Week of March 7 - March 11 Judaism, Passover and Slavery

Hi everyone,

Today we are going to talk about Judaism, the religion of the Jewish people, which is featured in our upcoming play, The Whipping Man. More specifically, the slaves in this play take part in a religious ceremony called a seder, which is special meal Jews share during the Passover holiday. In many homes, this meal is known as the Feast of Freedom, so it is quite relevant that slaves are having this meal in our play.

I. Please visit these websites to learn about the story of Passover. You will watch a series of videos:

a. How the Jews left Egypt.

b. What if we never left Egypt.

c. Matzah: What's up with it?.

d. Crisis in Egypt.

e. Rapping the Sea

II. Please visit this website to see the 10 plagues: The Animated Ten Plagues

III. Please visit this website to read The Passover Story.

IV. Please look at this vocabulary list of Passover words, and click on any you don't know. They come up in the play.

V. Please visit this website to read about Jewish Americans who had slaves.

VI. Please answer the questions below in Microsoft Word and then post your answers to our blog:

1. How is the story of Passover related to the story of slavery in the US?


2. What did you learn about the Passover seder? List three things.


3. What surprised you about what you learned today?


4. How do you feel about the fact that there were Jewish Americans who had slaves and why?

Slavery, Week of February 28

Today we are going to think about slavery.


Please visit this website of slave narratives.


Pick five narratives to read. Then answer the questions below in Microsoft Word. Then post your answers to our blog:

1. How do the narratives make you feel and why?
   
2. What do the narratives teach you about slavery?


3. What, if anything, surprised you and why?
   
4. What questions do you have?

When you finish, please read another student's blog post and respond to it.

The Civil War, Week of February 14th

Today we are going to be learning about the Civil War and President Lincoln, important elements of our upcoming play, The Whipping Man.



Please do the following activities. Post your answers as a comment to this blog post, but please type them in Microsoft Word first.

1. View this video, The Civil War in Four Minutes. Take notes and write down what you learn.
2. Read The Emancipation Proclamation.
3. Listen to The Emancipation Proclamation. Write your reaction to it.
4. Imagine you were a former slave living in 1865. You have just been freed by President Lincoln and then you learn that Lincoln has been assassinated (April 15, 1865). Please write a diary entry after you get this news about how you feel, what you fear, and why.
5. When you are finished, read another students' post and respond to it.

Week of Feb 7, Manhattan Theater Club

This week we will be visited by Stephanie Allston of the Manhattan Theater Club. She will be helping us to prepare for our visit to see The Whipping Man.

This play was reviewed recently in The New York Times. The playwright also discussed the play in this video.

Please click on the four links above to learn more about the organization, the play, and the review of the play.

After you visit and explore these links, please answer the questions below in Microsoft Word and then post your responses to this blog by clicking on the word comments below. MAKE SURE YOU WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR RESPONSE!

Note: If you do not have a gmail account, you will need to create one. Click on this link to create your account. You will be asked to sign into this account any time you want to post to our blog.

1. What do you think this play is about?


2. How do you feel about going to see this play?


3. What is the connection between this play and our human rights class?


4. What questions do you have for the playwright and/or the actors? (create at least three)

Once you have done this, please read your classmates' posts and respond to at least one person.

Week of February 2-4

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the EDU2-05 blog! Here you will find news about our class, links to organizations we work with, and upcoming events and assignments.

This week you must get your community service placement set and if you are new, write your buddy, create a bio poem, and bring in a photo. See the links below if you are not sure what to do or if you need instructions/forms.

This is going to be a great term and I look forward to working with you all!

Ms Mann