Starting Journal Topics
What do you think about the state of the world today? Do you keep yourself informed about the world? If not, what not. If so, to what effect?
Interview an adult about 9/11. What do they remember? What do they describe? OR - watch some of the 9/11 footage online... how do you think this act of terrorism changed the world.
How does the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" relate to The Kite Runner? What themes or ideas about life do they seem to share in common.
Characterize Baba and Amir's relationship. Why does "hate" enter into their father/son relationship? What quotations show us, the readers, the raw truths about their feelings towards one another?
Children are not colouring books.
Much of this novel is about discrimination and cultural divides across political/social/religious lines. Is it human nature to hate the "other"? Do we in Canada have our own stories of ugly discrimination? Or, what about right here in the hallways of Highland, what ugly divides and discrimination happen here? How can we deal with this sort of hatred?
Do you identify with Amir in any way? Most students see at least a glimmer of themselves in the complicated relationship he has with his father. In what ways are you like Amir?
Reflection is a form of personal response to
experiences, situations, events or new information.
It is a ‘processing’ phase where thinking and learning
take place. There is neither a right nor a wrong way
of reflective thinking, there are just questions to
explore.
Reflective writing is:
• your response to experiences, opinions, events or new information
• your response to thoughts and feelings
• a way of thinking to explore your learning
• an opportunity to gain self-knowledge
• a way to achieve clarity and better understanding of what you are learning and thinking about in class
• a chance to develop and reinforce writing skills
• a way of making meaning out of what you read and discuss in class
Reflective writing is not:
• just conveying information, instruction or argument
• pure description, though there may be descriptive elements
• straightforward decision or judgement (e.g. about whether something is right or wrong, good or bad)
• a summary of course notes
• a standard formal essay
