Aug 14
By Traci Gardnercardmaking card, My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up, Thanksgiving
In the last 8 hours, I’ve become completely distracted with Stampin’ Up’s My Digital Studio software. My sister bought it for me as a Christmas present. At the time, my computer had a dead fan and was close to complete failure, so I didn’t install the software. I figured I’d wait for the new machine. The new machine came in March, but I had work to do (and no overwhelming need to make a card) so I never got the software installed.
Next week, I’m going to a Stampin’ Up regional conference as the guest of my sister (who is a demonstrator). Typically, attendees bring card samples to swap with one another. I figured I didn’t have time to get anything done, and I’m not sure I could tell you which box my craft supplies are in anyway. No big deal, I figured.
Suddenly last night however, I remembered the My Digital Studio software, and I realized that I could probably design some cards in time since I could rely on the printer to help me. Okay, my software designs won’t be as cute and complicated as the handcrafted ones, but something is better than nothing. Besides, I figure demonstrators need examples to convince people to buy the software just as much as they need examples to convince people to buy the rubber stamps.
So over there on the right, you have my first creation. It’s meant to be a Thanksgiving Place Card, which could be printed out on an inkjet business card. Okay, I grant that it’s the kind of thing your average 5-year-old could create with paper and glue, but hey, it was my first project with a new piece of software, so I’m allowing myself not to be Martha Stewart-level designer yet.
For any Stampin’ Up folks who want the details, it uses Grosgrain Ribbon for the brim (Basic Black) and the stripe (Crushed Curry). The buckle is Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware – square. Background is Always Artichoke Stripe. The solid is Always Artichoke. There’s a square punch (Basic Black) for the hat, and the text (Arial Black) is in Crushed Curry with a 50% drop shadow.
I hope to learn a bit more about the software in the next few days and then make it a bit more sophisticated before we leave for the conference. If you have suggestions to jazz it up or pointers for the software, let me know. I’ve only been playing with it for 3 hours, so I have plenty I need to learn.
Nov 22
By Traci GardnerAmerican Lit, classroom activity Mark Twain, Native Americans, Thanksgiving
Still looking for that last-minute classroom activity to keep the class occupied before the Thanksgiving break? Mark Twain’s newly released autobiography includes a comment on the meaning of Thanksgiving that is bound to lead to a lively classroom discussion.
Begin the classroom discussion by asking students to brainstorm or freewrite about the meaning of Thanksgiving. To help focus their comments, you might first ask them to reflect on what Thanksgiving means to them by sharing some of their personal experiences.
Next, ask them the talk about the cultural and social messages related to the holiday. It’s likely you can arrange their shared responses into a handful of categories like family, tradition, patriotism, thankfulness, and shopping.
Once students have recorded their ideas on the meaning of Thanksgiving, turn to Twain. The New York Times published some Excerpts From the ‘Autobiography of Mark Twain’, (found via Chris Boese on Facebook) that included this vitriolic rant “On the Meaning of Thanksgiving”:
Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for — annually, not oftener — if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side, consequently it was proper to thank the Lord for it.
Twain’s syntax is a little complex, so you might start by breaking down that passage and unpacking the words. Ask students to look in particular at the word choice Twain is using to establish his opinion on the meaning of Thanksgiving:
- It’s a function, rather than a holiday or celebration
- The pilgrims are “those people.”
- The function marks “exterminating their neighbors.”
There’s no whitewashing in Twain’s account of Thanksgiving! Those are some tough words, and Twain’s meaning is very clear.
Have students think about the religious and cultural references in the quotation, and challenge them to think about how Twain’s personal experiences may have influenced his opinion. Have students compare Twain’s comments to the ideas they brainstormed at the beginning of the activity, and encourage class discussion of the accuracy of Twain’s statement. Are there ways that Twain’s take on the meaning of Thanksgiving could be seen as accurate?
As an extension, ask students to adopt Twain’s structure and tone and apply it to Black Friday or Cyber Monday. What would Twain say was the meaning of those commercial events?
[Photo: Turkeys by Hey Paul, on Flickr]
Hi, I’m Traci Gardner, known in most circles as Tengrrl. I’ve been exploring and writing about the best ways to teach composition using digital technology for over 20 years. You may have come here because you’re looking for my 
