Week 7, Due 9/27

Hello Everyone,

I hope you enjoyed Pastor Rodney's presentation Friday.   Personally, I love hearing from different people's perspectives and what they observed when traveling.  I hope that you came away with some answers to your Middle East questions and that you came away with new questions. Any time you listen to a presentation, you should practice active listening and wondering; otherwise you are just killing time.

The best time of learning is like this:

1)You make yourself receptive--well rested, fed, carving out time in your schedule
2) You take new information in (from a book, a person, a website, a conversation) There are so many sources of information and people to learn from in all of life.
3)You reflect upon that new information.  You process it.  Consider the ways the new information fits with what you knew before, then adjust your understanding.
4)Finally, push yourself to wonder and ask new questions.

Middle East Reflection
As a way of practicing this learning loop and crystallizing new information, I'd like to record what we learned and now wonder as a result of Pastor Rodney's presentation.  We will do so by each contributing to this class document.  If you were absent, you may skip this step. Do this right away before the busyness of the coming week zaps your memory.

Middle East Geography Sheets
Complete all of the geography sheets that I gave you in class with the exception of the blank Middle East map and the Islam crossword (we'll work on those next week). A few of these sheets involve remnants from our focus on Africa, but most are Middle East related.  Note: if you were absent Friday, you'll have to wait and get these from me next week, then do them the following week.

Other Middle East Visuals

*Read this infographic carefully.  Answer these questions on paper as you read:

1. What's the title and focus on this infographic?  How current is it? (subject, occasion/context)
2. Who is the author/creator of this infographic? (speaker) What can you discern/infer/find out about them?
3. Why do you think it was created? (purpose) What does the author/creator hope to accomplish?
4. List a few interesting insights it shares.

Read this list of  Turkish proverbs.  Proverbs are traditional sayings that can shed light on a cultures values. Write down one proverb that you especially like/agree with and explain why.  Write down a second that reveals something interesting about the Turkish culture, values, or mindset.

Oops! I forgot to add the Jimmy Fallon clip about how to say gyro that Pastor Rodney mentioned.

Wow--look at all the ethnic groups!  Check out a bigger version of this map here.  Then click on it to zoom in.