Astrology webquest

Today you are going to learn about Astrology.

1. Discuss the following questions in groups or as a class.

What do you know about fortune telling?
What kinds of traditional fortune telling exist in your country and culture?
Do you believe that people can predict the future?

2. Your teacher will assign you a group, each group will research about a topic in astrology and report back to the class.

Group A: Read about the history of astrology here and answer the following questions: When did astrology begin? Where did it begin? When did astrology become popular among everyday people? Why?

Group B: Read about some of the mythology behind astrology here and andwer the following questions: Pick three different signs and describe the mythology behind them.

3. Now, go here and learn more about your sun sign. For example, I am a Gemini. Read a little bit about your sun sign and answer the following questions: What is your sign's element? What is your sign's quality? What is your sign's ruling planet and what are the astrological qualities of this planet? Do you think the description of your astrological sign is accurate? Why or why not?

Internet research: Laughter therapy (Summit II Unit 8)

Task: Use one or more of the websites listed to research what laughter therapy is and how it works.

Respond using information from the websites.

What is laughter therapy?

What are three benefits of laughing?

“A hearty laugh can make you feel much better.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.

http://www.teehee.com/Reasons.html
http://www.indiadiets.com/Alternative%20Healing/Laughter.htm
http://www.holistic-online.com/Humor_Therapy/humor_therapy_benefits.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/101/106422.htm

You can also search for your own information. Try using these keywords in your search:
Laughter therapy Humor Laughter

Describe an artist, actress/actor, singer/musician, movie, play, or book

1. Choose an artist, actress/actor, singer/musician, movie, play, or book that you really love. You are going to do some research about your choice and write a brief descriptive essay.

2. Brainstorm some research questions. For example, if I chose the movie Fight Club, these are some questions I can ask:

• What is the plot of the movie? (Plot=story)


• Did the plot make sense or was it confusing?


• What were the visuals like? Did it have good special effects?


• What were the characters like in the film?


• What was the acting like?


• What is my favorite part about the film?


• Who is my favorite character from that film?


• What, specifically, make me like this film so much?


• What kinds of values or ideas about life does this film suggest?


• Was there anything I didn't like about this film?

These are all just general questions. I probably would not use all of them as research questions, but at least I have several to choose from. Now, you brainstorm some questions about your topic. Write them down.


3. Now choose the three most interesting research questions to think about. These are the three questions from my brainstorm that I would probably choose:

• Who is my favorite character from that film?


• What, specifically, make me like this film so much?


• What kinds of values or ideas about life does this film suggest?

4. Now, use these questions to do some further research about your topic. Make sure that you take notes. You will use these notes to make a brief presentation about your topic.


5. Organize your notes. Make sure that you have an introduction and a conclusion.

Volunteering Web Quest

We've been discussing volunteer work in class. This web activity will help us learn more about volunteer opportunities in the United States and around the world. Remember to write down your answers so that you can present your findings to the rest of the class when we are finished with the activity.

1. Think about the different kinds of volunteering you have done. What was it? Did you enjoy it?

2. Go to www.volunteermatch.org. This website is a search-engine for different kinds of volunteering that you can do in different places.

3. Use the search function to find a place to volunteer. You can search by US city or state, or you can search by the kind of thing you are interested in, for example "environment" or "health."

4. Choose one of the volunteer opportunities from your search and note the following:

• The organization--tell us briefly about what the organization is and what they do.
• The area of focus of the volunteer work (women, environment, education, etc...)
• Description of the volunteer work
• Are there any qualifications that a volunteer needs?
• What is the cost, if any, of the program?

5. Does this volunteer work sound interesting to you? Why or why not?

6. Now go to http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm. This is a website of volunteer opportunities around the world.

7. Use the search function to find a volunteer opportunity. You can search by region, country, and type of volunteer work. I did a search and found a volunteer opportunity to live with a family in Jordan and teach them English, which sounds interesting to me! Find something you are interested in.

8. Note the following information about the volunteer opportunity:

• The name of the organization and other relevant information about it.
• A description and duration of the volunteer program. What are the responsibilities of volunteers?
• What kinds of qualifications, if any, does a volunteer need?
• Does the program cost anything?
• Any other information you think is relevant.

9. Does this volunteer work sound interesting to you? Why or why not?

New Urbanism

The Town Paper is a website that discusses Traditional Neighbourhood Development, or TND. TNDs are communities built on the principles of New Urbanism, which we have been learning about in Chapter 2 of Northstar Advanced.

Go to the TND Neighbourhoods section of the Town Paper website. You will see a list of links to the websites of different TNDs throughout the country, organized by state. Please pick three of these communities to read about. Come back to class prepared to discuss the following information (note, you may not find all the information, but find as much as you can):

1. The name of the TND and where it is located
2. The founding principles of the TND--for example, is it based around an agricultural community, is it more artistic, is it focused on education...etc. Many websites will have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. The FAQ section is a good place to get information.
3. What do the homes look like?
4. How much does it cost to live there?
5. Would you live in the TND? Why or why not?

TV News Report in Idioms

TV News Report in Idioms

With a partner, choose one of the following topics and write a short TV report in the form of a dialogue (4 minutes) for the class.

1. A five day weather forecast including temperatures, conditions, good news and bad about what is happening in the weather. (Suggested website: http://www.weather.com)

2. A “weekend wrap-up” of sports including wins, losses and gossip in at least three different sports. (Suggested website: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportscenter/index)

3. Breaking world news regarding at least three different countries, with at least one of your stories being positive. (Suggested website: http://www.bbc.co.uk)

4. Recent local news from San Diego and Oceanside, with at least three different news stories, one of which being positive. (Suggested website: http://www.signonsandiego.com/)

5. Recent US national news, with at least three different stories, one of which being positive. (Suggested website: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/index.html )

6. Recent news in style and art, with at least three different stories. (Suggested website: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/style/index.html)


Here is the trick. Each group has to use idioms to tell the story. The idioms have to be used in such a way that helps explain the story and that works in the context. ALSO, since other people in the class will watch the report, each idiom that is stated hast to be re-stated by the other partner in other words to help explain its meaning. You must use at least 5 idioms in your report. You may use idioms that you already know or check the following websites for more ideas.

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms

http://www.idiomsite.com

Gattaca, Genetic Engineering, and Transhumanism

Gattaca takes on issues related to genetic engineering and “transhumanism.” Before we begin watching the movie, we’ll learn a little bit about genetic engineering and transhumanism. Your teacher will divide you up into several groups, and each group will be responsible for researching and reporting on one aspect of this topic.

1. What is biotechnology (also sometimes called "Genetic Engineering")? Give some examples of how biotechnology is used.

2. What is transhumanism? What are its aims?

3. What technologies are relevant to transhumanism? For example, genetic engineering. Why are transhumanists interested in these technologies?

4. There are many arguments against transhumanism. Summarize the "Frankenstein" argument and the "Terminator" argument.