Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Eras

Letter to Bartolomé de las Casas

Instructions:
The year is 1501. You are a Taino servant named Juanico. You were recently taken away from Bartolomé by order of the Spanish Crown. Write a letter to him urging him to do something about the encomienda system in the Americas and the treatment of Tainos and other indigenous people.


Dear Barteolomé,
How are you? I hope things are going well over there.

The government just took me again and it's terrible. I have no idea what they are going to do to me. They might abuse me or even kill me. I'm taking a big risk by writing this letter to you and please, please, please take every word I tell you and spread it.

I need to talk with you about the encomienda system. I thought it would be a fair system that would help our society move forward. I thought my tribe would be protected. I thought peace would be brought. I thought us Tainos would have a better life. But we didn't get any of that. Instead, we were forced to convert to Christianity and become slaves.

They made us slaves! We work 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year doing all the dirty work that our "owners" are too lazy to do. We work in mines to collect gold, we raise livestock, we run the plantation and plant crops, and if we don't and rebel against them, we'll get killed. I've seen plenty of my friends and members of my tribe gxet killed because they didn't want to be slaves or convert into Christians.

They don't understand that we are humans, not animals. We have the same amount rights that an animal has. We are all equal. We should be treated better. Help us, do something.

You must change this.

From your friend,
Juanico

Reliability, Bias, Inferences

This advertisement shows that a bottle of Fanta Grape Soda is made out of all grapes. From background knowledge, I am 100% certain that Fanta is NOT made out of all grapes. In fact, after checking the ingredients list in a bottle of Fanta Grape, I found that the first few ingredient in this drink is carbonated water, sucrose, citric acid, and flavoring. Continue reading the list and you will find no signs of grape! Instead, there's Red 40 and Blue 1 food colouring to use "in small quantities to give products a vibrant and attractive color", according to the Coca-Cola Product website.

Just by comparing the advertisement to the actual product, you can already tell that this ad was created to be a biased advertisement. This ad is reliable but at the same time not reliable. The reason this ad is reliable is that it's from Fanta, a real company. However, this ad is giving a false impression to viewers as it shows how Fanta is 100% grape when it's really not, which makes it untrustworthy.

Reflecting on my findings, I infer that this Fanta advertisement is trying to attract people to buy Fanta's beverages by showing viewers how Fanta doesn't have all this sugar and junk in it and is all grape, when it's truly not.





Sources: http://www.coca-colaproductfacts.com/en/coca-cola-products/fanta-grape/
Image found on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/272608583671892833/

Letter To My Past Self

Dear Johan,

It's going to be a prolonged and gruelling experience. It will test you. But in the end, you will pull through and mature as a stronger individual.

The next stage of your 7th-grade science curriculum you’re about to face will make you make mistakes, it will make you lose your cool. But listen to me, don’t attempt avoiding the mistakes, you will need them. They will help you with your future.

You have always worked well with others in regards to group projects, however, when the many opportunities to become a leader came your way, you have always declined. But the continuation of not grabbing opportunities is inevitable. One day you will have to become a leader, and that day will be very soon.

Your next science unit is natural disasters. You will be put into a group not of your choosing consisting of two other members, one being supportive, cooperative, and friendly, and the other you could say the opposite of that.

Working in a team setting always has its challenges. Different individuals have different perspectives, personalities, and ways they take on tasks. Listen, you will have differences with your teammates. You will feel like you want to work against them instead of with them, however, you’ll have to learn how to manage conflict.

On top of the various personalities in your team, no one will step up and become the leader of the group, so you will have to take on that responsibility. It will make you anxious, but stay tough.

Being the project group leader is something you have little experience with, and if not done correctly, can cause your team to fall apart, and you do not want your team to fall apart.

As you try out this new experience for the first time, you will have disagreements, you will carry extra burdens, you will feel pressured to keep your team moving in the right direction, you will make mistakes. . Those mistakes are what will shape you and make you who you are, the person who is writing this letter right now.

Having the leadership role also means getting everyone on the same page and dividing the work evenly and fairly. You have to be strong and guide and support your team through tough, difficult times. When you will try to divide the work up, you will find that things don’t always go your way and other people want to do their own thing.

“I’m doing parts A, B, and C!”

“Those are the easiest parts, can we split the work more fairly?” You will ask.

“...But they are already mine. I even wrote my name there already.”

“But if you take the easy parts, you will leave us with all the hard tasks.”

“Yea. So what?”

Bringing the team together is the biggest challenge you will face during this project. It’s hard, it’s tough, but when completed, it’s all worth it.

Being a leader will require more work and responsibility than you think. 

Watch how you act, don’t lose your composure, and most importantly treat other team members with respect, no matter how different they see things than you.

Just remember these words: composure, respect, hard work. And you’ll be a great leader.

You got this.

Your older self,

Johan

PE Goal

MY PE GOAL FOR 8th GRADE

1. Here’s what I know about myself as a mover.(answer these on your own then share them with a partner of your choosing)

• I really like to play basketball, swim, and gym sports.

• I think I am kinda/pretty awesome at playing indoor sports that require speed and explosive power. Ex. Basketball, Tchoukball, Water Polo.

• I find the most challenging sport or activity for me in PE is Track & Field. The reason for this is that I have a hard time running long distances and doing field events.

• I prefer team sports or activities.

• This year in PE I would really like to achieve a quicker mile time.

MY GOAL

“I.... want to improve my 7th grade 4th quarter mile time by 15 to 30 seconds... by the second mile run in 8th grade... by running more often... on the track near my house or on the treadmill in the gym... so I can improve my running endurance for other sports I like such as basketball.