Weekly Objectives for 10/15/13-10/18/13

Overview - The Crime Scene Investigation Unit is on a bit of a hiatus in order to get the students prepared for the Greek Fair coming up in November.  The overall focus in Writing will be on discovering what it takes to be a hero.  The hero in the Greek culture is a cornerstone to understanding how they thought, wrote, spoke and understood life.  We will focus on Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. Students will be immersed in the culture of a hero.  They will learn what it takes to be a hero and the process one must go through, and eventually learn of most of their tragic ends.  The final piece of work next Friday will involve a comparative essay between Percy Jackson and a hero of their choosing.  
        Tuesday - 10/15/13 - We did not hold Writing as Mr. Barkley was grading the police reports turned in by the students from last week.
        Wednesday - 10/16/13 - In class today students will begin by working independently on a short writing response.  The task at hand is to describe what a hero is to them.  They must then use evidence and warrants to support their claim.  This will not be an assessment nor will it be graded.  It is simply a precursor to match up against what they believe a hero is at the end of the unit next Friday.  We will then spend the remaining five minutes creating a list of heroes to use in comparing against Percy Jackson.
        Thursday - 10/17/13 - Today we discussed A Hero's Journey, which is a biographical breakdown of phases that a hero passes through on his or her journey through life.  Life starts with a separation from the normal in which the hero notices that they do not fit in.  Something happens to them that creates the beginning of the process: Peter Parker getting bit, Dorothy taken away in the tornado, Percy being attacked by a Fury.  The hero then must learn how the new world works and the rules that apply.  As usual, the hero picks up a mentor/aid to guide them through the transformation:  Dorothy has Glinda, Percy has Chiron, Cinderella has the Fairy Godmother.  The next major phase is the Initiation or Transformation.  Here the hero picks up their sidekick or ally: Batman and Robin, Percy and Grover, Dorothy and the Scarecrow.  The hero must then pass through minor tests that help strengthen and improve their powers.  As usual, the hero must confront the Supreme Ordeal, or final battle: Dorothy and the Witch, Percy and Ares, Batman and Joker, Spiderman and the Green Goblin, Ariel and the Octopus.  After the ordeal, the hero enters the third phase of the process, which is the return home.  The escape or flight always comes first: Dorothy clicking her heels, Percy flying on the plane, Batman returning to the Cave.  They must then confront the Father figure, or bully in the real world but can not use their powers: Clark Kent and his boss, Ariel and her father, Percy and Stinky Gabe.  Finally, the heroes must learn how to live in the real world knowing what they possess and control themselves so as not to be identified.  The students are working in groups to put their selected hero through the transformation.   They will continue to work on this tomorrow.  
        Friday - 10/18/13 - The students worked in their collaborative groups on the Hero's Journey assignment stated yesterday.  The deadline for this assignment is today at 2:30.  Students are responsible for delegating responsibilities within the group.  We have recorders drafting the charts, researchers using I-Pads, phones, computers and any piece of technology they can get their hands on.  Other students are relaying the information from the researcher to the recorder.  It is so exciting to watch students tackle problems together that would be next to impossible to accomplish independently.  They can truly be pushed to their limits when collaboration is evident.