All Star Synthesis Pages: Quarter 2 Reading Cycle 1

These synthesis pages look great! What they all have in common is that there is a space on their page that takes their ideas out of the text and into the world, making their ideas relevant and extra thought-provoking.  Try this out on your next page.  Here are a few sentence starters that might help you get there...

a. What I learned about __________ was...

b. I realized that sometimes in life...

c. Reading this books really made me think about...

Then, those statements can become great CLAIMS for your blog post. 

Go, readers, go!

All Star Mentor "Reading the World" Synthesis Pages!

Social Action Research: CNN Heroes of 2014

Here is the link to the CNN Heroes page that we used in class on Friday.  Feel free to continue to explore, watch additional videos, or read more articles as you continue to "read" the world around you!

Art & Social Justice

Here are a few links and images from our lesson on 11/12!

http://www.onemillionbones.org/the-project/

"The Uprising"

-Diego Rivera

"Peace"

-Luba Lukova

"Guernica"

-Pablo Picasso

Anti-Bullying Dance Performance:

"Reading" the World

Social Justice Issues are everywhere...your job is, for the next few days, to observe the world around while considering: What is fair? Unfair? Where and what and who do I see trying to make the world a better place? Where do I see things happening that make me angry? Inspired? You will probably see a combination of positive and negative things out there in the world...they serve as inspiration AND motivation.

They might be...

1. On the news...Malala Yousafzai with Diane Sawyer

2. In a commericial...#LikeAGirl by always

3. From an internet search...Trash Orchestra

4. From a walk around the neighborhood...trash on the turf after lunch, too many plastic bags

5. From a book...

6. From people you know...

   Do you know people who volunteer? This is my great-aunt who dedicated her life--right up until she died--to helping war veterans in her Washington Heights neighborhood. After she died, they named a street after her! 

Do you know people who try to make the world a better place in small ways that often go unnoticed by most people? These are my parents.  They both have lived lives where they volunteer, donate, and will be there for someone at the drop of a hat.  They recently sent a donation of money for me to buy books for our library and most of the markers in this classroom have been sent from my mom in Kentucky! They also go out of their way to visit friends who are sick, to make food for neighbors to brighten their day, and they even painted my brother's whole apartment! 

You can also ask your family and friends who and what inspires them to make the world a better place! 

7. From organizations in your neighborhood or city that inspire you...

What organizations have you participated in? Do you know people who have started any? This is my friend Faith who was so troubled by the fact that human trafficking still exists that she started a non-profit company called Restore to help those who have been rescued here in New York City.

So! Your job is to spend the next few days closely "reading" the world.  By Monday, you need to have a list of what you notice and be ready to share with your table and the class.  Include at least five items and explain each one with at least two sentences.  Check out these older blog posts to find more internet sources related to social justice.  

Sarah McLachlan's "World on Fire"

Check out this link to view the "World on Fire" video we watched in class.  Here are the lyrics and below are the charities she donated to:

World On Fire by Sarah McLachlan

Hearts are worn in these dark ages

You’re not alone in these stories’ pages

The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying

And I'll try to hold it in

Yeah I'll try to hold it in

The world's on fire, it's more then I can handle

I'll tap into the water try and bring my share

Try to bring more, more then I can handle

Bring it to the table

Bring what I am able

I watch the heavens but I find no calling

Something I can do to change what’s coming

Stay close to me while the sky’s falling

I don’t wanna be left alone don’t wanna be alone

The world's on fire, it's more then I can handle

I'll tap into the water try and bring my share

Try to bring more, more then I can handle

Bring it to the table

Bring what I am able

Hearts break hearts mend love still hurts

Visions clash planes crash still there's talk of

saving souls still the cold's closing in on us

We part the veil on our killer sun

Stray from the straight line on this short run

The more we take the less we become

The fortune of one man means less for some

The world's on fire, it's more then I can handle

I'll tap into the water try and bring my share

Try to bring more, more then I can handle

Bring it to the table

Bring what I am able

World On Fire Donation List

Charity	For	Amount	Total Donation
Caroline for Kibera www.cfk.unc.edu	12 room clinic and land deeds Medicine for 5000 people for 6 months in Nairobi Kenya	• $22,500 • $7,500	$30,000
Comic Relief	Running street children’s hospital in India for a year Feeding 10 street children in Calcutta 3 meals daily for 1 year Schooling for 100 street children in Tanzania Education for 200 students in Ethiopia	• $11,050 • $3,000 • $2,500 • $400	$16,950
CARE USA www.care.org	Building of 6 wells in S.E Asia, Latin America & Africa Helping 100 widows to develop income generating activities in Afghanistan Sending 145 girls to school for one year in Afghanistan Equipping 10 classrooms in Afghanistan Training 10 teachers in Afghanistan	• $10,200 • $5,400 • $5,000 • $480 • $400	$21,480
DORCAS www.dorcas.net	Total running costs of orphanage in South Africa Improving the lives of 10 elderly people in Eastern Europe	• $16,500 • $3,500	$20,000
Engineers Without Borders - Canada www.ewb.ca/en/index.html	To purchase and implement a Multi-Function Platform in Ghana Christy Yaa: scholarships Nana Yaa: scholarships	• $15,000 • $1,000 • $1,000	$17,000
Help the Aged www.helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb	Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) vehicle providing medical treatments	• $15,000	$15,000
Film Aid www.filmaid.org	Entertainment & escapism for refugees	• $9,500	$9,500
War Child www.warchild.ca/	70 former child soldiers to receive schooling & psychosocial support 7 young people in Sierra Leone to receive job training Education, shelter & food for orphans in Ethiopia	• $3,500 • $1,500 • $500	$5,500
Heifer International www.heifer.org/	1 heifer, 2 goats, 1 buffalo 2 sheep, 4 goats, 2 llamas and 1 heifer A pig Chicks Ducks	• $1,000 • $1,500 • $120 • $20 • $20 • $20	$2680
ITDG www.itdg.org	Scheme which would allow 300 families to remove smoke from their homes 10 smoke hoods 5 bicycle ambulances Nuts & bolts to secure houses of monsoon victims Sudanese irrigation	• $1,925 • $250 • $1,300 • $500 • $1025	$5000
Action Aid www.actionaid.org.uk	To aid and implement programs in Khlaipathar village, Orissa, India to encourage families to be able to stay together 5000lbs potato seeds for planting vegetable gardens	• $5000 • $160	$5160

 TOTAL  $148,270