Persuasive speech on being a hero.

In this video a teacher delivers a persuasive speech to his class on what a hero is and why we should be one. Take note of the persuasive techniques that he used in this speech.

Wordslide and Geosense

I found an addictive new word game called Wordslide. Wordslide is a text puzzle game and it is not only challenging but completely addictive. You can play against the computer or challenge another player. You can play anonymously or you can register and have your scores recorded for you.

The same site also has a game called Geosense which a fun way to use and improve your knowledge of world geography. It is similar to Wordslide in the sense that you can play against the computer or challenge another player. Geosense can also be played anonymously or you can register and have your scores recorded for you. There are four Geosense maps (US, World, Europe, or advanced) that you can select from.

The Kite Runner – Chapter 6

It is winter in Afghanistan and it is also the kite flying season. Baba buys Amir and Hassan the best kites at a specialist kite maker. Amir is a skilled kite flyer but wealth and privilege are also significent factors in his success.
As the boys prepare for the tournament Amir half-playfully tests Hassan’s loyalty by asking him if he would “Eat dirt if I told you to”. This test is another sign of Amir’s arrogance as a ruling Pashtun as well as an indication of his insecurity. The reader wonders why he has the constant need to exert power over the obviously powerless Hassan.
The tournament draws near and Baba takes a real interest in Amir and he confidently predicts he will win. Amir is worried that he won’t measure up but also hopes to bask in the glow of victory. He thinks taht if he wins the tournament that “maybe I would be finally be pardoned for killing my mother.”

Punctuation takes a holiday

Vodpod videos no longer available.

See what happens when you don’t have punctuation! Hint – click on the googly eyes to embiggen.

Smashing Creme Eggs

Another clip to file under ‘People with too much time on their hands’. Someone has created a Rube Goldberg machine that is used to squish a Creme Egg. This video is an entry in Cadbury’s “Unleash The Goo” competition, in which entrants must find the most creative way to break a creme egg. These guys deserve to win.

Funny Newspaper Headlines

Take a look at the newspaper clipping above – the headline is OK but note the circled quote. If you would like to see more funny newspaper clippings click here.

Soraya

“I blinked, my heart quickening. She had thick black eyebrows that touched in the middle like the arched wings of a flying bird, and the gracefully hooked nose of a princess from old Persia – maybe that of Tahmineh, Rostam’s wife and Sohrab’s mother from the Shahnamah.”

One character that we have not discussed in any real depth is Soraya. When Amir sees Soraya at the flea market he falls in love. Soraya also suffers from the mistakes she made as a young woman, but accepts her humiliation for running away with a man and becomes a good, decent human being. Soraya is the perfect match for Amir who considers himself to be soiled and spoiled. She is instrumental in helping Amir to develop in maturity. Soraya’s honesty about her past is a lesson for Amir, “I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with.” Although she has been denied motherhood (perhaps to expiate her own sins) she is rewarded when Sohrab becomes her son and she and Amir finally have a complete family.

Glogs

I was asked about the glogs that we made earlier in the year. If you would like to have a look at them go here.

The Kite Runner – Chapter 5

Another day, another chapter. In this chapter the monarchy is overthrown and Amir and Hassan witness the coup. When Afghanistan changes so does the lives of Hassan and Amir, particularly because of Assef. Assef is the most evil character in the novel and he is a strong supporter of the fall of the monarchy. Assef wants, like Hitler did in Germany, to rid Afghanistan of unwanted minorities like the Hazara and save it for the Pashtuns. He uses this as a threat to Hassan. He asks Amir how he can he have someone like Hassan as a friend and Amir almost says  that Hassan is not a friend, but a servant. It would have done him no good, because Assef intends to hurt Amir as well since he and his father have “taken these people in.” Hassan bends down, picks up some stones, and pulls out his slingshot. Hassan orders Assef to leave them alone and warns him that he will take out his eye if he doesn’t. Assef backs off, because Hassan’s ability with a slingshot is wellknown. Assef, warns them  that he is a patient person and that what has happened that day is not over. Hassan and Amir  know Assef is capable of anything.

Afghanistan is declared a republic and for the next few years, life goes on as before. In 1974, on Hassan’s birthday Ali calls Hassan in, because Baba wants to speak to him. This year Baba’s present to Hassan is plastic surgery to repair Hassan’s harelip. Amir is once again jealous and thinks that Hassan’s present isn’t fair. He even wishes he had his own scar. The surgery goes well and by the following winter, Hassan is finally able to smile normally. Amir thinks this is ironic, because that is the winter that Hassan stops smiling.

So in chapter five, we see some significant events taking place – Amir once again shows his need for love and acceptance from his father, because he is envious of Ali’s tenderness toward Hassan, we find out about the bully, Assef, who has anti-social ideas that are similar to those of Hitler. Assef’s decides to attack Amir and Hassan which shows us the discrimination against the Hazara and foreshadows later events. We see that Amir is a coward, because he wants to tell Assef that Hassan is not his friend, but his servant. He is in contrast to Hassan who plans to use his slingshot against a Pashtun to save Amir. In this chapter Hassan continues to be the better of the two boys in terms of the strength of his character. We also learn that Hassan will take out Assef’s eye if he doesn’t leave them alone. This foreshadows what his son Sohrab actually does to Assef many years later under.

Hassan’s surgery is an unexpected gift for a Pashtun to give a Hazara, it leaves us wondering if there is something more in this relationship and again it foreshadows future events.Amir himself uses foreshadowing and irony when he tells us that the following winter something will happens that makes Hassan stop smiling.

Year 12 work

I am on a course today and I would like you to answer the question below and then continue with  your other work.

Discuss the difference between Baba and Ali and between Amir and Hassan. Are Baba’s and Amir’s betrayals and similarities in their relationships of their servants (if you consider Baba’s act a betrayal) similar or different? Do you think that such betrayals are inevitable in the master/servant relationship, or do you feel that they are due to flaws in Baba’s and Amir’s characters, or are they the outcome of circumstances and characters?