Bilbo Baggins Essays - The Hobbit, New Zealand Films, Free Essays

Bilbo Baggins Essays - The Hobbit, New Zealand Films, Free Essays Bilbo Baggins The book begins with Bilbo Baggins enjoying a pipe after breakfast. Th is is one of his favorite pleasures and he feels quite content in doing so. He is middle-aged, and resides in a clean warm burrow in the ground. One morning Gandalf, a wizard stops by to chat with Bilbo. He informs Bilbo that he is looking for someone to go on an adventure with him. Although Bilbo is tempted he declines, but not before inviting Gandalf for tea the next morning. The next day Bilbo hears his doorbell and he recalls inviting Gandalf for tea, but instead of the wizard at the door, there is a group of dwarves... thirteen in all. Thorin son of the dwarf king starts to outline a plan on how to regain the tr easure stolen by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo is shocked to realize these plans involve him! He then realizes that Gandalf has tricked him by inscribing on his doo r that he was a burglar seeking a job with lots of excitement. With all this talk of quests and glory Bilbo decides to join the party after all. Gandalf reveals a key and a map of their journey which ends at the Lon ely Mountain. It is there that the treasure of Thorin's ancestors are kept-guar ded by Smaug. The quest begins and the party meets at the Green Dragon Inn. From there they venture into the Lone-lands. As heavy rains begin to fall, Bilbo notice s that Gandalf is missing. When it starts to pour they stop to investigate a light. There Bilbo finds three trolls grumbling about food. Bilbo decides to live up to title of burglar and attempts to pick one of the trolls pocket. However they quickly capture him. The dwarfs see what's going on and try to save poor Bilbo... yet all of them except Thorin is caught. Thorin formulates a plan of freeing them but fails. Gandalf returns and occupies the trolls till dawn, then the turn into stone. They group take the two swords and a knife the trolls were carrying. The travelers come across the Secret Valley. There they stop at Elrond 's Last Homely House. Elrond tells them the only way to use the key that Thorin possesses is to wait where the thrush knocks and the setting sun will shine up on the keyhole. The next morning the group heads toward the Misty Mountains. A storm has caused them to seek shelter in a cave. The cave however turns out to be an entrance to the goblin kingdom. Once again the group is captured. Only Gandalf is free, and he slays the Goblin King, and once again free the party from impend ing doom. During the escape Bilbo is knocked unconscious and is left behind. He awakes to find himself power which makes it's wearer invisible - the ring which Bilbo found. Bilbo slips the ring upon his finger and disappears. He follows Gollum stealthily toward the entrance to the outside world. He then bounds over Gollu m's head to freedom. Outside he is reunited with his dwarf friends. Later they encounter Wargs (large savage wolves). The Wargs chase the party into the trees. High in the branches Gandalf uses a spell to turn the pine cones a fire, in order to drive the wolves away. However the plan backfires and the very trees they took refuge in are now ablaze! Luckily for them the king of the eagles spotted them. He and his eagles swooped out of the sky and whisked our adventures to safety. The eagles dropped them off near Mirkwood Forest. This is where they come across Beorn, a bear like man who can indeed change into a bear. He puts them up for the night and outfits them with supplies for th eir trip into Mirkwood. He also warns them not to stray from the path in the fo rest. When they are ready to enter the forest, Gandalf announces he will not be accompanying them in this part of the journey. The group feels lost without him but yet they press on. They come across a black river. It is here that Bombur, one of the Dwarves falls in and is thrust into a sleep from which he cannot awake. Food is scarce now and the hungry travelers are lured off the path by visions of elves feasting in the forest. To their surprize every time they announce their presence to the elves...they elves vanish! Once again Bilbo finds himself seperated from the group. He stops for a short nap and awakes to find himself

Using Response Cost in Classroom Behavior Management

Using Response Cost in Classroom Behavior Management Response cost is the term used for removing reinforcement for an undesirable or disruptive behavior. In terms of Applied Behavior Analysis, it is a form of negative punishment. By removing something (a preferred item, access to reinforcement) you decrease the likelihood that the target behavior will appear again. It is often used with a token economy  and is best used when a student understands the implications. An Example of Response Cost Alex is a young child with autism. He often leaves the instructional setting, requiring the teacher to get up and leave. He is currently working on sitting in the instructional setting while participating in an imitation program. He is given tokens on a token board for good sitting during instruction, and earns a three minute break with a preferred item when he earns four tokens. During trials he is given constant feedback on the quality of his sitting. Even though his leaving the site of instruction has decreased, he does occasional test the teacher by getting up and leaving: he automatically loses a token. He quickly earns it back when he returns to the table and sits well. Eloping from the classroom has been extinguished. Leaving the instructional site has dropped from 20 times a day to three times a week. With some children, like Alex, response cost can be an effective way to extinguish problematic behavior while supporting other behavior. With others, response cost can present some serious problems. Response Cost as Part of an ABA Program The basic unit of instruction in an ABA Program is the Trial. Usually, a trial is very brief, involving an instruction, a response, and feedback. In other words, the teacher says, Touch the red one, John. When John touches the red one (response), the teacher gives feedback: Good job, John. The teacher may reinforce each correct response, or every third to fifth correct response, depending on the reinforcement schedule. When response cost is introduced, the student may lose a token for an inappropriate behavior: the student needs to know that he or she can lose a token for the target behavior. Are you sitting nicely John? Good Job or No, John. We dont crawl under the table. I have to take a token for not sitting. You need to constantly be evaluating the effectiveness of response cost. Does it really reduce the number of inappropriate behaviors? Or does it just drive the inappropriate behavior underground, or change the misbehavior? If the function of the behavior is control or escape, you will see other behaviors popping up, perhaps surreptitiously, that serve the function of control or escape. If it does, you need to discontinue response cost and attempt differentiated reinforcement. Response Cost as Part of a Classroom Token Economy Response cost can be part of a Classroom Token Economy, when there are certain behaviors that can cost a student a token, a point (or points) or money (a fine, if you are using play money, School Bux or whatever). If it is a classroom program, then everyone in the class has to be able to lose points at a set rate for a certain behavior. This reductive method has been shown to be effective with students with ADHD, who often never get enough points for positive behavior, so they end up very quickly bankrupt in the classroom economy. Example: Mrs. Harper uses a token economy (point system) in her Emotional Support Program. Each student gets ten points for each half hour that he/she stays in their seat and works independently. They get 5 points for each completed assignment. They can lose 5 points for certain infractions. They can lose 2 points for less severe infractions. They can get 2 points as bonuses for exhibiting positive behavior independently: waiting patiently, take turns, thanking their peers. At the end of the day, everyone records their points with the banker, and at the end of the week they can use their points in the school store. Cost Response for Students with ADHD Ironically, the one population for whom cost response is effective are students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Often they fail at classroom reinforcement schedules  because they can never quite earn enough points to get the prize or the recognition that comes with earning points. When students start with all their points, they will work hard to keep them. Research has shown this can be a powerful reinforcement regimen for students with these behavioral disabilities. Pros of a Response Cost Program When you have real clarity about the behaviors for which a student can lose points, tokens or access to reinforcers, it is likely that you will see very little of those behaviors. At the same time, you are reinforcing the desired behavior.Response cost is easy to administer,When the student has a behavior that prevents his or her peers from learning, creates a danger to himself or others (eloping, climbing on furniture) response cost can provide a swift punishment without actually applying any aversive. Cons of a Response Cost Program If the ratio of positive reinforcement is not at least 3 to 1, your students may never get out of the hole. It will merely be punitive, and never really take hold.If response cost is not consistently applied in a non-emotional way, it will become the source or recrimination and bad blood between students and staff or students and teacher.If it builds dependence on punishment, it will be counter-productive. Reinforcing replacement behavior is still the most effective way to change undesirable behavior. Resources and Further Reading â€Å"Behavior Modification in the Classroom.† Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management, by Nancy Mather et al., 3rd ed., Brookes, 2008, pp. 134-153.Walker, Hill M. â€Å"Applications of Response Cost in School Settings: Outcomes, Issues and Recommendations.† Exceptional Education Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 4, 1 Feb. 1983, pp. 47-55.