Civil Disobedience Pictures 2017

While we've moved on to study Hinduism, I thought I'd post some samples of the civil disobedience pictures my students drew this year.  I always love their creativity, and seeing what they've come up with.

So, for the blog post today, just check them out:

Spoilers: Am I Spoiling Gandhi?

We watch large portions of Gandhi in 7th grade social studies.  It had been part of the curriculum long before I got there, and it doesn't look to be going anywhere.

Spoiler alert: Gandhi dies.  As Gandhi was born in 1869, and the film was released in 1982, it shouldn't come as any surprise that Gandhi dies in it.

But what many... maybe most? of my students didn't know was that Gandhi was assassinated as a 78 year old.  (I mean, who assassinates a 78 year old?  Just let the man live out his life...)

Here's the thing, though: the movie starts out with his assassination.  In the past, I've shown the beginning first.  Then, after some discussion with colleagues, I kept his assassination a surprise.  I'd go back and forth from year to year.  Unsure which I liked more.

In 1982, when the film was released, the majority of people going to see it knew what had occurred.  They knew who Gandhi was, what his life was about, and how he died.  Like watching a movie about a husband and wife that work on separate floors of 1 WTC in August 2001 - we know where that story is going.  And it would make sense to start with the planes.  Or the opening of the Titanic with a submarine exploration of the boat.  We already know.

But a 7th grader watching in 2017 (or whenever you're reading this) has little background on Gandhi.  And they're not tied to him.  So, watching some random man get killed at the beginning of the movie cheapens how horrifying the assassination really was.  It makes sense to let them see the man, his cause, and develop an attachment to him so they can perhaps more fully grasp what happened.  Context is everything.

Students can get extra credit if they read and discuss this blog post with an adult.  Even though it wasn't brought up in this particular blog post, we've been been discussing India's independence movement for a while.  So, they should discuss the following: who was Gandhi?  What was he fighting for?  Was he successful?

Write at least 3 sentences about your discussion, have the adult you discussed with sign the paper, and put it in the extra credit tray on Monday.

Civil Disobedience Pictures

I've graded the civil disobedience pictures, so even though we've moved into studying Hinduism I'm posting several.  Check them out.  Discuss them.  Explain how they're portraying civil disobedience.  Then, vote for your favorite.

If you want extra credit for reading and discussing the blog, you should talk about some of these pictures with an adult.  Tell them what's going on, why, and how they show civil disobedience.  Then, in the comments, tell me which one is your favorite and why.  (If for some reason it won't let you post a comment, you can write out your choice and let me know...)

Make sure to tell me who you are in the comments section.

If you have friends on social media, you could remind them about the extra credit.  Believe me, some of your friends could use the help.  Also, feel free to repost your favorite picture.

If you didn't finish your picture, you should probably consider doing that.

Gandhi and MLK

We watch 2 legitimate movies every year: Gandhi and Promises.

Right now, we're watching Gandhi.  If you haven't seen it, it's quite good.  It won best picture in 1982.  (Incidentally, a lot of good things came out that year: E.T., Rocky III, Halloween III, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Poltergeist, Tron, Annie, ...Me...)

As we close out Black History Month, I thought it might be nice to highlight some of the similarities between Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  (We don't do this in class, so my students may not be familiar with it.  I just thought it might be a good addition...)

• Both Civil Rights Leaders
• Both believed in and practiced civil disobedience
• Both were practitioners of non-violence
• Both are seen as the key leaders of movements that were much, MUCH larger
• Both exemplify one side of a a movement that had many sides
• (See Martin Luther King vs Malcolm X, Or Booker Washington vs W.E.B. DuBois)
• (See Gandhi vs any of the not so non-violent movements for Indian independence)
• Both spent substantial amounts of time in prison
• Both were gifted public speakers
• Both were also known for their religions
• Both have made significant literary contributions
• And of course, both were assassinated

While they both had their differences as well, it is interesting to see what all they had in common.  If you can think of anything else, feel free to write it in the comments.

Students in my class may get extra credit if they read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Students, please give the adult a summary of what's happened in the movie so far.

Then, write a 3-5 sentence summary on a scrap of note paper.  Have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.  Turn it in on Monday in the extra credit tray.  Make sure that your name, date, and hour are on the paper.

(Image Credit)

(Image Credit)

Charts, Maps, and the Mother Lode

We reviewed the difference between population and population density today.  QUICK!!!  If you're reading this with an adult for extra credit, turn to them and tell them what the difference is.  Right now.  Seriously.  GO!

Hopefully you said something like, population is the total number of people, whereas population density is how tightly they're packed together.

We also spent some time looking at a map of the United States, and and the percent of people over 25 who have completed high school.  The map is interesting, because it only gives numbers for the graduation rates, but doesn't detail how many people are in each state.  The percent for Alaska given on the map is 88.9-91.1.  I had a very astute student 1st hour who said, of course Alaska has a high percentage.  There are only 4 people living up there.  4 out of 4.  It should be 100%.  
The last question read, "There is not enough information to answer the question, 'which state graduates more people, New York or Montana?'  What information would you need to answer that question?
The student mentioned above got it right.


That was the bellwork, and that was all fine and all, but what I REALLY want to write about is the mother lode.  British Pathé just uploaded 85,000 newsreels to youtube.  85,000.  (Mrs. Buchanan pointed out that I had initially misspelled mother lode, by the way.  I had spelled it "motherload" not knowing it was incorrect.  Good catch.  She came back, though and said that since this was an "upload" to youtube, perhaps now would  be the perfect time to misspell it.)

There are so many videos in there that I could use to review as well as teach new content.  For instance, we used this one today, tying it in to Gandhi and civil disobedience:





We're finishing up Japan during WWII, so these videos were also fitting:










I imagine it will be a treasure trove of primary sources for my class.  If I search Gandhi, here's what I get: CHECK IT OUT.  WWII.  Suez.  I can't type any more, because each time I do, I get sidetracked watching the videos.

If you want the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult, read it and discuss it.  Tell me what you thought about the videos.  Did you watch any other ones?  The homepage IS HERE.

After you answer the question, have the adult you read it with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow.