Today we read pages 83 – 143. Ha travels from Vietnam to Guam, and then on to Florida, and finally ends up in Alabama. She struggles with learning english, eating the food (missing her papaya!!!), and being different from all her classmates.
As we began class, we watched a newscast that described the process that Vietnam refugees went through when trying to get to safety. That video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_i_HkeqN5E .
This term, we are working on developing a growth mindset.
Last week, we took a quiz, to determine our current mindset. If this assignment is marked as MISSING, you’ll need to make this up during class. It’s not an assignment that you can take home. We will take the quiz again at the end of the term, to see our growth.
Then, we watched Carol Dweck’s TED talk on growth and fixed mindsets, and discussed how this applied to ourselves. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en
This week, we looked at how any situation can be viewed through the lens of “things we can control” and “things we can’t control.” We watched some people who were stuck on an escalator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSUe_m19FY). We discussed how often we are “stuck.” We think that our problem is unsolvable, and we begin to panic or give up, like the people on the video, when actually, our problem has many solutions. We need to be able to shake off the panicked thoughts, and focus our thoughts on solving the problem.
We completed the graphic organizer “Things I can Control.” If this assignment is marked as MISSING, use this model:
I challenge you: next time you think the thought, “I can’t take notes because I don’t have a pencil.” focus your mind on how you can solve the problem, instead of simply sitting there and waiting for your teacher to intervene.
Our format for Math Lab and Ms. Marie’s math class has changed. You used to work on your Mastering Essential Math Skills book as homework for Ms. Marie’s class. Now, you work on it in Math Lab. Last week, we did pages 60 and 61. This week, we will do pages 62 – 65.
These books remain in the P2C2 classroom, and do NOT go home.
If you are unable to finish your work during class time, you will need to arrange time to come in and work. Advisory and lunchtime are both good times to use for this.
Today, we read p 36 – 83, and had time to work on the assignment that is due on Friday.
To help us understand the historical context, what was happening in Saigon during the time that the story was set, we watched these short videos:
(p. 45) Operation New Life: Vietnamese Refugees Relocated to the United States in 1975: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgkU4KOvIas
(p. 55) Fall of Saigon and Boat People: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQBM9We3pjU
(p. 69) The Fall of Saigon, 40 Years Later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHLKFSWzImk
As we read, we continued to add to our list of metaphors for the assignment that is due next Friday.
Today we read pages 1 – 36 on Inside Out & Back Again. This book, written in the form of a collection of poems, is about a Vietnamese refugee during the Vietnam war. This was a very controversial time in history, and I encourage everyone to talk to their families about their views on the war.
As we read, we paused to watch several videos to help us understand the context for what was happening in the book:
The Tet holiday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBm7EQ0iD7k
The author reads the Papaya Tree poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkjwu2WEIA
A news video about the bombing of the presidential palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNwD896iZkQ
Today, we brainstormed ideas for the two paragraph essay we need to finish by Friday, on the symbolism in the Papaya Tree poem
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We began a list of metaphors and their page numbers, in preparation for the second Peer Edit assignment.