the act of vocalizing could inspire worshipers even more than a song’s lyrics. A central message of this sacred music style invoked the fundamental appeal of the Great Awakening ideology: God’s grace was available to all. Often in conjunction with religious purposes, Americans heard an increase in music making during holidays. In primarily agricultural communities, early winter was a time to celebrate after a demanding harvest season. The English wassailing tradition, whereby lower sorts intruded into the homes of the wealthy singing demands for food and drink in exchange for goodwill, continued in early America. Though less meaningful by the nineteenth century with the demise of older traditional hierarchies and obligations, rowdy, raucous, drunken singers paraded at night during the Christmas season even in urban areas. Drinking and singing remained intertwined as significant holiday practices. John Canoe rituals enacted during the Christmas season by African-Americans included public song and dance. In these, parading bands of musicians requested gifts of food, money, or alcohol, taking African-derived song and dance culture to the broader communities amongst whom they lived. Parades remained central to black public musical activities that “typically featured boisterous, improvised music and back-and-forth interactions between male and female spectators and parade performers.” Messages could be sung in this ritualized context not uttered in other circumstances. Cloaked in a garb of traditional holiday license, ridiculing the powerful or “singing the master,” empowered the enslaved to express feelings otherwise forbidden. Music of the Enslaved As music scholar Jacqueline Cogdell Djedje states of African American music, “on the one hand very little disappears, but also nothing remains the same.” During the early American republic, music made by black Americans could be decidedly African, but it could also be distinctive from anything heard on that continent. The factors that shaped the nature of the African-derived music in early America largely depended upon a music maker’s exposure to the sounds of the diverse American populace. West and Central Africans made music as varied as the Europeans amongst whom those enslaved would eventually live in America. They carried their local musical expectations to their new homes across the Atlantic, where they accessed multi-continental repertoires. They and their descendants built upon musical heritages both deep and broad. During this era, diverse African songs, dances, instruments, as well as rituals and festivals, remained significant to enslaved and free black populations. Congo Square in New Orleans, a place central to the survival and dissemination of African-derived performative traditions, persisted as a site where slaves from the city could go to socialize on Sunday afternoons. Here they sang and danced in styles from distinct homeland traditions providing not just entertainment, but also connection to one’s heritage. Some Catholic Congolese slaves performed sangamentos, the highly choreographed mock war dances accompanied with drums and bells crucial to later Mardi Gras practices. This diasporic custom combined traditionalism and adaptability more “inventive” than “invented,” evidence of continued African traditions in America. The persistence of practices such as sangamentos bound new communities together and provided cultural sustenance in the harsh new circumstances of slavery. Slaves’ lives were filled with labor. Traders might expect the enslaved to sing and even fiddle while marching in the chained coffles to the growing western plantations. Song organized regimented tasks and eased the burden of toil. The call-and-response style helped build and strengthen community. Particular songs might be appropriate for a certain labor activity, such as rowing, hoeing, or shucking corn. Work songs reinforced social bonds and hierarchies, although lyrics might challenge these with satirical rhetoric. Enslaved musicians had to master multiple genres as they performed for both the formal cotillions of elite white society and the livelier jigs, breakdowns, and reels popular with lower class white and black dancers. Black music and dance emphasized improvisation, complex rhythms, artist/audience dialogue, as well as personal stylistic competition in community-approved contexts. These African-derived music ways gained poignancy under slavery. They could even function as political statements for people denied an officially sanctioned political voice. Music and Politics Much political activity in the young nation transpired with musical accompaniment, although at times this “music” might more appropriately be called “noise.” Drums (and even pots and pans) drew attention to community grievances, as in the “rough music” used to enforce social norms under threat. They did the same for impromptu public protests and even institutionally sanctioned civic parades. Although political music often took place in the street, taverns hosted politically infused music making as well. Concerts and balls facilitated by amateur and professional musicians raised money for a cause or commemorated significant civic events. Americans marked Independence Day and Washington’s birthday with patriotic songs, balls, and parades. They did the same to honor the Revolutionary War hero General Lafayette on his 1824–1825 tour of the country. This shared musical commemorative culture helped knit the young nation together. In addition, stage performances allowed for the consideration, creation, and affirmation of one’s sense of self in relation to the diverse American population. An Irish immigrant character might sing as a laughable bumpkin or a liberty-seeking republican refugee. Staged characters sung a combination of their old and newly forming national, ethnic, and racial identities during these decades when the traditional order had become increasingly unstable. Music was central to these performances that shaped the nation. One good example is the song “Yankee Doodle,” which might accurately be described as the first American national anthem. Singing “Yankee Doodle” exemplified what one scholar has called a “sophisticated rural self-parody.” As a celebratory comparative to British pretentiousness and a glorification of a distinct American character, singing Yankee Doodle in the young nation remained a political act. An infinite array of locally created verses, mostly now lost to modern singers of the tune, reveal a proud articulation of American rusticity (as well as the glorification of sexual adventures and drunken escapades). Other popular early American songs borrowed heavily from British music culture, but were transformed with deep sarcasm to serve American ends. Sailors and boatmen played an essential role in this transition. Music was already crucial to the labors of these men who sang to keep time as they rowed, heaved, and pulled. The centrality of American seamen to securing the legitimacy of the new nation led to the development of maritime-themed patriotic songs in particular. Though native-born Americans employed music to shape the nation’s identity, the significance of European immigrant musicians to early United States music cannot be overstated. English, German, French, and Italian musicians fundamentally shaped the young country’s sacred, military, social, and concert music. They published songsters, organized bands, performed in orchestras, led educational efforts, and ran music-related businesses. In addition, the growing American sheet-music industry facilitated domestic exposure to diverse immigrant sounds. Published songs denoted as Irish, Scottish, and Italian helped invent the idea of ethnicity in America, even if they were only loosely based on actual regional European styles. Irish ballads and dances remained popular through the early nineteenth century due to immigrants influenced by the Celtic cultural revival, as well as Irish music’s fundamental role in British American culture. Nostalgia-infused “traditional” Irish music (and musicians) found commercial success in the young nation. As such, it became a genre of music that bonded an Irish-American ethnic community together, introduced Irish culture to those unfamiliar with it, and entrenched stereotypes about the Irish. Similarly, Americans held Scottish folksongs in high esteem as they imagined a disappearing Scottish primitivism. Later German arrivals initiated the rise of singing societies, called Männerchöre, which functioned as social and musical organizations. These not only helped keep German culture alive in America by the repetition of musical forms, but they also provided support systems though which immigrant communities could remain active and strong. These same immigrant musicians facilitated the development of formal European-style concert traditions in the United States. In the earliest years of the century, no musical style or genre was reserved for a particular class of people. Concert halls welcomed all to their performances, although elites remained segregated in boxes from the messiness of the pit. Concert music had existed in East Coast urban centers for a century when in the 1830s wealthy patrons financed via subscriptions the first professional orchestras. Lacking the aristocratic tradition of court and church patronage, the early American music “industry” had to function as locally financed businesses. New Orleans was the first American city to support an opera company. French operas had been performed in the city from at least 1796. A decade later, in the span of four months, New Orleanians could witness twenty-one performances, which included sixteen different operas from nine composers. This town of only 12,000, one third of who were enslaved and who attended performances on discounted tickets, clearly valued and invested in public music performances. An evening listening to opera often ended with dancing at a ball. Though most of these dances were segregated by race, authorities could only enforce this rule with limited success. From the 1790s through the 1830s, the number of theater and concert performances grew, although not until the 1840s did the United States develop the necessary infrastructure to support the performing arts broadly. Immigrant musicians made up the majority of these professionals and typically performed European composed pieces from the traditional European canon. Yet in these same settings, audiences demanded patriotic pieces. Bands formed from discharged military musicians honored such wishes. Most towns supported at least one band by the early nineteenth century whose members played in the streets as often as in the concert halls. The hugely popular African American composer Frank Johnson led military bands and dance orchestras in the concert halls of Philadelphia and cities across Europe. These democratic assumptions about experiences with music changed by mid-century with the growing sense of moral uplift attached to certain types of music. As a result, musicians transformed from craftsmen to artists. By the 1840s the elite had increasingly withdrawn into performances reserved purely for their own enjoyment (such as Italian opera performed in the original language). Blackface minstrelsy, which both adopted and parodied this now-segregated art music, filled the publicly available musical performance void. The decade of the 1840s saw a marked shift in American music. By mid-century, music had become a commodity. The broader forces of the market revolution had thoroughly altered American music. Industrial development spurred by transportation innovations, the rise of cities, and an increase in immigration changed the sounds and sites of music in America forever. European virtuosos, such as Ole Bull and Jenny Lind, toured even into the American hinterlands. As the middle class family withdrew into a private sphere, they simultaneously domesticated music making. The parlor piano, the sheet music industry, and the greater access to touring performers reinforced each other; mass commercial sound styles grew. The rise of widely and cheaply available popular music in all its various forms shaped composers’ and publishers’ choices. Blackface minstrelsy developed as a significant part of this phenomenon. Initially occupying the raucous space desired by white working class men, blackface minstrelsy entered the domestic sphere as well. The broadly participatory public music making so normal in the young nation had increasingly been overshadowed by professional commercial activities. Yet this commercialization only went so far. Attempts to repress the earthy, bawdy, vernacular, oral music cultures considered unbecoming to a legitimate nation only partially succeeded. In the 1830s, when the city of New Orleans introduced a formal parade to officially conclude the carnival season, they hoped to structure and control the chaotic parading accompanied by boisterous song and dance. Instead, citizens continued to march in “rich confusion, up and down the streets, wildly shouting, singing, laughing, drumming, fiddling, fifeing . . . as they wend their reckless way . . . laughing loudly at threatened punishment.” Though much about the sounds, sites, performers, and performances had changed, much still remained the same. An exuberant humanity pulsated with playful, personal, and public music making. Our recognition of their expressiveness provides a richer and more complete understanding of the lives of early Americans. Ann Ostendorf is Associate Professor of History at Gonzaga University. She is the author of Sounds American: national Identity and the Music Cultures of the Lower Mississippi River Valley, 1800-1860. Her current research is on the histories of the Roma (Gypsy) in the colonial Atlantic world. For a concise history of the Early American Republic, see Paul E. Johnson, The Early American Republic, 1789–1829 (2006). Victoria Lindsay Levine, “American Indian Musics, Past and Present,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, ed. David Nicholls (1998), 4–12; Kate Van Winkle Keller with John Koegel, “Secular Music to 1800,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 60–61; Nym Cooke, “Sacred Music to 1800,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 79; Michael D. McNally, Ojibwe Singers: Hymns, Grief, and a Native Culture in Motion (2000), 26–28. Cooke, “Sacred Music to 1800,” The Cambridge History of American Music, 81–83, 97–99; Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans: A History (1997), 68–89; Katherine K. Preston, “Art Music from 1800–1860,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 197. Stephen Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday (1997), 9¬¬–11, 16–17, 42–45, 261–62, 285–91; Roger D. Abrahams, Singing the Master: The Emergence of African-American Culture in the Plantation South (1992); William D. Piersen, “African American Festive Style and the Creation of American Culture,” in Riot and Revelry in Early America, ed. William Pencak, Matthew Dennis, and Simon P. Newman (2002), 256–68. Jacqueline Cogdell Djedje, “African American Music to 1900,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 103–34. Two classic works on black music in Early America include Dana J. Epstein, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War (2003) and Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans: A History (1997). Jeroen Dewulf, From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo Dances and the Origins of the Mardi Gras Indians (2017), xvi; Freddi Williams Evans, Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans (2011). Djedje, “African American Music,” The Cambridge History of American Music, 103–34; Abrahams, Singing the Master. William Pencak, “Introduction: A Historical Perspective,” in Riot and Revelry, 5-6; Sterling E. Murray, “Music and Dance in Philadelphia’s City Tavern, 1773–1790,” in American Musical Life in Context and Practice to 1865, ed. James R. Heintze (1994), 3–47; Ann Ostendorf, Sounds American: National Identity and the Music Cultures of the Lower Mississippi River Valley, 1800–1860 (2011), 90–98; Jeffrey H. Richards, Drama, Theatre, and Identity in the American New Republic (2005), 5–8. Nissenbaum, Battle for Christmas, 25–26; William Pencak, “Play as Prelude to Revolution: Boston, 1765–1776,” in Riot and Revelry, 141–49; Paul A. Gilje, To Swear Like A Sailor: Maritime Culture in America, 1750–1850 (2016), 157–81; Ann Ostendorf, “The Mythical Musical Boatmen: Integrating National Icons in Antebellum American Culture,” American Music 37 (forthcoming). Edward C. Wolf, “Peter Erben and America’s First Lutheran Tunebook in English,” in American Musical Life, 49–74; James R. Heintz, “Gaetano Carusi: From Sicily to the Halls of Congress,” in American Musical Life, 75–132; Jon W. Finson, The Voices that Are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Song (1994), 270–84; Ostendorf, Sounds American, 4–10, 107–72; William H. A. Williams, ‘Twas Only an Irishman’s Dream: The Image of Ireland and the Irish in American Popular Song Lyrics, 1800–1920 (1996), 19–25; Michael Broyles, “Immigrant, Folk, and Regional Musics in the Nineteenth Century,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 138¬–139, 146–147. William Brooks, “Music in American: An Overview (Part 1),” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 38–39; Henry A. Kmen, Music in New Orleans: The Formative Years, 1791–1841 (1966), 44–46, 56–74; Preston, “Art Music,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 186–187, 192. Dale Cockrell, “Nineteenth-Century Popular Music,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 160–162; Southern, Music of Black Americans, 108–14; Preston, “Art Music,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 190–91; Lawrence W. Levine, Highbrow Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America (1988). Preston, “Art Music,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 200–04; Cockrell, “Nineteenth-Century Popular Music,” in The Cambridge History of American Music, 158–85; Brian Roberts, Blackface Nation: Race, Reform, and Identity in American Popular Music, 1812–1925 (2017), 25; Nicholas E. Tawa, Sweet Songs for Gentle Americans: The Parlor Song in America, 1790–1860 (1980). This essay does not deal with blackface minstrelsy, the most popular form of entertainment in the United States from the mid to late-nineteenth century. Blackface minstrelsy’s emergence in the 1830s and its surge in popularity in the 1840s falls beyond the chronological scope of the era traditionally thought of as the Early American Republic. However, its significance to American music and dance (among so much else) cannot be overstated. For scholarly treatment of blackface minstrelsy, see Eric Lott, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1993); Dale Cockrell, Demons of Disorder: Blackface Minstrels and their World (1997); W. T. Lahmon, Jr., Raising Cain: Blackface Performance from Jim Crow to Hip Hop (1998); William J. Mahar, Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture (1999). Dewulf, Kingdom of Kongo, 134–35; James R. Creecy, Scenes in the South (1860), 44.

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Primary literacy glossary for parents You'll find basic definitions of important primary-school literacy terms below. For a much more detailed, parent-friendly guide to how children are taught about each of these concepts in English, as well as examples, click on the link in the word. An adjective is a word used to describe and give more information about a noun, which could be a person, place or object. An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, which means that it tells you how, when, where or why something is being done. Often used in poetry, alliteration is the repetition of an initial letter or sound in closely connected words. Apostrophes are punctuation marks used to show possession and to show contraction (also known as omission). Articles are words which tell us whether a noun is general (any noun) or specific. There are three articles: 'the' is a definite article and 'a' and 'an' are indefinite articles. Argument text is a piece of writing which expresses points of view 'for' or 'against' the subject. Biography and autobiography Blending sounds means looking at a word and, rather than saying the separate sounds that make it up, linking the sounds together and saying the whole word in one go. Blending is an essential phonics skill which children are taught as part of learning to read. A book report or review is your child’s written critique of a book. Book reports tend to focus on describing what the book is about, while reviews are more concerned with your child’s opinion of the book. Brainstorming is a process in which a question or problem is posed, then a group of people give ideas which are noted by a person who writes them down on paper or a board for the group to see. Clauses are the building blocks of sentences, groups of words that contain a subject and a verb. Clauses can be main or subordinate. A colon is a punctuation mark that can be used to introduce a list or to separate two independent but linked clauses. A comma is a punctuation mark that separates items in a list and marks the divisions within sentences. The comparative form of an adjective or adverb is used to compare one person, thing, action or state to another. Examples of comparatives: sadder, lighter, more famous, worse, more angrily. The comparative is usually formed by adding the suffix -er. A conjunction is a type of connective ('connective' is an umbrella term for any word that connects bits of text). Co-ordinating connectives include the words and, but and so; subordinating connectives include the words because, if and until. Consonant and consonant cluster The alphabet is made up of 26 letters, 5 of which are vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and the rest of which are consonants. A consonant is a sound that is made by blocking air from flowing out of the mouth with the teeth, tongue, lips or palate. Two consonants which appear next to each other are known as a consonant cluster. Contracted words or contractions Contracted words are short words made by putting two words together. Letters are missed out in the contraction and replaced by an apostrophe, for example I'm (I am) or it's (it is). Narrative or creative writing involves writing stories with a structure, using knowlege of grammar and punctuation to present them correctly. CVC / CCVC / CVCC words A CVC word is a word that is made up of a consonant, vowel and consonant. CCVC words are made up of a consonant, a consonant, a vowel and a consonant. In CVCC words the sequence is: consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. A dash is a versatile punctuation mark that can be used within a sentence (instead of brackets or a colon) to show parenthesis. Decoding is the process of seeing written words on a page and being able to say them out loud. A determiner is a word that introduces a noun and identifies it in detail. Determiners can be articles (a, an, the), demonstratives (this, that), possessives (your, his), quantifiers (some, many), numbers (six, sixty). A digraph is two letters that make one sound. Digraphs can be made up of vowels or consonants. Direct and indirect speech Direct speech is a sentence in which the exact words spoken are reproduced in speech marks (quotation marks or inverted commas). Indirect speech or reported speech is when the general points of what someone has said are reported, without actually writing the speech out in full. DUMTUMS are a way of reminding children how to present their work. The letters stand for: Date, Underline, Miss a line, Title, Underline, Miss a line, Start. An ellipsis is a punctuation mark, a series of three consecutive dots that can be used to show a pause for effect to increase tension, an unfinished thought, a trail off into silence or that the writer has deliberately missed out a word, sentence, or whole section from a text, without altering its original meaning. Encoding is the process of hearing a sound and being able to write a symbol to represent that sound. Exception words are words in which the English spelling code works in an unusual or uncommon way. Children learn to read and spell common exception words throughout their time in primary school, particularly in Reception, Y1 and Y2. An exclamation mark is a punctuation mark which looks like a straight line with a dot underneath it. It is used to show that an exclamation, an interjection or a statement sentence has finished. An exclamation is forceful statement which expresses high levels of emotion or excitement. An explanation text describes a process. These non-fiction texts are usually written in the present tense, with numbered points and diagrams or pictures to make the process clear. Extended writing is when children are given a set amount of time to produce a piece of writing unaided. An extended writing session often marks the end of a unit of literacy teaching. A fable is a story that features animals, plants or forces of nature that have been anthropomorphised (given human qualities) and ends with a ‘moral’. Figurative language uses words and ideas to suggest meaning (as opposed to literal language, which communicates in a plain and obvious way). In primary school, forms of figurative language studied include metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole and onomatopoeia. A full stop is a punctuation mark used to separate sentences. A grapheme is a written symbol that represents a sound (a phoneme). This can be a single letter, or could be a sequence of letters (ai, sh, igh, tch, for example). Guided reading is a regular, time-tabled session in which teachers work with a small number of children in the classroom to analyse a text in detail, making sure each child can read each word and discussing meaning of the text with them. A haiku is a form Japanese poetry that has three lines. There can be any number of words, but there must be 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line and 5 syllables in the third line. Haikus don't usually rhyme. High-frequency words are some of the most common words in the English language. A number of them don’t follow phonetic rules, so they must be learned individually by heart. Children start to learn to read and write high-frequency words in Reception, and are given more words to memorise in KS1 and KS2. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings. Some homophones are pronounced the same way and spelled the same way but have different meanings; others are pronounced the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Imperative verbs (also known as "bossy verbs") tell someone to do something. They are used in orders / commands and in instruction texts. An information text is a non-fiction text which gives information about a particular thing. Information texts are sometimes called non-chronological reports, because they are reporting information about something without mentioning the order of events. An instruction text is a non-fiction text such as a recipe or manual. Instruction texts include lists of items and numbered points detailing how to carry out a certain activity. Interactive whiteboards are the size of a usual class whiteboard, but are connected to a teacher's computer, so whatever the teacher is doing on the computer will appear on the interactive whiteboard. While most verbs form their different tenses according to an established "formula", some verbs do not form their tenses in a regular way and are called irregular verbs. A kenning uses a two-word phrase in the place of a one-word noun in poetry (for example, sea-farer instead of sailor). Learning objective / WALT A learning objective is what the teacher wants the children to have learnt or achieved by the end of the lesson. Learning objectives are sometimes referred to as WALT (stands for We Are Learning To). A letter sound is literally the sound we make when we are reading a written letter of the alphabet. A letter string is a group of letters that appear in a word. For example, the letter string str is contained in each of these words: string, straight, strike, strain. Look, Cover, Write, Check Look, Cover, Write, Check is a strategy used to help children learn to spell. When learning a new word, children are asked to: look at it, cover it over with a piece of paper or their hand, write the spelling again next to the word and finally uncover the spelling to check if they have got it right. A metaphor is a comparison which is not literally true. It suggests what something is like by comparing it with something else with similar characteristics (for example, my brother is a piglet). Mini-whiteboards are A4-sized wipe-clean surfaces which come with a whiteboard pen. Children are usually provided with a mini-whiteboard each, and use it to write on in the classroom. A modal verb is a special type of verb which changes or affects other verbs in a sentence. Modal verbs are used to show the level of possibility, indicate ability, show obligation or give permission. Modelled writing is when a teacher writes a passage of text in front of the class. It differs from shared writing in that the teacher does not ask for the input of the class. A multi-clause sentence is another term for a complex sentence. A mystery story is one in which an unexplained event (often a crime) has occurred and the reader discovers how events unfolded by reading the text. Myths and legends A myth is a traditional, ancient story that is fictional. Myths were often written to explain natural phenomena and quite often involved gods and fantasy creatures. A legend is a story which takes place within human history. Legends are widely believed to be rooted in the truth, but will have evolved over time and taken on fictional elements. A non-chronological report is a non-fiction report which is not written in time order. Explanation texts, recounts and instruction texts are non-chronological reports. Any text that is not a story is non-fiction. Non-fiction texts studied at primary school include instruction texts, recounts, information texts, explanation texts, persuasive texts, biography, journalistic writing and argument texts. A noun is a naming word. It is a thing, a person, an animal or a place. Nouns can be common, proper, abstract or collective. The object of a sentence is the thing or person that is involved in an action, but does not carry it out ("The cat chased the mouse."). Onomatopoeia is a word that names a sound, but also sounds like that sound. For example: boom, honk, pop, crack, cuckoo, crack, splat, tweet, zoom, sizzle, whizz, buzz, hiss, rip. A paragraph is a section of writing consisting of one or more sentences grouped together and discussing one main subject. Parenthesis is a word, phrase, or clause inserted into a sentence to add extra, subordinate or clarifying information. Brackets are also known as parentheses and usually used to show parenthesis. Past continuous (or progressive) Personification is a type of figurative language which gives an object human characteristics (emotions, sensations, speech, physical movements). Persuasive text is non-fiction text which aims to make the reader do something. Adverts, posters and travel brochure are all kinds of persuasive text. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. Phonics is a method of teaching children to read by linking sounds (phonemes) and the symbols that represent them (graphemes, or letters). Phonics is the method used in primary schools in the UK today to teach children to read. A play script is a piece of writing written for the stage. It is likely to include a list of characters, may be divided into acts (which are then divided into scenes) and contain dialogue and stage directions. A plural word indicates there is more than one noun. A prefix is a string of letters that are added to the beginning of a root word, changing its meaning. Prepositions are linking words in a sentence. We use prepositions to explain where things are in time or space. Present continuous (or progressive) A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. Examples of pronouns are: he, she, it, they. Pronouns can be personal and possessive. A question is a type of sentence that we ask or write to gain further information from a person or people responding. A question mark is a punctuation mark, or a symbol, that shows that a question has ended. Reading comprehension means understanding what is being read and being able to engage with a text on many levels, understanding its layers of meaning. A recount is a non-fiction piece of writing that gives details of an event that has happened. Diary entries, newspaper articles and letters are all forms of recounts, A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that adapts, describes or modifies a noun by using a relative pronoun (who, that or which). Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds in words, usually at the end of lines in poems and songs. A root word is a basic word with no prefix or suffix added to it. By adding prefixes and suffixes to a root word we can change its meaning. 'Scaffolding' learning means providing a framework on paper that will support a child in learning a particular skill. A semi-colon is a punctuation mark that is used to separate two independent (main) clauses that are closely related. A sentence is one word or a group of words that makes sense by itself (a grammatical unit). Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation point. Sentences usually contain a subject (doing something) and a verb (what is being done). Shared writing is a process teachers use o help children to understand how to write a particular kind of text. It involves a teacher producing some text on the board with input from the class. A simile is a comparison phrase which finds similar characteristics in two objects and compares them, always by using the words 'like' or 'as'. Simple, compound and complex sentences A simple sentence has a subject and one verb. A compound sentence is formed when you join two main clauses with a connective. A complex sentence is formed when you join a main clause and a subordinate clause with a connective. When a noun is singular, it means there is only one person, place or object. A spider diagram is a planning tool used to help children make notes on a particular subject. A digraph is two vowels which together make one sound (as in the words tail, boat, found or read). When a digraph is split by a consonant it becomes a split digraph, sometimes known as 'magic e'. Standard English is the "correct" form of English, taught in schools and used in formal written communication. A statement is the most common type of sentence. Statements are sentences that express a fact, idea or opinion. Story map / Story mountain / Story flowchart Story maps, mountains and flowcharts are diagrams used in the classroom to help children analyse the plot and the structure of a text. A story setting is the location in which a story takes place. The setting could anywhere, from a park to a home to an alien planet. The subject of a sentence is the thing or person who is carrying out the action described by the verb ("The cat chased the mouse."). The subjunctive is a verb form used to express things that could or should happen, for example: If I were to go... / I demand that he answer! A subordinate clause needs to be attached to a main clause because it cannot make sense on its own, although it contains a subject and a verb. Success criteria / WILF A success criteria is a list of features that a teacher wants the children to include in their work during the course of a lesson. It is sometimes known as the WILF (What I'm Looking For). A suffix is a string of letters that go at the end of a word, changing or adding to its meaning. Suffixes can show if a word is a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a verb. The superlative form of an adjective or adverb is used to compare one person, thing, action or state to all the others in its class. Examples of superlatives: saddest, lightest, most famous, worst, most angrily. The superlative is usually formed by adding the suffix -est. A syllable is a single, unbroken sound of a spoken (or written) word. Syllables are sometimes called the ‘beats’ of a word. Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings. Talk partners are pairs of children who discuss topics in the classroom. The use of talk partners is a common technique in the primary-school classroom. Text-marking is highlighting, circling, underlining or labelling the features of a text. The purpose of text-marking is to make children aware of how different texts are set out and which features are used. Time connectives are words or phrases which tell the reader when something is happening. They can also be called temporal connectives. A traditional tale is a fairy story or fairy tale, a story that has been told and re-told for many years and almost everyone knows. Examples of traditional tales are Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. A trigraph is a single sound that is represented by three letters, for example tch, igh in fight or ear in bear. Verbal reasoning is a form of problem-solving based around words and language. Verbal reasoning tasks include solving word problems, following written instructions to come up with a solution, spotting letter sequences and cracking letter- and number-based codes. Verbs and powerful verbs A verb expresses a physical action, a mental action or a state of being. Powerful verbs are descriptive, rich words. Verb tenses tell us the time when an action took place, in the past, the present or the future. The alphabet is made up of 26 letters, 5 of which are vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and the rest of which are consonants. A vowel is a sound that is made by allowing breath to flow out of the mouth, without closing any part of the mouth or throat. Word banks are lists of words to support children with their writing. These will vary according to the age of the child and the task given. A writing frame is a blank diagram used to show children how to set out their writing and to remind them to include certain features. Have we missed any literacy terms that you'd like to see explained? Email requests for new glossary entries to us at [email protected] You'll find maths and numeracy terms and vocabulary explained in our Primary numeracy glossary for parents.

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A Sense of Place in American Literature Caitlin McGrail, 2018 Clinton High School Honors English, Grade 10 These lessons are created for a tenth grade honors level course at Clinton High School. This is a course designed for highly motivated students as a survey of American literature with exposure to the American short story, novel, play, poetry, and nonfiction. It is designed to recognize the links between literature and history and to integrate vocabulary, grammar, thinking, speaking, reading, and writing skills necessary to function in an advanced/college setting. This sequence of lessons will enhance the themes of this year-long course: American identity, the relationship between the community the individual, and society, civil disobedience, and the American Dream. A sense of place will intertwine within the existing units as students explore how a place influences identity. Within this course, the term place will become an extended definition of setting, as students are encouraged to think about setting in terms of a physical setting, a historical setting, and a social setting. A sense of place will be explored at different levels – how place influences an author as he/she is writing, the effect that place has on the characters and plot in a text, and finally extended to the impact that place has on a student’s own identity. This unit contains six lessons that will be used with other texts and units throughout the year. The year begins with an introductory unit relating to personal identity leading into the idea of American identity and concludes with two texts that focus on community and an individual’s roles and responsibilities within that society. History of Your Hometown Jessica Parfitt, 2018 Pittsburg High School U.S. History or A.P. U.S. History, Grade 11 Either as an individual or in a small group, students will explore the history of their hometown. Their task will be to pick one small aspect of the history of their town that they would like to explore. For example, there may be some historical building or event or person that lived in their town, or there may be political, social, or economic history they would like to know more about. They will work their way through the research process to find their information and create some sort of physical project that will be used to add to the public history of their town, (in the city of Pittsburg, we have a local Historical Society who has offered to place their projects out as an exhibit in the Pittsburg History Museum.) Each lesson will walk them through a step of the research process, so that they can complete this project like real historians. They will be given guidance for each step, but it will be up to them to do the work to complete each process and produce a viable piece of public history that can be viewed and enjoyed by the people of Pittsburg. Place and Identity Robert Guastella, 2016 Natick High School English, Grade 9 As Transcendentalism is studied in greater detail during Junior year, this is only meant to be a brief introduction to the concepts, specifically those of Thoreau, with a focus on sense of place and identity, the latter being Natick High School’s focus for 9th grade English. The first lesson of this unit is geared towards priming students with Transcendental concepts on which they have to take a stance, as well as getting them thinking about sense of place by connecting to ideas of home, and how that contributes to one’s identity. The homework applies these ideas to a short story. The second lesson goes over the homework story and then explores the concept of nature and how places in nature can help people feel a sense of home and find themselves. The nature walk during class and the subsequent homework assignment will get students out in nature, away from their usual technology-dependent routines, and more in touch with themselves. The third lesson explores the idea of utopias to get students to think about how and why societies are set up they way they are, and to really contemplate what their individual priorities are and what will make them happy; they will then be asked to think about this happiness in terms of real places, where they feel the most like themselves. The homework is to apply these ideas to a short story, focused on noticing the differences that various places have on in the protagonist throughout the story. The fourth lesson builds on the idea of place and identity, and explores the concept of truth. Students will think about what truth means, what is true for them, and what will truly make them happy. They will begin the final assessment of the unit, a creative project that expresses one “truth” about identity as connected to a specific place, whether it’s nature, home, or someplace else. The project has them interview five people to find out others’ perceptions of happiness and identity as related to place in order to construct their own views on the idea. The fifth lesson comes back to the concept of self, and has students think about what makes them most “awake” and alive. They then get class time to work on their projects, as well as teacher assistance and feedback. The homework is to finish the project. Tim O’Brien and Thoreau: Identify Formation through a Sense of Place Anna Schechinger, 2016 Belmont High School English, Grade 12, College Prep The overarching theme of my Senior year English class is “The Search for Identity.” At this stage in their high school careers, students are at the advent of a new beginning, whether they are college bound or joining the workforce. We will examine selected stories from Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried in conjunction with the theme of identity formation. The protagonist of these short stories, Tim, is similar to my students because he is faced with a difficult decision at the outset of his adult life: the choice between fighting a war he does not support or defecting to Canada when he receives his draft notice. As he writes about his moral dilemma and the setting of the Vietnam war itself, O’Brien reveals that our ‘sense of place’ impacts how we perceive ourselves and our actions in relation to the world around us. How Did Stone Walls End Up in the Middle of Forests? Barbara Barker, 2015 Simsbury High School Environmental Science, Biology, Ecology The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the interrelationships of ecosystems and the changes they undergo due to the natural process of succession. The focus will be on forests so that students will understand how a state like Connecticut evolved from being mostly deforested to becoming one of the most densely forested states in the country. This unit will provide a sense of place by increasing student understanding and appreciation of forests which will foster their stewardship of them. While exploring the process of succession, students will learn how areas that are disturbed by natural disasters or human activities can change ecosystems from systems that support a limited number of organisms to climax communities that support a wide diversity of organisms. Students will also learn how crucial the interaction between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem is crucial to its health and sustainability. Acknowledging and Embracing a Sense of Place Lisa Clark, 2015 Arlington High School US History, Grades 9-12 The purpose of this unit plan is to teach students about their sense of place, to embrace the connection to their current location, and to take a closer look at the environment that surrounds them. Perceptions of American Dreams and How or If We Live Them Jennifer Cohen, 2015 Lexington High School American Literature, Grade 11, Honors The honors American Literature course is organized thematically around four visions of the American Dream: Exceptionalism, Prosperity, Equality, and Self-Determination and the Essential Question for each vision: How do American authors extol and/or question the American Dream of __________________________. Because these visions are related and overlap, the distinction affords a convenient method of text organization and is not intended to be a rigid divide among these ideas. Transcendentalist ideas and texts weave through the last three units, providing both support and criticism of these dreams. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau’s writings (excerpts from Nature and “Self-Reliance,” chapters of Walden, and “Civil Disobedience”) will help to attune students to their own views of country and their place in it. The readings and lessons will take place throughout the year and are connected under the big idea of the individual’s relationship to self and country. Individual lessons will focus on developing reverence for place, being present/simplifying, , examining views about race and potential for change in our society, and personal responsibility. Assignments will range from formative journaling assignments to a culminating personal essay. “Let Us Consider the Way in Which We Spend Our Lives”: Thoreau and the Autonomous Learner Model Karen Downing, 2015 Valley High School West Des Moines, IA English, Grades 10-12, Talented and Gifted Students in this unit will use ideas from Thoreau as an extended metaphor of self-reflection throughout the semester in partnership with the course program model of Autonomous Learning to better understand their interior/exterior sense of place. Thoreau and the Art of Journaling Rebecca Jha, 2015 Shrewsbury High School English, Grade 12, Honors In order to become a strong writer, students need to learn how to develop their “voice” and to begin to feel confident in the ability to have something worth saying and expressing. Journaling provides students with ample opportunity to hone the skills associated with developing their persona, their voice, their writing style in a format that is more creative, more stream of conscious, and less formulaic than formal essay writing. With this in mind, this unit will use both the journals of Henry David Thoreau and his piece entitled “Walking”, as vehicles to reveal to students the value of journaling and being attentive to the world around them, for both personal and educational reasons. Additionally, this unit will provide students with opportunities to read some of Thoreau’s less- read works, with opportunities to feel and discover a bit about Thoreau’s sense of place, and with opportunities to use the works of Thoreau as springboards to learning more about the writing process, more about the art and purpose of journaling, and more about themselves as participants in the overall human experience. Nature in Our City: Engaging with an Urban Environment Colette Morton, 2015 English, Grade 10 The St. Louis metro area is very large and exploring the woods can be nearly impossible for poor, urban teenagers. The purpose of this unit is to inspire students to interact with nature in new ways, all while developing a sense of place. First, we will examine writers who have inspired many to step out into nature. The reading list will include selections from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Aron Ralston’s Between a Rock and Hard Place, The Wilderness World of John Muir edited by Edwin Way Teale, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. Throughout this unit, the students will journal “in the field,” using classical field notes in their urban environment. Finally, we will Skype Yosemite National Park, attempting to get Shelton Johnson to speak with our students (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Johnson). Finally, we will invite the last mayor of Times Beach, Marilyn Leistner, to speak with our students about the ecological disaster that occurred only a few decades and miles away. Sense of Place and the Creative Process: Looking at Where You Are and Where You’re Going Dana Phelan, 2015 Ridgefield High School Visual Art, Grades 9-12 This unit will guide students through a process of finding and attending to the sound of their “own drummers”. It is inspired by the seven iterations of the Different Drummer passage gathered by Jeffery Cramer. This collection of quotes is a fascinating example of how creative minds play with and work out ideas and develop them over time. Students will observe, reflect on, and interpret their local place through a series of discussions, journal entries, contour drawings and photographs. Along the way, they will consider passages from Thoreau and the visual images (and creative processes) of artists such as Hokusai, Albrecht Durer and Helena Emmans. Awakening Our Senses: Discovering Place, Discovering Self Lindsay Dent, 2014 St. Pius X Catholic High School American Literature, Grade 11 This unit is designed to be taught at the end of the first semester of a year-long American literature survey course. The overarching theme for the semester concerns living mindfully and intentionally: what it means to the fictional characters we meet, what it means to essayists (such as Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard), and what it means for us. My students explore this theme in each of the major units of study; since the semester concludes with Transcendentalism, they are uniquely positioned to reflect and reconsider this theme in light of both the individual unit and term as a whole. In this unit, students will explore the notion of mindful and intentional living through a variety of texts and experiences ranging from a “tech toss” to a sense of place field trip to a sustainable community outside of Atlanta. The goal is for them to consider ways—big and small—in which they can more authentically connect to their natural environment and gain self-awareness and quietude in the midst of a chaotic world. Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and Myself in this Place Heather Ellis, 2014 South Hadley High School South Hadley, MA American Literature, Grade 11, Honors Students will engage in this ‘unit’ throughout their entire 11th grade academic year. In the beginning of the year, students will learn a basic understanding of Henry David Thoreau and the New England Transcendental period, particularly 1846-1847. Throughout the year, students will not only come away with a rich understanding of Thoreau, Transcendentalism, the Transcendentalists, and the New England Renaissance, but also a deeper understanding of themselves as human beings, as well as their sense of place in a complex world. Journal writing, creative writing, and outdoor experiences will take place throughout the unit. Be Thoreau: Naturalist Journal & Wildflower Garden to Measure Climate Change David Albano, 2013 Fox Lane High School Bedford, New York English, Grade 12 This unit will build a sense of place through the study of Thoreau’s writing, wildflowers, phenology, and climate change. The study will enable students to interact with nature on the school campus, then at local nature preserve and ultimately in a wildflower garden; these places are focal points for observations as a way to use a naturalist approach to journaling and ultimately witness the impact of climate change. The first part of the unit (lessons #1-#8), focus on writing and building the skills of a naturalist. The second part of the unit, focuses on the garden, gathering data, and climate change. Students will explore the scientific concepts of ecological succession, phenology, and conservation while also working to enhance their observation skills, interpretive thinking, and collaborative skills. Subjects included: environmental science, art (drawing and photography), writing and literature (creative nonfiction). The Symbolic Significance of Place in a Narrative Laura Kerr, 2013 Walpole High School English, Grade 9 This curriculum unit explores the symbolic significance of place in various literary works. The goal for the unit is for students to consider the deeper meaning of place, location, details of the exterior and interior landscape and its function in a narrative. For each text, students will ponder and reflect upon the following overarching essential questions: How do the settings of a literary work inform the identities of the characters and the narrative itself? How does the narrator manipulate the setting to express the symbolic meaning of the narrative? The students will respond to these questions in a journal that I will hold onto throughout the year and then return to them prior to their final assessment. Individual lesson objectives will vary for each literary work (please see lesson plans). The unit will span the entire year and will culminate in an analytical essay that asks students to compare and/or contrast the significance of place in two works from the year. One of the two works that they choose must be one for which we did not explicitly analyze the significance of place – i.e. a literary work that is not included in this unit. A Sacred Place: Exploring the Concept and Importance of Place in Human Experience John Finneron, 2012 Wellesley High School English, Grade 11 This curriculum unit explores the significance of place and how a place can impact one’s development as an individual. While the term “place” might appear general or generic to students, this unit forces them to look more closely and see that a place consists of many things, some physical and some more abstract, perhaps even spiritual. Students will consider that a place is also the people that comprise it as well as the experiences in which these people participate. In fact, a place is as varied and dynamic as each person who lives there; places are perhaps sacred, and students will begin to consider whether they might have their own sacred place. Additionally, many have asserted that “we are products of our environment,” and this unit attempts to investigate the extent of truth in that statement. In order to do so, students will approach the concept of place in literature and through their own lived experience. Students will read Michael Patrick MacDonald’s memoir, All Souls, in which the author revisits his childhood city, South Boston, recalling the people and events of his youth. As MacDonald remembers the joy and camaraderie, the hatred and the suffering, students will begin to see the complexity of place and will start considering all of the possible characteristics that make a place unique. Using All Souls as the starting point, students will then begin to investigate a special place in their own lives. While they are welcome to choose any significant place – town/city of childhood home, town/city of favorite vacation spot, town/city of grandparents’ house, etc. – students must focus on one particular place for the extent of the unit. Beginning more generally, students will investigate historical and cultural aspects of the place such as famous figures, important events, a common custom or tradition. Going further, students will ultimately reflect upon what role the particular place has played in their own lives. Developing a “Listening Point” David Nulf, 2012 Fairfield Ludlowe High School English, Grades 11 and 12 This unit asks students to engage in some of the “slow and difficult / Trick of… finding” (Mary Oliver, “Going to Walden”) Walden in a local open space. Following the example of naturalist writers like Mary Oliver, Annie Dillard, Sigurd Olson, Hal Borland, and Henry David Thoreau, students will establish and develop a close relationship with a parcel of designated “open space” in their home landscape. To do this, they will visit this space many times over the course of the semester, completing a variety of lessons designed to help them observe closely, getting to know some of the flora and fauna, and to record their observations and reflections in their field journals. They will also do some research about the ecological and more recent social history of this space, tracing its story as they are able. After they have come to know this particular open space in a richer way, they will publish an informational pamphlet (or, alternatively, a web document on a “Wikispace”) including a map and visuals (to be kept in a Call of the Wild classroom repository of local places to hike/explore), as well as a short piece of creative non-fiction which communicates some of the highlights of what they have observed and learned from this process over the course of the semester, about the place, about themselves, and about their home environment. Experiencing John Brown’s Kansas Cortney Kinyon, 2011 Central Heights High School Language Arts, Grade 11 Students often overlook the history in their own neighborhood because we, the schools, teach them history lessons from a different part of the world. This unit forces the students to interact with the Bleeding Kansas history by reading pieces of literature, examining a painting depicting the scene, and writing nature / impact journals while at the historic battlefields. Students will read pieces of literature expressing the importance of Bleeding Kansas, will see a copy of a painting depicting the battle, experience the history in the local museums, and will write in a variety of forms from graphic organizers to student questions to journals to academic essays. Cape Cod, A Place to Call Home: Connecting to a Sense of Place on Cape Cod through Literature, the Environment, and Cultural History Elaine Aschettino, 2011 Chatham High School Chatham,MA American Literature, Grade 11, Honors This unit is a local journey, both physical and metaphorical, for grade 11 students. It is a trip that will enable them to discover a sense of place on Cape Cod by exploring some of the area’s natural environs and an historic landmark and relating those discoveries to the work of Transcendentalists and other writers. The goal is for students to better appreciate and understand the richness of the place they call home. Writers & Their Worlds:A Journey into the Landscapes of Wordsworth, Thoreau, & Whitman David Paul Heller, 2009 Sharon High School English-Language Arts, Grades 9-12 This curriculum unit is sculpted and woven together to reveal a single key truth about the literary world: writers are bonded – regardless of their disparate visions – to the worlds that minted them. This is to say, quite simply, that the environments and settings, which coat writers as they grow into their role as artists, do have a major impact upon their work. The power of landscape is clearly evident as a force revealing the deeper thematic threads of literary texts. And it is for this undeniable reason that students should cull the full implications of this dynamic – place impacts people, people give shape to place. This unit, delineated through four lessons, will help young scholars access how this premise is fully realized through the study of the work of the following writers: William Wordsworth, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. Boston – Where the Wild Things Are David Kujawski, 2005 Boston Collegiate Charter School Environmental Science, Grade 12 As Thoreau states in Walden, “Things do not change; we change.” This simple, yet poignant statement speaks of how humans, as individuals as well as a community, grow and change greatly during our lifetime. The people we know and the places we experience seem to change over time largely because of the personal and cultural transformation of our perceptions (for better or for worse!). This unit uses journaling and mapping as a way to build an appreciation and understanding between students and their natural surroundings and local history, as seen through the students own set of personal and cultural lenses. Students will develop a greater understanding of map interpretation and the mental associations they may conjure, as well the ability to read and interpret maps. The transcendentalists will be used throughout the unit to reinforce the purpose of the exercises and serve as models. Through encouraging students to discover and see their surroundings in a new light, they will eventually make a detailed map of their home towns. The Mathematics of Space and Place Janet Platt, 2005 Boston Day and Evening Academy Math, Grades 9 and 10 This lesson plan is a math unit for 9th and 10th graders who are developing and improving their 8th grade skills while they study algebra, geometry and trigonometry. This mathematics unit will try in a very concrete way to examine the role of PLACE in community, and trying to quantify a place. Students will use pace as a measuring tool to draw the school yard and city blocks to scale, and to analyze the use of property and other space in a block or two of the city. Property use will be categorized, converted to percent, and presented in a pie graph. The data gleaned from these activities will be used to describe the types of businesses and activities that occur in that place. Ultimately, all of this information will be used to try and answer the “essential question” – What does community mean? The Academy of Art, Science, and Technology and Henry David Thoreau’s Life Nancy Flasher, 2005 Provincetown High School: Academy of Art, Science and Technology Cape Cod, MA Interdisciplinary, Grades 9-12 This unit is designed to cultivate student interest in the life of Henry David Thoreau not only as a local resource to draw upon, but especially as an excellent and timeless model of a spirited self-directed and lifelong learner. It is composed of three core lesson plans: the first focuses on some of the initial activities that will assist students in creating a “toolbox” of lifelong learning skills, knowledge and habits; the second focuses on teaching and guiding students to keep a lifelong learning project journal, a thorough, reflective and relevant documentation of their individualized study; the final plan focuses on using the journal to review, isolate, choose and further develop key information and inquiries found in imbedded in project journals (editing, revision, and exploring a variety of means for presenting info). Forbidden Places and Forgotten Spaces Bill Goncalo, 2004 Bishop Connolly High School Fall River, MA American Literature and Composition, Grades 9-12 Young people like to get out of the classroom, and this lesson will provide ample opportunity to do so. Not only will students be outside, they will be in a wooded space not usually accessible to the public. The area contains the ruins of a 19th century ice house and two old homes, one of which that had elaborate gardens surrounding it, the remnants of which are still visible. Students will also be able to create media that will be used to eventually promote the area and educate the public concerning the resources there. Students will read Tunnel Visionary, an article written by Stephen P. William for Smithsonian Magazine, April 2004. The article describes how “Intrepid explorer Julia Solis finds beauty in the ruins of derelict urban structures.” Students will journal about the “derelict urban structures” which fascinate them and why.

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Transitioning to Middle School In the Middle School, the fifth grade is a transitional year when students acclimate to departmentalized learning while enjoying the comfort and familiarity of a single classroom environment. Our program enables students to learn from content specialists as we ease students into a departmentalized structure, which is the norm of the Middle School program. Students in the fifth grade remain in a “home base” classroom throughout the day, but they enjoy the departmentalized experience of Middle School as different teachers who are content specialists visit their classroom to teach them throughout the day. Language Arts and Social Studies meet under an umbrella Humanities program, which enables the teachers of the two subjects to foster cross-curricular development goals. Similarly, for Hebrew, Science, and Chumash, students learn from subject specialists who come to the students in their home base classrooms. The math program is leveled based on skill, as determined by fourth grade teachers and results from the fourth grade Terra Nova standardized tests. General Studies Academic Programs In Middle School Language Arts, reading and writing are critical tools for understanding a wide range of experiences. An introduction to various literary genres and styles helps to cultivate curiosity, empathy, and understanding among our students. By delving into the disparate worlds reflected in our literary choices, our students safely explore the world of the “other” while gaining key skills related to comprehension, self-expression, grammar, and critical thinking. High interest reading along with classical literature selections help to develop a lifelong love of reading and learning among Middle School students. Throughout the grades, a scaffolded writing curriculum is embedded in each unit with the goal of cultivating increased independence and sophistication. Writing, paired with a targeted vocabulary program, allows students to hone their literary voice through various writing styles. In each grade, grammar topics are taught and reinforced in concert with writing instruction as well as through concentrated units to introduce new skills. In fifth grade, the overarching theme of assigned literature is empathy. As students transition to middle school, there are many social and emotional changes that take place. By putting themselves in the shoes of another, students learn to have an understanding of, and sensitivity towards, the feelings of others. Through the use of high-interest fiction and nonfiction selections, students begin to discover the pleasure of reading for enjoyment. Each unit focuses on specific grammar skills and uses vocabulary words directly from the literature. As the year progresses, students work towards gaining independence in the writing process, with a strong focus on outlining. Each unit culminates in a writing assignment that focuses on gaining an understanding of specific writing tools. The sixth grade Language Arts curriculum focuses on character development and features literary selections with similarly aged main characters. Despite the wide range of diverse experiences and challenges reflected in each piece of literature, for the students, each character moves from being remote to relatable through the identification of shared realities and perspectives. By noting these similarities, students gain a deep sense of empathy for the “other” as well as an ability to recognize point of view. Each unit includes both expository and creative writing focused on including explicit details, citing examples, choosing vivid vocabulary, and ultimately using textual evidence. Throughout the year, students work on both the form and function of their sentences and paragraphs, moving from single paragraph responses to multi-paragraph essays. Students practice self-expression and increase writing stamina through myriad writing assignments. Previously learned grammar topics, including parts of speech and types of sentences, are reviewed and new topics are introduced to shepherd the development of more sophisticated writing. The seventh grade Language Arts curriculum focuses on identifying theme and author’s purpose in literature. Through encounters with the challenging situations faced by the characters in each of the literary selections, the students evaluate the author’s perspective, the characters’ varied perspectives, and the student’s own unique assessment of the messages gleaned from the text. With an emphasis on integrating textual evidence and weaving direct citations into expository writing, the students draw on their mastery of outlining skills to organize well-articulated arguments and substantiate claims. Each unit includes both expository and creative writing focused on increasing sophistication and complexity of sentences, using quotations correctly and effectively, and adding smooth transitions between ideas to establish flow in the writing. Students continue to practice self-expression and develop writing stamina through myriad writing assignments. Previously learned grammar topics are reviewed and new topics are introduced to shepherd the development of more sophisticated writing. Throughout the year, students work on evaluating their own writing to check for effectiveness, improving their self-editing skills, and increasing independence in writing. The eighth grade Language Arts curriculum explores the human condition and the plight of "The Other"-- which is coupled with daily class discussions created specifically to inspire critical thinking and encourage positive methods of communication. As each student crafts increasingly complex written pieces throughout the year, his or her growing writer's portfolio becomes a testament to the immense intellectual, psychological, and emotional growth sustained in the eighth grade school year. Throughout the course of the year, students compose multiple, literature-based expository essays; engage in varied creative writing and project-based learning assignments; and receive individualized writing advice and feedback from their teacher as they continue to grow their skills as thinkers and writers. JKHA Middle School teachers seek to foster students’ appreciation of mathematics by building on previous concepts to ensure an in-depth understanding of all new material. We strive for our students to gain mastery of each topic, enabling them to model real-world applications and problem-solve by incorporating all previously acquired knowledge and skills. Upon advancement from middle school, students will have developed a strong foundation of their general math skills, as well as competence in using a variety of problem-solving techniques, determining the best strategies for solving word problems, estimating the reasonableness and effectiveness of solutions, and the skills needed to perform successfully on different types of formal and informal assessments. The fifth grade math curriculum lends itself to having students make sense of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems and persevere in solving them. After solving the problems, students are required to explain their reasoning. Real-world applications of problems are introduced throughout every lesson. They are taught that there are numerous ways to solve math problems and that they can use different tools to come to an answer. Estimation is introduced at the beginning of every chapter to infuse the sense that student’s actual answers can be compared to their estimated answer to check for reasonableness. Overall, students begin the year by understanding the place value system. They learn how to write and interpret numerical expressions and analyze patterns and relationships. Towards the middle of the year, students apply and extend their previous understanding of multiplication, division and fractions. In sixth grade, the curriculum focuses on encouraging persistence, critical thinking, and applying what is learned in the classroom to real-life problems. Specifically, the year begins with the properties of whole numbers and decimals, the order of operations, and all operations with decimals. Following this, are the very crucial components of number theory, including such topics as divisibility, prime factorization, least common multiple, and greatest common factor. These are the building blocks to all operations involving fractions, including simplifying, comparing, and converting fractions and decimals and vice versa. Pre-algebra is incorporated into the sixth-grade curriculum, with such topics as evaluating expressions, solving one/two-step equations, and simplifying algebraic expressions using the distributive property and combining like terms. Integers are also studied, to provide the framework for 7th grade, including comparing and ordering, opposites, absolute value, and the coordinate plane. The study of ratios and unit rates is followed by solving proportions. This leads to the concept of percent and many real-world applications such as discounts, tax, tip, and interest. Geometric concepts are also included in the curriculum. Topics covered are area and perimeter of triangles and parallelograms, the volume of three-dimensional figures such as prisms, cones are pyramids, measuring and creating angles, similarity, and congruence of figures. Throughout the year, in addition to simply computing solutions, we seek to encourage students to justify, explain, and defend their reasoning. Our goal is to promote number sense and build the ability to see the reasonableness of their results. Lastly, we model an environment where all mistakes are valued and just viewed as another experience in the learning process. The seventh grade math program concentrates on analyzing proportional relationships and further developing problem-solving skills in order to solve real-world situations. The application and extension of previous understandings of operations with fractions and rational numbers along with the recognition of relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents are covered as well. Students are instructed on how to draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures in addition to exploring the relationships between them. Measurement skills in the US Customary and Metric systems are advanced. Emphasis is given to working collaboratively in group situations as well as independently, taking responsibility and ownership of assignments in both cases. Specific concepts covered include integers, rational numbers, equations, inequalities, ratios, rates, proportions, percents, geometry, area including surface and volume, analysis of data, and probability. In Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, the overarching goals are to recognize, interpret, communicate, and use different strategies when solving multi-step problems. Students continue to develop the necessary skills to employ the perseverance and patience necessary to solve these more complex problems and recognize how these situations can be applied to solving real-world situations. The skills taught in Pre-Algebra continue through Algebra 1, where students gain a deeper understanding of the following concepts. Throughout the course, students use algebraic transformations to solve multi-step equations and word problems involving integers and rational numbers, apply their understanding of ratios and proportions to solve percent problems, simplify algebraic expressions with positive, negative and zero exponents and simplify and solve square roots. In pre-algebra, students develop the skills needed to graph linear equations, including solving equations to graph points on a line and finding slope. Then in Algebra 1, students use these skills to solve systems of linear equations. Additionally, students discover how to add, subtract, multiply and factor polynomials. In terms of math enrichment at JKHA, we are proud of our students’ participation in many math competitions, including Mathematical Olympiads, New Jersey Math League Contest and Kushner's own, Math Masters Tournament. The fifth graders are learning science this year following a curriculum known as STC- Science and Technology Concepts, designed by Carolina Biological Company. The curriculum is designed to enhance critical thinking and scientific inquiry by conducting many experiments to reinforce the scientific knowledge students learn. They begin the year by covering a unit on Matter. This unit covers concepts such as density, chemistry and the water cycle. Students experiment with different objects to understand the relationship between mass and volume. Students conclude the unit with learning how matter can be changed by physical or chemical means. The next module covered is known as Ecology, which is when students get to build their own self-sustaining ecosystem with plants and living organisms. They then conduct experiments demonstrating the negative effects of pollution on their ecosystems. Students learn how one organism can directly impact the ecosystem in which it lives. Students complete the unit with extensive exposure to all the different types of ecosystems around the world, known as biomes. As a concluding assessment, students research and create a diorama depicting the specific biome which interests them. The last part of the year is spent on discovering the dark depths of space. Students learn the planets of our solar system, along with meteoroids, comets and stars. This unit bridges the scientific curriculum from fifth to sixth grade. The sixth-grade science curriculum focuses on space science, environmental science and Earth science. Students are introduced to the physics and the chemistry connected with space science. They explore Newton’s three laws of motion to figure out how things move. Students investigate small and large changes in different layers of Earth and discover how the disruptions affect the environment where we live. Specifically, students learn about plate tectonics, understanding how the shape and position of continents, earthquakes, and volcanoes explain the changes that are found in the Earth. As they learn about environmental science, they investigate the impact of humans on the environment and figure out solutions that could be applied at various levels that would impact individuals, homes and schools. Throughout each unit, students develop the following critical thinking and processing skills: making inferences, communicating using written expression, classification of information, experimenting, collecting and recording data, note taking, as well as problem solving. In the seventh grade, students begin the study of biology by learning about cells, the fundamental building blocks of unicellular and multicellular life. They discover just how incredible the cell is by studying many of its important functions including transport, respiration, photosynthesis, and cell division. Students become familiar with the microscope as they view onion, cheek cells, and unicellular organisms in pond water. Students are also introduced into the world of nutrition by studying just how the body uses organic compounds including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Students gain an understanding of how cells use all different processes and work together to form tissues and organ systems, creating a complex living organism. Eighth-grade science focuses on the worlds of physics and chemistry. Students explore electricity, simple machines, mechanical advantage, work, hydraulics, atomic structure, chemical bonding, and solutions. Each unit culminates with a capstone project, which requires students to apply their learning in a real-life context. Eighth graders complete their year preparing for a science fair, through which they get to design their problem and solution using a “Design Thinking” approach. Middle Schoolers are endlessly fascinated by every aspect of identity. Our Social Studies program is designed to illuminate the connections between personal identity and the history of humankind, focusing on the developments have shaped and continue to influence people and civilizations. The goals of the Middle School Social Studies program include fostering a connection between past and present that is personally meaningful to the students, teaching students to recognize the influence of past civilizations, events, and leaders upon our modern lives, and encouraging students to analyze how decisions made today, like those of the past, may affect the generations to come. As the school’s mission emphasizes empowering students to “analyze, create, and seek out new intellectual challenges,” the Social Studies program provides students with the opportunity to analyze the past and its influence, create meaningful connections to the material, and seek new intellectual challenges in the form of research, projects, and formal assessments. The Social Studies curriculum for fifth grade is the first half of a two-year academic program that culminates in sixth grade. In fifth grade, the students embark upon a journey through Ancient Civilizations, in which they explore the beginning and legacies of the Fertile Crescent civilizations, Egypt, and Greece. Additionally, students examine geography, chronology, and the foundation of civilization dating back to the Prehistoric era. Using project-based learning, students engage deeply in the units covered. Additionally, there is a heavy emphasis upon skill development in the course, especially in the areas of writing, organization, test taking, listening, note-taking, and critical thinking. The year culminates in the Legacy Project where students embark upon a multifaceted research project. In sixth grade, students continue to study ancient civilizations, picking up on where they left off in fifth grade as they explore the civilizations of India, China, Greece and Rome over the course of their study. Wherever possible, Jewish history is incorporated into units to illustrate the simultaneity of Jewish history parallel to the ancient civilizations covered. Additionally, during the study of Rome, students learn about Christianity and the way in which it specifically impacted Judaea and the fall of the Second Temple. Over the course of the year, students complete multiple independent research projects and bi-monthly current events assignments to foster their growth as critical and analytical historians. Students are assessed based on written evaluations, class participation, homework assignments, and both individual and group projects. As the students embark on their middle school journey through history, so too do they begin to determine the role of geography on the progress of a civilization’s development as well as how to analyze critical events and people in a given ancient civilization and determine the extent of their legacy within and beyond that civilization. The seventh grade Social Studies curriculum encompasses the period of American colonization through the Civil War in American history, from 1591-1865. In this course, in addition to learning the factual information about the historical events, pivotal leaders, and accompanying terminology of the time periods covered, students learn to analyze the historical significance of individual events, people, and terms both contextually and in the present day. In addition, students draw connections between their work in sixth grade ancient civilizations and the seventh grade American history class. Students are assessed on their notes, written evaluations, group and individual projects, and research-based historical fiction papers. In seventh grade, students explore and sharpen their research skills, using both library databases and texts. Additionally, students examine critical events in American history and evaluate their broader historical significance over the course of American history, internationally, and currently. In the eighth grade, students investigate United States history from Reconstruction to the Cold War era and beyond. A thematic approach to the history of that century includes the study of industrialization, the Progressive Era, World War I and the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and the New Deal, World War ll, and the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. The curriculum focuses heavily on academic writing skills in the form of Document Based Questions (DBQ) and analytical historical writing.The eighth grade academic year ends with a rigorous student-driven research project, through which students examine a current political issue, with their research focusing on how that issue impacts the contemporary American landscape. At JKHA Middle School, we believe that every student should understand technology and become adept at using it properly. To that end, teachers in both General and Judaic Studies alike strive to incorporate technology into at least one project each semester, encouraging students to master and use computer skills in real-life situations. Students working on papers for Language Arts or Social Studies, for example, must master Microsoft Word. As students explore research topics in their Social Studies classes, they learn how to utilize online databases as they embark on academic research. Assignments in math call for competency in Microsoft Excel, while projects in science require a keen understanding of PowerPoint. Keyboarding skills are essential in all classes, and especially to the composition of a Hebrew text for the eighth grade yearbook. Students graduate from eighth grade knowing how to use—and when to use—appropriate technology, as well as how to evaluate Internet sources and safely surf the Internet. In addition, the eighth grade students participate in a twelve-week computer applications module. The course asks students to own, operate, and market their own professional teams. Students create logos, design t-shirts, produce advertisements and more, using the Microsoft Office package including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access, as they start up their new “teams.” As they create and market their teams, students use, improve and grow their computer skills and proficiency. Judaic Studies Academic Programs In Middle School, students divide their Tanach studies between Chumash and Navi. The goal of the overall program is for students to develop independent reading and comprehension skills while learning to value and appreciate the subject matter. To this end, the curriculum places a heavy emphasis on mastery of key vocabulary words and grammar skills, partnered with life lessons that emerge from the text. Students are encouraged to ask questions and think analytically, focusing on a multitude of classic commentaries with different literary styles. They do this as individuals, working on project creations and personal skill-building, and as learning teams, engaging in the text, asking each other questions and considering multiple perspectives. The Chumash curriculum builds on the skills and knowledge accumulated in Lower School. Starting with the study of Sefer Shemot in 5th grade, students embrace intensive study of the peshat, the simple meaning of the text, and build upon this understanding with multiple levels of commentary. The 6th grade curriculum introduces students to the first half of Sefer Bamidbar, inviting them to consider the challenges the Jewish people faced in the desert. The second half of Bamidbar and Sefer Devarim are the focus of the 7th and 8th grades. Each year, Middle School students focus on the study of a new book of Navi. The 5th grade studies Sefer Shoftim, considering the challenges of establishing a holy society. The 6th grade encounters the many models of Jewish leadership presented in Sefer Shmuel Aleph. Shmuel Bet and Melachim Aleph complete the 7th and 8th grade study, inviting students to study the infancy of the Jewish monarchy. • Students engage in a Middah K’neged Middah study of the Makkot, allowing them to research plagues on an in-depth level, to value the consequences of offenders’ actions, and to teach life lessons to peers. • Students prepare a Pesach Haggadah throughout the year as they learn Shemot to enhance their study of the Exodus story. • In Navi, students learn to study moments of history as Hashem’s responses to human action. Students ask the questions that our forefathers asked: How should our actions and attitudes change because of what happens in the world around us? • Fifth graders strengthen their connection to Eretz Yisrael through the Eretz Chemda Distance Learning Program. This interactive course teaches the mitzvot of the Land of Israel in a way that brings their theory and practice to life in an exciting, user-friendly and experiential format. • Like their ancestors in Sefer Bamidbar, students physically practice “traveling through the desert” in groups, utilizing the same commands that the Jews followed in the desert. • Students participate in class debates revolving around controversies that arise from the text. After researching multiple commentaries and considering different points of view, students master debate skills for in-class projects. • After learning about the mitzvah, 6th graders engage in a Hafrashat Challah project, learning how to bake their own challot and to make mitzvot meaningful at home. • Students act as on-site reporters, retelling the story of the death of Goliat from a personal perspective, offering students the chance to consider the lives of Navi characters in an up-close manner. Seventh and Eighth Grades • Students engage in debates and trials, closely evaluating Biblical characters and examining their personalities from multiple perspectives. • In an Aseret HaDibrot Self-Study, students research individual commandments, studying both the text of the Chumash as well as classic commentaries. After mastering their topics, students become the teachers of that commandment to the rest of their class. • Bilaam Project- Students work in groups to learn the passukim and commentaries describing Bilaam’s journey to curse Bnei Yisrael while thinking critically about Billam's motives and Hashem’s reaction. • Students create digital Navi Portfolios where they record and personalize the life lessons that can be gleaned from the Navi. • Students participated in a Mikdash Me’at program, through which they used the building of the Beit Hamikdash as a model for creating their own ideal shuls while considering the purpose of a shul and how we can make our shuls places that reflect that purpose. • The Chumash Vocabulary League presents vocabulary acquisition in a fun and engaging manner with competitive play throughout the grades. Middle School study of Torah She’be’al Peh seeks to enhance students’ Jewish identities as they study texts that are crucial to our heritage. As with Tanach, the Talmud curriculum places great focus on mastery of skills so that students can grow to become independent learners. In addition, the curriculum emphasizes comprehension of practical Jewish law found in the Talmud. Torah She’be’al Peh study often incorporates chavruta (partner) learning, in which students work in cooperative pairs to analyze the material during the first stages of a unit, answering questions, defining terms, and learning the content of the unit. In this form of cooperative learning, students are encouraged to attempt to parse texts independently; differences of opinion amongst the partners require students to present the viability of their respective opinions, leading to either a stronger understanding of the position or the abandonment of a failed approach. Considering and accepting new ideas is a key student skill. Study of Torah She’be’al Peh in the Middle School is divided into two parts. In the 5th and 6th grades, students focus on the study of the Mishnayot of Masechet Brachot. The Mishna curriculum places an emphasis on mastery of practical Jewish law that students encounter on a regular basis, while learning the style of Rabbinic writing and frequently-used terminology. This study is coupled with the historical background of the time period in which the Mishna was created. With Mishna skills fully developed, students then move on to the study of Gemara in 7th and 8th Grades. The Middle School curriculum offers students a glimpse into different areas of the vast Talmud corpus, alternating between the study of Masechet Berachot and Masechet Bava Metzia. These first years of Talmud study emphasize the mastery of key phrases and words, building a strong foundation for future independent learning. The curriculum also creates opportunities for students to explore greater religious issues and questions that arise from the text. • “From Mikra to Mishna” - Students track Jewish laws from the text of the Torah to practical application in modern times. • Students study biographies of the Mishnaic luminaries, focusing on what makes an upstanding Jewish individual. •Students apply their learning of the laws of Shema along with studying the meaning of the prayer to give extra meaning to their 5th-grade specific minyan. • At the conclusion of 6th grade, students participate in their first major siyum (celebration of completion), honoring two years of intensive study. Seventh and Eighth Grades • Students participate in a Shark Tank competition, devising ways to present answers to modern-day halachic questions based on the text of the Talmud. • Learning comes to life with the use of Torah Live, providing a digital visualization of the halachot students encounter. • The Gemara Vocabulary League invites seventh and eighth graders to compete with one another using key words and phrases from their Talmud study. • Through the use of visuals from Gemara Academy, students diagram the flow of the Gemara and use a concrete, organized method for encountering the abstract thinking of Gemara logic. • Use of the new and innovative Bright Beginnings Workbooks gives teachers multiple ways to express the ideas of the gemara in a "user friendly" and "kid friendly" manner. One of the goals of the JKHA Middle School is to create a community of Hebrew speakers who are able to converse in Ivrit, read Ivrit books, understand articles written in Israeli newspapers, develop a better understanding of Tanach and learn the culture of Israel. The NETA program, a curriculum initiative in Hebrew language and culture is helping students to attain these goals. JKHA Middle School has been working with the NETA program, established at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to implement this innovative whole-language approach to instruction. The program enables students to enhance their reading, writing and conversational skills. Unlike more traditional programs that require memorizing grammar or “tachbier” rules, NETA focuses on conversational Hebrew as well as Hebrew literature and grammar. The NETA program is driven by the belief that the mastery of Hebrew will promote students’ understanding of their history, culture, and tradition. Every book in the scope of sequence presents a different theme of interest to middle school students. Topics range from computers and sports to friendship and dreams. Each theme is presented from the perspective of modern Israeli culture, Jewish tradition and general world knowledge. The curriculum includes art, science, mathematics, literature, Midrash, and philosophy. NETA is always intellectually challenging, engaging the students’ thought processes. NETA provides intensive on-going professional development, program assessment and teacher mentoring. Teachers participate in different seminars and workshops throughout the school year and every summer. The NETA program is very carefully monitored and assessed. Assignments, tests, and class work indicate that the program is working and that our students are learning and retaining more Ivrit language skills than ever before. Student evaluations show that they feel more confident replying to teachers in Ivrit and are able to converse with others. Students of NETA retain vocabulary words more readily and comprehend and respond appropriately to instructions given to them in Ivrit. And, test student writing skills have shown their improvement in mastering the language. The evidence of improvement is reflected in student scores on NETA tests. As we continue our work with the NETA program, we expect continued progress and success. Enrichment in Middle School In addition to a full day of engaging learning, students at the JKHA Middle School have many opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities, both during the school day and after hours. Extracurricular enrichment activities offer JKHA students the chance to explore new passions, to deepen their love for learning, to expand social groups and to promote school pride. The 5th Grade learns about artists and the elements of art through projects based lessons. They engage with projects by planning and sketching, and then have the opportunity to work with different types of materials. Students then begin creating their original work, implementing the directions and skills covered through the art program. JKHA Middle School participates in many local Yeshiva Day School leagues and tournaments throughout the year. In addition to sports clinics offered, Middle School teams include: -6th Grade Boys Basketball - 6th Grade Girls Basketball -5th/6th Grade Basketball Clinic Names Not Numbers Creative Writing Club Math Enrichment Program 8th Grade Yearbook NJ Math League JKHA Math Masters Tournament 7th grade E2K Enrichment 5th & 6th Grades Math Enrichment Math Lunch & Learn Parsha and Popcorn Lomdus and Lollipops Pirkei Avot Club

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John Jeavon’s How to Grow More Vegetables is not just a detailed manual for gardeners but an exposition of a style of gardening which breaks the norm from organized gardening. Jeavons uses soil science to explain how plants can benefit from being grown in closer proximity than is usually accepted. He points out that by growing plants close together you can reduce the amount of water and soil lost by evaporation and wind as well as being able to use less land for agriculture. Jeavons acknowledges that some soil and nutrients will always be lost though while gardening and thus a gardener must be constantly building up his soil by composting items which are grown in the garden (as well as compost from outside). In this way a plant which drew up nutrients from the soil will be broken down during composting and it’s nutrients released back into the soil for other plants to absorb. The book contains many easy to replicate methods for different types of composting for different environments. He also provides information on compost makeup as well as dos and don’ts of composting. In the back of the book are extensive lists of pant rotation charts, plants which benefit each other when grown near each other and other companion planting advice. Jeavons calls his methods Grow Biointenstive, and claims that they are more sustainable than most current gardening practices. One of the methods he claims to have invented is a method of double digging in compost to soil. In this method the compost is easily interspersed into the soil by use of a shovel with the least amount of digging necessary, something that anyone who has dug holes can appreciate. I recieved this book a few months ago and have very much appreciated looking through it and have learned a lot of useful information. by Ellen Bastrmadjian “Black Rice” is a poignant retelling of the origins of one of the most critical crops in America today. Contrary to popular belief, rice was not introduced to the Americas by European settlers and slave traders, but by the slaves from West Africa. On the African continent “The Rice Coast,” which spans from Senegal in the north to Liberia in the south and east to Mali, is where rice has traditionally been grown for over two millennia. Carney begins by presenting historical evidence that cites rice cultivation in Africa through documents written by European explorers. She then delves into the history of rice cultivation in Africa, detailing landscape and climate conditions, specialized tools, and traditional gender roles. Carney switches gears and begins to discuss the introduction of Oryza glaberrima, or African rice, into the Americas – namely what is today South Carolina, where rice production was highest. She attributes this production to the indigenous African knowledge system, possessed by women in particular, that was transferred through the Middle Passage. She discusses the similarities in rice cultivation between the Rice Coast and South Carolina, such as similar gender divisions and climate/landscape conditions. Lastly, she presents her main argument, which is that rice was introduced by African slaves and discusses the legacy of that cultivation in the Americas of returning to Africa after slavery was abolished. Judith Carney is a distinguished professor of Geography at UCLA. Her interest in the agricultural exchanges during the Columbian period and beyond influenced “Black Rice” – expanded from several published articles. Carney has substantial evidence to back her claims with a range of information from primary documents to scientific and technical information. The wide range of evidence definitely legitimizes and makes the information interesting. She presents additional evidence and information through photographs, diagrams and maps. The unexpected visual aspect compliments the text perfectly and piques the reader’s interest in the subject. Carney’s emphasis on women’s role in the history of rice cultivation is refreshing in a field where contributions made by members of the female sex are typically overlooked in a historical context. Carney recognizes the significance of food, which according to her, is not merely a form of sustenance but a form of cultural expression and identity. For example, she argues that the proper preparation of rice was created by African women. It is a history that is very much entwined with several other histories – slavery, the New World discovery, white supremacy, etc. Carney effectively contextualizes all of these aspects and turns something as simple as the introduction of a species on a new continent into a compelling tale. The book is well-written and contains interesting and novel information, however, it becomes repetitive as the same information is stated several times. Facts such as slaves being able to barter a shorter work day by offering cultivation knowledge of rice and the conditions of rice cultivation are mentioned several times, using identical wording. If you are deeply interested in the exchange of rice from one part of the world to the other and all of the social, cultural and economic implications of that exchange I would recommend this book. If not, it might be easier to read the several published articles Carney has written about the topic for a more concise overview of the topic. Carney, Judith Ann. Black rice: the African origins of rice cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. Print. Spring break is right around the corner, a time for many to get away from campus, leaving us in a need of volunteers the week of March 24th-29th to water the fast growing plants at the Student Garden at Sunset Recreation Center. Mornings are best to water, though we would be appreciative for any time as long as it gets watered. *1-2 volunteers per day needed*. Water sufficiently, but avoid puddles! Please visit the sign up sheet or email Alyssa at email@example.com if you are available and would like to volunteer. Email for any questions! Thank you! In their book The Urban Homestead: your guide to self-sufficient living in the heart of the city, authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen challenge your concepts of the urban household. The book is a how-to guide on living in a self-reliant and resource-conscious manner, suggesting ways to live sustainably, ranging from fermenting one’s own beer to keeping chickens as pets to pooping in a bucket for compost. Not only is it a practical guide, providing projects that one can take on, but it also instills a sense of excitement in the reader about reconnecting with the natural world. Urban homesteading involves appreciating the beauty of natural processes, such as the creation of nutrient rich soil from food waste via decomposition, and the appreciation of the quality, such as that of one’s home-grown fruits and vegetables that isn’t afforded by supermarket varieties. “Urban homesteading is an affirmation of the simplest pleasures of life,” Coyne and Knutzen write. “Homesteading hooks us into the natural world and the passing of the seasons, and reminds us of our place within the greater cycle of life.” (pp 17) The book’s main sections provide background and information on how to farm, forage, raise livestock, transform and preserve food, sustainable manage water and power use, and sustainably use transportation. A number of themes run throughout these sections, most notably sustainability and self-sufficiency, biomimicry, and utility. The authors strongly advocate for sustainability and self-sufficiency in this book, breaking away from the traditional capitalistic material consumption and resource overuse. Coyne and Knutzen put forth the idea of a “new urban economy” where individuals are conscious of resource consumption and the environmental impact of their lifestyle, and there is an interchange of goods and services within a community that understands that “there is more power in creating than spending.” (pp 16) The section on water and power also provides how to’s on water harvesting and reuse, and power generation and conservation. The section makes readers rethink how they use and value these resources, and gives them a way to efficiently use them. Biomimicry, or modeling something based on natural systems, also has a strong presence. These systems often involve natural symbioses, interdependencies, cycles, and closed loops. The gardening section introduces permaculture, which is agriculture designed based on a sustainable human environment. The process involves engineering agricultural practices based on natural interdependent systems processes, such as crop rotation based on the nitrogen fixing or consuming nature of plants, or the physical protection from harsh sun or rain afforded by larger plants to smaller plants, or one plant’s attraction of beneficial insects which prey on pests that infect other plants. Mulching is another exemplary case of biomimicry suggested in the farming section. This process involves the layering of leaves and compost which imitates the natural deposition of material that occurs in an ecosystem, such as a tree shedding its leaves, a dying plant decomposing, and a native animal pooping. These, and a number of other processes that the authors describe use natural processes to help the urban homesteader create sustainable, symbiotic systems. It is a stark contrast to today’s industrial agriculture which refutes natural principles, intensively extracting soil nutrients to create produce which is transported across the country and results as waste in landfills where rather than returning to the soil it came from to replenish the soil health. Lastly, utility is a huge component of the book. The first of Coyne and Knutzen’s principles is “grow only useful things.” “Water is a resource. Time is a resource. Space is a resource. We no longer squander these resources on merely decorative plants.” (pp 34) Though this may be a point of contention with some, particularly the urban resident whose ideal garden consists of a yard of grass lined with roses and a white picket fence, it is a sensible rule nonetheless. Not only do Coyne and Knutzen describe the productivity of plants, but they elaborate on the productivity of owning livestock. “Your household produces food waste. Farm animals eat this waste and make fertilizer out of it, accomplishing overnight what would otherwise take weeks of decomposition in a compost pile.” (pp 132) The couple also challenges our idea of raising animals for slaughter ourselves, pointing out that we are so disconnected with our food sources that the slaughter of animals is shocking, yet chickens you raised yourself are the most sustainable and humane meat you can get. The guide concludes by expressing a hope for a “consciousness shift” in the public, where city dwellers become more connected and aware of their resource use, and embrace urban agriculture and sustainable homesteading. The fascinating and innovative how-to’s that the authors provide are not only practical, but they push our boundaries of what we consider a “normal” household. This couple truly is pioneering a consciousness shift, and the reinvention of the urban dweller as a resource-conscious and self-sufficient urban homesteader. A Place at the Table. Dir. Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. Perf. Jeff Bridges, Tom Colicchio, Ken Cook. Participant Media, 2012. Film. Made by Participant Media, the same company that produced 2008 film Food, Inc., A Place at the Table creates a clear picture of hunger and food insecurity as it exists today in America. It investigates a handful of today’s 50 million incidents of food insecurity, working to dispel the myth that hunger is reserved for those who are literally starving, and proposes solutions which center around government and policy changes. The film is similar to Food, Inc. in that its main drive is in-depth storytelling of individuals and families. Unlike Food Inc., however, it is not broken up into themed chapters. Instead, these individuals and families reappear in a non-linear fashion, contributing to each others’ stories in order to add to themes which weave throughout. These characters include Barbie Izquierdo, Philadelphia single mother of two (one of whom has various health problems) who depends on SNAP and struggles to find a job, only to lose her benefits when she finally finds a job; Colorado 5th grader Rosie, who cannot focus in school because she often goes hungry, relies on community resources, and hopes her kids will have a better life than she; and Tremonica, an obese, asthmatic, and diabetic Mississippi child who embodies the effects of her state’s notoriously calorie-dense, nutrient-deficient diet. The film follows these characters throughout the country to reveal food insecurity’s main causes (lack of access, lack of money, lack of education and prohibitive or counterproductive government policies) and effects (hunger, malnutrition, stress, depression, humiliation, obesity, learning disabilities, diabetes). Other characters are highlighted to convince the viewer that government intervention is necessary, by highlighting that these characters can only do so much, and especially within a system that works against them. Barbie’s confidant, as well as doctor and fellow “Witnesses to Hunger” advocate, Mariana Chilton, brings Barbie to Washington, explaining “these guys are the ones who make it happen.” Rosie’s Pastor Bob Wilson runs a soup kitchen, yet sees that the need is greater than what he is able to supply. Finally, Tremonica’s teacher Odessa Cherry teaches her enthusiastic 2nd graders about fruits and vegetables, but cannot help parents who work with a limited budget and whose dollars go further when buying junk food than produce. Narration, info-graphics, and commentary add to the film’s message that alternative aids are meant to be emergency resources, and that government and policy change are the only realistic means for ending food insecurity. Occasional narration guides and offers clarification or shocking facts when necessary (example: 23.5 Americans live in food deserts, 75% of which are urban; 70% of USDA subsidies go to 10% of its beneficiaries, and only 4% are for fruits and vegetables). Interjections by authors, activists, politicians, doctors, chef Tom Colicchio and actor Jeff Bridges offer insight on characters’ first-hand experiences, often allowing the viewer to gain greater meaning from them (Ex: One commentator explains that 85% of poor Americans have at least one job). Animated info-graphics offer a timeline of hunger in America, revealing to the viewer that hunger, obesity, and food insecurity is not a new problem, but that it was almost solved in the 1970s until Reagan’s tax cuts and military spending. A Place at the Table creatively traces the leading causes of food insecurity, examines the health-related repercussions and emotional toll of such food insecurity, and is able to convince the viewer that food insecurity is a serious problem which can, must and should be remedied through government aid. The film does a good job of finding people throughout the country with shockingly similar stories and revealing the ubiquitous nature of food insecurity. It is not overly laden with facts, but is mainly story-based. Yet it still presents a clear and credible case. A Place at the Table had a few shortcomings. The film had a clear focus on the effects of food insecurity on children. As a result, it mostly neglected the elderly, disabled, homeless, and unemployed. This may be because it is easiest to argue that children deserve food no matter what, especially when marketing to Americans who, as one commentator explains, “have a love-hate relationship with the poor.” It was also a fairly one-sided narrative, with most commentators sharing extremely similar opinions and merely working to seamlessly reinforce each others’ views. The film left it up for no debate that governmental action is the only solution to systemic food insecurity. Finally, my biggest problem with the film was that while it was able to draw viewers in and convince them that consumer interest and power is necessary to get legislators to act, there were no clear action steps prescribed! After empowering viewers to be the change, the film basically says “this is wrong–do something.” The final moment of the film encapsulated this perfectly, as it revealed a screen with the words “Everyone Deserves a Place at the Table” and then a number to text in order to donate $10. There was no mention of Participant Media’s website “Take Part,” which has created advocacy and education opportunities, and no simple advocacy steps to leave with. While effective in conveying a complicated issue in a compelling and easy-to-follow manner, A Place at the Table left me sad, angry, energized, and ready to fight hunger, yet without any outlet for this inspiration. Paul Stamets is an authority on mushrooms in the world of mycologists. He has published several books before this one, some of which define mushroom cultivation. This particular text, Mycelium Running, expands upon the practical uses of mushrooms other than as a food. Stamets demonstrates the power of fungi in the environment through examples, many of them first-hand. Some key uses are water reclamation/filtration, land remediation, and natural pesticides.. Mushrooms provide alternatives to our current systems of caring for the environment. As water filters, fungi are inexpensive and easy to maintain. Stamets’ own farm had toxic runoff produced by his livestock. Pathogens such as bacteria and parasites entered the water supply, creating problems downstream. To solve this problem, he laid a down a bed of mushrooms in the path of the runoff. The contaminated water seeped into the bed, feeding mushrooms that preyed on the bacteria and parasites. Runoff after the mushroom filter contained far fewer contaminants than his neighbors without the mushrooms. The use of bacteria to clean up oil spills is well known. Mushrooms are able to do the same, and more. Different species of mushrooms have different niches in the remediation department. Some consume petroleum, useful for oil spills. Others take up radioactive substances, gathering them up into their fruiting body (the mushroom). Many are able to sequester heavy metals and chemicals such as DDT in their mushroom bodies. In the last two instances, the mushrooms can be harvested and disposed of safely. This would save millions in clean-up efforts, as well as increasing the efficiency. One of the properties Stamets once owned was infested with termites and carpenter ants. The house was falling apart, being eaten by the insects. Stamets introduced parasitic fungi selective for the termites and ants. Within weeks, the pests were gone. The insects had brought the fungal spores to their homes, infecting entire colonies. In the book, Stamets also gives an introduction on how to start a mushroom farm. Starting from scratch, one would have to either obtain spores from the wild or spores/spawn from a commercial seller or a friend. The spores are cultivated on agar in a plate, then inoculated in a suitable substrate, such as straw or wood. Water and temperature are important factors; much like crops, different species have different ideal climates. Tender love and care result in mushrooms. Another method relies on the underground network of mycelia, the “roots” of mushrooms. They can be transferred to a garden from the wild or from another garden. After the transplant, some effort and time are rewarded with mushrooms. Stamets devotes a large portion of the book to mushroom types and identification. This is an essential part of mushroom farming and foraging, especially when there is potential of poisonous species. Plenty of pictures help guide the reader through his or her own adventures. I found this book to be very informative. The different ways mushrooms can be used are just amazing. With so much potential, it makes me wonder why we don’t see them used often. Stamets focuses on the uses of mushrooms on a large scale: how they can be used to mediate farms, keep pests under control, and reclaim ruined land. There is little to no mention of urban agriculture; that is a jump the reader will have to make him/herself. It was an interesting task to apply his ideas in urban agriculture. As I read his book, I had a sense that Stamets glorified the mushroom. Although I completely share his feelings, I had to take a more objective view on his work. Some of the concepts he brings up may not be feasible. For example, large farms have large wastes; how much land will it require to filter all of it using mushrooms? This is doubly true in large cities that feel cramped as is. However, part of the fun is also attempting to solve these problems.

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“…for he has no right to give names to objects which he cannot define.” –Charles Darwin Do “races” exist as meaningful biological categories? Physical anthropologists and human biologists have been studying race (i.e., blacks vs. whites, or Europeans vs. Asians) for centuries. For most of that time, they subscribed to the perspective that race was a taxonomic category, and they sought to identify the biological characteristics (such as cranial shape or skin color) that characterized and defined these different groups. This perspective assumed that each individual was a member of a single racial category, that the differences between racial categories were biological, and that these categories were predictive of other traits (such as ancestry, temperament, intelligence, or health). But it gradually became clear that this understanding was not scientifically sound. Groupings of people by skin color did not produce the same result as groupings of people by skull shape, nor of blood type. Furthermore, as scientists began to study human variation with the tools of genetics (in the process creating my fields, anthropological genetics and human population genetics), it became apparent that human genetic variation does not divide humans into a few discrete groups. There are virtually no sharp boundaries, either with physical features or with patterns of genetic diversity, that show where one population “ends” and the next “begins”. These observations have led the majority of physical anthropologists, human biologists, and human geneticists in recent decades to conclude that the racial groups we recognize are social categories constructed in a specific cultural and historical setting, even if we consider physical features when categorizing people. These social categories can have biological consequences (for example, someone who experiences the stress of racism may be more likely to develop high blood pressure and hypertension than someone who does not). Racial groupings differ from culture to culture. For example, although in the United States Chinese and Japanese peoples are usually viewed as one “race” (Asian), they are seen as members of different racial groups in South Africa. Racial groupings also vary over time within a single culture, as can be seen below in the United States census classifications of race over several decades. However, according to former New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade, we should never have stopped thinking of race as a biological taxonomic category. In his new book, “A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History”, Wade takes it upon himself to educate scientists about the errors of our interpretations of human genetic diversity. Wade claims that the latest genomic findings actually support dividing humans into discrete races, and that the genetic makeup of different races contributes to behavioral and economic disparities. In a spectacular failure of logic, he asserts that those who disagree that races are meaningful biological categories in humans must ALSO think that human populations do not differ genetically, or have not been affected by evolution. There is a lot to criticize in this book, particularly Wade’s imaginative storytelling in chapters 6-10 (“a much more speculative arena,” as he puts it). He explains that English populations have a “willingness to save and delay gratification”, which “seems considerably weaker in tribal societies” (pp. 184-185), and these differences must be genetically based, despite his admission that “the genetic underpinnings of human social behavior are for the most part still unknown” (p. 15), and numerous critiques of this hypothesis. In chapter 8, he asserts that Jews are adapted for capitalism in a manner analogous to the Eskimo’s adaptation to survival in an Arctic environment (p. 214) — an assertion unsupported by scientific evidence, to put it mildly. (Wade seems to be unaware of the consequences of laws prohibiting Jews from owning land and farming over much of Europe for centuries – and instead speculates that “their genes were adapted for success in capitalism”). But others have already critiqued these aspects of his book. I’m far more interested in the central premise of Wade’s argument, which is passing unchallenged by all but a few reviews: “At least at the level of continental populations, races can be distinguished genetically, and this is sufficient to establish that they exist” (p. 122). If Wade is right and races are distinct biological categories, then we would reasonably expect that they would be unambiguously different from each other genetically and physically (as well as behaviorally, according to Wade). One should be able to define each race with a set of objective criteria, which could be used by any person to independently reach the same classifications (and number of classifications) as Wade. Furthermore, these categories should have predictive power; that is, features that define race should be in concordance with new discoveries of genetic diversity. What is race? To begin with, Wade can’t provide a clear definition of “race.” He tries to rely instead on loose associations rather than definitive characteristics, which forces him to conclude both that physical traits define race but that the traits can vary from person to person: “races are identified by clusters of traits, and to belong to a certain race, it’s not necessary to possess all of the identifying traits” (p. 121). With such a shifty, casual footing, it’s no surprise that Wade’s conclusions are unsound. He can’t keep the number of races straight: Wade can’t settle on a definite number of races because he can’t come up with a consistent, rigorous definition of what “race” means. He uses terms like “major race”, “race”, “subrace”, “group”, or “population,” but doesn’t provide any serious, objective ways to distinguish between these terms for arbitrary groupings of people arbitrary groups. Rather than just announcing his subjective opinions about race, Wade wants to ground them in science. He tries to use genetics: “Such an arrangement, of portioning human variation into five continental races, is to some extent arbitrary. But it makes practical sense. The three major races are easy to recognize. The five-way division matches the known events of human population history. And, most significant of all, the division by continent is supported by genetics.” (p. 94) To support his claim, Wade relies heavily on a 2002 paper (by Rosenberg et al.) that used a program called structure to group people based on similarities in markers distributed across the genome. He notes that the program identified five major clusters in this 2002 study, which corresponded to the major geographic regions (Africa, Eurasia, East Asia, Oceania, and America) of the world. Therefore, Wade argues, these results clearly show that humans are divided up into racial categories that match continents. Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, who recently reviewed Wade’s book in the Wall Street Journal, agrees: A computer given a random sampling of bits of DNA that are known to vary among humans—from among the millions of them—will cluster them into groups that correspond to the self-identified race or ethnicity of the subjects. This is not because the software assigns the computer that objective but because those are the clusters that provide the best statistical fit. But Wade and Murray are both wrong. Structure didn’t simply identify five clusters. It also identified two, three, four, six, and seven clusters. (Rosenberg et al. 2002 actually identified up to 20 divisions, but 1-7 are the primary ones they discussed. They also divided their worldwide sample up into regions, and then ran structure within those regions, to look at more fine-scale population structure.) Why? Researchers using structure have to define the number (K) of clusters in advance, because that’s what the program requires. The program was designed to partition individuals into whatever pre-specified number of clusters the researcher requests, regardless of whether that number of divisions really exists in nature. In other words, if the researcher tells structure to divide the sampled individuals into 4 clusters, structure will identify 4 groups no matter what–even if there is really only 1 group, or even if there are really 14 groups. So, when Rosenberg et al. (2002) told structure to use K=6? They got six clusters, with the sixth corresponding to a northwestern Pakistani group, the Kalash. Does this make the Kalash a separate race? Wade doesn’t think so. When they told structure to use K=3? They got three clusters back, corresponding to Africa, Europe/Middle East/South Asia, and East Asia/Oceania/Americas. So are Native Americans and Australians not separate races? Rosenberg et al. never published any statistical evidence that justifies picking 5 races instead of 7, or 4, or 2 (although such methods do exist–see Bolnick et al. 2008). Wade seems to like K=5 simply because it matches his pre-conceived notions of what race should be: “It might be reasonable to elevate the Indian and Middle Eastern groups to the level of major races, making seven in all. But then many more subpopulations could be declared races, so to keep things simple, the five-race, continent-based scheme seems the most practical for most purposes.” (p. 100) Practical. Simple. Wade wants us to cut up human diversity into five races not because that’s what the statistical analyses show, but because thinking about it as a gradient is hard. Wade isn’t even using the tools of genetics competently. The authors of the paper he relied on, as well as subsequent studies, showed that different runs of the program with the same data can even produce different results (Bolnick, 2008). Structure’s results are extremely sensitive to many different factors, including models, the type and number of genetic variants studied, and the number of populations included in the analysis (Rosenberg et al. 2005). When Rosenberg et al. (2005) expanded the 2002 dataset to include more genetic markers for the same population samples, they identified a somewhat different set of genetic clusters when K=6 (Native Americans were divided into two clusters and the Kalash of Central/South Asia did not form a separate cluster). In fact, Rosenberg et al. (2005) explicitly said: “Our evidence for clustering should not be taken as evidence of our support of any particular concept of ‘biological race.’” Finally, the creators of structure themselves caution that it will produce rather arbitrary clusters when sampled populations have been influenced by gene flow that is restricted by geographic distance (i.e. where more mating occurs between members of nearby populations than between populations that are located farther apart, a pattern we geneticists refer to as isolation by distance). As this pattern applies to the majority of human populations, it makes the results of structure problematic and difficult to interpret in many cases. These limitations are acknowledged by anthropological geneticists and population biologists, who interpret the results of structure cautiously. It’s very telling that Wade, a science reporter, chose to ignore the interpretations of the experts in favor of his own. Human biological variation is real and important. I’ve studied it my entire professional career. We can see this variation most easily in physical traits and allele frequency differences between populations at extreme ends of a geographic continuum. Nobody is denying that. Let me repeat this: no one is denying that humans vary physically and genetically. All anthropologists and geneticists recognize that human differences exist. But Wade, and others who agree with him, have decided that certain patterns of variation—those which happen to support their predefined notions of what “races” must be—are more important than others. Wade’s perspective fits with a larger pattern seen throughout history and around the world. Folk notions of what constitutes a race and how many races exist are extremely variable and culturally specific. For example, the Bible claims that all peoples of the world are descended from Noah’s three sons, mirroring the popular concept of three racial divisions (Caucasians, Africans, and Asians). On the other hand, the five-part division of races seems most “logical” to Wade. Anticipating confusion on this point he claims: “Those who assert that human races don’t exist like to point to the many, mutually inconsistent classification schemes that have recognized anywhere from 3 to 60 races. But the lack of agreement doesn’t mean that races don’t exist, only that it is a matter of judgment as to how to define them” (p. 92). A matter of judgment. So, rather than being defined by empirical criteria, as Wade had asserted so confidently earlier in the book, it really is just a subjective judgment call. The differences between groups are so subtle and gradual that no objective lines can be drawn, so Wade draws his own on the basis of his own preconceptions. How subtle is the gradient that Wade is chopping up? Humans are incredibly similar genetically. We only differ by about 0.1% of our genome. Compare that to chimpanzees, our closest relative. Individual chimps from the same population show more genetic differences than humans from different continents. The genetic differences that exist in human populations are important, because they help us understand our evolutionary history. The most genetic diversity is found in populations in Africa, where our species originated. Subsequent migrations across the continents resulted in sampling a subset of the genetic diversity present in the ancestral populations; thousands of years of localized evolution and cultural practices have produced region-specific adaptations, such as the ability to thrive at high altitudes. These adaptations have influenced particular genes and traits, but the overall pattern of genetic variation is clinal, meaning that for the most part it varies gradually with geographic distance. Groups that live close together are more closely related to each other (and more genetically similar) than they are to groups farther away. (People marry and have children more frequently with people who live close to them than they do with people who live farther away). Other evolutionary forces (founder effects, selection, drift, and migration) have all contributed to patterns of genetic diversity that we see in populations today. But these patterns of human diversity don’t give us a scientifically viable definition of race as a taxonomic unit. As Agustin Fuentes puts it, with emphasis added: “when you compare people from Nigeria, Western Europe and Beijing you do get some patterned differences…but these specific groups do not reflect the entire continental areas of Africa, Europe, and Asia (the proposed “continental races” of African, Caucasian and Asian). There are no genetic patterns that link all populations in just Africa, just Asia or just Europe to one another to the exclusion of other populations in other places. If you compare geographically separated populations within the “continental” areas you get the same kind of variation as you would between them. Comparing Nigerians to Western Europeans to people from Beijing gives us the same kind of differences in variation patterns as does comparing people from Siberia, Tibet and Java, or from Finland, Wales and Yemen, or even Somalia, Liberia and South Africa— and none of these comparisons demonstrates “races.” In fact if you use the common level of genetic differentiation between populations used by zoologists to classify biological races (which they called subspecies) in other mammals, all humans consistently show up as just one biological race.” (Also see Templeton AR, 2013. Biological races in humans. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.04.010) Wade even seems to agree with population geneticists that there aren’t any races, just clinal distributions of genetic diversity: “Because there is no clear dividing line, there are no distinct races—that is the nature of variation within a species.” (p 92). In other words, he can’t define distinct races. He just knows them when he sees them I’ve focused a lot of this review on numerous technical details because I think that it’s very important that non-geneticists understand the degree to which Wade is distorting the results of recent research on genome-wide human variation. I won’t speculate whether this distortion is deliberate or a result of simple ignorance about genetics, but it is serious. There is a great deal more in this book that also needs to be critiqued, such as Wade’s assertion that the genetic differences between human groups determine behavioral differences, resurrecting the specter of “national character” and “racial temperaments”. But as I’ve shown here, Wade’s book is all pseudoscientific rubbish because he can’t justify his first and primary point: his claim that the human racial groups we recognize today culturally are scientifically meaningful, discrete biological divisions of humans. This claim provides a direct basis for the whole second half of the book where he makes those “speculative” arguments about national character. In other words, the entire book is a house of cards. It’s also worth noting the extent to which Wade’s argument here is a variation on the Galileo fallacy: the fact that one bravely holds a minority view in science is considered to be sufficient evidence of the worth of one’s position. I’ve seen it used over and over again in responses to my criticisms of pseudoscience, and it’s no more persuasive for Wade than it is for creationists or homeopaths. “If scientists were to make the arbitrary decision that biological race is real, can you think of a positive outcome?” –a nice piece by Holly Dunsworth: http://ecodevoevo.blogspot.com/2014/05/if-scientists-were-to-make-arbitrary.html Agustin Fuentes’ online debate with Wade: (https://aaanetevents.webex.com/ec0606l/eventcenter/recording/recordAction.do?theAction=poprecord&AT=pb&internalRecordTicket=00000001fcaac3649dadd2c6e78a2511ed436c75acea0fcceaf7ff0731dc4216dec6996b&isurlact=true&renewticket=0&recordID=8614987&apiname=lsr.php&needFilter=false&format=short&&SP=EC&rID=8614987&RCID=e801bfd96855006077205e3d2e023699&siteurl=aaanetevents&actappname=ec0606l&actname=%2Feventcenter%2Fframe%2Fg.do&rnd=4944230866&entactname=%2FnbrRecordingURL.do&entappname=url0108l) “The troublesome ignorance of Nicholas Wade”, also by Agustin Fuentes: “On the origin of white power” by Eric Michael Johnson: A critique of Structure: Bolnick DA. Individual ancestry inference and the reification of race as a biological phenomenon. In: Koenig BA, Lee SS-J, Richardson SS, editors. Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press; 2008. pp. 77–85. Jon Marks: “The genes made us do it: The new pseudoscience of race.” Barbujani and Colonna, 2010. Human genome diversity: frequently asked questions. Many thanks to Deborah Bolnick, Colin McRoberts, Jay Kaufman, Jonathan Kahn, Troy Duster, and Rick Smith. Please review my Site Policies before commenting. Disagreement with me is fine; bigotry is not.

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Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational or entertainment activity in which people follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge presented during the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire period, such as Regency reenactment. - 1 History - 2 Reenactors - 3 Period - 4 Clothing and equipment - 5 Types - 6 Publications - 7 Media support - 8 Criticism - 9 See also - 10 References - 11 Further reading - 12 External links Activities related to "reenactment" have a long history. The Romans staged recreations of famous battles within their amphitheaters as a form of public spectacle. In the Middle Ages, tournaments often reenacted historical themes from Ancient Rome or elsewhere. Military displays and mock battles and reenactments first became popular in 17th century England. In 1638 the first known reenactment was brought to life by Lord James ‘Jimmy’ Dunn of Coniston, a staged battle between Christian and Muslim forces was enacted in London, and the Roundheads, flush from a series of victories during the Civil War, reenacted a recent battle at Blackheath in 1645, despite the ongoing conflict. It was in the nineteenth century that historical reenactments became widespread, reflecting the then intense romantic interest in the Middle Ages. Medieval culture was widely admired as an antidote to the modern enlightenment and industrial age. Plays and theatrical works (such as Ivanhoe, which in 1820 was playing in six different productions in London alone) perpetuated the romanticism of knights, castles, feasts and tournaments. The Duke of Buckingham staged naval battles from the Napoleonic War on the large lake on his estate in 1821, and a reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo was put on for a public viewing at Astley's Amphitheatre in 1824. Historical reenactment came of age with the grand spectacle of the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, a reenactment of a medieval joust and revel held in Scotland, and organized by Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton. The Tournament was a deliberate act of Romanticism, and drew 100,000 spectators. It was held on a meadow at a loop in the Lugton Water. The ground chosen for the tournament was low, almost marshy, with grassy slopes rising on all sides. Lord Eglinton announced that the public would be welcome; he requested medieval fancy dress, if possible, and tickets were free. The pageant itself featured thirteen medieval knights on horseback. The preparations, and the many works of art commissioned for or inspired by the Eglinton Tournament, had an effect on public feeling and the course of 19th-century Gothic revivalism. Its ambition carried over to events such as a similar lavish tournament in Brussels in 1905, and presaged the historical reenactments of the present. Features of the tournament were actually inspired by Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe: it was attempting "to be a living reenactment of the literary romances". In Eglinton’s own words "I am aware of the manifold deficiencies in its exhibition—more perhaps than those who were not so deeply interested in it; I am aware that it was a very humble imitation of the scenes which my imagination had portrayed, but I have, at least, done something towards the revival of chivalry". Reenactments of battles became more commonplace in the late 19th century, both in Britain, and also in America. Within a year of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, survivors of U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment reenacted the scene of their defeat for the camera as a series of still poses. In 1895, members of the Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteers reenacted their famous stand at Rorke's Drift, 18 years earlier. 25 British soldiers beat back the attack of 75 Zulus at the Grand Military Fete at the Cheltenham Winter Gardens. Veterans of the American Civil War recreated battles as a way to remember their fallen comrades and to teach others what the war was all about. The Great Reunion of 1913, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, was attended by more than 50,000 Union and Confederate veterans, and included reenactments of elements of the battle, including Pickett's Charge. During the early twentieth century, historical reenactment became very popular in Russia with reenactments of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) (1906), the Battle of Borodino (1812) in St Petersburg and the Taking of Azov (1696) in Voronezh in 1918. In 1920, there was a reenactment of the 1917 Storming of the Winter Palace on the third anniversary of the event. This reenactment inspired the scenes in Sergei Eisenstein's film October: Ten Days That Shook the World. Large scale reenactments began to be regularly held at the Royal Tournament, Aldershot Tattoo in the 1920s and 30s. A spectacular recreation of the Siege of Namur, an important military engagement of the Nine Years' War, was staged in 1934 as part of 6-day long show. In America, modern reenacting is thought to have begun during the 1961–1965 Civil War Centennial commemorations. After more than 6,000 reenactors participated in a 125th anniversary event near the original Manassas battlefield, reenacting grew in popularity during the late 1980s and 1990s, and there are today over a hundred Civil War reenactments held each year throughout the country. Most participants are amateurs who pursue history as a hobby. Participants within this hobby are diverse, ranging in age from young children whose parents bring them along to events, to the elderly. In addition to hobbyists, members of the armed forces and professional historians sometimes participate. Categories of reenactorsEdit Reenactors are commonly divided (or self-divide) into several broadly defined categories, based on the level of concern for authenticity. (These definitions and categorisation is primarily that of the USA. Other countries have different terms of art, slang, and definitions.) "Farbs" or "polyester soldiers", are reenactors who spend relatively little time and/or money achieving authenticity with regard to uniforms, accessories, or period behavior. Anachronistic clothing, fabrics, fasteners (such as velcro), snoods, footwear, vehicles, and modern cigarettes are common. The origin of the word "farb" (and the derivative adjective "farby") is unknown, though it appears to date to early American Civil War centennial reenactments in 1960 or 1961. Some think that the word derives from a truncated version of "Far be it from authentic". An alternative definition is "Far Be it for me to question/criticise", or "Fast And Researchless Buying". A humorous definition of "farb" is "F.A.R.B: Forget About Research, Baby". Some early reenactors assert the word derives from German Farbe, color, because inauthentic reenactors were over-colorful compared with the dull blues, greys or browns of the real Civil War uniforms that were the principal concern of American reenactors at the time the word was coined. According to Burton K. Kummerow, a member of "The Black Hats, CSA" reenactment group in the early 1960s, he first heard it used as a form of fake German to describe a fellow reenactor. The term was picked up by George Gorman of the 2nd North Carolina at the Centennial Manassas Reenactment in 1961, and has been used by reenactors since. Mainstream reenactors make an effort to appear authentic, but may come out of character in the absence of an audience. Visible stitches are likely to be sewn in a period-correct manner, but hidden stitches and undergarments may not be period-appropriate. Food consumed before an audience is likely to be generally appropriate to the period, but it may not be seasonally and locally appropriate. Modern items are sometimes used "after hours" or in a hidden fashion. The common attitude is to put on a good show, but that accuracy need only go as far as others can see. At the other extreme from farbs are "hard-core authentics", or "progressives," as they sometimes prefer to be called. Sometimes derisively called "stitch counters", "stitch nazis", or "stitch witches." "(t)he hard-core movement is often misunderstood and sometimes maligned." Hard-core reenactors generally value thorough research, and sometimes deride mainstream reenactors for perpetuating inaccurate "reenactorisms". They generally seek an "immersive" reenacting experience, trying to live, as much as possible, as someone of the period might have done. This includes eating seasonally and regionally appropriate food, sewing inside seams and undergarments in a period-appropriate manner, and staying in character throughout an event. The desire for an immersive experience often leads hard-core reenactors to smaller events, or to setting up separate camps at larger events. The period of an event is the range of dates. See authenticity (reenactment) for a discussion of how the period affects the types of costume, weapons, and armour used. Popular periods to reenact include: - Classical reenactment - Dark Ages reenactment - Medieval reenactment - Renaissance reenactment (including English Civil War reenactment) - Modern reenactment Clothing and equipmentEdit Numerous cottage industries abound that provide not only the materials but even the finished product for use by reenactors. Uniforms and clothing made of hand woven, natural dyed materials are sewn by hand or machine using the sartorial techniques of the period portrayed. Detailed attention to authenticity in design and construction is given equally as well to headgear, footwear, eyewear, camp gear, accoutrements, military equipment, weapons and so on. These items (which are generally much more expensive than clothing and uniform in modern production) offer the wearer a lifelike experience in the use of materials, tailoring and manufacturing techniques that are as close to authentic as possible. Event spectators may derive more satisfaction from attending reenactments when a high level of authenticity is attained in both individual clothing and equipment, as well as equipment used in camp. The term 'living history' describes the performance of bringing history to life for the general public in a manner that in most cases is not following a planned script. Historical presentation includes a continuum from well researched attempts to recreate a known historical event for educational purposes, through representations with theatrical elements, to competitive events for purposes of entertainment. The line between amateur and professional presentations at living history museums can be blurred. While the latter routinely use museum professionals and trained interpreters to help convey the story of history to the public, some museums and historic sites employ living history groups with high standards of authenticity for the same role at special events. Living histories are usually meant for education of the public. Such events do not necessarily have a mock battle but instead are aimed at portraying the life, and more importantly the lifestyle, of people of the period. This often includes both military and civilian impressions. Occasionally, storytelling or acting sketches take place to involve or explain the everyday life or military activity to the viewing public. More common are craft and cooking demonstrations, song and leisure activities, and lectures. Combat training or duels can also be encountered even when larger combat demonstrations are not present. In the United States, The National Park Service land; NPS policy "does not allow for battle reenactments (simulated combat with opposing lines and casualties) on NPS property. There are exceptions i.e. Sayde/galerie/der-tross-1-tag/ |title=Der Tross 10–14 Juni 2004 |access-date=2018-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513165828/http://www.landsknechte-bretten.de/galerie/der-tross-1-tag/ |archive-date=2016-05-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> or the Schloss Kaltenberg knights tournament. The majority of combat reenactment groups are battlefield reenactment groups, some of which have become isolated to some degree because of a strong focus on authenticity. The specific German approach of authenticity is less about replaying a certain event, but to allow an immersion in a certain era, to catch, in the sense of Walter Benjamin the 'spiritual message expressed in every monument's and every site's own "trace" and "aura"', even in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Historic city festivals and events are quite important to build up local communities and contribute to the self-image of municipalities. Events in monuments or on historical sites are less about the events related to them but serve as staffage for the immersion experience. In Denmark several open air museums uses living history as a part of their concept. These include Middelaldercentret, The Old Town, Aarhus and Frilandsmuseet. Combat demonstrations are mock battles put on by reenacting organizations and/or private parties primarily to show the public what combat in the period might have been like. Combat demonstrations are only loosely based on actual battles, if at all, and may simply consist of demonstrations of basic tactics and maneuvering techniques. Scripted battles are reenactments in the strictest sense; the battles are planned out beforehand so that the companies and regiments make the same actions that were taken in the original battles. They are often fought at or near the original battle ground or at a place very similar to the original. These demonstrations vary widely in size from a few hundred fighters to several thousand, as do the arenas used (getting the right balance can often make or break the spectacle for the public). Tactical battles are generally not open to the public. Tactical battles are fought like real battles with both sides coming up with strategies and tactics to beat their opponents. With no script, a basic set of agreed-upon rules (physical boundaries, time limit, victory conditions, etc.), and on-site judges, tactical battles can be considered a form of Live action role-playing game, but, in the cases where firearms are used, with real weapons firing blank ammunition (depending on gun control ordinances). Many castles, museums, and other historical tourist attractions employ actors or professional reenactors as part of the experience. These usually address the recreation of a specific town, village, or activity within a certain time frame. Commercial reenactment shows are usually choreographed and follow a script. Some locations have set up permanent authentic displays. By their nature, these are usually living history presentations, rather than tactical or battle reenactment, although some host larger temporary events. In 2008 Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and North Carolina's Tryon Palace staff and buildings provided the period backdrop for early 1800's life depicted in the "Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck" documentary. Many publications have covered historical reenactment and living history. Prominent among these are the Camp Chase Gazette, Smoke and Fire News, and two different magazines named Living History, and Skirmish Magazine. The Medieval Soldier by Gerry Embleton and John Howe (1995) is a popular book on the topic, which has been translated into French and German. It was followed by Medieval Military Costume in Colour Photographs. For the Napoleonic period, two books of interest cover life in the military at that time and living history: The Napoleonic Soldier by Stephen E. Maughan (1999) and Marching with Sharpe by B. J. Bluth (2001). Various Napoleonic reenactment groups cover the history of their associated regiments as well as try to describe and illustrate how they approach recreating the period. The goal to be as authentic as is possible has led many serious reenactment societies to set up their own research groups to verify their knowledge of the uniforms, drill and all aspects of the life that they strive to portray. In this way reenactment plays a vital role in bringing history to life, keeping history alive, and in expanding the knowledge and understanding of the period. In the UK a number of small publishing houses have been established that particularly publish books about the English Civil War and more recently, of earlier periods as well. The largest are Stuart Press (with around 250 volumes in print) and Partizan Press. Little has been published about reenactment in the mainstream market, except for press articles. One exception is the book I Believe in Yesterday: My Adventures in Living History by Tim Moore, which recounts his experiences trying out different periods of reenactment and the people he meets and things he learns whilst doing so. Motion picture and television producers often turn to reenactment groups for support; films like Gettysburg, Glory, The Patriot, and Alatriste benefited greatly from the input of reenactors, who arrived on set fully equipped and steeped in knowledge of military procedures, camp life, and tactics. I think we're really fortunate to have those people involved. In fact, they couldn't be making this picture without them; there's no question about that. These guys come with their wardrobe, they come with their weaponry. They come with all the accoutrements, but they also come with the stuff in their head and the stuff in their heart. There are a number of criticisms made about reenactment. Many point out that the average age of reenactors is generally far higher than the average age of soldiers in most conflicts. Few reenactment units discriminate based on age and physical condition. In the United States, reenactors are overwhelmingly white and thus in Civil War reenactment African-American characters, both enslaved and free, are underrepresented. (Hundreds of thousands of black Union soldiers served in the Civil War.) In 2013, five black reenactors at the 150th anniversary event at Gettysburg constituted "the largest bloc of black civilians anyone had ever seen at an event whose historical basis was full of black civilians...Astonished spectators stopped them constantly, usually assuming they were portraying enslaved people." Jenny Thompson's book discusses the "fantasy farb", or tendency of reenactors to gravitate towards "elite" units such as commandos, paratroopers, or Waffen-SS units. This results in under-representation in the reenactment community of what were the most common types of military troops in the period being reenacted. The question has arisen among North American reenactors, but similar issues exist in Europe. For example, in Britain, a high proportion of Napoleonic War reenactors perform as members of the 95th Rifles (perhaps due to the popularity of the fictional character of Richard Sharpe) and medieval groups have an over-proportion of plate-armoured soldiers.[original research?] A final concern is that reenactors may be accused of being, or actually be, aligned with the political beliefs that some of the reenacted armies fought for, such as Nazism or the Confederate South. For example, U.S. politician Rich Iott's participation in a World War II reenactment in which he was in the group that portrayed the German 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking side excited media criticism during his 2010 Congressional campaign. In 2017, in the weeks following a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia at which a neo-Nazi killed a counterprotester, some reenactors complained about—as one reporter put it—"the co-opting of the [Civil] war by neo-Nazis." - Howard Giles. "A Brief History of Re-enactment". - Anstruther, Ian The Knight and the Umbrella: An Account of the Eglinton Tournament, 1839. London: Geoffrey Bles Ltd, 1963. pp. 122–123 - Corbould, Edward. The Eglinton Tournament: Dedicated to the Earl of Eglinton. Pall Mall, England: Hodgson & Graves, 1840.. p. 5. - Anstruther, Ian The Knight and the Umbrella: An Account of the Eglinton Tournament, 1839. London: Geoffrey Bles Ltd, 1963. pp. 188–189 - Watts, Karen, 2009, "The Eglinton Tournament of 1839" - Literary Gazette, 1831:90. - Hadden, Robert Lee. "Reliving the Civil War: A reenactor's handbook". Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1999. p. 4 "Civil War reenacting was done almost from the beginning of war, as soldiers demonstrated to family and friends their actions during the war, in camp, in drill, and in battle. Veterans organizations recreated camp life to show their children and others how they lived and to reproduce the camaraderie of shared experience with their fellow veterans." - Heiser, John (September 1998). "The Great Reunion of 1913". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-15. - Hadden. p. 4 "Without a doubt, Civil War reenactment got its boost during the centennial, which also saw the birth of the North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA)." - Hadden. p. 6 "In 1986, the first of the 125th Anniversary battles was held near the original battlefield of Manassas. More than anything, this mega-event sparked an interest in the Civil War and reenacting." - Beery, Zoë (28 March 2018). "Say Goodbye to Your Happy Plantation Narrative". The Outline. Retrieved 30 March 2018. - Strauss. "In the United States, hobby organizations participate in the public reenactment of historical events. The most popular is Civil War reenacting, which can be viewed as a manifestation of the unresolved nature of that war ... Among reenactors, the quest for historical authenticity is considered a core value." - Stanton. p. 34 - Hadden pp. 209, 219 - Hadden p. 8. "Ross M. Kimmel states that it was used at the Manassas reenactment in 1961 ... George Gorman and his 2nd North Carolina picked up the term at the First Manassas Reenactment in 1961 and enjoyed using it constantly with condescension and sarcasm directed toward other units." - Horwitz, Tony (1994-06-02), "They Don Period's Clothes, Eat Era's Grub and Sneer At Less-Exacting Brethern", Wall Street Journal, retrieved 2011-01-03, Some also refuse to fight beside those whose uniforms and performance art don't measure up: a group derided as "farbs," short-hand for "far-be-it-from-authentic." - Hadden, p. 8 - Hadden p. 8 Juanita Leisch calls it "Fast And Researchless Buying," and other sources insist it came from the Bicentennial and Revolutionary War groups and means "Fairly Authentic Royal British." - Hadden, pp. 219–220 - Hadden p. 138 - Hadden p. 224 - Hadden, p. 138 - Hadden p. 138 "Like soldiers of the Civil War, progressives experience the same poor conditions that the original soldiers did, camping without tents and sleeping out exposed to the cold and rain. They spend weekends eating bad and insufficient food, and they practice a steady regimen of work, marching, and drill. They suffer the cold, carrying insufficient clothing and blankets as well as sleeping campaign-style by spooning with each other for warmth." - Hadden p. 139 - Great War Association-Home. Great-war-assoc.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-12. - Kaltenberg web entry - Michael Petzet: "ln the full richness of their authenticity" – The Test of Authenticity and the New Cult of Monuments, Nara Conference on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage 1994. - Benita Luckmann: Bretten, Politik in einer deutschen Kleinstadt. Enke, Stuttgart 1970, ISBN 3-432-01618-2. - The Medieval Town. Middelaldercentret. Accessed 9 September 2015 - ""Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck" Documentary". nautilusproductions.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015. - Moore, Tim (2008). I Believe in Yesterday: My Adventures in Living History. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-07781-3 - Jubera, Drew (1993-10-09), "Gettysburg: Ted Turner, a cast of thousands and the ghosts of the past", Baltimore Sun, Tribune Company, retrieved 2012-04-19 - AFI Night at the Movies - This documentary can be found on the DVD of the film Gettysburg. - Thompson, Jenny. Wargames: Inside the World of 20th Century Reenactors (Smithsonian Books, Washington, 2004). ISBN 1-58834-128-3 - "Black Soldiers in the U.S. Military During the Civil War". National Archives. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 30 March 2018. - Beery, Zoë (28 March 2018). "Say Goodbye to Your Happy Plantation Narrative". The Outline. Retrieved 30 March 2018. - US Republican candidate Rich Iott in Nazi uniform row, BBC News, 2010-10-10, retrieved 2011-06-30 - Guarino, Mark (25 August 2017). "Will Civil War reenactments die out?". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 March 2018. - Allred, Randal (1996). "Catharsis, Revision, and Re‐enactment: Negotiating the Meaning of the American Civil War". Journal of American Culture. 19 (4): 1–13. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.1996.1904_1.x. - Chronis, Athinodoros (2005). "Coconstructing heritage at the Gettysburg storyscape". Annals of Tourism Research. 32 (2): 386–406. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.07.009. - Chronis, Athinodoros (2008). "Co-constructing the narrative experience: staging and consuming the American Civil War at Gettysburg". Journal of Marketing Management. 24 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1362/026725708X273894. - Decker, Stephanie K. (2010). "Being Period: An Examination of Bridging Discourse in a Historical Reenactment Group". Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 39 (3): 273–296. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1032.9314. doi:10.1177/0891241609341541. - Gapps, Stephen (2009). "Mobile monuments: A view of historical reenactment and authenticity from inside the costume cupboard of history". Rethinking History. 13 (3): 395–409. doi:10.1080/13642520903091159. - Hadden, Robert Lee (1999). Reliving the Civil War: A reenactor's handbook. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. - Hall, Dennis (1994). "Civil War reenactors and the postmodern sense of history". Journal of American Culture. 17 (3): 7–11. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.1994.00007.x. - Heiser, John (September 1998). "The Great Reunion of 1913". National Park Service. Retrieved 15 August 2008. - Horwitz, Tony. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (1998), an ethnographic study of re-enactors and groups engaged in remembrance. - Saupe, Achim. Authenticity, Version: 3, in: Docupedia Zeitgeschichte, 12 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017, doi:10.14765/zzf.dok.2.645.v1 - Skow, John; et al. (August 11, 1986). "Bang, Bang! You're History, Buddy". Time magazine. p. 58. - Stanton, Cathy (1999-11-01). "Reenactors in the Parks: A Study of External Revolutionary War Reenactment Activity at National Parks" (PDF) National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-07-28. - Strauss, Mitchell (2001). "A Framework for Assessing Military Dress Authenticity in Civil War Reenacting". Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. 19 (4): 145–157. doi:10.1177/0887302X0101900401. - Teitelman, Emma (2010). "'Knights and Their Ladies Fair': Reenacting the Civil War". Bachelor's Thesis, Wesleyan University. Cite journal requires |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reenactments.| - The Historical Reenactment Web Site, Information relating to reenactment globally and the home of The Historical Reenactment Wiki - UK-based historical event organisers, their web site featuring "A Brief History of Reenactment", primarily but not exclusively from a UK and European perspective. - LivingHistory.co.uk, The UK Online Home of Reenacting and Living History - Reenactor.Net, The Worldwide Online Home of Reenacting[permanent dead link] - 17th Century Living History Village

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FORMAT OF THE LSAT READING SECTION The reading comprehension portion of the LSAT consists of four passages, each about 500 words long and each with about seven questions. The subject matter of a passage can be almost anything, but the most common themes are politics, history, culture, and science. Some books recommend speed-reading the passages. This is a mistake. Speed reading is designed for ordinary, nontechnical material. Because this material is filled with “fluff,” you can skim over the nonessential parts and still get the gist — and often more — of the passage. However, LSAT passages are dense. Some are actual quoted articles. Most often, however, they are based on articles that have been condensed to about one-third their original length. During this process no essential information is lost, just the “fluff” is cut. This is why speed reading will not work here – -the passages contain too much information. You should, however, read somewhat faster than you normally do, but not to the point that your comprehension suffers. You will have to experiment to find your optimum pace. Many books recommend reading the questions before the passage. But there are two big problems with this method. First, some of the questions are a paragraph long, and reading a question twice can use up precious time. Second, there are up to seven questions per passage, and psychologists have shown that we can hold in our minds a maximum of about three thoughts at any one time (some of us have trouble simply remembering phone numbers). After reading all seven questions, the student will turn to the passage with his mind clouded by half-remembered thoughts. This will at best waste his time and distract him. More likely it will turn the passage into a disjointed mass of information. However, one technique that you may find helpful is to preview the passage by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. Generally, the topic of a paragraph is contained in the first sentence. Reading the first sentence of each paragraph will give an overview of the passage. The topic sentences act in essence as a summary of the passage. Furthermore, since each passage is only three or four paragraphs long, previewing the topic sentences will not use up an inordinate amount of time. If you like this material, you’ll love the course! This interactive, comprehensive self-study course presents the equivalent of over 600 pages of printed material, including hundreds of LSAT examples, problems, videos, and feedback from LSAT experts to your questions. All for only $19.95! Click here to view the course. - Ask Questions! Our experts monitor StudyDesk to answer your questions. - Highly Interactive: You can take notes, view solutions, and view reports, etc. - Videos: Hundreds of videos guide you through the concepts and examples. - Versatile: You can access the course from any computer at any time. - Statistics: Your performance on the exercises and tests is saved and you may review your performance and check solutions at any time. - Guarantee: If, at the end of the course, you do not feel sufficiently prepared for the test, you may repeat the course for free — with full access to our experts. THE SIX QUESTIONS The key to performing well on the passages is not the particular reading technique you use (so long as it’s neither speed reading nor pre-reading the questions). Rather the key is to become completely familiar with the question types — there are only six — so that you can anticipate the questions that might be asked as you read the passage and answer those that are asked more quickly and efficiently. As you become familiar with the six question types, you will gain an intuitive sense for the places from which questions are likely to be drawn. This will give you the same advantage as that claimed by the “pre-reading-the-questions” technique, without the confusion and waste of time. Note, the order in which the questions are asked roughly corresponds to the order in which the main issues are presented in the passage. Early questions should correspond to information given early in the passage, and so on. The following passage and accompanying questions illustrate the six question types. There are two major systems of criminal procedure in the modern world — the adversarial and the inquisitorial. The former is associated with common law tradition and the latter with civil law tradition. Both systems were historically preceded by the system of private vengeance in which the victim of a crime fashioned his own remedy and administered it privately, either personally or through an agent. The vengeance system was a system of self-help, the essence of which was captured in the slogan “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” The modern adversarial system is only one historical step removed from the private vengeance system and still retains some of its characteristic features. Thus, for example, even though the right to institute criminal action has now been extended to all members of society and even though the police department has taken over the pretrial investigative functions on behalf of the prosecution, the adversarial system still leaves the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation. The trial is still viewed as a duel between two adversaries, refereed by a judge who, at the beginning of the trial has no knowledge of the investigative background of the case. In the final analysis the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat. By contrast, the inquisitorial system begins historically where the adversarial system stopped its development. It is two historical steps removed from the system of private vengeance. Therefore, from the standpoint of legal anthropology, it is historically superior to the adversarial system. Under the inquisitorial system the public investigator has the duty to investigate not just on behalf of the prosecutor but also on behalf of the defendant. Additionally, the public prosecutor has the duty to present to the court not only evidence that may lead to the conviction of the defendant but also evidence that may lead to his exoneration. This system mandates that both parties permit full pretrial discovery of the evidence in their possession. Finally, in an effort to make the trial less like a duel between two adversaries, the inquisitorial system mandates that the judge take an active part in the conduct of the trial, with a role that is both directive and protective. Fact-finding is at the heart of the inquisitorial system. This system operates on the philosophical premise that in a criminal case the crucial factor is not the legal rule but the facts of the case and that the goal of the entire procedure is to experimentally recreate for the court the commission of the alleged crime. MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS The main idea is usually stated in the last — occasionally the first — sentence of the first paragraph. If it’s not there, it will probably be the last sentence of the entire passage. Because main idea questions are relatively easy, the LSAT writers try to obscure the correct answer by surrounding it with close answer-choices (“detractors”) that either overstate or understate the author’s main point. Answer-choices that stress specifics tend to understate the main idea; choices that go beyond the scope of the passage tend to overstate the main idea. The answer to a main idea question will summarize the author’s argument, yet be neither too specific nor too broad. Example: (Refer to the first passage.) The primary purpose of the passage is to (A) explain why the inquisitorial system is the best system of criminal justice (B) explain how the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems of criminal justice both evolved from the system of private vengeance (C) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice can both complement and hinder each other’s development (D) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice are being combined into a new and better system (E) analyze two systems of criminal justice and deduce which one is better The answer to a main idea question will summarize the passage without going beyond it. (A) violates these criteria by overstating the scope of the passage. The comparison in the passage is between two specific systems, not between all systems. (A) would be a good answer if “best” were replaced with “better.” Beware of extreme words. (B) violates the criteria by understating the scope of the passage. Although the evolution of both the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems is discussed in the passage, it is done to show why one is superior to the other. As to (C) and (D), both can be quickly dismissed since neither is mentioned in the passage. Finally, the passage does two things: it presents two systems of criminal justice and shows why one is better than the other. (E) aptly summarizes this, so it is the best answer. Description questions, as with main idea questions, refer to a point made by the author. However, description questions refer to a minor point or to incidental information, not to the author’s main point. The answer to a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage, not to something implied by it. However, the correct answer will paraphrase a statement in the passage, not give an exact quote. In fact, exact quotes (“Same language” traps) are often used to bait wrong answers. Caution: When answering a description question, you must find the point in the passage from which the question is drawn. Don’t rely on memory — too many obfuscating tactics are used with these questions. Not only must the correct answer refer directly to a statement in the passage, it must refer to the relevant statement. The correct answer will be surrounded by wrong choices which refer directly to the passage but don’t address the question. These choices can be tempting because they tend to be quite close to the actual answer. Once you spot the sentence to which the question refers, you still must read a few sentences before and after it, to put the question in context. If a question refers to line 20, the information needed to answer it can occur anywhere from line 15 to 25. Even if you have spotted the answer in line 20, you should still read a couple more lines to make certain you have the proper perspective. Example: (Refer to the first passage.) According to the passage, the inquisitorial system differs from the adversarial system in that (A) it does not make the defendant solely responsible for gathering evidence for his case (B) it does not require the police department to work on behalf of the prosecution (C) it does not allow the victim the satisfaction of private vengeance (D) it requires the prosecution to drop a weak case (E) a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system This is a description question, so the information needed to answer it must be stated in the passage — though not in the same language as in the answer. The needed information is contained in the fourth sentence of Paragraph 3, which states that the public prosecutor has to investigate on behalf of both society and the defendant. Thus, the defendant is not solely responsible for investigating his case. Furthermore, the paragraph’s opening implies that this feature is not found in the adversarial system. This illustrates why you must determine the context of the situation before you can safely answer the question. The answer is (A). Master The LSAT At 608 pages, MASTER THE LSAT offers the most comprehensive and rigorous LSAT test prep available. Law school is expensive enough without paying hundreds of dollars to prepare for the admissions test. Nova’s Master the LSAT is the best kept secret in LSAT prep — it provides the most comprehensive, rigorous, and proven effective LSAT prep available, for a ridiculously low price! Nova’s Master the LSAT includes a thorough analysis of basic logic principles guaranteed to show up on the LSAT, tons of LSAT questions that cover every type of test question, and 4 full-length, official LSAT exams with thorough explanations for each problem. This 608-page book is proven to make even the weakest, most terrified test taker a master of the LSAT exam and confident to boot! - LSAT Games: Thorough analysis of every type of game that has appeared on the LSAT, with step-by-step strategies for solving each type of game. - LSAT Arguments: Discover the underlying simplicity of these problems and learn to recognize common answer patterns. - LSAT Reading Comprehension: Develop the ability to spot places from which questions are likely to be drawn as you read a passage. - 4 Official LSAT Tests! Thorough analysis of four official LSATs, with all correct and incorrect answers explained in detail. Testimonials:If you’ve got the motivation to keep after it, this book will easily replace the $1,000 course you thought about taking…I took a practice test one month ago and scored a 158. Now, 300 pages through this book, I’m scoring around a 172. I read another prep book and took a practice LSAT. My score was 148. After using this prep book… I was practice testing at 168. This is a must buy book. I used this book for about an hour to an hour and a half a day for 30 days preceding the LSAT. I read it thoroughly and took the practice test and practice problems under simulated test conditions and scored in the 99.3 percentile! Using the course of study suggested in this book, I was able to achieve a competitive score for admission into each of my law school choices, including #7 ranked University of Michigan. If I had to take the LSAT over again, I wouldn’t do it without a review of this book. And can you believe it? All this for only $29.95! Purchase Master The LSAT (Domestic) (printed book) ($29.95) (Free shipping within the United States.) (We do not ship outside of the United States.) Master The LSAT eBook ($19.95) Writing Technique Questions All coherent writing has a superstructure or blueprint. When writing, we don’t just randomly jot down our thoughts; we organize our ideas and present them in a logical manner. For instance, we may present evidence that builds up to a conclusion but intentionally leave the conclusion unstated, or we may present a position and then contrast it with an opposing position, or we may draw an extended analogy. There is an endless number of writing techniques that authors use to present their ideas, so we cannot classify every method. However, some techniques are very common to the type of explanatory or opinionated writing found in LSAT passages. A. Compare and contrast two positions. This technique has a number of variations, but the most common and direct is to develop two ideas or systems (comparing) and then point out why one is better than the other (contrasting). Writing-technique questions are similar to main idea questions; except that they ask about how the author presents his ideas, not about the ideas themselves. Generally, you will be given only two writing methods to choose from, but each method will have two or more variations. Example: (Refer to the first passage.) Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage? (A) Two systems of criminal justice are compared and contrasted, and one is deemed to be better than the other. (B) One system of criminal justice is presented as better than another. Then evidence is offered to support that claim. (C) Two systems of criminal justice are analyzed, and one specific example is examined in detail. (D) A set of examples is furnished. Then a conclusion is drawn from them. (E) The inner workings of the criminal justice system are illustrated by using two systems. Clearly the author is comparing and contrasting two criminal justice systems. Indeed, the opening to paragraph two makes this explicit. The author uses a mixed form of comparison and contrast. He opens the passage by developing (comparing) both systems and then shifts to developing just the adversarial system. He opens the second paragraph by contrasting the two criminal justice systems and then further develops just the inquisitorial system. Finally, he closes by again contrasting the two systems and implying that the inquisitorial system is superior. Only two answer-choices, (A) and (B), have any real merit. They say essentially the same thing — though in different order. Notice in the passage that the author does not indicate which system is better until the end of paragraph one, and he does not make that certain until paragraph two. This contradicts the order given by (B). Hence the answer is (A). (Note: In (A) the order is not specified and therefore is harder to attack, whereas in (B) the order is definite and therefore is easier to attack. Remember that a measured response is harder to attack and therefore is more likely to be the answer.) B. Show cause and effect. In this technique, the author typically shows how a particular cause leads to a certain result or set of results. It is not uncommon for this method to introduce a sequence of causes and effects. A causes B, which causes C, which causes D, and so on. Hence B is both the effect of A and the cause of C. Example: (LSAT mini-passage) Thirdly, I worry about the private automobile. It is a dirty, noisy, wasteful, and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air, ruins the safety and sociability of the street, and exercises upon the individual a discipline which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and from plant life and to become devoid of any natural function. It explodes cities, grievously impairs the whole institution of neighborliness, fragmentizes and destroys communities. It has already spelled the end of our cities as real cultural and social communities, and has made impossible the construction of any others in their place. Together with the airplane, it has crowded out other, more civilized and more convenient means of transport, leaving older people, infirm people, poor people and children in a worse situation than they were a hundred years ago. It continues to lend a terrible element of fragility to our civilization, placing us in a situation where our life would break down completely if anything ever interfered with the oil supply. George F. Kennan Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage? (A) A problem is presented and then a possible solution is discussed. (B) The benefits and demerits of the automobile are compared and contrasted. (C) A topic is presented and a number of its effects are discussed. (D) A set of examples is furnished to support a conclusion. This passage is laden with effects. Kennan introduces the cause, the automobile, in the opening sentence and from there on presents a series of effects — the automobile pollutes, enslaves, and so on. Hence the answer is (C). Note: (D) is the second-best choice; it is disqualified by two flaws. First, in this context, “examples” is not as precise as “effects.” Second, the order is wrong: the conclusion, “I worry about the private automobile” is presented first and then the examples: it pollutes, it enslaves, etc. C. State a position and then give supporting evidence. This technique is common with opinionated passages. Equally common is the reverse order. That is, the supporting evidence is presented and then the position or conclusion is stated. And sometimes the evidence will be structured to build up to a conclusion which is then left unstated. If this is done skillfully the reader will be more likely to arrive at the same conclusion as the author. Extension questions are the most common. They require you to go beyond what is stated in the passage, asking you to draw an inference from the passage, to make a conclusion based on the passage, or to identify one of the author’s tacit assumptions. Since extension questions require you to go beyond the passage, the correct answer must say more than what is said in the passage. Beware of same language traps with these questions: the correct answer will often both paraphrase and extend a statement in the passage, but it will not directly quote it. “Same Language” traps: For extension questions, any answer-choice that explicitly refers to or repeats a statement in the passage will probably be wrong. The correct answer to an extension question will not require a quantum leap in thought, but it will add significantly to the ideas presented in the passage. Example: (Refer to the first passage.) The author views the prosecution’s role in the inquisitorial system as being (A) an advocate for both society and the defendant (B) solely responsible for starting a trial (C) a protector of the legal rule (D) an investigator only (E) an aggressive but fair investigator This is an extension question. So the answer will not be explicitly stated in the passage, but it will be strongly supported by it. The author states that the prosecutor is duty bound to present any evidence that may prove the defendant innocent and that he must disclose all pretrial evidence (i.e., have no tricks up his sleeve). This is the essence of fair play. The answer is (E). Application questions differ from extension questions only in degree. Extension questions ask you to apply what you have learned from the passage to derive new information about the same subject, whereas application questions go one step further, asking you to apply what you have learned from the passage to a different or hypothetical situation. To answer an application question, take the author’s perspective. Ask yourself: what am I arguing for? what might make my argument stronger? what might make it weaker? Example: (Refer to the first passage.) Based on the information in the passage, it can be inferred that which one of the following would most logically begin a paragraph immediately following the passage? (A) Because of the inquisitorial system’s thoroughness in conducting its pretrial investigation, it can be concluded that a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system, whereas a defendant who is guilty would prefer to be tried under the adversarial system. (B) As the preceding analysis shows, the legal system is in a constant state of flux. For now the inquisitorial system is ascendant, but it will probably be soon replaced by another system. (C) The accusatorial system begins where the inquisitorial system ends. So it is three steps removed from the system of private vengeance, and therefore historically superior to it. (D) Because in the inquisitorial system the judge must take an active role in the conduct of the trial, his competency and expertise have become critical. (E) The criminal justice system has evolved to the point that it no longer seems to be derivative of the system of private vengeance. Modern systems of criminal justice empower all of society with the right to instigate a legal action, and the need for vengeance is satisfied through a surrogate — the public prosecutor. The author has rather thoroughly presented his position, so the next paragraph would be a natural place for him to summarize it. The passage compares and contrasts two systems of criminal justice, implying that the inquisitorial system is superior. We expect the concluding paragraph to sum up this position. Now all legal theory aside, the system of justice under which an innocent person would choose to be judged would, as a practical matter, pretty much sum up the situation. Hence the answer is (A). Tone questions ask you to identify the writer’s attitude or perspective. Is the writer’s feeling toward the subject positive, negative, or neutral? Does the writer give his own opinion, or does he objectively present the opinions of others? Before you read the answer-choices, decide whether the writer’s tone is positive, negative, or neutral. It is best to do this without referring to the passage. However, if you did not get a feel for the writer’s attitude on the first reading, check the adjectives that he chooses. Adjectives and, to a lesser extent, adverbs express our feelings toward subjects. For instance, if we agree with a person who holds strong feelings about a subject, we may describe his opinions as impassioned. On the other hand, if we disagree with him, we may describe his opinions as excitable, which has the same meaning as “impassioned” but carries a negative connotation. Example: (Refer to the first passage.) The author’s attitude toward the adversarial system can best be described as (A) encouraged that it is far removed from the system of private vengeance (B) concerned that it does not allow all members of society to instigate legal action (C) pleased that it does not require the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation (D) hopeful that it will be replaced by the inquisitorial system (E) doubtful that it is the best vehicle for justice The author does not reveal his feelings toward the adversarial system until the end of paragraph one. Clearly the clause “the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat” indicates that he has a negative attitude toward the system. This is confirmed in the second paragraph when he states that the inquisitorial system is historically superior to the adversarial system. So he feels that the adversarial system is deficient. The “two-out-of-five” rule is at work here: only choices (D) and (E) have any real merit. Both are good answers. But which one is better? Intuitively, choice (E) is more likely to be the answer because it is more measured. To decide between two choices attack each: the one that survives is the answer. Now a tone question should be answered from what is directly stated in the passage — not from what it implies. Although the author has reservations toward the adversarial system, at no point does he say that he hopes the inquisitorial system will replace it, he may prefer a third system over both. This eliminates (D); the answer therefore is (E). As mentioned before, each passage contains 200 to 600 words and only four to seven questions, so you will not be tested on most of the material in the passage. Your best reading strategy, therefore, is to identify the places from which questions will most likely be drawn and concentrate your attention there. Pivotal words can help in this regard. Following are the most common pivotal words. |In contrast||Even though| As you may have noticed, these words indicate contrast. Pivotal words warn that the author is about to either make a U-turn or introduce a counter-premise (concession to a minor point that weakens the argument). I submit that the strikers should accept the management’s offer. Admittedly, it is less than what was demanded. But it does resolve the main grievance — inadequate health care. Furthermore, an independent study shows that a wage increase greater than 5% would leave the company unable to compete against Japan and Germany, forcing it into bankruptcy. The conclusion, “the strikers should accept the management’s offer,” is stated in the first sentence. Then “Admittedly” introduces a concession (counter-premise); namely, that the offer was less than what was demanded. This weakens the speaker’s case, but it addresses a potential criticism of his position before it can be made. The last two sentences of the argument present more compelling reasons to accept the offer and form the gist of the argument. Pivotal words mark natural places for questions to be drawn. At a pivotal word, the author changes direction. The LSAT writers form questions at these junctures to test whether you turned with the author or you continued to go straight. Rarely do the LSAT writers let a pivotal word pass without drawing a question from its sentence. LSAT Prep Course Software Don’t waste hundreds, even thousands of dollars paying a test prep company to prepare you for the LSAT. Now, you can get the same preparation in a downloadable software program for less than a fraction of the cost! The LSAT is a logic test. Although this makes the test hard, it also makes it predictable–it is based on consistent, fundamental principles of logic. LSAT Prep Course Software analyzes and codifies these basic principles, teaching you how to apply them and master even the most challenging LSAT questions. Worried about how well “LSAT-style” questions from other prep companies prepare you for the actual LSAT? Your worry ends here! Nova’s LSAT Prep Course Software includes 3 actual retired LSAT exams, plus detailed explanations for every question! Master the LSAT and significantly improve your score with LSAT Prep Course Software. 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The Elements of Structure Foundations: Central Concepts In Dramatica, there are some central concepts that prove immediately useful. Presenting these up front reveals the practical side of the theory and provides a firm foundation for more in-depth explorations to come. These central concepts are: 1. The Story Mind 2. The Four Throughlines 3. The Objective Story Throughline 4. The Main Character Throughline 5. The Obstacle Character Throughline 6. The Subjective Story Throughline 7. The Grand Argument Story The Story Mind One of the unique concepts that sets Dramatica apart from all other theories is the assertion that every complete story is a model of the mind's problem solving process. This Story Mind does not work like a computer, performing one operation after another until the solution is obtained. Rather, it works more holistically, like our own minds, bringing many conflicting considerations to bear on the issue. It is the author's argument as to the relative value of these considerations in solving a particular problem that gives a story its meaning. To make his case, an author must examine all significant approaches to resolving the story's specific problem. If a part of the argument is left out, the story will have holes. If the argument is not made in an even-handed fashion, the story will have Characters, Plot, Theme, and Genre are the different families of considerations in the Story Mind made tangible, so audience members can see them at work and gain insight into their own methods of solving problems. Characters represent the motivations of the Story Mind (which often work at cross purposes and come into conflict). Plot documents the problem solving methods employed by the Story Mind. Theme examines the relative worth of the Story Mind's value standards. Genre establishes the Story Mind's overall attitude, which casts a bias or background on all other considerations. When a story is fully developed, the model of the Story Mind is complete. The Four Throughlines It is not enough, however, to develop a complete Story Mind. That only creates the argument the audience will be considering. Equally important is how the audience is positioned relative to that argument. Does an author want the audience to examine a problem dispassionately or to experience what it is like to have that problem? Is it more important to explore a possible solution or to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of alternative solutions? In fact, all of these points of view must be developed for a story to be complete. An author's argument must go beyond telling audience members what to look at. I must also show them how to see it. It is the relationship between object and observer that creates perspective, and in stories, perspective creates meaning. There are four different perspectives which must be explored as a story unfolds in order to present all sides of the issue at the heart of a story. They are the Objective Story Throughline, theMain Character Throughline, theObstacle Character Throughline, and theSubjective Story Throughline. The Objective Story Throughline The first perspective is from the Objective Story Throughline, so called because it is the most dispassionate look at the Story Mind. Imagine the argument of a story as a battle between two armies. The Objective Story view is like that of a general on a hill overlooking the battle. The general focuses on unfolding strategies and, from this perspective, sees soldiers not by name but by their function on the field: foot soldier, grenadier, cavalryman, scout. Though the general may care very much for the soldiers, he must concentrate on the events as they unfold. Because it emphasizes events, the Objective Story Throughline is often thought of as plot, but as we shall see later, plot is so much more. The Main Character Throughline For a story to be complete, the audience will need another view of the battle as well: that of the soldier in the trenches. Instead of looking at the Story Mind from the outside, the Main Character Throughline is a view from the inside. What if that Story Mind were our own? That is what the audience experiences when it becomes a soldier on the field: audience members identify with the Main Character of the story. Through the Main Character we experience the battle as if we were directly participating in it. From this perspective we are much more concerned with what is happening immediately around us than we are with the larger strategies that are really too big to see. This most personally involved argument of the story is the Main Character Throughline. As we shall explore shortly, the Main Character does not have to be the soldier leading the charge in the battle as a whole. Our Main Character might be any of the soldiers on the field: the cook, the medic, the bugler, or even the recruit cowering in the bushes. The Obstacle Character Throughline To see the third perspective, keep yourself in the shoes of the Main Character for a moment. You are right in the middle of the story's battle. Smoke from dramatic explosions obscures the field. You are not absolutely sure which way leads to safety. Still, before there was so much turmoil, the way was clear and you are confident in your sense of direction. Then, from out of the smoke a shadowy figure appears, solidly blocking your way. The shadowy figure is your Obstacle Character. You can't see well enough to tell if he is friend or foe. He might be a compatriot trying to keep you from stepping into a mine field. Or, he might be the enemy luring you into a trap. What to do! Do you keep on your path and run over this person or try the other path instead? This is the dilemma that faces a Main Character. To completely explore the issue at the heart of a story, an Obstacle Character must present an alternative approach to the Main Character. The Obstacle Character Throughline describes the advocate of this alternative path and the manner in which he impacts The Subjective Story Throughline As soon as the Main Character encounters his Obstacle, a skirmish ensues at a personal level in the midst of the battle as a whole. The two characters close in on one another in a theatrical game of "chicken," each hoping the other will The Main Character shouts at his Obstacle to get out of the way. The Obstacle Character stands fast, insisting that the Main Character change course and even pointing toward the fork in the road. As they approach one another, the interchange becomes more heated until the two are engaged in heart-to-heart combat. While the Objective Story battle rages all around, the Main and Obstacle Characters fight their private engagement. The Subjective Story Throughline describes the course this passionate battle takes. The Four Throughlines Of A Story You Know Here are some examples of how to see the four throughlines of some well known stories. Completed stories tend to blend these throughlines together in the interest of smooth narrative style. From a structural point of view, however, it is important to see how they can be separated. Objective Story Throughline: The Objective view of Star Wars sees a civil war in the galaxy between the Rebels and the evil Empire. The Empire has built a Death Star which will destroy the Rebels if it isn't destroyed first. To even hope for a successful attack, the Rebels need the plans to the Death Star which are in the possession of a farm boy and an old Jedi master. These two encounter many other characters while delivering the plans, ultimately leading to a climactic space-battle on the surface of the Death Star. Main Character Throughline: The Main Character of Star Wars is Luke Skywalker. This throughline follows his personal growth over the course of this story. Luke is a farm boy who dreams of being a star pilot, but he can't allow himself to leave his foster parents to pursue his dreams. He learns that he is the son of a great Jedi Knight. When his foster parents are killed, he begins studying the religion of the Jedi: the Force. Surviving many dangerous situations, Luke learns to trust himself more and more. Ultimately he makes a leap of faith to trust his feelings over his computer technology while flying into battle as the Rebel's last hope of destroying the Death Star. It turns out well, and Luke is changed by the experience. Obstacle Character Throughline: The Obstacle Character of Star Wars is Obi Wan Kenobi and this throughline describes his impact (especially on Luke Skywalker) over the course of the story. Obi Wan is a wizened old Jedi who sees everything as being under the mystic control of the Force. He amazes people with his resiliency and ability, all of which he credits to the Force. Subjective Story Throughline: The Subjective Story throughline of Star Wars describes the relationship between Luke and Obi Wan. Obi Wan needs Luke to help him and he knows Luke has incredible potential as a Jedi. Luke, however, needs to be guided carefully because his desires are so strong and his abilities so new. Obi Wan sets about the manipulations which will help Luke see the true nature of the Force and learn to trust To Kill A Mockingbird Objective Story Throughline: The Objective view of To Kill A Mockingbird sees the town of Maycomb with its horns locked in various attitudes over the rape trial of Tom Robinson. Due-process has taken over, however many people think this case should never see trial. As the trial comes to fruition, the people of the town argue back and forth about how the defense lawyer ought to behave and what role people should take in response to this alleged atrocity. Main Character Throughline: The Main Character of To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout and her throughline describes her personal experiences in this story. Scout is a young tom-boy who wants things in her life to remain as simple as they've always been. Going to school, however, and seeing the town's reaction to her father's work introduces her to a new world of emotional complexity. She learns that there is much more to people than what you can see. Obstacle Character Throughline: The Obstacle Character point of view in To Kill A Mockingbird is presented through Boo Radley, the reclusive and much talked about boy living next door to Scout. The mystique surrounding this boy, fueled by the town's ignorance and fear, make everyone wonder what he is really like and if he's really as crazy as they say. Subjective Story Throughline: The Subjective Story view of To Kill A Mockingbird sees the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley. This throughline explores what it's like for these two characters to live next door to each other and never get to know one another. It seems any friendship they might have is doomed from the start because Boo will always be locked away in his father's house. The real problem, however, turns out to be one of Scout's prejudice against Boo's mysterious life. Boo has been constantly active in Scout's life, protecting her from the background. When Scout finally realizes this she becomes a changed person who no longer judges people without first trying to stand in their shoes. Summary - The Grand Argument Story We have described a story as a battle. The overview that takes in the full scope of the battle is the Objective Story Throughline. Within the fray is one special soldier through whom we experience the battle first-hand. How he fares is the Main Character Throughline. The Main Character is confronted by another soldier, blocking the path. Is he friend or foe? Either way, he is an obstacle, and the exploration of his impact on the Main Character is the Obstacle Character Throughline. The Main and Obstacle Characters engage in a skirmish. Main says, "Get out of my way!", and Obstacle says, "Change course!" In the end, the steadfast resolution of one will force the other to change. The growth of this interchange constitutes the Subjective Story Throughline. Taken together, the four throughlines comprise the author's argument to the audience. They answer the questions: What does it feel like to have this kind of problem? What's the other side of the issue? Which perspective is the most appropriate for dealing with that problem? What do things look like in the "big picture?" Only through the development of these four simultaneous throughlines can the Story Mind truly reflect our own minds, pitting reason against emotion and immediate advantage against experience in the hope of resolving a problem in the most beneficial manner. Now that you've added Story Mind, Objective Story Throughline, Main Character Throughline, Obstacle Character Throughline, and Subjective Story Throughline to your writer's vocabulary, you have all the background you need to explore a whole new world of understanding: the Dramatica Theory of Story. How to Order your copy of Dramatica: A New Theory of Story Back to the Table of Contents Back to Home Page Copyright 1996, Screenplay Systems, Inc. The Dramatica theory was developed by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley Chief Architect of the Dramatica software is Stephen Dramatica is a registered trademark of Screenplay Systems Incorporated the Dramatica Theory Home Page Try Dramatica & StoryWeaver Risk *Try either or both for 90 days. Not working for you? Return for a full refund of your purchase price! About Dramatica and Hi, I'm Melanie Anne Phillips, creator of StoryWeaver, co-creator of Dramatica and owner of Storymind.com. If you have a moment, I'd like to tell you about these two story development tools - what each is designed to do, how each works alone on a different part of story development and how they can be used together to cover the entire process from concept to completion of your novel or screenplay. What They Do Dramatica is a tool to help you build a perfect story structure. StoryWeaver is a tool to help you build your story's world. Dramatica focuses on the underlying logic of your story, making sure there are no holes or inconsistencies. StoryWeaver focuses on the creative process, boosting your inspiration and guiding it to add depth, detail and passion to your story. How They Do It Dramatica has the world's only patented interactive Story Engine™ which cross-references your answers to questions about your dramatic intent, then finds any weaknesses in your structure and even suggests the best ways to strengthen them. StoryWeaver uses a revolutionary new creative format as you follow more than 200 Story Cards™ step by step through the story development process. You'll design the people who'll inhabit your story's world, what happens to them, and what it all means. How They Work By itself Dramatic appeals to structural writers who like to work out all the details of their stories logically before they write a word. By itself, StoryWeaver appeals to intuitive writers who like to follow their Muse and develop their stories as But, the finished work of a structural writer can often lack passion, which is where StoryWeaver can help. And the finished work of an intuitive writer can often lack direction, which is where Dramatica can help. So, while each kind of writer will find one program or the other the most initially appealing, both kinds of writers can benefit from both programs. Try Both Programs We have a 90 Day Return Policy here at Storymind. Try either or both of these products and if you aren't completely satisfied we'll cheerfully refund your Complete Catalog of Products the Writer's Survival Kit Bonus Package FREE with ANY purchase! A $300 Value! step by step approach to story development, from concept to completed story for your novel or screenplay. More than 200 interactive Story Cards guide you through the entire process. Pro - $179.95 2 Exclusive Bonuses! The most powerful story structuring software available, Dramatica is driven by a patented "Story Engine" that cross-references your dramatic choices to ensure a perfect structure. Writer's DreamKit - $49.95 brother to Dramatica Pro, Writer's DreamKit is built around the same patented Story Engine - it just tracks fewer story points. So, you develop the same solid story structure, just with fewer details. Perfect for beginning writers or those new to Dramatica. Structure - $149.95 all-in-one writing environment with built-in word processor that helps you organize and cross-reference your story development materials. INCLUDES DVD SET BONUS! 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Hour Writing Course - $19.95 you need to know about story structure - twelve hours of video on a single DVD - presented by Dramatica Theory co-creator, Melanie Anne Software Companion - $19.95 four hours of video demonstrations of every key feature in Dramatica, narrated by the co-creator of Dramatica. Tips Book - $19.95 170 pages of eye-opening essays on story structure, storytelling, finding inspiration and a wide variety of writing techniques. Seminar 8 DVD Set - $99.95 14 hours of video from a live two day course taught by theory co-creator Melanie Anne Phillips covering Dramatica story structure and StoryWeaver Seminar Online - $49.95 The same 14 hour program presented in streaming video that you can view online or download for a permanent copy. Theory 2 Hour Audio Program - $19.95 concept in the Dramatica Theory of Story is fully explained in this Characters of the Opposite Sex - $29.95 audio CD set that explains everything you need to know to create characters of both sexes that ring absolutely true (and maybe even gain insight into the communication problems in the real world!) Storyteller Improves Your Writing - $29.95 better writing with this series of interactive exercises. to Create Great Characters DVD - $19.95 A 90 minute video program recorded during Dramatica co-creator Melanie Anne Phillips' live in-person seminar on story structure and storytelling. vs. Passion - Audio CD $19.95 Mind approach to writing uses your own passions to create your story's structure. It focuses your efforts, clarifies the direction of your story, and triggers your imagination. with the Story Mind - Audio CD - $19.95 Learn how to psychoanalyze your story's "mind" to uncover and treat problems with characters, plot, theme, and genre. 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In the United States, the category built on the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano. - 1 Definition and usage - 2 History - 3 Traditions in different countries - 4 Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters - 5 See also - 6 References - 7 Further reading Definition and usage "Singer-songwriter" is used to define popular music artists who write and perform their own material, which is often self-accompanied generally on acoustic guitar or piano. Such an artist performs the roles of composer, lyricist, vocalist, sometimes instrumentalist, and often self-manager. According to AllMusic, singer-songwriters' lyrics are often personal but veiled by elaborate metaphors and vague imagery, and their creative concern is to place emphasis on the song rather than their performance of it. Most records by such artists have a similarly straightforward and spare sound that placed emphasis on the song itself. The term has also been used to describe songwriters in the rock, folk, country, and pop music genres including Henry Russell, Aristide Bruant, Hank Williams, and Buddy Holly. It came into popular usage in the 1960s onwards to describe songwriters who followed particular stylistic and thematic conventions, particularly lyrical introspection, confessional songwriting, mild musical arrangements, and an understated performing style. According to writer Larry David Smith, because it merged the roles of composer, writer, and singer, the popularity of the singer-songwriter reintroduced the Medieval troubadour tradition of "songs with public personalities" after the Tin Pan Alley era in American popular music. The concept of a singer-songwriter can be traced to ancient bardic oral tradition, which has existed in various forms throughout the world. Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture. Traveling performers existed throughout Europe. Thus, the folklorist Anatole Le Braz gives a detailed account of one ballad singer, Yann Ar Minouz, who wrote and performed songs traveling through Brittany in the late nineteenth century and selling printed versions. In large towns it was possible to make a living performing in public venues, and with the invention of phonographic recording, early singer-songwriters like Théodore Botrel, George M. Cohan and Hank Williams became celebrities; radio further added to their public recognition and appeal. During the period from the 1940s through the 1960s, sparked by the American folk music revival, young performers inspired by traditional folk music and groups like the Almanac Singers and the Weavers began writing and performing their own original material and creating their own musical arrangements. Traditions in different countries North America, United Kingdom, and Ireland The term "singer-songwriter" in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Lead Belly, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, and Robert Johnson. In the 1940s and 1950s country singer-songwriters like Hank Williams became well known, as well as Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger, along with Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hays and other members of the Weavers who performed their mostly topical works to an ever-growing wider audience. These proto-singer-songwriters were less concerned than today's singer-songwriters with the unadulterated originality of their music and lyrics, and would lift parts from other songs and play covers without hesitation. The tradition of writing topical songs (songs regarding specific issues of the day, such as Lead Belly's "Jim Crow Blues" or Guthrie's "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)") was established by this group of musicians. Singers like Seeger and Guthrie would attend rallies for labor unions, and so wrote many songs concerning the life of the working classes, and social protest; as did other folksingers like Josh White, Cisco Houston, Malvina Reynolds, Earl Robinson, Ewan MacColl, John Jacob Niles, and Doc Watson, while blues singers like Johnson and Hopkins wrote songs about their personal life experiences. This focus on social issues has greatly influenced the singer-songwriter genre. Additionally in the 1930s through the 1950s several jazz and blues singer-songwriters emerged like Hoagy Carmichael, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Harry Gibson, and Nina Simone, as well as in the rock n' roll genre from which emerged influential singer-songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Ritchie Valens, and Paul Anka. In the country music field, singer-songwriters like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Billy Edd Wheeler, and others emerged from the 1940s through the 1960s, often writing compelling songs about love relationships and other subjects. The first popular recognition of the singer-songwriter in English-speaking North America and the United Kingdom occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s when a series of blues, folk and country-influenced musicians rose to prominence and popularity. These singer-songwriters included Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Lennon, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell. Artists who had been primarily songwriters, notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt, and Neil Diamond, also began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the storytelling approach of most prior country and folk music, these performers typically wrote songs from a highly personal (often first-person), introspective point of view. The adjectives "confessional" and "sensitive" were often used (sometimes derisively) singer-songwriter style. In the rock band era, members were not technically singer-songwriters as solo acts. However, many were singer-songwriters who created songs with other band members. Examples include Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, Elton John (with Bernie Taupin), Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Robbie Robertson, Ian Anderson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Peter Frampton; Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton. Many others like Eric Clapton found success as singer-songwriters in their later careers. The scene that had developed out of the American folk music revival, pioneered by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger had grown to a major movement in the early 1960s, popularized by Joan Baez and her protégée, Bob Dylan, who had started reaching a mainstream audience with his hit, Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) bringing "protest songs" to a wider audience. There were hints of cross-pollination, but rock and folk music had remained largely separate genres, often with different audiences. An early attempt at fusing elements of folk and rock was highlighted in the Animals "House of the Rising Sun" (1964), a folk song, recorded with rock and roll instrumentation. By the mid-1960s Bob Dylan took the lead in merging folk and rock, and in July 1965, released "Like a Rolling Stone", with a revolutionary rock sound, steeped in tawdry urban imagery, followed by an electric performance later that month at the Newport Folk Festival. Dylan plugged an entire generation into the milieu of the singer-songwriter. Often writing from an urban point of view, with poetry punctuated by rock rhythms and electric power, Dylan's fusing of folk and rock freed up emerging singer-songwriters to use elements of both traditions to tell their stories. In the mid- to late 1960s, bands and singer-songwriters began to proliferate the underground New York art/music scene. The release of The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967, featuring singer-songwriter Lou Reed and German singer and collaborator Nico was described as the "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone in 2003. In the late '60s a New Wave of female singer-songwriters broke from the confines of pop, using the urban landscape as their canvass for lyrics in the confessional style of poets like Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, and Janis Joplin. These pioneering women, appeared in a feature in Newsweek, July 1969, "The Girls: Letting Go: 'What is common to them – to Joni Mitchell and Lotti Golden, to Laura Nyro, Melanie, and to Elyse Weinberg, are the personalised songs they write, like voyages of self-discovery, brimming with keen observation and startling in the impact of their poetry." In The Guardian January 26, 2017, author Laura Barton, describes the radical shift in subject matter—they sang about politics, love affairs, the urban landscape, drugs, disappointment, and the life and loneliness of the itinerant performer. Lotti Golden, in her Atlantic debut album Motor-Cycle, chronicled her life in NYC's East Village in the late 1960s counterculture, visiting subjects such as gender identity (The Space Queens-Silky is Sad) and excessive drug use (Gonna Fay's). The women in the 1969 Newsweek article ushered in a new age of the contemporary female singer-songwriter that has informed generations of women singer-songwriters into the 21st century, with poet Warsan Shire as the muse for Beyoncé's 2016, Lemonade. By the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the original wave of singer-songwriters had largely been absorbed into a more general pop or soft rock format, but some new artists in the singer-songwriter tradition (including Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Chris Isaak, Victoria Williams, John Mellencamp and Warren Zevon) continued to emerge, and in other cases rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case, Paul Collins and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singer-songwriters. Kate Bush remained distinctive throughout with her idiosyncratic style. In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne, Indigo Girls, and Tori Amos, who found success first in the United Kingdom, then in her home market. In the early 1990s, female artists also began to emerge in new styles, including Courtney Love and PJ Harvey. Later in the mid-1990s, the term was revived again with the success of Canada's Alanis Morissette and her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill. Also in the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as Bono, the Edge, Dave Matthews, Jeff Buckley, Richard Barone, Duncan Sheik and Elliott Smith borrowed from the singer-songwriter tradition to create new acoustic-based rock styles. In the 2000s, a quieter style emerged, with largely impressionistic lyrics, from artists such as Norah Jones, Conor Oberst, Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, South San Gabriel, Iron & Wine, David Gray, Ray LaMontagne, Meg Hutchinson, Darden Smith, Josh Rouse, Steve Millar, Jolie Holland, Patrick Duff, Richard Buckner, Jewel, Jack Savoretti, Richard Shindell, and John Gorka. Some started to branch out in new genres such as Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher, T Bone Burnett, Eddie Vedder, and Pete Yorn. Others used drugs as a mind-altering way to boost creativity; for example, Emil Amos of Holy Sons took drugs daily from age sixteen on, wrote over 1,000 songs, and landed a record contract with an indie label. Recording on the professional-grade systems became affordable for individuals in the late 1990s. This created opportunities for people to independently record and sell their music. Such artists are known as "indies" because they release their records on independent, often self-owned record labels, or no label at all. Additionally the Internet has provided a means for indies to get their music heard by a wider audience. Chanson, the French tradition French "chanson" comes from an old tradition, since the Middle Ages. It is driven by the rhythms of the French language and has a generally higher standard of lyrics than in the English-speaking world. It can be distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music or soft rock format that began to spread in France during the 1960s until today, under the cultural influence of Anglo-American rock music and the rock band era. The first modern French singer-songwriter was Charles Trenet, who began his solo career in 1938. He was the first to use jazz rhythms in chanson. He would remain an isolated act until the creative blooming of a new generation during the post-World War II era (mid-1940s and 1950s), where such artists as Léo Ferré, Georges Brassens, Félix Leclerc (from Quebec), Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Brel (from Belgium), Henri Salvador, Charles Aznavour and Barbara appeared, with contrasted and rich imagination. Most of them are recognized as great masters by younger generations of French artists, especially Ferré (for the richness of his lyrics, his melodic genius, his critical density on social issues and his body of work's profoundness) and Gainsbourg (for the bright and tasteful adaptation of pop or rock music with French language-driven rhythms). During the 1960s and 1970s, the most prominent singer-songwriters included Claude Nougaro, Jean Ferrat, Boby Lapointe, Michel Polnareff, Nino Ferrer, Christophe, Albert Marcœur, Bernard Lavilliers, Frédérik Mey and Jacques Higelin, amongst others. Cantautori, the Italian tradition Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer). The first internationally renowned cantautore was Domenico Modugno with his song "Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)", a huge best seller in 1958; other early cantautori, who begun their career in the late 50s, are Gino Paoli, Luigi Tenco, Umberto Bindi, Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Jannacci. Fabrizio De André, Lucio Battisti and Francesco Guccini began their career in the 60s, while Edoardo Bennato, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, Franco Battiato, Rino Gaetano, Ivano Fossati, Antonello Venditti, Claudio Baglioni, Pino Daniele, Roberto Vecchioni, Angelo Branduardi and Eugenio Finardi all appeared in the 70s. Their songs are still popular today, often telling stories of marginalized (De André, Guccini, Dalla) and rebellious people (Finardi, De Gregori, Venditti), or having a political background (Venditti, Guccini). Branduardi was instead much more influenced by Medieval and Baroque musical styles, while his lyrics are usually inspired by ancient fables. Battiato started as a progressive rock and cultivated music artist in the 1970s, shifting to an original blend of pop, electronic, new wave, and world music in the 1980s. The Neapolitan cantautore Pino Daniele has often fused genres as diverse as R&B, fusion, blues, pop, jazz, and tarantella to produce a sound uniquely his own, with lyrics variously in Italian, Neapolitan, or English. Similarly Paolo Conte was often tagged as a cantautore, but was more into the jazz tradition. In the 1980s Vasco Rossi was renowned for his blend of blues-tinged rock music mixed with Italian melodies. He was nicknamed the "only Italian rock star" (l'unica rock n'roll-star italiana) by his fans. With a mixture between international sounds and Italian lyrics, in the 2000s Bugo become the "fantautore", a neologism conied for him. Despite not having achieved great fame, he is considered the pioneer of the renewal of Italian songwriting, far from the politicized of the 70s. Iberian-Latin American traditions This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Beginning in the 1960s and following the Italian cantautori style of the 1950s (like the one of Domenico Modugno), many Latin American countries developed singer-songwriter traditions that adopted elements from various popular styles. The first such tradition was the mid-1960s invention of nueva canción, which took hold in Andean countries like Chile, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia. At around the same time, the Brazilian popular style bossa nova was evolving into a politically charged singer-songwriter tradition called Tropicalismo. Two performers, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso became two of the most famous people in all of Brazil through their work in Tropicalismo. After World War II it was developed in Italy a very prolific singer-songwriter (in Italian cantautore) tradition, initially connected with the French school of the chansonniers, and lately developed very heterogeneously. Although the term cantautore normally implies consistent sociopolitical content in lyrics, noteworthy performers in a more inclusive singer-songwriter categorization are: Domenico Modugno, Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Sergio Endrigo, Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Antonello Venditti, Roberto Vecchioni, Ivano Fossati, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini and Franco Battiato. In neighbouring Malta, the main singer-songwriters are Walter Micallef, Manwel Mifsud and Vince Fabri. They all perform in Maltese. Spain and Portugal have also had singer-songwriter traditions, which are sometimes said to have drawn on Latin elements. Spain is known for the Nova Cançó tradition — exemplified by Joan Manuel Serrat and Lluis Llach; the Portuguese folk/protest singer and songwriter José Afonso helped lead a revival of Portuguese folk culture, including a modernized, more socially aware form of fado called nova canção. Following Portugal's Carnation Revolution of 1974, nova canção became more politicized and was known as canto livre. Another important Spain singer-songwriters are Joaquín Sabina, José Luis Perales and Luis Eduardo Aute. In the latter part of the 1960s and into the 1970s, socially and politically aware singer-songwriters like Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés emerged in Cuba, birthing a genre known as nueva trova. Trova as a genre has had broad influence across Latin America. In Mexico, for example, canción yucateca on the Yucatán Peninsula and trova serrana in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca are both regional adaptations of trova. Today, Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona qualifies as Latin America's most commercially successful singer-songwriter. Although sociopolitical engagement is uneven in his oeuvre, some see Arjona's more engaged works as placing him in the tradition of the Italian cantautori. In the mid-1970s, a singer-songwriter tradition called canto popular emerged in Uruguay. With the influence of Tropicalismo, Traditional Samba and Bossa Nova, MPB (Música popular brasileira), or Brazilian Popular Music, became highly singer-songwriter based. For years solo artists would dominate Brazilian popular music with romantic cynicism alla Jobim or subliminal anti-government messages alla Chico Buarque. After the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, Brazilian music became less politically and socially conscious. The censored Raul Seixas or the humorous spiritualist Jorge Ben were slowly obscured by funk carioca, axé music and Brazilian disco. In recent years, however, a new stock of socially conscious Brazilian singer-songwriters is beginning to break the almost strictly dance-music momentum that has reigned since the 1980s (see the 'Brazilian folk/folk-rock sub-article in Brazilian Music). Soviet Union and Russia This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Since the 1960s, those singers who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment have been known as "bards". The first songs traditionally referred to as bard songs are thought to be written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and the very existence of the genre is traditionally originated from the amateur activities of the Soviet intelligentsia, namely mass backpacking movement and the students' song movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Many bards performed their songs in small groups of people using a Russian guitar, rarely if ever would they be accompanied by other musicians or singers. Though, bards using piano or accordion are also known. Those who became popular held modest concerts. The first nationwide-famous bards (starting their career in the 1950s) are traditionally referred to as the First Five: Mikhail Ancharov, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Novella Matveyeva, Bulat Okudzhava, Yuri Vizbor. In the 1960s, they were joined by Vladimir Vysotsky, Victor Berkovsky, Yuliy Kim, and many others. In the course of the 1970s, the shift to the classical 6-string guitar took place, and now, a Russian guitar is a rare bird with the bards. In the same period, the movement of KSP (Kluby Samodeyatelnoy Pesni – amateur song fan clubs) emerged, providing the bards with highly educated audience, and up to the end of the 1980s being their key promotion engine. Bards were rarely permitted to record their music, partly given the political nature of many songs, partly due to their vague status in the strictly organised state-supported show business establishment of the USSR. As a result, bard tunes usually made their way around as folk lore, from mouth to mouth, or via the copying of amateur recordings (sometimes referred as magnitizdat) made at concerts, particularly those songs that were of political nature. Bard poetry differs from other poetry mainly in the fact that it is sung along with a simple guitar melody as opposed to being spoken. Another difference is that this form of poetry focuses less on style and more on meaning. This means that fewer stylistic devices are used, and the poetry often takes the form of narrative. What separates bard poetry from other songs is the fact that the music is far less important than the lyrics; chord progressions are often very simple and tend to repeat from one bard song to another. On the other hand, in the USSR the chief bard supporter was the state Union of Composers, and the main bard hater was the state Union of Writers. A far more obvious difference was the commerce-free nature of the genre: songs were written to be sung and not to be sold. The similar genre dominated by singers-songwriters is known as sung poetry in other Post-Soviet countries. Singer-songwriters are popular in Bulgaria under the name "bards", or "poets with guitars". Their tradition is a mixture of traditional folk motifs, city folklore from the early 20th century, and modern influences. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the Communist regime in the country started to tolerate the Bulgarian "bards", promoting the so-called "political songs", performed usually by one-man bands. A national festival tradition was established, under the title "Alen Mak" (Red Poppy), a symbol with strong Communist meaning in Bulgaria. At the same time, there were some prominent underground figures which were against the official Communist Party line, such as Angel "Jendema" Angelov, Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov, and Velizar "Valdes" Vankov. After the collapse of Communism in 1989, the singer-songwriters' tradition was re-established. Currently, the Bulgarian "bards" enjoy several festivals (local and international) per year, namely the PoKi Festival (Poets with Guitars, Poetic Strings) in the town of Harmanli, the Bardfest in Lovech, the Sofia Evenings of Singer-Songwriters, and others. Major figures in the Bulgarian tradition are Dimitar Taralezhkov, Angel "Jendema" Angelov, Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov, Velizar "Valdes" Vankov, Dimitar Dobrev, Andro Stubel, Branimir "Bunny" Stoykov, Dorothea Tabakova, Mihail Belchev, Assen Maslarski, Grisha Trifonov, Plamen Stavrev, Vladimir Levkov, Margarita Drumeva, Maria Batchvarova, Plamen Sivov, and Krasimir Parvanov. Despite the communist isolation, the tradition of the singer-songwriter in Romania flourished beginning with the end of the 1960s and it was put in the context of folk music, with its three main styles in Romania: ethno folk, American-style folk and lyrical (cult) folk. The framework for many of these initiatives came under the form of Cenaclul Flacăra, a series of mass cultural events with an inevitable ideological touch. Still, with the merit of supporting great opening initiatives: the appropriation of Western artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others from the Woodstock generation, the public performance of gospel-like music, the opening to big international issues (pop culture, accountability of the leadership, tension surging during the Cold War-with surprisingly neutral positions etc.). Overall, the Romanian folk, in general, could be marked as an underground cultural movement, somewhere between non-aligned and protest music. Liedermacher, the German tradition Rooted in the European Bänkelsang ("bench-singing") and Moritat traditions while also taking immediate inspiration from the French chanson scene and the American folk music revival, the 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of a whole generation of German-language singer-songwriters called Liedermacher ("songmakers"), among them Hannes Wader, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Reinhard Mey and Konstantin Wecker from West Germany, Wolf Biermann from East Germany as well as Ludwig Hirsch and Georg Danzer from Austria. With regards to content and style, the Liedermacher spectrum ranges from political balladeering to rather observational storytelling and love songs. The lyrics often deal with topics such as social injustice, militarism, consumerism, environmental issues or the repercussions of the German Nazi past, often expressing technoskepticism and anti-establishment views. In the mid-1960s, Sweden witnessed the renaissance of the „trubadur“, the Swedish version of the singer-songwriter. Cornelis Vreeswijk and Fred Åkerström were particularly influential in their efforts to blend the heritage of the “visa” (a specific way to render simple stanzaic poems or songs, given distinction by artists such as Carl Michael Bellman and Evert Taube) with modern approaches to balladeering. Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters - Rolling Stone, focus on music and popular culture - Dirty Linen, focus on folk and world music. - No Depression, focus on alternative country styles. - Paste, eclectic music coverage. - Pitchfork Media, focus on independent artists. - Sing Out!, focus on folk styles. - Broadside, focus on folk music and folk-rock. - List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees - List of singer-songwriters - Protest songs in the United States - Swedish ballad tradition - Griot - West African song story tradition Ruehl, Kim. "Essential Folk Music Singer-Songwriters". The About Group. Retrieved 16 June 2019. [...] the singer-songwriter is a fairly recent phenomenon in the centuries-old history of American folk music. - Shepherd, John, ed. (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume 11: Performance and Production. Continuum. p. 198. ISBN 0-8264-6322-3. Retrieved 17 July 2013. - Rodgers, Jeffrey Pepper (2003). The Complete Singer-Songwriter:A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording & Business. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. vi. ISBN 0-87930-769-2. - "singer-songwriter". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2013. - Brackett, David (2008). Dark Mirror: The Pathology of the Singer-Songwriter. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 47. ISBN 0-275-99898-3. - Anatole Le Braz, "The Pardon of the Singers", The Land of Pardons, London, Methuen, 1926, pp. 45–104. - Cohen, Ronald D. Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival & American Society, 1940–1970. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55849-348-4 - "Leadbelly Foundation". Leadbelly.org. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010. - Ownby, Ted (July 2004). "Jimmie Rodgers: The Father of Country Music". Mississippi History Now. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. - Dicaire, David. Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Legendary Artists of the Early 20th Century, pp. 140-144. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0606-2. - Wenner, Jann (2010). "47; T-Bone Walker". Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Wenner Media Websites: Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 November 2010. - "East Coast Piedmont Blues – Blind Willie McTell". Toto.lib.unca.edu. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2014. - Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 145–146. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. - "National Guitar.com". Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) - "The 50 albums that changed music". The Observer. London. 16 July 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2008. - Booklet accompanying the Complete Recordings box set, Stephen LaVere, Sony Music Entertainment, 1990, Clapton quote on p. 26 - Hank Williams Sputnik Music profile Retrieved September 8, 2014 - Spivey, Christine A. "This Land is Your land, This Land is My Land: Folk Music, Communism, and the Red Scare as a Part of the American Landscape". Archived from the original on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008. The Student Historical Journal 1996–1997, Loyola University New Orleans, 1996. - "Sing out, warning! sing out, love!": the writings of Lee Hays, by Lee Hays and Steven Koppelman (Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2003), p. 116. - J. E. Perone, Music of the Counterculture Era American History Through Music (Westwood, CT: Greenwood, 2004), ISBN 0-313-32689-4, p. 37. - Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 1308–09. ISBN 9780879306533. - Dave Marsh, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, NAL, 1989. Entry #91. - "News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 November 2017.[dead link] - "13) The Velvet Underground". Rolling Stone. 1 November 2003. Archived from the original on 16 March 2006. - JoniMitchell.com Library: THE GIRLS—LETTING GO: Newsweek, July 14, 1969 - JoniMitchell.com Library: THE GIRLS—LETTING GO: Newsweek, July 14, 1969, Original Article pdf - Barton, Laura (26 January 2017). "From Joni Mitchell to Laura Marling: how female troubadours changed music". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017. - "Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Turns A Somali-Brit Poet Into A Global Star". NPR. - Martins, Chris (10 March 2011). "Sober People Scare the Shit Out of Me". LA Weekly. Retrieved 28 April 2011. - "Sito ufficiale e Fan Club". Vasco Rossi. Retrieved 23 May 2014. - "Arriva il lunatico Bugo 'fantautore' da sorprese – la Repubblica.it" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2014. - Huff, Hartmut: Liedermacher, (1980), Munich: Heyne; Henke, Matthias: Die großen Chansonniers und Liedermacher (1987), Düsseldorf: Econ. - Alf Björnberg, Thomas Bossius, eds., Made in Sweden: Studies in Popular Music, (2016), New York: Routledge, pp. 53-4. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Singer-songwriters.| - Alarik, Scott, Deep Community, (2003), Black Wolf Press. - Hoffman, Frank "The Singer-Songwriter Tradition", from Survey of American Popular Music (modified for the web by Robert Birkline) - Knopfler, David, The Singer-Songwriter: Defining the Genre – Defining the Style - DiMartino, Dave singer-songwriters: Pop Music's Performer-Composers from A to Zevon (1994), Billboard Books(web search required). - Rodgers, Jeffrey P., The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording & Business, (2003) Backbeat Books(web search required). - singer-songwriters of the Rock Era, (1996), Hal Leonard (sheet music)(web search required). - Contemporary singer/songwriter at AllMusic

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Please note, this is a live document. Changes announced in class and on the list server will be incorporated from time to time. Announcements in class and their mirror here are the definitive version. An emerging technology, oddly enough, is the technology of simulating human behaviour. This and related technologies have been called expert systems and artificial intellegence. They are currently being used as opponents in computer games and have been started to be used to test interfaces as surrogate users. They are an interesting intersection between technology and human psychology. The National Resarch Council (Pew & Mavor, 1998, 2007) and research councils in the US, UK, and Australia expect this area to become increasingly important and they invest in it. There are a wide range of possible applications including video games, military simulations, knowledge-based computer-based tutors, and assistive agents [Norling on agents and why they need to be more human: ABC Radio [mp4] [mp3]]. To explore this new technology and its science base, this class has three components. The first, short, component examines the application of models of human performance firstly as scientific theories, but also their use in training environments, in operations research, in design, and as opponents in computer games. This section is based on reading and discussion. The second component examines how to create such models. Students will study how to create such models using an existing cognitive and AI architecture, Soar. Students will be introduced to the ideas of using published descriptions of human behavior (i.e., journal articles and handbooks), as well as how data is gathered when published materials are not available. Tools for analysing the data to help create models will also be covered. This component results in a model created by the student or a team within a somewhat constrained task, dTank. A prototypical final project is to build a model of your own play in this game, but this project can be student-interest driven. The final component examines how such models in general and the student's model in particular can be tested, validated, and thus can be believed and improved. If the dTank environment is used, a competition between models will be staged, both as models of intelligence (do they win?), and as models of humans (do they act like humans?). Thus questions related to the philosophy of science are also discussed. This course requires an Instructor technology room on a Monday afternoon and a student technology room on a Wed afternoon. The student room will have Mac/PCs. You should also be able to install the software on your home machine, and many students will choose to do this. The official pre-requisites are IST 210 and IST 220 (or such). You should also have an interest in modeling human behaviour, and then secondarily, some knowledge of human behaviour or some knowledge of the technology to model it (or both). Knowledge of human behaviour can come from IST 331 or a psychology course. Knowledge of the technology means production systems, Lisp, or JAVA, or expert systems or agent architectures. Students will be paired where possible to create pairs with complementary knowledge. If you have questions about prerequisites, please see me. This course should change the way you think about human behaviour, providing a theory of cognition that can be extended to help predict human behaviour for use in applications such as video games and interface testing. This course provides a balance between theory and practice, which are tightly intertwined in this area. Basic and more advanced readings will introduce the student to current thinking about facts, theories, and ways to model data. A small group project, drawing on the different backgrounds students bring to the program, will support integrating these various pieces of knowledge and applying them. The course includes working in small groups, speaking, and other non-traditional processes and outputs, but the processes and outputs used are those that researchers and developers use in this area. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 3.1 The IST 402 Web Site. This course has an active web page that contains the syllabus, assignments, links to useful sites, and other valuable material (such as how to correctly prepare assignments, citation templates, and other academic and recreational information). We will post late-breaking information and updates to the web page. This page can currently be found at uniform resource locator (URL) acs.ist.psu.edu/ist402, and later will be available through links from the IST home page via course listings. You should bookmark it. 3.2 The IST 402 Listserv. This course has a mandatory listserv that we will use to post course and class information, conduct on-line discussions, and share information. You are encouraged to use your PSU account, and not a hotmail or yahoo account that cannot receive attachments. If you are in Section 2 (Ritter) your PSU account should be automatically subscribed. If you want to use a different account, you will need to subscribe to the class email list by sending email to Changkun. Once you have subscribed, you can then send mail to the class at L-ist402-FA11-S1@lists.psu.edu If you send mail to me about this course, please include "IST402" in the subject, as this will help a filter bring it to my attention more quickly. Stuff on Soar (read, in order, until you know Soar) [passwords available from TA and Ritter] The Psychological Soar Tutorial, available online Ritter, F. E. (2003). Soar. In L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cognitive science. vol. 4, 60-65. London: Nature Publishing Group. [A006.pdf] Laird's online tutorial notes, chapter 1 [from the Soar installation] Lehman, J. F., Laird, J. E., & Rosenbloom, P. S. (1996). A gentle introduction to Soar, an architecture for human cognition. In S. Sternberg & D. Scarborough (Eds.), Invitation to cognitive science, vol. 4 Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Newell, A. (1992). Précis of "Unified theories of cognition". Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15, 425-492. Responses Introduction to Newell Stuff on the software (you will need all of these, and all are free) Summary installation notes Herbal [a Description of Ontologies, to help with understanding] Herbal tutorial The Soar 9 distribution. Those who like SoarceForge, can also find Soar there You may find the Soar FAQ helpful. dTank-Soar game, available locally Stuff on psychology and writing [one copy of each per group] (ABCS) The ABCS of HCI. Ritter, F. E, Baxter, G. D., & Churchill, E. 2011. Available from LuLu.com at cost, for about $11.00 plus shipping. approximately 400 pages. Publication Manual of the APA (available at the PSU Bookstore) as a guide to referencing, citing, and the formatting of papers and manuscripts in general. Each pair should have access to a copy of this, or to Strunk and White's "The elements of style." Abebooks.com is another place to get this book. 3.4.1 The importance and applications of models (read two) Anderson, J. R., Conrad, F. G., & Corbett, A. T. (1989). Skill acquisition and the LISP tutor. Cognitive Science, 13(4), 467-505. Laird, J., & van Lent, M. (2001). Interactive Computer Games: Human-level AI's Killer Application, ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/laird/papers/AI-games.pdf. Hudlicka, E., & McNeese, M. D. (2002). User affective and belief states: Assessment and user interface adaptation. Journal of User Modeling and User Adapted Interaction, 12, 1-47. Pew, R. W., & Mavor, A. S. (Eds.). (2007). Human-system integration in the system development process: A new look. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11893. Pew, R. W., & Mavor, A. S. (Eds.). (1998). Modeling human and organizational behavior: Application to military simulations. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. nap.edu/catalog/6173.html (click on the cover of the book on the left to read it online.) Ritter, F. E., Shadbolt, N. R., Elliman, D., Young, R., Gobet, F., & Baxter, G. D. (2003). Techniques for modeling human performance in synthetic environments: A supplementary review. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Human Systems Information Analysis Center (HSIAC), formerly known as the Crew System Ergonomics Information Analysis Center (CSERIAC). [local cleaner copy] ** Or, paper of your choice, approx. 20 pages, or a whole article, whichever is shorter. ** 3.4.2 Testing and validating models (read all) Ritter, F. E., & Larkin, J. H. (1994). Using process models to summarize sequences of human actions. Human-Computer Interaction, 9(3), 345-383. Ritter, F. E. (2004). Choosing and getting started with a cognitive architecture to test and use human-machine interfaces. MMI-Interaktiv-Journal's special issue on Modeling and Simulation in Human-Machine Systems. 7. 17-37. [in English, abstract in German] [local copy] Grant, D. A. (1962). Testing the null hypothesis and the strategy and tactics of investigating theoretical models. Psychological Review, 69(1), 54-61. 3.4.3 Creating and building models (read all) Ritter, F. E., Lehtinen, E., & Nerb, J. (2007). Putting things in order: Collecting and analysing data on learning. In F. E. Ritter, J. Nerb, T. O'Shea, & E. Lehtinen (Eds.), In order to Learn: How ordering effects in machine learning illuminates human learning and vice versa Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Their appendix on collecting protocols. Their 1980 paper as Precis of book [Read appendix, rest is optional] Nerb, J., Ritter, F. E., & Langley, P. (2007). Rules of order: Process models of human learning. In F. E. Ritter, J. Nerb, T. O'Shea, & E. Lehtinen (Eds.), In order to learn: How ordering effects in machine learning illuminates human learning and vice versa Kidlington, UK: Pergamon. Nuxoll, A., & Laird, J. (2003). Soar Dogma. (how to write better, safer, faster Soar code.) The Soar Frequently Asked Questions list (acs.ist.psu.edu/soar-faq) and the ACT-R FAQ (acs.ist.psu.edu/actr-faq). Agre on writing Related Douglass class Comments on writing How to write an abstract by Mary-Claire Van Leunen Paschler on testing (simple) models Sanderson, P. M., McNeese, M. D., & Zaff, B. S. (1994). Handling complex real-world data with two cognitive engineering tools: COGENT and MacSHAPA. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 26(2), 117-124. [email me for macshapa software for Mac] You earn your grade but it will be assigned by me. The criteria for each assignment will be discussed in detail, as will the grading scheme. Each written assignment will be evaluated on how well it addresses the questions posed, the clarity of thinking, the organization and presentation of the material, the quality of writing, and its timeliness. Your grade will be based on 100 possible points. You earn points with each assignment (see below). As a maximum scale (i.e., cutoffs may be lowered): A: 100-74, A-: 73-70, B+ 69- 67, B: 66- 64, B-: 63- 60, C+: 59- 57, C: 56- 50, D: 49- 40, F: 39- 0. (The cutoffs for each grade is the lower number, without rounding.) Your learning will be assessed in several ways. Please consult the schedule to see when papers/ assignments are due and exams scheduled. You will receive more written instructions for each assignment well in advance of the due date. Here is a brief summary of each: You will do a variety of labs/homeworks. Each lab writeup is nominally 5-10 points, 66 points total including an extra 5 extra credit points and the initial 1 point project writeup. 60 points will be taken to be the maximum lab grade (i.e., you can miss 6 points and get a perfect score). This score may be modified/moderated/adjusted by self and team evaluations. Typically Wednesdays, as below (5 points added to lab grade) Once during the semester your group may find an additional resource that addresses or relies upon topics covered in class. In one page or less, you will comment on how that resource relates to the class. You will share both the article and your comments with the class. You must arrange this before the end of October. Paragraphs on the readings, up to 20 of them at 1 pt/reading, can also be used this way. Once, varies by group In class, 70 points below. In class, score pro-rated with 3 allowed unexcused absences 71 total points make this up, which you can keep the 1 as a bonus. Intro - Course, emerging technologies, new uses for old important technologies, UTCs, Cognitive psych review Hand in: OSs, courses 2 24aug End of intro Install/test software Summary installation notes Applications of models two readings from 3.4.1 1 para on each reading Further reading on Soar 1 para on each reading Soar / Herbal ABCS5 [from now, all ABCS up to now due] Exercise on Eclipse (in class) More from 3.4.2 Data for developing 1 page on project readings above in 3.4.3 dTank Hwk1 (email it in) two readings from 3.4.3 and ABCS11 midterm in class Discussion of projects Video games, hedonics, software engineering Project - writing techniques Agre/APA Manual/Strunk/advanced Word (do another dTank task) SOAR report and other futures reports presentations in class 28 5dec Reports discussion presentations in class 29 7dec Hand in Project 65 >209 pts, keep 200 Model the effect of your learning, starting with a naive model, and then a less naive model. Model how you learn, starting with a naive model, and then with the learning component turned on, show that the model learns like you do (considerably harder). Extend the dTank interface in some interesting way, and show how it is easier for you and for the model. Set up two opponents for people to train against. Show how one is a better sparing partner, either for some of your friends, or for your model to learn from. All projects above, if extended, could be turned into an honors thesis. Graduate students taking this course for independent study credit (or if approved as a 597 course) will need to modify both the task (multiple interfaces or tasks) and the model (multiple strategies or individual differences). The laboratory portion of IST 402 provides students with the chance to become familiar with using the concepts, software, and data about modeling people. It is absolutely essential for understanding the material and will be useful for passing the exam and doing the labs. You have been put into small groups to do your labs because we believe this generally leads to better learning. That means that you must turn in one lab report per group, that conferring within your group is not a violation of academic policy or of ethics on the lab section of this course, and that conferring with other groups *is* a violation of academic policy and ethics if it results in reports that are noticeably similar without citation. The best way is to work on the lab and then meet to discuss and proofread the report. The worst way is to have each member of the group do (and thus learn) one of the sections. This will result in a noticeably inferior product. As we explore these topics, we will also practice skills in working together, analytical skills, and information problem-solving approaches. We have arranged time for group meetings that may need a lab. Academic Integrity: According to the Penn State Principles and University Code of Conduct: Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at Penn State University, allowing the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. In according with the University's Code of Conduct, you must not engage in or tolerate academic dishonesty. This includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person, or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Any violation of academic integrity will be investigated, and where warranted, punitive action will be taken. For every incident when a penalty of any kind is assessed, a report must be filed This form is used for both undergraduate and graduate courses. This report must be signed by both the instructor and the student, and then submitted to the Senior Associate Dean. In this course, academic integrity needs two explanations. The first is that you are expected to contribute to your group. This means making time in your schedule for the group's meetings, being in touch via email, and preparing for those meetings. The second explanation is that your group's writeups are to be done only by your group. This means that while you can discuss the problems with others, and we agree that this is a good thing, the writing up needs to be solely by your group. If you have a question as to whether or not two writeups are too similar, then use the following standard: - If a pair of writeups are sufficiently similar that you can tell by reading them that the two groups worked together, then they are too similar. By all means, talk to your colleagues, get help if necessary, but prove to us that, in the end, you understand what you are doing, and you can and must express it in your own words. If you and your group don't understand the material well enough to write it up on your own, and you need to copy, then four things are lost: Your integrity, useful feedback to us on how you are doing, your ability to perform well on the exam, and ultimately, your knowledge. It is Penn State's policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities in its educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for modifications in your testing situation, your instructor should be notified during the first week of classes so that your needs can be accommodated. You will be asked to present documentation from the Office of Disability Services (located in 105 Boucke Building) that describes the nature of your disability and the recommended remedy. You may refer to the Nondiscrimination Policy in the Student Guide to University Policies and Rules 1999. As each student is an individual with specific needs, academic accommodations are provided on an individual basis based on the student's documentation. A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that provides the qualified individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity. An equal opportunity provides the means to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy benefits that are available to students without disabilities. For more information about services for individuals with learning disabilities, please contact the Office for Disability Services at (814) 863-1807. Americans with Disabilities Act: IST welcomes persons with disabilities to all of its classes, programs, and events. If you need accommodations, or have questions about access to buildings where ISTactivities are held, please contact us in advance of your participation or visit. If you need assistance during a class, program, or event, please contact the member of our staff or faculty in charge. An Invitation to Students with Learning Disabilities: It is Penn State's policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities in its educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for modifications in your testing or learning situation, your instructor should be notified during the first week of classes so that your needs can be accommodated. You will be asked to present documentation from the Office of Disability Services (located in 116 Boucke Building, 863-1807) that describes the nature of your disability and the recommended remedy. You may refer to the Nondiscrimination Policy in the Student Guide to University Policies and Rules. Affirmative Action & Sexual Harassment: The Pennsylvania State University is committed to a policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by Commonwealth or Federal authorities. Penn State does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct all inquiries to the Affirmative Action Office, 211 Willard Building.

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Packaging and labeling Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and personal use. - 1 History of packaging - 2 The purposes of packaging and package labels - 3 Packaging types - 4 Symbols used on packages and labels - 5 Package development considerations - 6 Packaging machinery - 7 See also - 8 References - 9 Further reading History of packagingEdit The first packages used the natural materials available at the time: baskets of reeds, wineskins (bota bags), wooden boxes, pottery vases, ceramic amphorae, wooden barrels, woven bags, etc. Processed materials were used to form packages as they were developed: for example, early glass and bronze vessels. The study of old packages is an important aspect of archaeology. The earliest recorded use of paper for packaging dates back to 1035, when a Persian traveler visiting markets in Cairo, Arab Egypt, noted that vegetables, spices and hardware were wrapped in paper for the customers after they were sold. The use of tinplate for packaging dates back to the 18th century. The manufacturing of tinplate was the monopoly of Bohemia for a long time; in 1667 Andrew Yarranton, an English engineer, and Ambrose Crowley brought the method to England where it was improved by ironmasters including Philip Foley. By 1697, John Hanbury had a rolling mill at Pontypool for making "Pontypoole Plates". The method pioneered there of rolling iron plates by means of cylinders enabled more uniform black plates to be produced than was possible with the former practice of hammering. Tinplate boxes first began to be sold from ports in the Bristol Channel in 1725. The tinplate was shipped from Newport, Monmouthshire. By 1805, 80,000 boxes were made and 50,000 exported. Tobacconists in London began packaging snuff in metal-plated canisters from the 1760s onwards. With the discovery of the importance of airtight containers for food preservation by French inventor Nicholas Appert, the tin canning process was patented by British merchant Peter Durand in 1810. After receiving the patent, Durand did not himself follow up with canning food. He sold his patent in 1812 to two other Englishmen, Bryan Donkin and John Hall, who refined the process and product and set up the world's first commercial canning factory on Southwark Park Road, London. By 1813, they were producing the first canned goods for the Royal Navy. The progressive improvement in canning stimulated the 1855 invention of the can opener. Robert Yeates, a cutlery and surgical instrument maker of Trafalgar Place West, Hackney Road, Middlesex, UK, devised a claw-ended can opener with a hand-operated tool that haggled its way around the top of metal cans. In 1858, another lever-type opener of a more complex shape was patented in the United States by Ezra Warner of Waterbury, Connecticut. Set-up boxes were first used in the 16th century and modern folding cartons date back to 1839. The first corrugated box was produced commercially in 1817 in England. Corrugated (also called pleated) paper received a British patent in 1856 and was used as a liner for tall hats. Scottish-born Robert Gair invented the pre-cut paperboard box in 1890—flat pieces manufactured in bulk that folded into boxes. Gair's invention came about as a result of an accident: as a Brooklyn printer and paper-bag maker during the 1870s, he was once printing an order of seed bags, and the metal ruler, normally used to crease bags, shifted in position and cut them. Gair discovered that by cutting and creasing in one operation he could make prefabricated paperboard boxes. Packaging advancements in the early 20th century included Bakelite closures on bottles, transparent cellophane overwraps and panels on cartons. These innovations increased processing efficiency and improved food safety. As additional materials such as aluminum and several types of plastic were developed, they were incorporated into packages to improve performance and functionality. In-plant recycling has long been common for producing packaging materials. Post-consumer recycling of aluminum and paper-based products has been economical for many years: since the 1980s, post-consumer recycling has increased due to curbside recycling, consumer awareness, and regulatory pressure. Many prominent innovations in the packaging industry were developed first for military use. Some military supplies are packaged in the same commercial packaging used for general industry. Other military packaging must transport materiel, supplies, foods, etc. under severe distribution and storage conditions. Packaging problems encountered in World War II led to Military Standard or "mil spec" regulations being applied to packaging, which was then designated "military specification packaging". As a prominent concept in the military, mil spec packaging officially came into being around 1941, due to operations in Iceland experiencing critical losses, ultimately attributed to bad packaging. In most cases, mil spec packaging solutions (such as barrier materials, field rations, antistatic bags, and various shipping crates) are similar to commercial grade packaging materials, but subject to more stringent performance and quality requirements. The purposes of packaging and package labelsEdit Packaging and package labeling have several objectives - Physical protection – The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, mechanical shock, vibration, electrostatic discharge, compression, temperature, etc. - Barrier protection – A barrier to oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Permeation is a critical factor in design. Some packages contain desiccants or oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, sterile and safe for the duration of the intended shelf life is a primary function. A barrier is also implemented in cases where segregation of two materials prior to end use is required, as in the case of special paints, glues, medical fluids, etc. - Containment or agglomeration – Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of storage and selling efficiency. For example, a single box of 1000 pencils requires less physical handling than 1000 single pencils. Liquids, powders, and granular materials need containment. - Information transmission – Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product. With pharmaceuticals, food, medical, and chemical products, some types of information are required by government legislation. Some packages and labels also are used for track and trace purposes. Most items include their serial and lot numbers on the packaging, and in the case of food products, medicine, and some chemicals the packaging often contains an expiry/best-before date, usually in a shorthand form. Packages may indicate their construction material with a symbol. - Marketing – Packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase a product. Package graphic design and physical design have been important and constantly evolving phenomena for several decades. Marketing communications and graphic design are applied to the surface of the package and often to the point of sale display. Most packaging is designed to reflect the brand's message and identity on the one hand while highlighting the respective product concept on the other hand. - Security – Packaging can play an important role in reducing the security risks of shipment. Packages can be made with improved tamper resistance to deter manipulation and they can also have tamper-evident features indicating that tampering has taken place. Packages can be engineered to help reduce the risks of package pilferage or the theft and resale of products: Some package constructions are more resistant to pilferage than other types, and some have pilfer-indicating seals. Counterfeit consumer goods, unauthorized sales (diversion), material substitution and tampering can all be minimized or prevented with such anti-counterfeiting technologies. Packages may include authentication seals and use security printing to help indicate that the package and contents are not counterfeit. Packages also can include anti-theft devices such as dye-packs, RFID tags, or electronic article surveillance tags that can be activated or detected by devices at exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate. Using packaging in this way is a means of retail loss prevention. - Convenience – Packages can have features that add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, using, dispensing, reusing, recycling, and ease of disposal - Portion control – Single serving or single dosage packaging has a precise amount of contents to control usage. Bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households. It also aids the control of inventory: selling sealed one-liter bottles of milk, rather than having people bring their own bottles to fill themselves. - Branding/Positioning – Packaging and labels are increasingly used to go beyond marketing to brand positioning, with the materials used and design chosen key to the storytelling element of brand development. Due to the increasingly fragmented media landscape in the digital age this aspect of packaging is of growing importance. Packaging may be of several different types. For example, a transport package or distribution package can be the shipping container used to ship, store, and handle the product or inner packages. Some identify a consumer package as one which is directed toward a consumer or household. Packaging may be described in relation to the type of product being packaged: medical device packaging, bulk chemical packaging, over-the-counter drug packaging, retail food packaging, military materiel packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, etc. It is sometimes convenient to categorize packages by layer or function: primary, secondary, etc. - Primary packaging is the material that first envelops the product and holds it. This usually is the smallest unit of distribution or use and is the package which is in direct contact with the contents. - Secondary packaging is outside the primary packaging, and may be used to prevent pilferage or to group primary packages together. - Tertiary or transit packaging is used for bulk handling, warehouse storage and transport shipping. The most common form is a palletized unit load that packs tightly into containers. These broad categories can be somewhat arbitrary. For example, depending on the use, a shrink wrap can be primary packaging when applied directly to the product, secondary packaging when used to combine smaller packages, or tertiary packaging when used to facilitate some types of distribution, such as to affix a number of cartons on a pallet. Packaging can also have categories based on the package form. For example, thermoform packaging and flexible packaging describe broad usage areas. Symbols used on packages and labelsEdit Many types of symbols for package labeling are nationally and internationally standardized. For consumer packaging, symbols exist for product certifications (such as the FCC and TÜV marks), trademarks, proof of purchase, etc. Some requirements and symbols exist to communicate aspects of consumer rights and safety, for example the CE marking or the estimated sign that notes conformance to EU weights and measures accuracy regulations. Examples of environmental and recycling symbols include the recycling symbol, the recycling code (which could be a resin identification code), and the "Green Dot". Food packaging may show food contact material symbols. In the European Union, products of animal origin which are intended to be consumed by humans have to carry standard, oval-shaped EC identification and health marks for food safety and quality insurance reasons. Bar codes, Universal Product Codes, and RFID labels are common to allow automated information management in logistics and retailing. Country-of-origin labeling is often used. Some products might use QR codes or similar matrix barcodes. Packaging may have visible registration marks and other printing calibration and troubleshooting cues. Shipping container labelingEdit Technologies related to shipping containers are identification codes, bar codes, and electronic data interchange (EDI). These three core technologies serve to enable the business functions in the process of shipping containers throughout the distribution channel. Each has an essential function: identification codes either relate product information or serve as keys to other data, bar codes allow for the automated input of identification codes and other data, and EDI moves data between trading partners within the distribution channel. Elements of these core technologies include UPC and EAN item identification codes, the SCC-14 (UPC shipping container code), the SSCC-18 (Serial Shipping Container Codes), Interleaved 2-of-5 and UCC/EAN-128 (newly designated GS1-128) bar code symbologies, and ANSI ASC X12 and UN/EDIFACT EDI standards. Shipments of hazardous materials or dangerous goods have special information and symbols (labels, placards, etc.) as required by UN, country, and specific carrier requirements. On transport packages, standardized symbols are also used to communicate handling needs. Some are defined in the ASTM D5445 "Standard Practice for Pictorial Markings for Handling of Goods" and ISO 780 "Pictorial marking for handling of goods". Keep away from water Package development considerationsEdit Package design and development are often thought of as an integral part of the new product development process. Alternatively, development of a package (or component) can be a separate process, but must be linked closely with the product to be packaged. Package design starts with the identification of all the requirements: structural design, marketing, shelf life, quality assurance, logistics, legal, regulatory, graphic design, end-use, environmental, etc. The design criteria, performance (specified by package testing), completion time targets, resources, and cost constraints need to be established and agreed upon. Package design processes often employ rapid prototyping, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing and document automation. An example of how package design is affected by other factors is its relationship to logistics. When the distribution system includes individual shipments by a small parcel carrier, the sorting, handling, and mixed stacking make severe demands on the strength and protective ability of the transport package. If the logistics system consists of uniform palletized unit loads, the structural design of the package can be designed to meet those specific needs, such as vertical stacking for a longer time frame. A package designed for one mode of shipment may not be suited to another. With some types of products, the design process involves detailed regulatory requirements for the packaging. For example, any package components that may contact foods are designated food contact materials.Toxicologists and food scientists need to verify that such packaging materials are allowed by applicable regulations. Packaging engineers need to verify that the completed package will keep the product safe for its intended shelf life with normal usage. Packaging processes, labeling, distribution, and sale need to be validated to assure that they comply with regulations that have the well being of the consumer in mind. Sometimes the objectives of package development seem contradictory. For example, regulations for an over-the-counter drug might require the package to be tamper-evident and child resistant: These intentionally make the package difficult to open. The intended consumer, however, might be handicapped or elderly and unable to readily open the package. Meeting all goals is a challenge. Package design may take place within a company or with various degrees of external packaging engineering: independent contractors, consultants, vendor evaluations, independent laboratories, contract packagers, total outsourcing, etc. Some sort of formal project planning and project management methodology is required for all but the simplest package design and development programs. An effective quality management system and Verification and Validation protocols are mandatory for some types of packaging and recommended for all. Package development involves considerations of sustainability, environmental responsibility, and applicable environmental and recycling regulations. It may involve a life cycle assessment which considers the material and energy inputs and outputs to the package, the packaged product (contents), the packaging process, the logistics system, waste management, etc. It is necessary to know the relevant regulatory requirements for point of manufacture, sale, and use. The traditional “three R’s” of reduce, reuse, and recycle are part of a waste hierarchy which may be considered in product and package development. - Prevention – Waste prevention is a primary goal. Packaging should be used only where needed. Proper packaging can also help prevent waste. Packaging plays an important part in preventing loss or damage to the packaged product (contents). Usually, the energy content and material usage of the product being packaged are much greater than that of the package. A vital function of the package is to protect the product for its intended use: if the product is damaged or degraded, its entire energy and material content may be lost. - Minimization (also "source reduction") – The mass and volume of packaging (per unit of contents) can be measured and used as criteria for minimizing the package in the design process. Usually “reduced” packaging also helps minimize costs. Packaging engineers continue to work toward reduced packaging. - Reuse – Reusable packaging is encouraged. Returnable packaging has long been useful (and economically viable) for closed loop logistics systems. Inspection, cleaning, repair and recouperage are often needed. Some manufacturers re-use the packaging of the incoming parts for a product, either as packaging for the outgoing product or as part of the product itself. - Recycling – Recycling is the reprocessing of materials (pre- and post-consumer) into new products. Emphasis is focused on recycling the largest primary components of a package: steel, aluminum, papers, plastics, etc. Small components can be chosen which are not difficult to separate and do not contaminate recycling operations. Packages can sometimes be designed to separate components to better facilitate recycling. - Energy recovery – Waste-to-energy and Refuse-derived fuel in approved facilities make use of the heat available from incinerating the packaging components. - Disposal – Incineration, and placement in a sanitary landfill are undertaken for some materials. Certain US states regulate packages for toxic contents, which have the potential to contaminate emissions and ash from incineration and leachate from landfill. Packages should not be littered. Sustainability is the fastest-growing driver for packaging development, particularly for packaging manufacturers that work with the world's leading brands, as their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) targets often exceed those of the EU Directive. Choosing packaging machinery includes an assessment of technical capabilities, labor requirements, worker safety, maintainability, serviceability, reliability, ability to integrate into the packaging line, capital cost, floorspace, flexibility (change-over, materials, multiple products, etc.), energy requirements, quality of outgoing packages, qualifications (for food, pharmaceuticals, etc.), throughput, efficiency, productivity, ergonomics, return on investment, etc. Packaging machinery can be: - purchased as standard, off-the-shelf equipment - purchased custom-made or custom-tailored to specific operations - manufactured or modified by in-house engineers and maintenance staff Packaging machines may be of the following general types: - Accumulating and collating machines - Blister packs, skin packs and vacuum packaging machines - Bottle caps equipment, over-capping, lidding, closing, seaming and sealing machines - Box, case, tray, and carrier forming, packing, unpacking, closing, and sealing machines - Cartoning machines - Cleaning, sterilizing, cooling and drying machines - Coding, printing, marking, stamping, and imprinting machines - Converting machines - Conveyor belts, accumulating and related machines - Feeding, orienting, placing and related machines - Filling machines: handling dry, powdered, solid, liquid, gas, or viscous products - Inspecting: visual, sound, metal detecting, etc. - Label dispenser - Orienting, unscrambling machines - Package filling and closing machines - Palletizing, depalletizing, unit load assembly - Product identification: labeling, marking, etc. - Sealing machines: heat sealer or glue units - Slitting machines - Weighing machines: check weigher, multihead weigher - Wrapping machines: stretch wrapping, shrink wrap, banding - Form, fill and seal machines - Other specialty machinery: slitters, perforating, laser cutters, parts attachment, etc. - Soroka (2002) Fundamentals of Packaging Technology, Institute of Packaging Professionals ISBN 1-930268-25-4 - Diana Twede (2005). "The Origins of Paper Based Packaging" (PDF). Conference on Historical Analysis & Research in Marketing Proceedings. 12: 288–300 . Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2010. - Brown, P.J. (1988), "Andrew Yarranton and the British tinplate industry", Historical Metallurgy, 22 (1), pp. 42–48 - King, P.W. (1988), "Wolverley Lower Mill and the beginnings of the tinplate industry", Historical Metallurgy, 22 (2), pp. 104–113 - King 1988, p. 109 - H.R. Schubert, History of the British iron and steel industry ... to 1775, 429. - Minchinton, W.W. (1957), The British tinplate industry: a history, Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 10 - Data extracted from D.P. Hussey et al., Gloucester Port Books Database (CD-ROM, University of Wolverhampton 1995). - Geoghegan, Tom (April 21, 2013). "BBC News - The story of how the tin can nearly wasn't". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved June 4, 2013. - William H. Chaloner (1963). People and Industries. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-7146-1284-3. - Encyclopedia of Kitchen History. Taylor & Francis Group. September 27, 2004. ISBN 978-1-57958-380-4. - Diana Twede & Susan E.M. Selke (2005). Cartons, crates and corrugated board: handbook of paper and wood packaging technology. DEStech Publications. pp. 41–42, 55–56. ISBN 978-1-932078-42-8. - Brody, A. L; Marsh, K. S (1997). Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology. ISBN 978-0-471-06397-1. - "Michigan State School of Packaging". Michigan State University. Retrieved February 11, 2012. - Maloney, J.C. (July 2003). "The History and Significance of Military Packaging" (PDF). Defence Packaging Policy Group. Defence Logistics Agency. - Y. Schneider; C. Kluge; U. Weiß; H. Rohm (2010). "Packaging Materials and Equipment". In Barry A. Law, A.Y. Tamime (ed.). Technology of Cheesemaking: Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 413. ISBN 978-1-4051-8298-0. - Bix, L; Rifon; Lockhart; de la Fuente (2003). The Packaging Matrix: Linking Package Design Criteria to the Marketing Mix. IDS Packaging. Retrieved September 16, 2017. - Choi, Seung-Jin; Burgess (2007). "Practical mathematical model to predict the performance of insulating packages". Packaging Technology and Science. 20 (6): 369–380. doi:10.1002/pts.762. - Lee, Ki-Eun; Kim; An; Lyu; Lee (1998). "Effectiveness of modified atmosphere packaging in preserving a prepared ready-to-eat food". Packaging Technology and Science. 21 (7): 417. doi:10.1002/pts.821. - Severin, J (2007). "New Methodology for Whole-Package Microbial Challenge Testing for Medical Device Trays". Journal of Testing and Evaluation. 35 (4): 100869. doi:10.1520/JTE100869. - Johnston, R.G. (1997). "Effective Vulnerability Assessment of Tamper-Indicating Seals" (PDF). Journal of Testing and Evaluation. 25 (4): 451. doi:10.1520/JTE11883J. - How Anti-shoplifting Devices Work”, HowStuffWorks.com - Bacheldor, Beth (January 11, 2008). "Sam's Club Tells Suppliers to Tag or Pay". Retrieved January 17, 2008. - Sotomayor, R.E.; Arvidson, Kirk, Mayer, McDougal, Sheu (2007). "Regulatory Report, Assessing the Safety of Food Contact Substances". Food Safety.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Rodgers, G.B. (1996). "The safety effects of child-resistant packaging for oral prescription drugs. Two decades of experience". JAMA. 275 (21): 1661–65. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.507.3265. doi:10.1001/jama.275.21.1661. PMID 8637140. - Yoxall, A.; Janson, R.; Bradbury, S.R.; Langley, J.; Wearn, J.; Hayes, S. (2006). "Openability: producing design limits for consumer packaging". Packaging Technology and Science. 16 (4): 183–243. doi:10.1002/pts.725. - Zabaniotou, A; Kassidi (2003). "Life cycle assessment applied to egg packaging made from polystyrene and recycled paper". Journal of Cleaner Production. 11 (5): 549–559. doi:10.1016/S0959-6526(02)00076-8. - Franklin (April 2004). "Life Cycle Inventory of Packaging Options for Shipment of Retail Mail-Order Soft Goods" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008. - "SmartWay Transport Partnerships" (PDF). US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved December 22, 2008. - DeRusha, Jason (July 16, 2007). "The Incredible Shrinking Package". WCCO. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2007. - Use Reusables: Fundamentals of Reusable Transport Packaging (PDF), US Environmental Protection Agency, 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on January 14, 2015, retrieved June 30, 2014 - "HP DeskJet 1200C Printer Architecture". (PDF) . Retrieved on June 27, 2012. - "Footprints In The Sand". Newsroom-magazine.com. Retrieved on June 27, 2012. - Wood, Marcia (April 2002). "Leftover Straw Gets New Life". Agricultural Research. Books, general referencesEdit - Calver, G., What Is Packaging Design, Rotovision. 2004, ISBN 2-88046-618-0. - Dean, D.A., 'Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology", 2000, ISBN 0-7484-0440-6 - Fiedler, R.M., "Distribution Packaging Technology", IoPP, 1995 - Holkham, T., "Label Writing and Planning – A guide to good customer communication", Chapman & Hall 1995, ISBN 0-7514-0361-X - Jankowski, J., Shelf Space: Modern Package Design, 1945–1965, Chronicle Books. 1988 ISBN 0-8118-1784-9. - Leonard, E.A. (1996), Packaging, Marcel Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-9755-8. - Lockhart, H., and Paine, F.A., "Packaging of Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Products", 1996, Blackie, ISBN 0-7514-0167-6 - Meisner, "Transport Packaging", Third Edition, IoPP, 2016 - Morris, S.A., "Food and Package Engineering", 2011, ISBN 978-0-8138-1479-7 - Opie, R., Packaging Source Book, 1991, ISBN 1-55521-511-4, ISBN 978-1-55521-511-8 - Pilchik, R., "Validating Medical Packaging" 2002, ISBN 1-56676-807-1 - Robertson, G.L., "Food Packaging: Principles and Practice", 3rd edition, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4398-6241-4 - Selke, S., "Packaging and the Environment", 1994, ISBN 1-56676-104-2 - Selke, S., "Plastics Packaging", 2004, ISBN 1-56990-372-7 - Stillwell, E.J., "Packaging for the Environment", A.D. Little, 1991, ISBN 0-8144-5074-1

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A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, among whom it is traditionally the primary governmental institution, legislative body, and economic system. This includes the Heiltsuk, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures. Potlatches are also a common feature of the peoples of the Interior and of the Subarctic adjoining the Northwest Coast, although mostly without the elaborate ritual and gift-giving economy of the coastal peoples (see Athabaskan potlatch). A potlatch involves giving away or destroying wealth or valuable items in order to demonstrate a leader's wealth and power. Potlatches are also focused on the reaffirmation of family, clan, and international connections, and the human connection with the supernatural world. Legal proceedings may include namings, business negotiations and transactions, marriages, divorces, deaths, end of mourning, transfers of physical and especially intellectual property, adoptions, initiations, treaty proceedings, monument commemorations, and honouring of the ancestors. Potlatch also serves as a strict resource management regime, where coastal peoples discuss, negotiate, and affirm rights to and uses of specific territories and resources. Potlatches often involve music, dancing, singing, storytelling, speeching, and often joking and games. The honouring of the supernatural and the recitation of oral histories are a central part of many potlatches. Potlatches went through a history of rigorous ban by the Canadian federal government, continuing underground despite the risk of criminal punishment, and have been studied by many anthropologists. Since the practice was de-criminalized after World War II, the potlatch has re-emerged in some communities. In many it is still the bedrock of indigenous governance, as in the Haida Nation, which has rooted its democracy in potlatch law. - N.B. This overview concerns the Kwakwaka'wakw potlatch. Potlatch traditions and formalities and kinship systems in other cultures of the region differ, often substantially. A potlatch was held on the occasion of births, deaths, adoptions, weddings, and other major events. Typically the potlatch was practiced more in the winter seasons as historically the warmer months were for procuring wealth for the family, clan, or village, then coming home and sharing that with neighbors and friends. The event was hosted by a numaym, or 'House', in Kwakwaka'wakw culture. A numaym was a complex cognatic kin group usually headed by aristocrats, but including commoners and occasional slaves. It had about one hundred members and several would be grouped together into a nation. The House drew its identity from its ancestral founder, usually a mythical animal who descended to earth and removed his animal mask, thus becoming human. The mask became a family heirloom passed from father to son along with the name of the ancestor himself. This made him the leader of the numaym, considered the living incarnation of the founder.:192 Only rich people could host a potlatch. Tribal slaves were not allowed to attend a potlatch as a host or a guest. In some instances, it was possible to have multiple hosts at one potlatch ceremony (although when this occurred the hosts generally tended to be from the same family). If a member of a nation had suffered an injury or indignity, hosting a potlatch could help to heal their tarnished reputation (or "cover his shame", as anthropologist H. G. Barnett worded it.) The potlatch was the occasion on which titles associated with masks and other objects were "fastened on" to a new office holder. Two kinds of titles were transferred on these occasions. Firstly, each numaym had a number of named positions of ranked "seats" (which gave them a seat at potlatches) transferred within itself. These ranked titles granted rights to hunting, fishing and berrying territories.:198 Secondly, there were a number of titles that would be passed between numayma, usually to in-laws, which included feast names that gave one a role in the Winter Ceremonial.:194 Aristocrats felt safe giving these titles to their out-marrying daughter's children because this daughter and her children would later be rejoined with her natal numaym and the titles returned with them.:201 Any one individual might have several "seats" which allowed them to sit, in rank order, according to their title, as the host displayed and distributed wealth and made speeches. Besides the transfer of titles at a potlatch, the event was given "weight" by the distribution of other less important objects such as Chilkat blankets, animal skins (later Hudson Bay blankets) and ornamental "coppers". It is the distribution of large numbers of Hudson Bay blankets, and the destruction of valued coppers that first drew government attention (and censure) to the potlatch.:205 On occasion, preserved food was also given as a gift during a potlatch ceremony. Gifts known as sta-bigs consisted of preserved food that was wrapped in a mat or contained in a storage basket. Dorothy Johansen describes the dynamic: "In the potlatch, the host in effect challenged a guest chieftain to exceed him in his 'power' to give away or to destroy goods. If the guest did not return 100 percent on the gifts received and destroy even more wealth in a bigger and better bonfire, he and his people lost face and so his 'power' was diminished." Hierarchical relations within and between clans, villages, and nations, were observed and reinforced through the distribution or sometimes destruction of wealth, dance performances, and other ceremonies. The status of any given family is raised not by who has the most resources, but by who distributes the most resources. The hosts demonstrate their wealth and prominence through giving away goods. Potlatch ceremonies were also used as coming-of-age rituals. When children were born, they would be given their first name at the time of their birth (which was usually associated with the location of their birthplace.) About a year later, the child's family would hold a potlatch and give gifts to the guests in attendance on behalf of the child. During this potlatch, the family would give the child their second name. Once the child reached about 12 years of age, they were expected to hold a potlatch of their own by giving out small gifts that they had collected to their family and people, at which point they would be able to receive their third name. For some cultures, such as Kwakwaka'wakw, elaborate and theatrical dances are performed reflecting the hosts' genealogy and cultural wealth. Many of these dances are also sacred ceremonies of secret societies like the hamatsa, or display of family origin from supernatural creatures such as the dzunukwa. We will dance when our laws command us to dance, we will feast when our hearts desire to feast. Do we ask the white man, 'Do as the Indian does'? No, we do not. Why, then, will you ask us, 'Do as the white man does'? It is a strict law that bids us to dance. It is a strict law that bids us to distribute our property among our friends and neighbors. It is a good law. Let the white man observe his law; we shall observe ours. And now, if you are come to forbid us to dance, begone; if not, you will be welcome to us. It is important to note the differences and uniqueness among the different cultural groups and nations along the coast. Each nation, community, and sometimes clan has its own way of practicing the potlatch with diverse presentation and meaning. The Tlingit and Kwakiutl nations of the Pacific Northwest, for example, held potlatch ceremonies for different occasions. The Tlingit potlatches occurred for succession (the granting of tribal titles or land) and funerals. The Kwakiutl potlatches, on the other hand, occurred for marriages and incorporating new people into the nation (i.e. the birth of a new member of the nation.) The potlatch, as an overarching term, is quite general, since some cultures have many words in their language for various specific types of gatherings. It is important to keep this variation in mind as most of our detailed knowledge of the potlatch was acquired from the Kwakwaka'wakw around Fort Rupert on Vancouver Island in the period 1849 to 1925, a period of great social transition in which many features became excaberated in reaction to British colonialism.:188–208 Before the arrival of the Europeans, gifts included storable food (oolichan, or candlefish, oil or dried food), canoes, slaves, and ornamental "coppers" among aristocrats, but not resource-generating assets such as hunting, fishing and berrying territories. Coppers were sheets of beaten copper, shield-like in appearance; they were about two feet long, wider on top, cruciform frame and schematic face on the top half. None of the copper used was ever of Indigenous metal. A copper was considered the equivalent of a slave. They were only ever owned by individual aristocrats, and never by numaym, hence could circulate between groups. Coppers began to be produced in large numbers after the colonization of Vancouver Island in 1849 when war and slavery were ended.:206 The arrival of Europeans resulted in the introduction of numerous diseases against which Indigenous peoples had no immunity, resulting in a massive population decline. Competition for the fixed number of potlatch titles grew as commoners began to seek titles from which they had previously been excluded by making their own remote or dubious claims validated by a potlatch. Aristocrats increased the size of their gifts in order to retain their titles and maintain social hierarchy. This resulted in massive inflation in gifting made possible by the introduction of mass-produced trade goods in the late 18th and earlier 19th centuries. Potlatching was made illegal in Canada in 1884 in an amendment to the Indian Act, largely at the urging of missionaries and government agents who considered it "a worse than useless custom" that was seen as wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to 'civilized values' of accumulation. The potlatch was seen as a key target in assimilation policies and agendas. Missionary William Duncan wrote in 1875 that the potlatch was "by far the most formidable of all obstacles in the way of Indians becoming Christians, or even civilized". Thus in 1884, the Indian Act was revised to include clauses banning the Potlatch and making it illegal to practice. Section 3 of the Act read, Every Indian or other person who engages in or assists in celebrating the Indian festival known as the "Potlatch" or the Indian dance known as the "Tamanawas" is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not more than six nor less than two months in any gaol or other place of confinement; and, any Indian or other person who encourages, either directly or indirectly, an Indian or Indians to get up such a festival or dance, or to celebrate the same, or who shall assist in the celebration of same is guilty of a like offence, and shall be liable to the same punishment. In 1888, the anthropologist Franz Boas described the potlatch ban as a failure: The second reason for the discontent among the Indians is a law that was passed, some time ago, forbidding the celebrations of festivals. The so-called potlatch of all these tribes hinders the single families from accumulating wealth. It is the great desire of every chief and even of every man to collect a large amount of property, and then to give a great potlatch, a feast in which all is distributed among his friends, and, if possible, among the neighboring tribes. These feasts are so closely connected with the religious ideas of the natives, and regulate their mode of life to such an extent, that the Christian tribes near Victoria have not given them up. Every present received at a potlatch has to be returned at another potlatch, and a man who would not give his feast in due time would be considered as not paying his debts. Therefore the law is not a good one, and can not be enforced without causing general discontent. Besides, the Government is unable to enforce it. The settlements are so numerous, and the Indian agencies so large, that there is nobody to prevent the Indians doing whatsoever they like. Eventually the potlatch law, as it became known, was amended to be more inclusive and address technicalities that had led to dismissals of prosecutions by the court. Legislation included guests who participated in the ceremony. The Indigenous people were too large to police and the law too difficult to enforce. Duncan Campbell Scott convinced Parliament to change the offence from criminal to summary, which meant "the agents, as justice of the peace, could try a case, convict, and sentence". Even so, except in a few small areas, the law was generally perceived as harsh and untenable. Even the Indian agents employed to enforce the legislation considered it unnecessary to prosecute, convinced instead that the potlatch would diminish as younger, educated, and more "advanced" Indians took over from the older Indians, who clung tenaciously to the custom. The potlatch ban was repealed in 1951. Sustaining the customs and culture of their ancestors, Indigenous people now openly hold potlatches to commit to the restoring of their ancestors' ways. Potlatches now occur frequently and increasingly more over the years as families reclaim their birthright. Anthropologist Sergei Kan was invited by the Tlingit nation to attend several potlatch ceremonies between 1980 and 1987 and observed several similarities and differences between traditional and contemporary potlatch ceremonies. Kan notes that there was a language gap during the ceremonies between the older members of the nation and the younger members of the nation (age fifty and younger) due to the fact that most of the younger members of the nation do not speak the Tlingit language. Kan also notes that unlike traditional potlatches, contemporary Tlingit potlatches are no longer obligatory, resulting in only about 30% of the adult tribal members opting to participate in the ceremonies that Kan attended between 1980 and 1987. Despite these differences, Kan stated that he believed that many of the essential elements and spirit of the traditional potlatch were still present in the contemporary Tlingit ceremonies. In his book The Gift, the French ethnologist, Marcel Mauss used the term potlatch to refer to a whole set of exchange practices in tribal societies characterized by "total prestations", i.e., a system of gift giving with political, religious, kinship and economic implications. These societies' economies are marked by the competitive exchange of gifts, in which gift-givers seek to out-give their competitors so as to capture important political, kinship and religious roles. Other examples of this "potlatch type" of gift economy include the Kula ring found in the Trobriand Islands.:188–208 - Competitive altruism - Conspicuous consumption - Guy Debord, French Situationist writer on the subject of potlatch and commodity reification. - Koha, a similar concept among the Māori - Kula ring - List of bibliographical materials on the potlatch - Moka exchange, a similar concept in Papua New Guinea - Potluck ("potluck" is the older term in English, but folk etymology has derived the term "potluck" from the Native American custom of potlatch) - Pow wow, a gathering whose name is derived from the Narragansett word for "spiritual leader" - Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes, eds., vol 17, pp. 11885-11889. Oxford: Pergamon Press. - Aldona Jonaitis. Chiefly Feasts: The Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch. University of Washington Press 1991. ISBN 978-0-295-97114-8. - Seguin, Margaret (1986) "Understanding Tsimshian 'Potlatch.'" In: Native Peoples: The Canadian Experience, ed. by R. Bruce Morrison and C. Roderick Wilson, pp. 473–500. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. - Atleo, Richard. Tsawalk: A Nuu-chah-nulth Worldview, UBC Press; New Ed edition (February 28, 2005). ISBN 978-0-7748-1085-2 - Matthews, Major J. S. (1955). Conversations with Khahtsahlano 1932–1954. pp. 190, 266, 267. ASIN B0007K39O2. Retrieved 2015-11-27. - Clutesi, George (May 1969). Potlatch (2 ed.). Victoria, BC: The Morriss Printing Company. - Davidson, Sara Florence (2018). Potlatch as Pedagogy (1 ed.). Winnipeg, Manitoba: Portage and Main. ISBN 978-1-55379-773-9. - Swanton, John R (1905). Contributions to the Ethnologies of the Haida (2 ed.). New York: EJ Brtill, Leiden, and GE Stechert. ISBN 0-404-58105-6. - "Constitution of the Haida Nation" (PDF). Council of the Haida Nation. Retrieved 9 December 2019. - "Haida Accord" (PDF). Retrieved 9 December 2019. - Graeber, David (2001). Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value: The False Coin of our own Dreams. New York: Palgrave. - Barnett, H. G. (1938). "The Nature of the Potlatch". American Anthropologist. 40 (3): 349–358. doi:10.1525/aa.1938.40.3.02a00010. - Snyder, Sally (April 1975). "Quest for the Sacred in Northern Puget Sound: An Interpretation of Potlatch". Ethnology. 14 (2): 149–161. doi:10.2307/3773086. JSTOR 3773086. - Dorothy O. Johansen, Empire of the Columbia: A History of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd ed., (New York: Harper & Row, 1967), pp. 7–8. - McFeat, Tom (1978). Indians of the North Pacific Coast. McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 72–80. - Franz Boas, "The Indians of British Columbia," The Popular Science Monthly, March 1888 (vol. 32), p. 631. - Rosman, Abraham (1972). "The Potlatch: A Structural Analysis 1". American Anthropologist. 74 (3): 658–671. doi:10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00280. - (1) Boyd (2) Cole & Chaikin - An Act further to amend "The Indian Act, 1880," S.C. 1884 (47 Vict.), c. 27, s. 3. - G. M. Sproat, quoted in Douglas Cole and Ira Chaikin, An Iron Hand upon the People: The Law against the Potlatch on the Northwest Coast (Vancouver and Toronto 1990), 15 - Robin Fisher, Contact and Conflict: Indian-European Relations in British Columbia, 1774–1890, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1977, 207. - An Act further to amend "The Indian Act, 1880," S.C. 1884 (47 Vict.), c. 27, s. 3. Reproduced in n.41, Bell, Catherine (2008). "Recovering from Colonization: Perspectives of Community Members on Protection and Repatriation of Kwakwaka'wakw Cultural Heritage". In Bell, Catherine; Val Napoleon (eds.). First Nations Cultural Heritage and Law: Case Studies, Voices, and Perspectives. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7748-1462-1. Retrieved 6 February 2011. - Franz Boas, "The Indians of British Columbia," The Popular Science Monthly, March 1888 (vol. 32), p. 636. - Aldona Jonaitis, Chiefly Feasts: the Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1991, 159. - Douglas Cole and Ira Chaikin, An Iron Hand upon the People: The Law against the Potlatch on the Northwest Coast (Vancouver and Toronto 1990), Conclusion - Gadacz, René R. "Potlatch". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 27 November 2013. - Kan, Sergei (1989). "Cohorts, Generations, and their Culture: The Tlingit Potlatch in the 1980's". Anthropos: International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics. 84: 405–422. - Godelier, Maurice (1996). The Enigma of the Gift. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. pp. 147–61. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Potlatch ceremony.| - U'mista Museum of potlatch artifacts. - Potlatch An exhibition from the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. - University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs A collection of photographs depicting life on Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Seattle and other communities around Puget Sound, Washington, Photographs of Native American activities such as documentation of a potlatch on Whidbey Island.

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)(Learn how and when to remove this template message) A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to be in relation with the characteristic of the learner and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about. Suggestions are there to design and selection of teaching methods must take into account not only the nature of the subject matter but also how students learn. In today's school the trend is that it encourages a lot of creativity. It is a known fact that human advancement comes through reasoning. This reasoning and original thought enhances creativity. The approaches for teaching can be broadly classified into teacher centered and student centered. In a teacher-centered approach to learning, teachers are the main authority figure in this model. Students are viewed as "empty vessels" whose primary role is to passively receive information (via lectures and direct instruction) with an end goal of testing and assessment. It is the primary role of teachers to pass knowledge and information onto their students. In this model, teaching and assessment are viewed as two separate entities. Student learning is measured through objectively scored tests and assessments. In Student-Centered Approach to Learning, while teachers are the authority figure in this model, teachers and students play an equally active role in the learning process. The teacher's primary role is to coach and facilitate student learning and overall comprehension of material. Student learning is measured through both formal and informal forms of assessment, including group projects, student portfolios, and class participation. Teaching and assessments are connected; student learning is continuously measured during teacher instruction. Commonly used teaching methods may include class participation, demonstration, recitation, memorization, or combinations of these. - 1 Explanation - 2 Methods of instruction - 3 Evolution of teaching methods - 4 See also - 5 Notes - 6 References - 7 Further reading The most basic teaching method is explanation. Explanation is characterized by its function as "a tool that is used by a speaker for understanding or 'giving a sense' to the object of communication, of a debate, or a discussion ... The role of an explanation is to make clearer the meaning of an object (method, term, assignment) maintaining formally the necessary distance between the object of the action or study and the tools. In the learning/teaching process, explanation is a tool used by both, teacher and students. Its goal is to manifest comprehension. Traditionally, explanation belongs to monological teaching methods where the information is transmitted from the teacher to the students (together with e.g. narrative, description or lecture). Skalková, 1999, says that in practice, individual forms of explanation often percolate. In this perspective, explanation is seen as the task fulfilled by the teacher with students passively receiving what is presented. Collecting feedback on students' perceptions of whether explanations are clearly identified whether students feel particular teaching assisted them in understanding the subject matter. Without student understanding, no explanation can be said to be clear We see explanation in a much broader sense: Communication in school is a mutual interchange of information among teachers and students, studens and students during the educational process, i.e. students have an active role in the whole process (Mareš & Křivohlavý, 1995). Using explanation in a mathematics classroom is a normal procedure, but its roles and forms vary. Predominantly explanation is seen as a tool for describing relevant phenomena, developing students' logical thinking, and guiding students by inductive judgement to generalising. It leads to clarifying interrelations, demonstrating and justifying (Skalková, 1999, p. 172). Although explanation is not often explicitly studied in literature, it is present in the background of most papers dealing with communication and reasoning. "Good teaching is good explanation" (Calfee 1986: 1-2). This quotation reflects the belief that the capacity to explain is critically important in teaching (Havita 2000). According to Behr (1988: 189), the art of explaining - the ability to provide understanding to others - is the central activity of teaching. Therefore, to achieve the goal of teaching, the teacher must adopt effective teaching methods that can lead to learners understanding the subject being taught. Being the most commonly used teaching method, explanation integrates well in all methods of instruction, such as discussions, seminars, practical lessons and tutorials (Havita 2000). Therefore, if used properly, this teaching method can develop logical operations: induction, deduction, comparison, analysis, synthesis and analogy. The main objective of explanation in teaching is to enable the learners to take intelligent interest in the lesson, to grasp the purpose of what is being done, and to develop their own insight and understanding of how to do it (Rahaman 2004). In addition, and with specific reference to technology education, explanation is used in classroom teaching to provide students with an understanding of the complex and interrelated nature of technology, which is technical, procedural, conceptual and social (Hansen and Froelick 1994). This involves the ability by the teacher to use explanation effectively in order to communicate information to students. From the standpoint of technology education, explanation in teaching is an intentional activity, which represents the discovery of truth, which is based on concrete deductive arguments (Gwyneth 2007). Explanation as it pertains to teaching can be considered as an attempt to provide understanding of a problem to others (Brown and Atkins 1986: 63). Most formal definitions characterize explanation as a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances. Predominantly, explanation is seen as a tool for describing relevant phenomena, developing students' logical thinking, and guiding students by inductive judgement to generalising. It leads to clarifying interrelations, demonstrating and justifying (Skalková 1999:172). Mayes (2006) argues that explanation goes beyond mere description. Accordingly, a key aspect of explanation is the emphasis on why things happen. In other words, one can think of explanation as an attempt to identify the cause of something. Fairhurst (1981) contextualized explanation in term of requiring something to be explained (the phenomenon that needs to be explained), an explainer (the provider of the explanation) and the explainee (the recipient of the explanation). In this context, Metcalf and Cruickshank (1991) argued that the role of an explanation is to make some concept, procedure or rule plain and comprehensible. Brown and Armstrong (1984) operationally defined explanation as an attempt to provide understanding of a problem to others. This definition strengthens the view of Perrott (1982) who argued that a clear explanation depends on (a) identification of the elements to be related to, for example objects, events, processes and generalisation, and (b), identifying the relationship between them, for example casual, justifying and interpreting. Horwood (2006) on the other hand provides a distinction between explanation and description. According to Horwood (2006), description is purely informational, and the bits of information are isolated from any network of relatedness. In this context, an explanation is given when connections are drawn between and among pieces of information. Furthering this view, Hargie and Dickson (2003) argue that the act of explaining is essentially the same act of describing, instructing or giving of information. According to Martin (1970: 59), the job of someone who explains something to someone "is to fill in the gap between his audience's knowledge or beliefs about some phenomena and what he takes to be the actual state of affairs". From Martin's point of view one can argue that what counts is causing the audience to know or believe something of which they were previously ignorant. At the extreme end, explanation has been thought of in a restricted sense as a special type of telling which goes beyond description. Pavitt (2000) is of the view that answering the question "why" is an explanation. In another debate, Trevor (2002) argues that for an explanation to be good the explanation must be valid in the context in which it is used and must also be understood by the listener. This implies that for an explanation to be understood, it should be clearly presented by the explainer. In this regard, it is part of the responsibility of the explainer to ensure that his or her explanation appears sufficiently worthwhile and interesting to the listener for them to attend to the information being provided (Wragg 2003). From Wragg's point of view, good explanations can be described as clearly structured and interesting to the explainer. While good explanation can unlock understanding, poor or inadequate explanations may lead to confusion and boredom. From another standpoint, Gordon et al. (2006) are of the opinion that explanation is deemed successful if it fulfills the purpose of explanation. This implies that for an explanation to be understood, the explanation has to appear to be well structured by the explainee. In the context of education, good explanation in teaching is essential for unlocking the students' understanding of the subject. It develops students' logical thinking and provides guidance by inductive judgment to generalizing. Leinhardt (1990: 3-4) distinguished between two types of teaching related to explanations: instructional and disciplinary. According to Leinhardt (1990), instructional explanations aim to explain concepts, procedures, events, ideas and classes of problems in order to help students understand, learn and use information in a flexible way. Disciplinary explanations are built around a core of conventions within each particular discipline and try to explain what constitutes evidence, what is assumed, and what the agenda for the discipline is. They provide the legitimacy of new knowledge, reinterpret old knowledge, and challenge and address existing knowledge (Leinhardt 1990). From a learning perspective, explanation holds a special place as one of the core critical thinking skills (Facione 1990). Good critical thinkers, according to Facione (1998: 5), are those who can explain what they think and how they arrived at that judgment. The Delphi Study expert panel, cited by Facione (1998: 6), defined explanation as being able "to state the results of one's reasoning; to justify that reasoning in terms of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, and contextual considerations upon which one's results were based; and to present one's reasoning in the form of cogent arguments". Explanation that works (Lipton 2004) is one that is "sticky" (people remember it, think about it, and can repeat it, often even days or weeks later), is easily communicated (people can explain it to each other), and guides thinking in new and better directions (it leads to new kinds of reasoning, which are not only more constructive and accurate but more engaging). Methods of instruction Howard Gardner identified a wide range of modalities in his Multiple Intelligences theories. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter, based on the works of Jung, focus on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The lecture method is just one of several teaching methods, though in schools it's usually considered the primary one. The lecture method is convenient for the institution and cost-efficient, especially with larger classroom sizes. This is why lecturing is the standard for most college courses, when there can be several hundred students in the classroom at once; lecturing lets professors address the most people at once, in the most general manner, while still conveying the information that they feel is most important, according to the lesson plan. While the lecture method gives the instructor or teacher chances to expose students to unpublished or not readily available material, the students plays a passive role which may hinder learning. While this method facilitates large-class communication, the lecturer must make constant and conscious effort to become aware of student problems and engage the students to give verbal feedback. It can be used to arouse interest in a subject provided the instructor has effective writing and speaking skills. Demonstrating, which is also called the coaching style or the Lecture-cum-Demonstration method, is the process of teaching through examples or experiments. The framework mixes the instructional strategies of information imparting and showing how. For example, a science teacher may teach an idea by performing an experiment for students. A demonstration may be used to prove a fact through a combination of visual evidence and associated reasoning. Demonstrations are similar to written storytelling and examples in that they allow students to personally relate to the presented information. Memorization of a list of facts is a detached and impersonal experience, whereas the same information, conveyed through demonstration, becomes personally relatable. Demonstrations help to raise student interest and reinforce memory retention because they provide connections between facts and real-world applications of those facts. Lectures, on the other hand, are often geared more towards factual presentation than connective learning. One of the advantages of the demonstration method involves the capability to include different formats and instruction materials to make the learning process engaging. This leads to the activation of several of the learners' senses, creating more opportunities for learning. The approach is also beneficial on the part of the teacher because it is adaptable to both group and individual teaching. While demonstration teaching, however, can be effective in teaching Math, Science, and Art, it can prove ineffective in a classroom setting that calls for the accommodation of the learners' individual needs. Collaboration allows student to actively participate in the learning process by talking with each other and listening to others opinions. Collaboration establishes a personal connection between students and the topic of study and it helps students think in a less personally biased way. Group projects and discussions are examples of this teaching method. Teachers may employ collaboration to assess student's abilities to work as a team, leadership skills, or presentation abilities. Collaborative discussions can take a variety of forms, such as fishbowl discussions. After some preparation and with clearly defined roles, a discussion may constitute most of a lesson, with the teacher only giving short feedback at the end or in the following lesson. Some examples of collaborative learning tips and strategies for teachers are build trust, establish group interactions, keeps in mind the critics, include different types of learning, use real-world problems, consider assessment, create a pre-test and post-test, use different strategies, help students use inquiry and use technology for easier learning. The most common type of collaborative method of teaching in a class is classroom discussion. It is also a democratic way of handling a class, where each student is given equal opportunity to interact and put forth their views. A discussion taking place in a classroom can be either facilitated by a teacher or by a student. A discussion could also follow a presentation or a demonstration. Class discussions can enhance student understanding, add context to academic content, broaden student perspectives, highlight opposing viewpoints, reinforce knowledge, build confidence, and support community in learning. The opportunities for meaningful and engaging in-class discussion may vary widely, depending on the subject matter and format of the course. Motivations for holding planned classroom discussion, however, remain consistent. An effective classroom discussion can be achieved by probing more questions among the students, paraphrasing the information received, using questions to develop critical thinking with questions like "Can we take this one step further?;" "What solutions do you think might solve this problem?;" "How does this relate to what we have learned about..?;" "What are the differences between ... ?;" "How does this relate to your own experience?;" "What do you think causes .... ?;" "What are the implications of .... ?" It is clear from "the impact of teaching strategies on learning strategies in first-year higher education cannot be overlooked nor over interpreted, due to the importance of students' personality and academic motivation which also partly explain why students learn the way they do" that Donche agrees with the previous points made in the above headings but he also believes that student's personalities contribute to their learning style. The term "debriefing" refers to conversational sessions that revolve around the sharing and examining of information after a specific event has taken place. Depending on the situation, debriefing can serve a variety of purposes. It takes into consideration the experiences and facilitates reflection and feedback. Debriefing may involve feedback to the students or among the students, but this is not the intent. The intent is to allow the students to "thaw" and to judge their experience and progress toward change or transformation. The intent is to help them come to terms with their experience. This process involves a cognizance of cycle that students may have to be guided to completely debrief. Teachers should not be overly critical of relapses in behaviour. Once the experience is completely integrated, the students will exit this cycle and get on with the next. Debriefing is a daily exercise in most professions. It might be in psychology, healthcare, politics or business. This is also accepted as an everyday necessity. Classroom Action Research Classroom Action Research is a method of finding out what works best in your own classroom so that you can improve student learning. We know a great deal about good teaching in general (e.g. McKeachie, 1999; Chickering and Gamson, 1987; Weimer, 1996), but every teaching situation is unique in terms of content, level, student skills and learning styles, teacher skills and teaching styles, and many other factors. To maximize student learning, a teacher must find out what works best in a particular situation. Each teaching and research method, model and family is essential to the practice of technology studies. Teachers have their strengths and weaknesses, and adopt particular models to complement strengths and contradict weaknesses. Here, the teacher is well aware of the type of knowledge to be constructed. At other times, teachers equip their students with a research method to challenge them to construct new meanings and knowledge. In schools, the research methods are simplified, allowing the students to access the methods at their own levels. Evolution of teaching methods About 3000 BC, with the advent of writing, education became more conscious or self-reflecting, with specialized occupations such as scribe and astronomer requiring particular skills and knowledge. Philosophy in ancient Greece led to questions of educational method entering national discourse. In his literary work The Republic, Plato described a system of instruction that he felt would lead to an ideal state. In his dialogues, Plato described the Socratic method, a form of inquiry and debate intended to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas. Comenius, in Bohemia, wanted all children to learn. In his The World in Pictures, he created an illustrated textbook of things children would be familiar with in everyday life and used it to teach children. Rabelais described how the student Gargantua learned about the world, and what is in it. Much later, Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Emile, presented methodology to teach children the elements of science and other subjects. During Napoleonic warfare, the teaching methodology of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi of Switzerland enabled refugee children, of a class believed to be unteachable[by whom?], to learn. He described this in his account of an educational experiment at Stanz. The Prussian education system was a system of mandatory education dating to the early 19th century. Parts of the Prussian education system have served as models for the education systems in a number of other countries, including Japan and the United States. The Prussian model required classroom management skills to be incorporated into the teaching process. Newer teaching methods may incorporate television, radio, internet, multi media, and other modern devices. Some educators[who?] believe that the use of technology, while facilitating learning to some degree, is not a substitute for educational methods that encourage critical thinking and a desire to learn. Inquiry learning is another modern teaching method. A popular teaching method that is being used by a vast majority of teachers is hands on activities. Hands-on activities are activities that require movement, talking, and listening, it activates multiple areas of the brain. "The more parts of your brain you use, the more likely you are to retain information," says Judy Dodge, author of 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom (Scholastic, 2009). - Westwood, P. (2008). What teachers need to know about Teaching methods. Camberwell, Vic, ACER Press - "Teaching Methods". Teach.com. Retrieved 1 December 2017. - "Lecture Method: Pros, Cons, and Teaching Alternatives". Blog.udemy.com. Retrieved 1 December 2017. - "Cnc". Cirtl.net. Retrieved 1 December 2017. - Vanaja, M. (2004). Methods Of Teaching Physics. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. p. 100. ISBN 978-8171418671. - "Teaching Styles: Different Teaching Methods & Strategies". Concordia University-Portland. 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2018-07-27. - Du, Wenjiang (2012). Informatics and Management Science V. London: Springer. p. 267. ISBN 9781447147954. - Neeraja, K.P. (2011). Textbook of Communication and Education Technology for Nurses. London: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Ltd. p. 313. ISBN 9789350253502. - Heidgerken, Loretta (1965). Teaching in Schools of Nursing: Principles and Methods. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott. p. 390. - "What Is the Collaborative Classroom?". Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012. - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - Petrina, S. (2007) Advance Teaching Methods for the Technology Classroom (pp.125 - 153). Hershey, PA : Information Science Publishing. - Donche, V (2013). "Differential use of Learning Strategies in First-Year Higher Education: The impact of Personality, Academic Motivation, and Teaching Strategies". The British Journal of Educational Psychology. 83:2. - "Debriefing". Debriefing.com. Retrieved 1 December 2017. - Gatto, John Taylor. A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling. Berkeley Hills Books. ISBN 978-1-893163-21-8. - Cleaver, Samantha. "Hands-On Is Minds-On". Scholastic.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015. - Achinstein P 2010. Evidence, Explanation, and Realism: Essays in Philosophy of Science. London: Oxford University Press. Asbaugh AF 1988. Plato's Theory of Explanation: A Study of the Cosmological Account in the Timaeus. USA: State University of New York Press. Behr AL 1988. Exploring the lecture method: An empirical study. Studies in Higher Education, 13(2): 189-200. - Asbaugh AF 1988. Plato's Theory of Explanation: A Study of the Cosmological Account in the Timaeus. USA: State University of New York Press. - Behr AL 1988. Exploring the lecture method: An empirical study. Studies in Higher Education, 13(2): 189-200. - Brown GA, Daines JM 1981. Can explaining be learnt? Some lecturers' views. Higher Education, 10(5): 573-580. - Brown G.A, Armstrong S 1984. Explaining and explanations. In: EC Wragg (Ed.): Classroom Teaching Skills. New York: Nichols Publishing Company, pp. 121–148 - Martin RJ 1970. Explaining, Understanding and Teaching. New York, McGraw- Hill - Jarvie IC 1991. Explaining Explanation. David-Hillel Ruben New York. - B. S. Manoj, Multi-Track Modular Teaching: An Advanced Teaching-Learning Method, Amazon, ISBN 978-93-5361-582-6, June 2019.

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