Work on your GarageBand Track

Agenda:
I. Do Now
II. Finish Lyrics
III. Add Lyrics to song

I. Do Now: The Media is seen as one of the most important elements of society. Some authoritarian governments restrict the media to keep people from rising up. For over 200 years, the U.S. has given news organizations the right to cover what they please in the name of 'freedom'. Many blame modern-day racism on the media as they continue to portray many people in stereotypical roles. How important is the media? Where do you see the media going?
What should the media be covering?

II. Finish song lyrics - Today, you will work on your songs and some of them will have a chance to record your lyrics into these songs. One thing to keep in mind is that your lyrics must go well with the beat you have created. If you are collaborating with 1-2 other people, you must make sure your rhyme scheme goes well with each other. Work on your lyrics and then finish your garage band beats to make sure they go well together.

III. If you are ready to record your lyrics, see Mr. Amador for the mic. You will have only 15 minutes to record your vocals. Make sure to upload your garageband beat to the network. Mr. Amador will show you how.

Swing Swing Swing

Agenda:
I. Do Now
II. Swing Slang Song
III. Swing Musician biography

I. Do Now: Swing music became famous during the 1930's and changed the way many Americans felt about music. Looking at the pictures above, what do you think is different about Swing and today's music? Is the music of today as vibrant and as energetic as Swing? Why or why not?

II. Swing Slang Song - You will write a short story (3-5 paragraphs) about the youth of today using 20 words from the Hepster's Dictionary (<--click). Email the song to omar.amador.79@gmail.com or post the song on the blog. It is okay to write about a different subject as long as you include 20 words from the hepster's dictionary. Be sure to underline the words. You may not use the same word twice.

III.Work on your GarageBand track. Plan on having your lyrics from yesterday fit the music you are creating.

Group A & B - Amador's Homeroom only

AGENDA:
I. Do Now
II. Type Essay draft
III. Email draft to Mr. Amador (omar.amador.79@gmail.com)

I. Do Now: Space Missions and the Economy
Since the Cold War, mankind has been trying to make scientific breakthroughs by sending people to space. But going to space is not cheap. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the space race stopped and now going to space seems to many as a waste of resources. Others see space missions as vital for the existence of mankind in the future. What do you think? Do you feel space missions is a waste of money? Do you feel space missions are essential and necessary?
Write your answer on the blog with three supporting statements.

II. Essay Draft - Type your essay draft on word. Remember to save every 10 - 15 minutes. Some of you need a clear thesis. Please see Mr. Amador to see if your thesis is okay.

III. Email your essay at omar.amador.79@gmail.com

nuclear arms reduction

Agenda:

I. Blog Question

II. Keyboard Exercise

III. Work on Timeline

I. Blog Question - Nuclear Arms Reduction

President Obama and the president of Russia recently had a meeting and to establish more peace between the countries. They decided to reduce their nuclear missiles in order to bring more safety to the earth.

Some people fear that this makes the US look weak and in order to be the strongest country on earth, we have to appear like we are powerful. Some fear that countries like China, North Korea and Iran will try to take advantage of the US if we reduce our nuclear weapons. If we appear weak to them, then other countries will follow. It it a positive or negative thing that we reduce our nuclear weapons?

II. Review music theory notes by viewing this page (click here). Notice how the piano and music notes are directly connected.

III. Play Notes using virtual keyboard - You will play the following tune and Mr. Amador will give you points once he hears you play the notes on the sheet music. You will play the tune using the online virtual piano or Garageband.

Immigration Proposals

Agenda
I. Do Now
II. Type your Poems and email to Mr. Amador
III. Continue Research

I. Do Now: Recently, we have been covering the topic of immigration reform. Some politicians from different ideologies (conservative and liberal) have come up with a solution that can maybe help President Obama pass immigration reform to help undocumented immigrants get citizenship.


The proposals are:
1. Undocumented immigrants must admit that they broke the law by coming to this country illegally.
2. Undocumented immigrants must pay a fine ($1000 - $5000) for breaking the law.
3. Undocumented immigrants must agree to have their background checked.
4. Undocumented immigrants must go back to their home countries and wait to get clear and then they can have citizenship.

Your response:
What are the pros and cons to these proposals? Do you agree with them? Why or why not?
Come up with a solution to fix immigration reform so that undocumented immigrants can become citizens while ensuring the U.S. economy does not fall behind.

II. Finish typing your poems - You will type your poems that you have been working with Myron. Your finished poems must be given to Mr. Amador by today - NO EXCEPTIONS! Your typed poems are worth 20 points. Mr. Amador must collect your poems before you leave class. You can also email your poem to him to omar.amador.79@gmail.com

III. Continue your research for the timeline. Some of you are using other timelines from different websites. Remember that the events on the timeline must include how ideology effected the country you are researching up until recent history. If you pick a timeline from 1300 - 1880, then your timeline will not be current and you will receive a low grade.

On to the next promise, Mr. Obama

Agenda I.
Do Now
II. Wikipedia.org or CIA World Factbook search
III. Begin Research IV. Find important events and summarize
V. DO NOT PRINT YOUR RESEARCH!

I. Do Now: President Obama has kept his promise to provide more Americans with Health Care, a law that he was finally able to pass and will take affect in 2014. Now that Obama has completed one of his promises, many activist are demanding that he keeps one of his original promise - To have Immigration Reform.

Currently, immigration laws are not working. On one hand, many immigrants continue to come here illegaly, increasing the use of public services. On the other hand, immigrants contribute more than 300 Million dollars to the U.S. economy by providing cheap labor.

Many Americans who have grown up in the U.S. are getting deported because they were brought to the U.S. illegaly when they were children.

While Obama promised to fix immigration to make it easier for "illegal" immgrants to become citizens, he fears that if he touches the issue, he won't get realected. What do you think? Should he try to pass immigration reform, even if it means that he will lose the next election?

II. Wikipedia Search - You will make a search of the country you have picked. Be sure to copy and paste important notes on Microsoft Word. Remember that you are looking for 10 key events.

III. Summarize your research - Remember to look for important events. Concentrate in the 1960's.

IV. DO NOT PRINT - check with Mr. Amador becore you start to print your research!!!

piano notes

Agenda
I. Do Now - Obama's Health Care
II. Quick Review of Notes
III. Play Notes on Online Keyboard or GarageBand Keyboard

I. Do Now: President Obama's health care reform has finally passed. Although some parts of the health care bill will have to be corrected by the Senate, many say Obama's health care bill will be the biggest legislative change since the Civil Rights Amendment, the amendment that guaranteed equal rights for all people.
The bill only passed by a small margin (only a few votes). The bill had to be changed many times and part of that change will not include abortions in the new health care reform. Many feel Obama needed to include that so that conservatives in Congress would not try to block the bill. Others feel Obama's bill should have kept abortion in the health care reform.
Do you feel it is okay that for Obama to try and make conservatives happy or should he have done what he felt was right, even if it means not having a bill pass? If you were President Obama, what would you have done?

II. Review music theory notes by viewing this page (click here). Notice how the piano and music notes are directly connected.

III. Play Notes using virtual keyboard - You will play the following tune and Mr. Amador will give you points once he hears you play the notes on the sheet music. You will play the tune using the online virtual piano or Garageband.

Photoshop Political Poster and Song

Agenda
I. Blog Question
II. Photoshop Political Poster
III. Political Song

Today, we will be using Photoshop (Some of you may know photoshop).

Although we can go over hundreds of pages of how to use photoshop, the best way to learn is by doing. You will create a Political miniposter using an image from google, a picture of yourself, and a statement using Photoshop.

I. Blog Question -
Using the vocabulary word you chose to make a poster in the past few days, write how someone from that perspective sees the subject abortion. For example, if my definition was Socialist, I would begin with..
"As a Socialist, I see abortion as a right for women and something the government should always pay for."


II. Photoshop Political Poster

1. Using Google Images, find a picture or symbol of the political vocabulary you have been working on; example: "authoritarian" or "capitalism", etc.

a. on a new windown, go to google and click on images, then add the vocabulary word.

b. click on the best picture and click "See full size". Click and hold on the image and drag it to your desktop.

2. Open photoshop on your computer.

a. Click on Finder, go to Applications, then Adobe, then open Photoshop.

3. Open Photobooth on your computer and take a picture of yourself, then drag it on the desk top. (Finder ->Applications-->Photobooth)

4. Open both pictures with photoshop (hold down CONTROL and click on the picture, then click on Open With -->Photoshop.

5. Fiddle with both pictures and see if you can create a mini poster.

Ask Mr. Amador for help.

6. Save your picture as a jpg file and save it to the desktop (save as jpg). Then email me the image at omar.amador.79@gmail.com


III. Political Ideology draft song
Based on the political definition you worked on, create a song using the perspective of someone that believes in that ideology. For example, if your definition is Fascism, you will make a song from the perspective of a fascist.

Political Ideology Quiz

Agenda
I. Blog Question
II. Vocabulary
III. Political Ideology Online Quiz
IV. Finish Blues Song

I. Blog Question - Many people from around the world are engaged in rebellions against their government. Some are trying to overthrow cruel dictators and others are just fed up with having a government that does not work. Many people like to feel that they stand for equality but what are people willing to do about it? What would it take for you to want to rebel against your own government in an armed struggle (using weapons and violence)?


II - III.
Why do people fight in wars? Many people come to the United States because they are escaping wars in their home countries; sometimes for hunger and a chance at a better opportunity in life, and others to escape a cruel government. For whatever the reason, governments all over the world, including the U.S., are run by people with very specific points of view and ideologies. Ideologies that affect the way things are done in countries.

Where do you fit in the picture? You will define the vocabulary listed bellow and then take the political quiz and answer all the questions. When you are done, email the vocabulary along with the results of your Political Compass and write what you are considered politically. Also compare yourself with someone closest to you in the International Chart and write a brief summary about that person's philosophy.

II. Vocabulary - Using an online sources (dictionary, wikipedia) and Microsoft Word, write the definition from any online dictionary, then write the definition in your own words:
1. Authoritarian
2. Democracy
3. Monarchy
4. Autocracy
5. Fascism
6. Communism
7. Anarchism
8. Libertarianism

III. Take the Political Compass Quiz

Email what you are in the political compass (ex Economic Left/Right; Social Libertarian)

In the International Chart, find someone who has the closest way of thinking to you and email me a brief 2 paragraph summary about that person and how that person thought.

email both in the same document to omar.amador.79@gmail.com

IV. Finish Blues Song. If you have not finished the Blues Song sheet (given Tuesday March 2nd), now will be a time to finish it. See Mr. Amador if you do not have the sheet.

Communism and You

Agenda

I. Do Now
II. Music Quiz
III. Communist Research

I. Do Now: Communism was supposed to have brought racial, gender, and economic equality by having a strong dictatorship that prevented the rich from controlling society. At the same time, communist governments were very authoritarian and limited rights such as freedom of speech and a free press. Many see this as an evil of communism yet many others see this as a necessity in order to keep the wealthy classes from controlling the poor. Would you give up your freedom of speech in order to have equality?

II. Music Quiz - Take the following Music Quiz (click here) and have Mr. Amador check you off when you have completed the quiz.

III. Communist Revolution Research - How many people have tried to bring equality to their own countries? Today you will research a communist revolution. You will begin by searching for "communist revolution" on google.com or on wikipedia.org. Pick any communist revolution. You will download the following research template (click here) and complete it. When you are finished, email the completed file to Mr. Amador (omar.amador.79@gmail.com). If you are not able to complete it, email the incomplete file to yourself and finish it for homework.

The Budget and the Arts

AGENDA:
I. Blog Question
II. Continue working on GarageBand track

I. Blog Question - We are in the middle of a great financial crisis in California. Currently, we do not have enough money from taxes to provide a decent education for students. School districts across the state are being forced to cut spending where ever they see possible. In some districts, 4000 teachers have been laid off.
Many people feel that the Arts should be cut because they feel it is not important as Math, Science, and English because the arts will not prepare students for college. Others feel that arts provide more to students than just a hobby and should not be cut. What do you feel? Are art programs such as music, painting, and poetry important? Should people try to save those programs from being cut? Explain.

II. Some of you started with a Garageband beat. Make sure to continue working on that and have a Melody and a Rhythm by the end of this week.

GarageBand Track

Agenda:
1. Blog Question
2. GarageBand Track
3. Record your lyrics to your new track.

Today, you will create a song for the lyrics you have made using GarageBand, a software used to create music. Remember that your song should have a total of at least 10 measures of lyrics (each measure has 4 beats). This includes 4 measures for the first stanza, 4 measures for the second stanza, and 2 measures for the chorus. With music, you will have at least 6 measures per stanza and 4 measures of music for the chorus.

1. Blog Question - What is the meaning behind the cartoon above?

Finish your contreversial song

Agenda:
I. Blog Question - sign in and answer on comments
II. Finish Song - when finished, email song to Mr. Amador (omar.amador.79@gmail.com)
III. Music Game - see below.

I. Blog Question - Obama has urged the country to start using Biofuel, a new type of energy that is made from organic material such as corn. The administration will start giving incentives such as tax cuts to businesses that will start using biofuel; a new source of energy that will save the environment and decrease our need for foreign oil. At the same time, this process will be very expensive, putting the cost on taxpayers or businesses. Should the country start using biofuel, even if it may cost you more money?

II. By today, you should have finished a song based on controversy. Controversy is an issue that can be debated easily by two opposing sides. Your song had to be based on something you feel strongly about and you feel needs to change.

If you are having trouble picking a song, here are a few topics:
Abortion, immigration, religion, war on terror, body image and beauty, race in the US., legalizing certain items, banning certain items, judicial system and the law, and the government to name a few.

Your song must have 2 - 4 stanzas, each having 4 bars or measures. Your song must also have a chorus (2 -4 bars or measures). This makes your song have a total of 10 - 20 lines (most have 16).

Make sure you use the rhyme scheme you learned on the wiki article and the ones you learned from Myron. Your lines should try to rhyme.

III. Music Game - When finished, play the following game and when you are done, have Mr. Amdor see your score so he can give you extra credit points. (Click here to play)

Writing a Song

 

Agenda: I. Blog Question 

II. Answer the questions below 

III. Write the lyrics to the protest/awareness topic you are covering.  

Writing a song can be very challenging, especially when you do not have the music for it yet. Today you will learn the basic elements to writing the lyrics (words) to a song.  

I. Blog Question: What makes a song have great lyrics (words in the song)? Think of your favorite song and write about what makes the lyrics to the song so great.  

II. Copy the questions below and paste it to a Word document and click on this link for the wikispace. You will find the answers on the wikispace page(click here) or http://www.guitar9.com/columnist3.html . When you are finished answering your questions (in your own words), save the word document and email it to me: omar.amador.79@gmail.com 

1. How many melodies does a song usually have? 

2. How many lines does a stanza have? 

3. What happens if you use the rhythm pattern of AABA? 

4. What happens if you use the rhythm pattern AABB? 

5. What should you not use twice when writing a stanza? 

6. What does the first, second, and fourth stanzas do? What does stanza three do? 

7. What happens if line 1 of a stanza has 10 syllables, how many syllables must line one of the stanza 2 and 4 have? 

8. When must you break the rules of writing a song? 

9. What steps should you do to write lyrics to a song? 

10. What is step one to writing a song (with music) 

11. What does the hook do and how is it form? (Step two) 

12. Why are the first few words of the song very important? 

13. What does step four do?  

III. Following 4 Steps on the wikispace, begin to write the song on a word file. Save your work and email to yourself so you can work on it later if you run out of time. The song is due on Monday.

Welcome to MMARSS

Welcome to the MMARSS blog. Here we will discuss various topics that deal with Math, Music, Science, Social Studies, and Literacy. When ever you come to the lab, you will check the MMARSS blog and answer any questions given that day.

Your first assignments for the MMARSS blog are:

I. Create a blog of your own and add MMARSSdhs.blogspot.com You will need an email address; if you do not have an email, now will be the time to create one (you can create an email using yahoo.com or gmail.com. Ask for Mr. Amador if you need assistance).
While creating your blog, you will be asked for a blog name. Be sure to make your blog sound like a newspaper for example "The Amador Times" or "The Amador Chronicle". Note: You must use professional names (do NOT use names like "MacDaddy1" or "Lil Prince$).


II. On your own blog, write an introduction about yourself and what you hope to gain from the MMARSS project. (Use proper grammar and refrain from profanity).

III. Answer the following question on the MMARSS blog:
Have you ever made your own music? What experience do you have with software such as Garageband?

IV. Subscribe to the MMARSS blog by clicking "follow this blog" on the main site and add five people on your blog.