MM

Juan and Marisa Toscano, also known as my grandparents, greeted me anxiously at their door upon my first solo arrival at their home. I followed them into the kitchen where much unasked for food was pushed upon my plate. I had expected Marisa to leave the room, or sit quietly at the table and pretend to understand what I was asking Juan in English, but she remained actively seated in the room. She was ready to be interviewed. I do not think I have ever seen her look this excited to speak to me. My intent was to only interview Juan, so that I could conduct most of the interview in English, but Marisa wanted in on this too. I quickly translated my questions to be in the Spanish language, something all three of us could easily communicate with, and proceeded with my investigation of the [|Spanish Civil War]. "Fear", they kept telling me. If I had to choose one word to describe the [|Spanish Civil War] based on my interview, I would choose 'fear'. I wanted to get other emotions from them, but Juan looked me straight in the eye and said to me, (more seriously than he had ever spoken before) "How could you be other than scared?" Since fear seemed to be the only emotion Juan and Marisa recalled from the war, I asked them what drove this constant fear. Marisa told me horrid stories of rumors that the enemies were hiding in the mountains and were going to come down at night at brutally murder innocent people in the streets. Parents were afraid to let their children out of the house; everyday large numbers of innocent people were killed in the streets. Marisa recalled that "Everyone was afraid to go out, to do anything because no one knew how else to react in a time like this, even within the families." The war sounded like a blur of brutal confusion and chaos. Judging from the disturbed looks on Juan and Marisa's faces, it was. Whenever someone made it out on the streets alive it was impossible for them to get anywhere without being stopped by the police. Juan compared using public transportation during the Spanish Civil War to traveling via an airport during a time of high terrorist alert. If someone was ever stopped without their legal papers on them, he would be sent to jail or even out of the country. Overall the war was “muy mala. Muy mala, muy mala, muy mala. La gente mataron a la gente”. (Very bad. Very bad, very bad, very bad. The people killed the people.) "I heard about the war from people running in the streets" said Marisa. Juan heard about the war in a much more civil way: the radio. Like many other wars, the Spanish Civil War did include a draft. Juan, who was only 10 years old at the time (the war took place from 1936 to 1939) had not been drafted, but Marisa had brothers who were. Out of the nine children in Marisa's family, four of her brothers had been drafted into the war. Two of them were wounded. She was lucky. Many of her friends had no brothers or fathers because they had all been killed in the war. Besides worrying about the draft and being killed every time they stepped out onto the street, many Spaniards were worried about food at the time. Food was scarce and starvation was common. Luckily, my grandmother's family owned a [|restaurant] (this website is in Spanish) so even though "the main thing was hunger", my grandparents "were never hungry. [They] had plenty of food. Thank God." Everything came in rations: bread, beans, coffee, chocolate. "Beggars filled the streets," Marisa recalled with a look of slight disgust. During the weekly street fairs there would be a beggar stationed next to each stand. "Everyday they would knock on the door" begging for a small piece of bread to keep them alive. With this lack of food came a surplus of disease; "Many people had tuberculoses because they had no food out on the streets." Disease was not the only thing tearing families apart. Spain was divided. Half was on[|| Francisco Franco's] side (fighting against communism), and half was against him. Brothers fought brothers depending on their location and personal beliefs. Families killed each other. Marisa and Juan were on Franco's side; Franco had even been born and raised in their home province Galicia. Marisa stated, "People talk about Franco now. Bad things. That he was a dictator and killed people, but Franco was good for Spain. The city, the towns everything was destroyed and little by little there was reconstruction and Franco would help people.” My grandparents are still proud of siding with Franco to this day. His name seemed to bring an eerie smile to their faces. Three years later, this war of [|mass chaos] ended. When I asked Juan how it ended, he simply replied, "the people stopped shooting" (like I should have known that). Even though the people stopped shooting, civilians still had to be cautious because some of the enemies remained hidden in caves in the mountains. To celebrate the end of this terrible war there were huge parties in major cities like Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid. Despite the partying, the war left a somber and totally depressed mood (which I assume much resembled the solemn expressions on Juan and Marisa's faces) on the scenically ruined country. The war "destroy the country completely. Destroy to the material things, and destroy to the spirit."
 * INTERVIEW: THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR**


 * Audio (because my iTunes decided not to work) [|Songs from the Spanish Civil War]**


 * A note about the video: it is in Spanish but it is a series of scenes from the Spanish Civil War. The voiceover is describing the war.**

media type="youtube" key="cczG3Stgz4U" height="344" width="425"

Class period eight Wiki-spaces, oh how great Discussion Questions
 * HAIKUS**

Mr. Saxon waits Playing music before class For period eight

We watch The Office It relates to school so well Great way to end class

Here sits Solana I think she talks way too much She is distracting

= = =LESSON PLANS FOR __1984 __ = =  = = =

>>
 * [[image:images.jpeg align="right"]]Standard
 * 3.B.1.- Analyzing characteristics, structures, tone, and features of language of selected genres and apply this knowledge to own writing
 * Expectations
 * My group will understand the purpose of Newspeak in the society of //1984//
 * My group will be able to create their own Newspeak conversation
 * Based on the conversation, they will be able to list the pros and cons of Newspeak
 * Materials
 * Laptop with my WikiSpace open to view notes on Newspeak
 * //1984// the book
 * Opening
 * I will have my group skim over the passage of Newspeak in the book and quickly discuss their opinions of it
 * Open your books to page 51 and read paragraph 2
 * Think about this quote: "//After all, what justification is there for a word which is simply the opposite of some other words?"//
 * Now read the principles of Newspeak [|here]
 * Middle
 * My group will state what words they think Newspeak would eliminate
 * Then they will see how real their guesses were based on this [|Newspeak Dictionary >>]
 * [|Click here]for a handout to create your own piece in Newspeak
 * Ending
 * They will share their Newspeak conversations and explain the pros and cons of Newspeak and any difficulties they may have had writing it
 * They will then discuss if Newspeak could ever happen in the present world

[[image:HidingFace.jpg width="178" height="132" align="right"]]

 * Standard
 * 3.5 A.1- Understand that messages are representations of social reality and vary by historic time periods and parts of the world
 * Expectations
 * My group will be able to understand the concept of hiding from a higher power in //1984//
 * My group will be able to compare Winston's reasons for hiding with other famous historical hidings (such as [|Osama Bin Laden] or [|Carmen San Diego]- where in the world is she?)
 * Materials
 * Laptop open to my WikiSpace
 * Worksheet
 * Opening
 * My group will come up with a list of everywhere Winston hid in Book Two and whether or not they thought these were good hiding places
 * My group will come up with a list of actual hidings and compare these to Winston's situation
 * Middle
 * My group will follow [|this worksheet](independently) to put themselves in Winston's situation
 * Ending
 * My group will share their answers from the worksheet and come to a conclusion about hiding from the government
 * How often will you get caught? Is there anyway to not get caught?

BOOK THREE: WHAT TORTURE CAN ACCOMPLISH

 * [[image:saw7.jpg align="right"]]Standard
 * 3.5 C.1- Use print electronics and media texts to explore human relationships, new ideas, and aspects of culture (e.g., racial prejudice, dating, marriage, family, and social institutions).
 * Expectations
 * My group will learn why torture is used on people and how effect it is
 * My group will leant about [|various torturing tactics]that have worked on people in similar situations to Winston
 * Materials
 * Laptop open to my Wiki page
 * Online [|worksheet]
 * Opening
 * My group will read this article on torture and discuss their reactions
 * They will then compare the article to the torture Winston endured and gave into in 1984
 * Middle
 * My group will complete this worksheet comparing 1984 to the Saw movies and Big Brother to Jigsaw
 * Ending
 * My group will share their answers from the worksheet
 * My group will state their opinion on the torture in 1984: was it justified? Was it necessary? Overall, was torture the best solution in "curing" Winston?

=Socratic Seminar Questions: Gender= = = **Girl**
 * Examine the rules of groups in society today
 * Is this poem just stating the rules or is it stereotyping women?


 * X**
 * What is your general opinion of the story?
 * Could an "X" ever survive in today's society? Is this story realistic?
 * What problems (socially and mentally) could a child develop if it is raised as an "X"?
 * Do you think that making children "X's" and "Y's" is a healthy choice to destroy the gender stereotypes in today's society?


 * Trifles**
 * What is your general opinion of the story?
 * Who pays more attention to detail? The men or the women? Is this a stereotype or scientific?
 * Examine the differences between the male and female characters in the play


 * WHMS**
 * Can men and women ever be just friends?


 * Tying it all together...**
 * Does society have rules or are we stereotyping?
 * What has made men and women so different: society or science?