Friday, February 20, 2015

Pre-Reading Activity

Answer one of the questions thoughtfully!  Don't repeat!  Read through everyone's responses so that you know how each question was answered.

1. Shabanu Daughter of the Wind takes place in the Cholistan desert.  Attach a map of the desert and a picture of what the desert looks like.  What countries are around it? Explain hardships or problems that might be faced because of the setting.

2. This is a quote from the author: "The news, important as it is, is not the best way to promote cultural understanding. News is based on facts about politics and economics. But fiction invites us into the lives of people who may seem very different from us, but nevertheless share our emotions and hopes and dreams—the stuff of the hearts of every one of us."  What do you think about this?  What does it mean?

3. Who is the author?  What else has she written?  Why does she write about this setting?  What else did you find out about her?

4. This book will talk about Muslims who are people who follow the Islam religion.  Find out about this religion and summarize it for us!  What facts can you find out?  (What is the rank among other religions of the world?)

5. What is a custom?  What are customs commonly observed in the United States/Iowa?   What would be the consequences for not following the customs?

6. What does betrothal mean?  Find a list of places that still practice betrothals today.  Is it a good or bad thing?  Why?

7. What is the official language of Pakistan?  In this language, what does chadr mean?  What do you think of when you see pictures of a chadr?

8.  What does it mean to have "gender roles."  Do we have gender roles today?  If so, what do you think they are?  Research what gender roles may be in the middle east or from the Muslim religion.

7 comments:

  1. #3. Suzanne Fisher Staples wrote Shabanu Daughter of the Wind. Under the Permission Tree, Shiva's Fire, House of Djinn, Haveli, and the Shadows of the Ghadame are a few. She believes that the setting makes the story. She has written for 20 years.

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  2. #7 Urdu and English. Chadr is a cloth worn by woman as a head cover. When I see pictures of a chadr it makes me think if I had to were it how it would make me feel irritated because it might get hot.

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  3. #5 A custom is a habitual practice. Some that we have are having Christmas and Thanksgiving and celebrating birthdays too. A custom is something that will always happen.

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  4. #5-
    A custom is a traditional and widely accepted way of doing something that is specific to a particular society, etc. Some customs in Iowa are being Christian or having no religion. There would be no consequences(I think).

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  5. #6 Betrothal means that you are engaged to marry someone when you are usually under the age of 18. West Asia, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and some parts of Africa still do it today.

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  6. #8 Gender roles are how the gender affects roles in society. Do we have gender roles today? Not really because everyone in American society has same rights.

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  7. #2 I think this is true. Different people tend to communicate and act differently and others can easily misunderstand. I think that looking through others eyes(even if fictional) can help us understand that different people can be very much the same.

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