Culture, Day 3 - Class Recap

The soundtrack for today was "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan and we also watched a short film that had all sorts of different aspects of the country of Turkey involved. This is a photo I took on the back of a ferry in Turkey, between Asia and Europe, in June of 2013.

Hi everyone,

Today, we got back to work on our new unit of culture. We learned a little bit more about the "iceberg" model for it. I also made sure that everyone had their geography packets graded and back, so you know what to improve on. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.

Soundtrack: "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. Selected for today because we were learning more about culture, and flags can be constituted,

AGENDA 10/16/14:
News Brief – Nikki (Raedene)
Review Cornell Notes
Nacirema Writing
The Watchtower
Time for School

Homework: Read the blog. Finish the Nacirema assignment (look at the last pages of this handout) - neatly written or typed, due next class. Next news brief: Nate.

News Brief: Nikki was absent today, so Raedene filled in with an article about Iraq and Syria dealing with ISIS, again. Here's a recent story about that: CNN.com - U.S. airstrikes help push ISIS back in Kobani. We actually had an interesting in class discussion about the situation today, including my trying to answer why we don't just blow the places off the map (because in all wars, civilians that are non-combatants are dramatically impacted).

We also watched this VICE "Beyond the Headlines" News clip, which may be something we incorporate in our news brief sections (I was introduced to it by some of the other Global Studies teachers at Westview). Every day, it is a short clip talking about places around the world. Definitely something I can get into learning about!

Review Cornell Notes: Remember last class, when we had a PowerPoint on culture and everyone took Cornell Notes? Now, it was time for the next step in the process: reviewing, making questions, and summarizing. Here were the handouts again, that describe the process and the blank template.

Google Drive - Cornell Notes Process

Google Drive - Cornell Notes Template

Nacirema Writing: This was the reading describing "Nacerima" (American spelled backward) that we did last class:

Google Drive - The Nacirema Reading and Assignment

Today, we made a list of possible topics to make our own Nacerima type stories about. The assignment in class today was to create your own story analyzing our culture from an "outsider" or "scientific" lens. There were a ton of possible items here! If you did not finish the 200 word story in class, it is homework: please come next class with your completed Nacerima article, either typed or written neatly.

The Watchtower: I ended class with this video, which I thought did an excellent job of showing culture in the country of Turkey:

Watchtower of Turkey from Leonardo Dalessandri on Vimeo.

I just love all of the various scenes and quick cuts! It reminds me of my three days in Istanbul, Turkey in 2013. I saw it the other night after school and thought it was so cool I needed to show it in class.

As a reminder, I will not be here after 4th period tomorrow (Friday) because of a memorial service for my dad at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, which is at 1:30. I will probably be back at Westview for the Varsity football game, but not before that. Thank you for your love and understanding!