Summer Reading

Page history last edited by msward 2 mos ago

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
  1. RESOURCES FOR Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asegdom
    1. Summer Reading Review for Of Beetles and Angels
    2. All About the Author - Mawi Asegdom:
    3. Background Information on Mawi's Experience:
    4. Learning from Of Beetles and Angels
  2. RESOURCES FOR Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin
    1. Summer Reading Review for Three Cups of Tea
    2. Three Cups of Tea Website
    3. All About the Author - Greg Mortenson:
    4. Background Information:
    5. Learning from Three Cups of Tea
    6. Playlist of Interviews
    7. Related Links
  3. HOMEWORK FOR FIRST DAY: Perspectives on our Summer Reading
    1. Directions:
    2. Reviews of Of Beetles and Angels:
    3. Reviews of Three Cups of Tea:

 

RESOURCES FOR Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asegdom

 

 

The author’s website provides information on Mawi's story, including his commencement speech at Harvard, and his programs.  

o  Philadelphia Free Library Podcast of Mawi Asegdom's Speech in February 2008 

A wonderful audio speech by Mawi Asegdom. He spoke at Central Library in February 2008 as a part of Philadelphia’s One Book, One Philadelphia project.

 

This website allows students to examine the impact of conflicts throughout the world, with focus on such African countries as Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In addition to the audio interviews with teenage refugees now living in the United States, this site also hosts a great deal of information on the lives of teenage refugees, child soldiers, and other issues. Students can click on individual students' stories, follow a time line, and read background articles on various conflicts. 

o   Extended Lives: the African Immigrant Experience in Philadelphia 

Part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, this website explores many aspects of the new African immigrants living in Philadelphia. Although they have left their home countries, they have not lost contact. Instead, most find that their lives become extended in various ways, so that they remain emotionally, politically, spiritually, and financially invested in their home countries, even as they create new lives in the United States. The exhibit includes sections on extended families, extending communities, extending occupations, the refugee experience, religious life, including many quotations, stories, and pictures from African community members. 

o       Country Study: Ethiopia

The Library of Congress provides historical, social, cultural, and political information about Ethiopia. It includes a section on the Eritrean Movement, as well as information on refugees and the cultural life of Ethiopians. 

 

RESOURCES FOR Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin

 

 

 

 

  • Background Information:

    • Visit the website for the Central Asia Institute.

    • New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently met with Mortenson while both were in Afghanistan. Friedman writes about Mortenson's work in an article titled "Teacher, Can We Leave Now? No" published in the Sunday, July 19, 2009, edition of the Times.

    • The August/September 2009 edition of NEA Today featured an article titled "Pennies Make Real Change" on Mortenson's work with Pennies for Peace and how students around the country are helping his efforts to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    • In May 2009, Good Housekeeping published a piece on Mortenson titled "Teach A Girl, Change the World"

    • An interview with Greg Mortenson about his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

       

  • Learning from Three Cups of Tea

    • Greg Mortenson speaks about the role of education for women

  • Playlist of Interviews

    • Ms. Ward has created a playlist of videos of interviews by Greg Mortenson, information about the Central Asia Institute, and even a music video for Three Cups of Tea with music sung by Greg Mortenson's daughter.

  • Related Links

    • The PBS documentary "Time for School" has been following seven different school children from seven different countries since 2002. Here's a bit more information about the program that will air on PBS stations September 2, 2009:

"WIDE ANGLE’s unprecedented, award-winning 12-year documentary project, Time for School, returns in 2009 with visits to seven classrooms in seven countries to offer a glimpse into the lives of seven extraordinary children who are struggling to get what nearly all American kids take for granted: a basic education. We started filming in 2002, watching as kids first entered school in Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya and Romania, many despite great odds. Several years later, in 2006, we returned to film an update — and now, three years later, we travel to check in on our young teenagers who are making the precarious transition to middle school..."

HOMEWORK FOR FIRST DAY: Perspectives on our Summer Reading

 

Directions:

Select either Of Beetles and Angels or Three Cups of Tea. Then find the links to the reviews about your selected book below.

  • Spend some time reading,watching, and listening to the reviews related to the text you have selected.
  • Select one of the links to analyze. Which piece do you have the strongest reaction to? Do you heartily agree with one of the reviews or seriously disagree with one of them?
  • On a sheet of paper, answer these four questions about your selected review:
    1. What is the reviewer's perspective? How does he or she feel about the book?
    2. What are specific examples from the review that reveal the reviewer's perspective?
    3. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewer? Why?
    4. Without doing any research, who is the reviewer? Can you tell the gender of the reviewer? How about age or education level? What clues tell you about the reviewer?   
  • Questions? Email Ms. Ward at ward@havsd.net.

 

Reviews of Of Beetles and Angels:

 

Reviews of Three Cups of Tea:

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