Assignment Five: Themes of History

This is your final summer blog assignment. Responses should be posted by September 15th.

Over the course of the summer, you have examined several themes and connected those themes to pieces of literature (belief systems, geography, turning points, and imperialism). For this assignment, select two or three other themes that you uncovered while reading Siddhartha and "Shooting an Elephant." Define each theme and use evidence from the readings to explain why you chose those themes.

Assignment Four: Imperialism

Assignment Four: Imperialism

For this assignment, read "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell and respond to the questions below based on the short story. You may reference Siddhartha in your response if you can make a connection to the novel, but you are not required to do so. You can find an electronic copy of the short story here: http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/.

1. What is imperialism?

2. Describe one potentially positive effect of imperialism and one potentially negative effect of imperialism.

3. Explain the role of imperialism in the short story "Shooting an Elephant" and evaluate Orwell's opinion on imperialism in India. Make sure to include specific evidence from the short story to support your argument.

Assignment Three: Turning Points

***In order to ensure that you each receive credit for your thoughts, please include your FIRST and LAST name at the beginning of each of your comments.***

Responses to the following questions are due by August 15, 2010. Please pay attention to grammar! In particular, remember the rules of punctuation and capitalization. Also continue to work on using specific examples to support your ideas and remaining focused on the questions.

1. What is a turning point?


2. Describe one turning point you studied in Global 1 or 2 Freshman year and explain why that event or time period is a turning point.


3. Choose one turning point in Siddhartha's life and explain why that event is a turning point.

No Assignment Three yet - Assignment Two still under review

Students,

We have decided not to post Assignment Three yet as we are still reviewing the responses to Assignment Two. Please remember that this is a school assignment for an Honors Class. You are expected to behave appropriately and treat each other with respect. Please check back in a week for Assignment Three.

Ms. Konarski and Ms. Shalev

Assignment Two: Geography

Hello all! We have thoroughly enjoyed reading your responses to the first assignment and getting to know you all a little better through your writing. Almost all of you are responding thoughtfully and clearly trying to integrate the novel into your responses. Well done! Remember to pay special attention to grammar as you write and cite any sources that you use.


If you are struggling with the assignments, we suggest you go back and read some of your peers responses to Assignment One. Good examples include responses from Samir, Cassidy, Nicholas, Wan Yu, Way Sey, Kayla, and several others. The best way to make sure your ideas are original is to use specific historical examples and examples from the novel like these students did. Many of them also wrote insightful responses to other comments on the blog.


We look forward to reading your responses to the questions posted below. Good luck!


Assignment Two: Geography
Responses to the questions below should be posted by July 31, 2010.

1. What is geography?


2. Describe one positive impact of geography on people around the world and one negative impact of geography on people around the world.


3. Describe the geographic features of India including location, climate, physical features, etc. Explain how these features have helped and/or hindered the development of Indian society. (Hint: Think about cultural diffusion and political, economic, and social systems.)

4. Explain one example of how the geography of India negatively and/or positively affected Siddhartha or another character in the novel. (Remember to cite the page numbers.)

Assignment One: Belief Systems

Instructions: Respond to each of the questions below. Your responses do not have to be long, but they should be thoughtful and original. Responses must be posted by July 14, 2010.

1. What is a belief system?

2. Describe one positive influence belief systems can have on the lives of their followers and one negative influence belief systems can have on the lives of their followers.


3. What are the main tenets of Hinduism and Buddhism? Make connections to Siddhartha in your explanation of the tenets.

4. Describe and explain one way in which Siddhartha's belief system impacts his life.




Reminders:


- Use specific examples from your prior knowledge, your study of Global History and the novel Siddhartha to support your responses.


- Cite any information you gather from websites, text sources, or Siddhartha in parentheses.


- Use academic language!

Guidelines

• Read Siddhartha
• In a notebook, write a one sentence summary of each page read
• Identify one unfamiliar word per page and define it
• Respond to the blog every two weeks. We will post on the 1st and 15th of each month. It is your responsibility to respond to each post before the next is posted (14th and 31st of each month).
• To comment you must have a gmail account. Please use your formal name as your username.
• Write in complete sentences, using formal language (no text or IM speak) and the rules you are practicing on your grammar blog: www.hstatgrammarsummerassignment.blogspot.com.
• Use specific examples from the text in each of your responses. Cite the page numbers in parentheses.
• If you get any information from a website or text, cite the source in parentheses.
• You must read your peers' responses and respond to at least two of them.
• Repeated answers or responses will not be counted. Be original with your thoughts and language!