Jason's Gold Background Info

As we prepare to read Jason's Gold by Will Hobbs, we first need to build some background knowledge about the setting. Use the links below to get to the Web sites on which you will find answers to the questions about the Klondike Gold Rush and America in the 1890s.

First Link: http://www.nps.gov/archive/klse/Resource_Guide.htm#Era

Second Link: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/gold-rush-alaska/

Bias and Stereotypes: American Born Chinese

You will soon be writing in response to the following prompt:

Write a well-developed paragraph about a situation when someone made a biased judgment about you or acted unfairly toward you because of your age, skin color, clothes you were wearing, gender, the way you speak, where you live, how much money your parents make, your personal interests, or some other reason.

Before you write this paragraph, first do some brainstorming on this blog. Begin by typing your FIRST NAME first. Then just type what comes to mind about your personal experiences with bias and stereotyping. However, do make sure that whatever you type is appropriate and don't use specific names of people or otherwise identify individuals. Here are some questions you may want to consider:

• How did you know that you were being unfairly treated?
• What words or actions were directed at you because of assumptions or stereotypes?
• Why do you think those assumptions were made?
• How did the experience make you feel?
• How do you think you should have been treated?
• How are you different from having this experience? How have you changed?
  
  When you finish, publish your comment. Then you can read and respond to your classmates' posts. Just be sure to always type your FIRST NAME first every time you publish a comment.

Connections to The Outsiders

Although you might not have guessed it at first, by now, you have surely been able to make connections between your life as a 7th grader in Wyoming to the lives of the Greasers and/or Socs in early 1960s Oklahoma. As you continue to read The Outsiders, I encourage you to keep thinking about your own life and looking for yourself and your friends in the characters in the book, all while contemplating the question: What is the author trying to say? Answers to this question always lead you to the major theme and thus, a way to personally connect to the literature.

We have already done an "anticipation guide," but I would like you to consider and respond to the statements below. You can pick which ones you would like to respond to.

**Be sure to type YOUR FIRST NAME first, then respond with your thoughts. Finally, keep in mind that your responses must be honest but appropriate. Do not use names of specific people or write ANYTHING that could be offensive or hurtful.**

1. Appearance can often tell a great deal about a person.

2. Anyone can be popular.

3. It is possible to change the way students act towards one another.

4. It is common to label people as being part of a group rather than an individual.

5. I felt like [character from The Outsiders] when... (Choose an event or time in your life when you faced issues that a character in the novel faces. It might be a direct similarity or an indirect one, but you must tie things the character is going through to your own life.)

After you have posted your response, feel free to respond to your classmates' posts. But remember, every time you post, TYPE YOUR FIRST NAME FIRST.

Jason's Gold: A Yukon Gold Rush WebQuest

As we prepare to read Jason's Gold by Will Hobbs, we first need to build some background knowledge about the setting. Use the links below to get to the Web sites on which you will find answers to the questions about the Yukon Gold Rush and America in the 1890s.



First Link: http://www.nps.gov/archive/klse/Resource_Guide.htm#Era


Second Link: http://library.thinkquest.org/5181/GoldFact.htm


Please write answers in complete sentences on your worksheet.

Great American Mail Race

Your next assignment in class is to join the Great American Mail Race. To do this, you will select a middle school or junior high in a very different part of the country and write a letter to a class at that school. The purpose of your letter is to share important information about you, your school, and your town as well as encourage your reader to write back so you can learn what school and life is like in a different American town.

Before we actually write and send our letters, there is quite a bit of thinking and prewriting (brainstorming) to be done!

• I would like you to think about what area of the country you would like to learn more about. Brainstorm some possible states, cities, or towns that interest you.
• Then, think about what you would want to know about school and life in that place. Your letter is an opportunity to find this out from another teenager.
• Finally, think about what important information you would share about yourself, SJHS, and Sheridan, WY. (What do you think your reader would want to know?)

Write a post on this blog in response to the ideas above. TYPE YOUR NAME FIRST. Then list possible places to which you might like to write and why. Then develop some questions you would want to find out about regarding life in those places. Then list some important ideas you would share about yourself, SJHS, and Sheridan, WY.

After you post your comment, feel free to read and respond to your classmates. Remember, every time you post a comment (even if it is in response to someone else) you MUST TYPE YOUR NAME.