What does it mean to be male/female?

To begin yesterday's class, I returned in-class paragraphs and your responses to the Reena Virk article.  Please come see me if you still need to write the paragraph.

We then had a Writer's Workshop, where we listened to a slam poet deliver his poem on what it means to be male.  You can listen again here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYg9Z5VspSY

Then, I shared two poems written by young females, about being female.  Students were then asked to consider one or more of the following questions, and to write, in either prose or poetry, in response to them.

What does it mean to be male/female?
What is tough about being male/female?
What is to be celebrated about being male/female?

Students are free to choose the gender they wish to explore, or they could choose to explore both.  We will continue with our writing on Thursday.