Mythology Orientation

For the second part of the Blackfoot Unit reading this week, I am going to focus on the story The Smart Woman Chief . Written by George Bird Grinnell in 1915. The first element of this story that I like is how women do not know men exist and men do not know women exist. I think this open and honest unknowing creates a sense of innocence among the story. I found it interesting that once they discovered about the opposite sex they immediate engaged in common human customs, such as getting married. I also found it interesting how they determined both women and men's strengths.  Overall, this story was easily to read and follow along with. It was an interesting story, and you can't help but feel bad for the Old Man. I do like how the chief of the women showed her strength and put the Old Man in his place. There are some terms that you need to be aware of before you are able to fully understand and appreciate the story; so, a little background information might be needed.

For this week's reading I chose to read the Blackfoot Stories Unit . Specifically, I chose to focus on the story Blackfoot: Cold Maker's Medicine . At first I was unsure if I wanted to write my notes about this story. The beginning of the story was peculiar. An old women killing men to commit cannibalism and feed her tamed black bears. It wasn't until the end of the story that I was able to appreciate and understand the story. Although the story was odd, I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know what happened, and I think this is an important characteristic of any great story: it draws and keeps your attention. I like how the author explained Cold Maker's medicine. For example, how producing his own smoke via a pipe prevented the smoke from the fire continuing to lower. I thought this was a very creative addition. I thought the story was well written and easy to follow. I like how they story was narrated but also included direct quotes from the characters. I also

When Your Brain Doesn't Sleep What is at least one thing that the article CONFIRMED for you that you knew already One thing I already knew and that this article confirmed was that proper sleep hygiene is critically important to our brain. What is at least one NEW thing that you learned that you did not know before? One things new I learned was that poor sleep can actually result in volume loss in brain hemispheres. What is the one thing you are now CURIOUS to explore (i.e. something you want to try in your life, something you want to research and learn more about, etc.) and what are you going to do in order to act on that curiosity? One thing I am curious to explore is the irreparable damage caused to the brain by "all-nighters". Specifically, I would like to know if "catching up on lost sleep" is actually any benefit at all. I know there is published research regarding this topic, so looking at the research that has already be

Assessment, Choice, and the Learning Brain What is at least one thing that the article CONFIRMED for you that you knew already? One thing I already knew that the article confirmed was that many teachers--and professors for that matter--have an outdated method for assessing student understanding. Many test the students' ability to memorize facts, figures, formulas, etc., but do not focus on how to best help students retain and encoded this knowledge into long-term memory. What is at least one NEW thing that you learned that you did not know before? Although I have developed and used both of these types of goals depending on the subject/class, I never viewed academic goals as either performance-related or mastery. This does make a great deal of sense to me. I can still recall information that I was determined to master for one reason or another.  What is the one thing you are now CURIOUS to explore (i.e. something you want to try in your life

For the second part of the Apache Unit reading this week, I chose to focus on Apache: Coyote and Porcupine . This story is very odd and involves a lot of tragic death. The story begin by the porcupine tricking a buffalo into helping him cross a river. The buffalo agrees but is ultimately killed by the porcupine. The porcupine then tricks the Coyote into butchering the buffalo. A battle ensues between the porcupine and Coyote with the porcupine eventually winning and the Coyote and his children are killed.  When you think about it, this is a really sad story. I chose this story not because I necessarily liked it but because I liked how it showed the intelligence of the porcupine. He tricked multiple individuals (animals) to do the hard work for him so he could relax and enjoy the final product. Someone may focus on the death in this story and miss the meticulous intellect of the porcupine. I think it is cool how this is a subtle yet important aspect of the story.    Resting

For the first part of the reading this week I chose to read the Apache Unit . Particularly, I am going to focus on the story Apache: Coyote Secures Fire . To be honest, I found many of the stories in this unit difficult/challenging to read. I felt as if significant background information is needed to be able to fully understand what they meant for the story to mean. I chose Apache: Coyote Secures Fire  because of the realistic nature of the children's knowledge. Specifically, there is an instance where the children are asked something that they know but refuse to answer. Coyote then creates a string of beads and brides the children to tell him what he wants to know. Since there is a reward involved the children comply and tell Coyote what he wants to know. I thought this was really interesting. This is very realistic and true but since the author creates the story they can write it however they want. I found it interesting how the author revealed the selfish nature of the ch

For the second part of the Nigeria Unit reading, I am going to focus on the story The Election of the King Bird   by Elphinstone Dayrell. I think this is a really interesting story. I have read stories about animals assisting with human tasks, but I have never read anything about the organization and hierarchy of these animals. Although the story mainly focuses on the animals and the battle that ensues, I think it is very interesting that the King chose animals over humans.  There are many different aspects and characters in this story but I feel like the  author did a great job of incorporating each character and creating a cohesive atmosphere in the story. I think it would be cool to use this as the story's base but instead of focusing on the king of the birds, focus on the king of the beasts, the elephant. I think this would create a fun and exciting story that would easily grab people's attention. Although the elephant may not be the most feared animal, its brute siz

For this week's reading, I chose to read the Nigeria Unit . Overall, I really enjoyed reading the first part of this unit. In particular, my reading notes are going to focus on the story,  Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King .  This was a very interesting story. It was action packed and easily kept my attention. It started by providing background information about the situation and then moved on to the plan. I especially like the deceptive nature of this story. I think it would be really fun and interesting to write a story focusing on deception. Compared to other stories, this story was also very barbaric and vivid. This added an extra layer and depth to the story. I think I am going to use this story for the basis of my next portfolio addition. I also like the ironic statement at the end! Overall, this was a really great story. It did a great job at setting up a whole society and situation in a very short and easy to follow manner.  Also, although this story is s

Looking Back: The assignments I enjoy most in this class are the assignments where we get to learn about different feedback, learning, and writing strategies. I find these articles and assignments to be very useful to not only this class but others as well. I have actually used strategies about giving feedback in my job while performing observations. So far the extra credit I take advantage of the most are the Crash Course videos, which are always interesting and entertaining. I also like and have found the tech tips to be useful. I am happy with where my website is at the moment, and will continue to modify as the semester progresses.  Looking Forward: I have found myself taking advantage of the grace period too often. I would like to be able to complete the assignment ahead of schedule; this semester has just been so busy.  Strategies to Increase Motivation Source - Vision Exercise Physiology  

Most of the comments I have received have been very helpful at further developing my stories. The comments I find most useful are the ones that not only provide suggestions and advice but also explain why they are suggesting/advising that particular thing. This helps to reveal the genuine nature of their comment, and it helps to gain a better perspective of how they interpreted the story.  I feel like the comments I give, particularly on stories, are beneficial. There are many times that the stories I read are great. In these cases, I try to dive even deeper and suggest things that can open a new pathway in their story. Generally, I like the feedback strategy of providing positives, proposing questions, and then offering constructive feedback.  Since this is an online class it is difficult to really get to know people but I do feel like I am able to connect with others by reading their introduction and through commenting.  Looking forward, I think I can do a better job of

To begin this review week, I updated my portfolio website. I added an additional line about my upcoming story and changed the background color. Also, taking someone else's suggestion, I added a link on my home page to the comment wall for easier access. At this point, I am happy with the way my portfolio website looks.  Looking Back: Looking back I have found my reading notes to be helpful. Normally, I review my reading notes, then re-read the story, and then write my story. What I find most useful regarding my reading notes is that I detail exactly what I like about the story. I use this to help guide my writing process; making sure to include all of the things I found most intriguing/interesting about the story.  My favorite story so far has been the King of the Ants . I think it is such a cool and creative story. I also like it because there are a multitude of different ways you can change and alter the story to make it more personal or to fit other themes.  The Quaint

Updated in my Portfolio  The Amazed Chemist There was once a world-renown chemist who was studying the most molecular aspects of the world in which we know. For several months the chemist’s research and experiments continued to fail. Just as he was about to give up, he decided to try just one more thing. Seclusion. The chemist decided he needed to clear his mind. He needed to escape society. For hours he traveled until he came upon a small, remote town shrouded by tall mountains and vast forests. He decided that this was the spot. He found a small cabin to stay in. It was only one room and had a quaint and homey-feel with a warm fireplace in the corner. The chemist only had one complaint: there were several gnats and fleas around the cabin. He just contributed this to the cabin’s old age. As he was trying to fall asleep one night, he heard a peculiar sound at the door. He crept ever so slowly towards to door…   At once, hundreds of tiny knights burst through the crac

I also enjoyed reading the second part of Chinese Fairy Tales unit. I have decided to focus my notes on the story The Little Hunting Dog  by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens.  This story is very similar to the story my notes focus on for the first part of the reading which was The King of the Ants . In this story, a scholar decides the city is too loud for him to concentrate so he decides to go stay in a Buddhist temple. The story mentions how the scholar suffered because of an infestation of gnats and fleas in his room. One night while studying, tiny knights rode in his room riding miniature horses. Other knights were on foot with hunting dogs and hunting falcons. The falcons and dogs attacked and killed all of the fleas and gnats. After they had killed all of the gnats and fleas the falcons and dogs laid next to the scholar on his bed. Then the king arrives and everyone gathers around him. After they had conversed with the king, they gathered everything up an

For the extra credit reading this week, I chose to watch the Crash Course videos regarding Mythical Places. These videos discussed many of the mythical gardens, forests, lakes, rivers, cities, and temples that exist in mythological folklore. I thought it was interesting to learn that some mythical caves contain lush gardens within them. For example, Hades is described as a dark and mysterious cave, yet we know it also contained pomegranate trees. I think it would be cool to incorporate this unusual pairing (dark, dangerous cave with beautiful, lushes gardens).   I also found it interesting just how versatile a mountain can be in a story. For example, it can be a home of a god or king, since it reaches to the sky; avalanches; they can be treacherous; and, a mountain can be used as a source of valuable minerals. Including a mountain in a story open the door to include many unique situations. I most definitely want to include some of these features into my upcoming stories. M

For the reading this week, I chose to explore the ChineseFairy Tales unit. I chose to read this unit in particular because I am interested in potentially writing a story about these topics. For my reading notes, I am going to focus the story The King of the Ants by R. Wilhelm. This was an interesting story. To summarize, there was a scholar who went to Emmet (Ant) village. He decided to stay in a home with a beautiful garden. The only thing was is that the house was suspected to be haunted. One night, hundreds of knights (ants) came bursting into the room. The knights, much like the traditional knight, were riding horses. At once the knights pulled out their bows and arrows and caught a large amount of birds. The ants then prepared a feast from their great hunt. The king ant arrives in a lavished processional. Later, the ants fish (out of the scholars ink saucer) and catch a tremendous amount of fish. The king ant then makes a snarky comment towards the scholar which angers h