American Street - Day 8

Happy Friday! We'll start today by watching a few more of the videos we made at the start of the year - almost four weeks ago!

Next, you'll read chapter 16 and "Marjorie & Valerie's Story"

Then, you'll get back into your groups. The goal today is to research some background information to deepen our understanding of the novel. Your group will focus on:

1. Haiti - the earthquake of 2010
2. Haiti - voudou culture and practices (especially those named and used by Fabiola)
3. Haiti - immigration - policies, practices, challenges
4. Detroit - where in the city does the story take place? what role does race play in the story of contemporary Detroit?
5. Culture - Kasim takes Fabiola to see the Alvin Ailey dance group - who are they? Why is that significant? Kasim is also listening to J. Dilla in his car - who is that? Why is he significant?

• How should you research these? It's up to you! I recommend starting with where you would typically start - a Google search, a YouTube search, or even Wikipedia. 
• Watch videos, read articles, listen to recordings - build your knowledge about the topic.
• Discuss your findings with your group - in what ways does your new knowledge help you to better understand the world of the novel?
• Present your findings in a digital format. You can do this in a number of ways - a document filled with pictures and text; a slideshow with videos and titles; a Prezi - whatever you'd like!
• Share your presentation with me - I will be posting them on the blog.

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Your homework for the weekend is to read chapters 17-19 and write a journal response.