Class Calendar: October 20th to October 27th

Note: Please note update to next week's assignments!

Monday, October 20th (H)
• Due: Read “When the Emperor Was Divine” (p. 49-105) in When the Emperor Was Divine, taking notes using the study questions as a guide.
• Class: Character identity charts; discussion of the novel; background packets.

Tuesday, October 21st (F)
• Due: Continue reading When the Emperor Was Divine.
• Class: Virtual “field trip” to the Smithsonian Museum.

Wednesday, October 22nd (S)
• Due: Finish reading When the Emperor Was Divine, taking notes on study questions.
• Class: Debrief on Tuesday’s “field trip”; contemporary connections; discussion of When the Emperor Was Divine. Add to character charts as necessary.

Note: Shortened period for Health & Safety Awareness Day.

Thursday, October 23rd (U)
• Due: Prepare a “micro-theme.” Review historical background packet.
• Class: Newspaper editorials; discussion and development of paper topics.

Friday, October 24th (M)
• Due: Rough draft of paper for peer review. Please bring three copies (hard copy, in your hand when you enter class) so we can work in small groups rather than pairs.
• Class: Peer revision of papers, with a mini-lesson on quotation integration.

Monday, October 27th (T)
• Class does not meet today.

Tuesday, October 28th (W)
• Due: Email me a passage from your paper that incorporates a quotation from the novel. If you have any particular questions about a section, that would be a good one to use. You can paste it right into the body of the email. Send to skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us. Then bring a clean copy of your draft to class (work on it over the weekend, please!).
• Class: Workshop on integrating quotations.

Wednesday, October 29th (H)
• Due: Revised paper on When the Emperor Was Divine.
• Class: Poetry lesson; using the “scope and sequence” to frame the internment.

A Trip to the Museum

Today we'll be visiting the Smithsonian online exhibit, A More Perfect Union. Select the "media rich" version from the introductory screen. Be sure to "walk through" the full exhibit and click on items to see more details.

Click here to download a template you can use to take notes. Print it out or type in it directly; I'll collect it at the end of the period.

Finally, the Japanese American National Museum has extensive online collections. If you finish your visit to the Smithsonian and have extra time in the period, check out a collection that interests you at the JANM to add to your observations (choose from photos, letters, etc).

If you finish finish all that and still want more ... please read the Densho Project's article on the Loyalty Oath. It's excellent.

Bonus: Author Interview

Click here for a fascinating interview with the author of When the Emperor Was Divine.

And while we're on the subject of bonus material, this New York Times article makes some interesting parallels between the novel and contemporary American society. It's called "One Family's Story of Persecution Resonates in the Post-9/11 World" and is actually from the education section of the paper.

Reading for Friday

I'm not sure why it was broken before but here is the historical reading for Friday with hyperlinks to video and other primary source documents. If you prefer to print a .pdf of the document, click here.

You may want to take some notes on the questions that follow the reading; I'll expect you to be able to comment on them at the beginning of class.

See you on Friday!

Class Calendar: October 13th to October 20th

Monday, October 13th
• No school today. Enjoy the long weekend!

Tuesday, October 14th (U)
• Due: Revised college essay (review assessment criteria to make sure you have everything); read packet from class on pre-internment Japanese American experience.
• Class: Ms. Kitsis reveals the secrets of life, the universe, and everything.

Wednesday, October 15th (M)
• Due: Read “Train” (p. 23-48) in When the Emperor Was Divine, taking notes using the study questions as a guide.
• Class: Discuss the reading; analyze a government propaganda film.

Thursday, October 16th (T)
• Class does not meet.

Friday, October 17th (W)
• Due: Online historical background reading (see blog for link). Keep reading the novel.
• Class: Reader’s theater exercise and discussion.

Monday, October 20th (H)
• Due: Read “When the Emperor Was Divine” (p. 49-105) in When the Emperor Was Divine, taking notes using the study questions as a guide.
• Class: Discussion and historical context.

David Raikow on Sudan

David Raikow will be speaking at the First Parish Church in Arlington at 7.00p on Monday, October 13th on "Conflict in Context: the Recent History of War in Sudan, and the Role of the International Community."

Extra credit (and extra karma) is available for anyone who would like to attend and report back to the class!

Tutorial on Quotation Marks

We talked briefly in class about quotation marks but many of you would benefit from a little more review.

I highly recommend this handout on quotation marks prepared by the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.

Check your comprehension by trying this online exercise and then check yourself against the answers.