Colloquium, Presentation, and Resident Expert Assignments for the Rest of the Year

This is the edited, revised edition as of Feb. 22, 2011...

Everyone should look at this list, find themselves, and prepare for when they are LEADING THE COLLOQUIUM, giving a PRESENTATION, and being the RESIDENT EXPERT in our Project Scholar Classics Class. See previous post for how to prepare for giving a presentation and being the resident expert. We covered how to lead a colloquium in our Scholar Skills class last fall. I'll try to post the handout I gave out that day, but until then, if you have questions on how to lead a colloquium send me an email: larayne@comcast.net.

OK, here are the assignments for the rest of the year:
    
                Lead the Colloquium            Presentations            Resident Expert

Feb 25th    In Freedom's Cause -         Kathy, Jennis, Tanner    Myla, Jacob
                 Chandler and Mitch

Mar 25th   Joan of Arc -                     Kirk, Carmen,           Tyler, Carli
                 Karen and Jennis               and Chandler

April 29th  Fire in the Bones -             Myla, Carli,            Mitch, Tanner
                  Kathy                                and Preston              and Carmen

***This is the current, updated list. This is what we'll go by for the rest of the year :) ***

Sister Miller

Project Scholar Classics Class January 28, 2011

• Classic we are discussing: Magna Charta by James Daughterty and the original text of the Magna Charta
• Colloquium Leader: Jacob 
• Please prepare 10 discussion questions and bring 12 copies for the class)
• Resident Experts: Preston and Kirk 
• Prepare a 5-7 minute lecture. Go into depth in your studies about  something you found interesting from the history period we are studying or the classic we are reading. Teach us what you've learned with the goal of inspiring us to study that topic more in depth as well. You can use visual aids or anything you want to help you tell about your topic.
• Presentations: Mitch, Tyler,and Karen
• Prepare a 3-5 presentaion based on your inspiration from what you've learned in the history period we are studying and/ or the classic we are reading. Here we are practicing the scholarly habit of sharing our inspiration and what we've learned through speech, essay, art, music performance, poetry, or visual project. Have fun with this and be creative! 

****Please put thought and effort into your work when you are scheduled to be the Resident Expert and to give Presentations. Our class will only be as great as the individual effort you put into it. I want to see you try hard and stretch yourselves. 

Cant wait to see what you come up with!

Sister Miller

Scholar Skills Class Assignment for January 21, 2011

In December we talked about how to organize what you want to say in a paper by using the "5-paragraph (or part) paper" formula. Your assignment for January 21, 2011 is to write a 5 paragraph/part paper on whatever is interesting to you. I want you to practice using this form as a way to organize your thoughts and to help you know how to get what you want to say down on paper. I recognize that this formula is a jumping off place for writers. It is simple. It can be expanded from a 5-paragraph paper to a 5-page paper to a 5-chapter book and on and on.

As a review, here are the points of a 5-paragraph/part paper:

• 1st paragraph: Introductory Paragraph - [Say what you are going to say. Use key words such as "first, second, third, and finally".

• 2nd paragraph/part: Make your first point
• 1st example, quote, illustration
• 2nd example, quote, illustration
• 3rd example, quote, illustration

• 3rd paragraph/ part: Make your 2nd point
• 1st example, quote, illustration
• 2nd example, quote, illustration
• 3rd example, quote, illustration

• 4th paragraph/part: Make your 3rd point
• 1st example, quote, illustration
• 2nd example, quote, illustration
• 3rd example, quote, illustration

• 5th paragraph: Concluding paragraph - [Say what you've said, using the key words "first, second, third, and finally".

Remember, this is a form to follow. If you have a lot to say, each paragraph/part can be more that one paragraph. Each example, quote, or illustration can be its own paragraph, or page, or chapter depending on what you are writing and how much you have to say.

***I can't wait to read your papers! Have fun with this! Only write about something that you care about!

November's Green Book Writing Assignment

•  November's Green Book Writing Assignment. Here are the questions to choose from. Choose one of the following:  
• Note: I didn't hand out green books, so write them up on your own paper (or type them) and staple the pages together. Make sure your name is on it. :)

1. Describe the creative process. Discuss creativity in terms of being a scholar. Why is creativity so important and how can your creativity change the world? What creative projects do you like to do? What is your vision for using your creativity to change the world and to influence for good? Tell about a time when you have taken your knowledge and interest and created something meaningful to share your vision with others. (see President Uchtdorf's talk on creativity). Be specific and give examples.***
2.  Discuss Medieval Islam and the LDS perspective on Islam. How does your knowledge  help you bridge the gap between fearing modern extremist Islamic terrorists and understanding faithful Islamic people. What insights do you have on this subject? Why is understanding the Muslim world important for a future leader?***
3. Discuss the idea that God has sent  light and knowledge to His people throughout the world throughout the ages. Use examples, including Mohammad. Why is that significant and how does that help you have love and tolerance for people of all religions? How can this understanding help you be a better leader and to change the world for the better?***
4. Choose any question or topic from the colloquium on Walking Drum (should be handed out in class on Friday, Nov. 19th) and answer it with examples and discussion. Or, write about a specific theme or subject from Walking Drum that you want to, using examples. Back-up your arguments.

Requirments for Party: History/ Classics Intensives Class

Requirements for Party: History/Classics Intensives Class 

1. Read 12 chapters from The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer. If you haven't been reading 12 chapters a month up to this point, choose 12 chapters that look interesting to you. If you have read 12  a month, keep up the great work and read the next 12 chapters as planned. Be prepared to tell which chapters of history you read.
2. Write a 1-2 page summary or notebook page of the most significant/ interesting historical events from the history chapters you read. This page will go right into your timeline notebook. (or into your Scholar Journal if you prefer). Make connections, notice patterns, and find themes and write about them.
3. Choose 5-10  significant dates from world history during that time period and put them on your  timeline 
4. Read Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Pyle, marking up your book with underlining and notes in the margins.
5. Hand in November's Green Book Writing Assignment. Here are the questions to choose from:  
1. Describe the creative process. Discuss creativity in terms of being a scholar. Why is creativity so important and how can your creativity change the world? What creative projects do you like to do? What is your vision for using your creativity to change the world and to influence for good? Tell about a time when you have taken your knowledge and interest and created something meaningful to share your vision with others. (see President Uchtdorf's talk on creativity). Be specific and give examples.***
2.  Discuss Medieval Islam and the LDS perspective on Islam. How does your knowledge  help you bridge the gap between fearing modern extremist Islamic terrorists and understanding faithful Islamic people. What insights do you have on this subject? Why is understanding the Muslim world important for a future leader?***
3. Discuss the idea that God has sent  light and knowledge to His people throughout the world throughout the ages. Use examples, including Mohammad. Why is that significant and how does that help you have love and tolerance for people of all religions? How can this understanding help you be a better leader and to change the world for the better?***
4. Choose any question or topic from the colloquium on Walking Drum (should be handed out in class on Friday, Nov. 19th) and answer it with examples and discussion. Or, write about a specific theme or subject from Walking Drum that you want to, using examples. Back-up your arguments.

***See the articles from earlier post that you were assigned to read to be prepared for our guest speaker on Nov. 19th :)

Requirements for Party: Scholar Skills Class

Party Requirements: Scholar Skills Class

Finish the assignment given in November to read-in-a-scholarly-way the article "Seek Learning By Faith" by Elder Bednar. By "read-in-a-scholarly-way" I mean that you'll follow the following pattern explained in The Well Educated Mind Chapter 4. Here are the steps to the pattern - remember we walked through these in class together for the first section of the article. Now get to on your own go through the whole article, section by section:

1. Read through the entire article all the way through while completing the following steps.
2. As you read through the article, underline, jot notes in the margins, mark up the article with the things you find interesting or important. Fold down or put a sticky tab on pages that are hard to understand.
3. As you read through the article, stop at the end of each section (you determine what those are - loosely the article is divided up by headings throughout. Those seem like good sections to me). In your scholar journal or notebook, jot down a sentence or two that summarizes the section's content, main assertion, or message of that section. You are re-saying what Elder Bednar said. Include the section number (go through and number each section for reference).
4. As you read through the article, record in your scholar journal questions that come to your mind, insights, connections, patterns, themes, disagreements or agreements, or thoughts you have about what you read. This is the part where you record your ideas - have a conversation with yourself and Elder Bednar about what he was saying. Important: your ideas should be visually different than your summary of the ideas from #3 above. You can use different colors for #3 and #4, draw a line down the page and put your summaries on one side and your journaling (reactions, thoughts, insights, connections etc.) down the other, or keep a separate notebook for summaries and a scholar journal for your reactions/thoughts about what you read.

Classic Intensives Class Nov. 19th - GUEST SPEAKER and preparation

Nov. 19th Classic Intensives 

Class Preparation

Next week for our November 19th Classic Intensives class, we are 
SO LUCKY to have artist Andrew Kosorok be our GUEST SPEAKER.
 We are inviting Brother Williams Scholar class to join us. 

We will have our colloquium of Walking Drum first, with Mitch leading 
our discussion. So come prepared having read the book with things 
marked up in your book and ready to talk about it.

In preparation for our guest speaker, please read the following articles 
(just search lds.org by the title):

• A Latter-daySaint Perspective on Muhammad by James A. Toronto
• Building Bridges of Understanding: The Church and the World of Islam,                                                                                                                               Introduction of Dr. Alwi Shihab by President Boyd K. Packer
• Happiness, Your Heritage  by President Uchtdorf (he was talking to the                                                                                                                 women of the church, but the ideas on creativity apply to us all.

Also, read the following about Artist Andrew Kosorok. It is a past press 
release from the BYU Library:

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Qur'an's “99 Most Beautiful Names” by artist Andrew Kosorok

Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library will be showcasing a new exhibit, “99 Most Beautiful Names.” The exhibit is free and located on the first floor in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. The exhibit will be open until September 2010.

The exhibit depicts sculptures created by BYU alumnus Andrew Kosorok that represent the various names of God inspired by the Qur'an and the Islamic religion. The sculptures are made from etched and fired glass.

Kosorok’s work explores the similarities between Islam and Christianity. His sculptures discover those similarities and focus on the 99 most beautiful names found in the Quran. These names are used by Muslims as guides for characteristics to strive for in their own lives.

He uses his artwork as a means of understanding different cultures and the relationship between the temporal and divine, hoping to build common bonds between individuals.

Kosorok received both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture with an emphasis in sculptural stained glass and a Master of Fine Arts degree from BYU.

***********************************************************************

As we have been studying the rise of Islam in our history and the setting for our classic this month, Walking Drum, is Moorish (Islamic) Spain during the Midde Ages, Andrew Kosorok's topic is timely. Not to mention today's current events and tensions. As future leaders we must understand and seek to bridge the gap between Christians and Moslems.  

Also, as a reminder, make sure you are attentive and respectful of our guest speaker. He is taking time out of his busy schedule and we want to welcome him and treat him with the utmost respect. We want to leave him with a positive impression of you as homeschooled scholars.

   Specifically:

1. Don't talk to your neighbor while he's talking - it's rude and distracting. I know you love to talk together, but restrain yourselves :)

2. Listen and ask questions. Be attentive. Be curious. The articles will help pique your interest.

3. Don't interupt him by standing up, walking around or rocking on your chair. Be mature scholars as you listen to what he has to say.

Click here to download
Works by Andrew Kosorok that represent the various names of God inspired by the Qur'an are now on display at the Lee Library

Click here to download