080909reg

1. 080909reg

2. Terrific Tuesday! • Timed Reading • Turn in Illustrations • “IDIOT Rap” • Journal #4 • Partner Questions

3. Inspired Drop your jaw, you’re about to get amazed, I have 4 secret powers that can’t be fazed. Bring me problems, challenges, or any reasons to fail. I reverse their power and give ‘em life in jail. My inspiration rises from one simple fact. I have power: I control how I act. Disciplined Now some say inspiration is all that you need, But I’ve never bought that stale chicken feed. I reflect on my life and write my goals down, Then work: success is a verb not a noun. Good, bad, all I do adds to my sum, I have power: I control who I become. Invincible As the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, Every great champion is put to the test When life wracks me with pain and the price seems too steep, I create heroic victories by refusing defeat So no matter the challenge, no matter the foe, I have power: I choose how much courage I show. Outstanding If it were all about me, that’d be the end of this rhyme But thinking only about yourself, that’s the ultimate crime, Outstanding doesn’t mean I’m the star of the show I can also stand out for the kindness I sow, My contributions stream, like water through a sieve, I have power: I control what I give Teen So don’t rob me of life, don’t tell me the lie, That I’m not old enough to spread my wings and fly I was born to soar, and not someday but now, I was born with the talent, and I already know how So drop your jaw, you’re about to get amazed, I have 4 secret powers that can never be fazed. IDIOT - Inspired, Disciplined, Invincible, Outstanding, Teenager

4. Journal #4: Idiot Rap Response • Adolescents often feel powerless in their lives. Mawi tells his readers that true powers come from the inside. In his poem “Idiot Rap,” he lists 4 powers (Inspired, Disciplined, Outstanding, Invincible) that all teenagers possess. Identify times in your life when you have had each of the powers. Tell the story of the event and then explain how it shows that you were using that power.

5. “Coffee Tales” and “The Making of a Man” Please answer the following in complete sentences. • What does the making of coffee symbolize for Mawi’s culture? • Mawi suggests that there were two topics that were taboo to discuss in his family. What were the two topics and why wouldn’t Mawi’s parents want to discuss them? • Cite a passage ex.: (Asgedom 5), complete with author’s last name and page number, that illustrates how Halieb’s (Mawi’s father) community in Africa felt about him. • Cite a passage that illustrates how Halieb felt (specifically regarding his self worth) in America. • Although Mawi’s family gained a lot by coming to America (safety, opportunity, etc.), describe some things that they have given up.

6. “The Unmaking of a Man” • How do you feel about the sacrifices Haileab made for his family’s safety? What does is show about him? Does is say anything about Americans and immigrants finding a life here? Do you think it is fair?

7. Practice Essays: “The Unmaking of a Man” and “Eyeing the Mountaintop.” • Choose one of the following prompts to respond to. • This is a short essay response, with a beginning, middle, and end, that must incorporate citations from the book. • Identify a lesson that Mawi’s father has taught him. • Why is “metamorphisis” an appropriate term to use to describe Halieb’s transformation. • What important lesson(s) have helped Mawi achieve some of his dreams? (track, class president, Harvard) • Mawi learns that not all people share his view of life, in fact, some people are downright cruel. Identify some examples of when he saw such cruelty.

8. Example Essay Response 2. The term metamorphosis is an appropriate term to use for Halieb’s transformation because it emphasizes that this transformation was complete and dramatic—Halieb’s transformation from an “angel” to a “beetle.” When Halieb lived in Ethiopia, he was considered an angel, a respected member of society he had “been an advanced dresser back home in Adi, and he had done everything: stitched head wounds, birthed babies, treated snakebites and malaria” (95). In Africa Halieb was respected, admired, an angel among his people. When Halieb and his family came to America, things drastically changed. No longer was Halieb a respected and revered member of the community, instead he was sometimes ignored, or even looked down upon: “Halieb Asgedom found himself, in America, transformed into a monstrous black beetle” (95). In America Halieb could only find a job as a janitor, and even lost that job due to his eyesight. Even though he was the same person inside, he was transformed in the eyes of the community and was now viewed as a beetle.

9. Turn question into an answer—the reason why. Preview the middle section of your essay. Ex: Haileab was an angel because… • Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence. It also needs text support (Quotation) and citation (page number). If there’s more than one body paragraph, transition between them. • Conclusion: summarize the essay.