I will miss you so much!

Aim: How do we evaluate our collective learning this semester?

Quick Write: What did you learn about yourself as a student this semester? What did you learn about yourself as a person?

Dear Brainiacs,                  

I have enjoyed working and learning with each and every one of you so much this semester. As you all know, you "piloted" this new course, and it was gratifying to watch you tackle the college-level material with such enthusiasm. I personally learned sooooo much from each of you, and I do think it will help make me a better teacher.

To further assist me in this endless endeavor to improve my teaching practice, please complete a course evaluation form. There are hard copies in the classroom and a link to the form below. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful comments.

I will miss you. I hope I will see you next semester--if not in my class then around the campus.

Carry on,

Ms. Becker

Click here for the course evaluation.

Independent Reading Projects

Aim: How do we create a literature circle project? 


Quick Write: Discuss your plan/outline for creating your literature circle project.

Remember your independent reading book(s)? If you were not able to complete the Quick Write, then you need to get cracking right away. Here is a list of suggestions for your project. These are only suggestions. 

If you are planning to take the ELA Regents, it is strongly suggested you write a critical lens essay, using your independent reading book and one other novel, play, poem, or short story that you have read. Here are more directions and some quotations to choose from.

Please turn in the Literature Circle worksheet with the grading rubric when you turn in your project. Also, please plan to present your project to the class.

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Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  
  By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Creating a Podcast

Photo sourced by Oscar Jimenez

Aim: How do we write and broadcast a script? 

Quick Write: How do you make yourself focus? (This was Geremy's question. I think. I may have been distracted.) 

To complete the lesson on reading "Harrison Bergeron" through the lens of the article "Brain Interrupted," you are to put yourself into the head of George or Hazel Bergeron. Is your government using distractions effectively to create an equal society? Why or why not? Write a script and put it into a podcast.  Check out my feeble attempt to model this by clicking here. If you are completely adverse to recording your own voice, then write your script and find a friend to act it out for you. In other words, you be the director and technician.

You can open a free account at Audioboo for recording and sharing your podcast. Alternatively, you can record your podcast using Garage Band on the laptops and then upload it to SoundCloud so that you can share the link on your blog. Here are the instructions for using Garage Band.

Final Reflection (to be posted on your blog along with the link to your podcast). Based on your analysis of "Harrison Bergeron" through the lens of "Brain Interrupted," how do you now rate yourself as a multi-tasker and why?

Interpreting "Harrison Bergeron" through the Lens of Brain Science

Aim: How do we interpret “Harrison Bergeron” through the lens of brain science? 

Quick Write: Rate yourself as a multi-tasker on a 1 to 10 scale and explain why you give yourself that rating. (10 is the best score and 1 is the lowest.) Share your answer with a partner and/or the class and explain why you gave yourself this score.

Are you multitasking now? Are you in “receive mode” for text messages? Are you secretly signed into your Facebook account? When was the last time you checked for messages or email? Be honest! In this lesson, we'll read the latest brain science research on multitasking, interpreting  "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. through that critical lens.

        

        Step 1: Read the article "Brain, Interrupted" for the answers to these questions:

         

           1. Describe the experiment that was designed to show whether distractions make us “dumber.”

  2. What were the results of the experiment?
  3. What is the possible explanation for the “On High Alert” group performing even better than the control group who was left alone?
  4. Did you miss any important points in the article because someone or something distracted you? If so, do you believe it was because you are addicted to messaging or because you were robbed of brain power? Explain.
  5. Based on "Brain, Interrupted", do you believe the United States Handicapper General in "Harrison Bergeron” made an effective use of distractions to create an equal society?  Explain.    

Step 2: For further reading on multi-tasking, check out this short article or research an article of your own.                 
Step 3: Put yourself in the head of George or Hazel Bergeron.  Is your government using distractions effectively to create an equal society? Why or why not? Write a script and put it into a podcast. Check out a free account at Audioboo for recording your podcast. To share a podcast from your phone or computer check out a free account at SoundCloud.

Final Reflection: Now how do you rate yourself as a multi-tasker and why?

Reading Harrison Bergeron

Aim: How do we interpret "All men were created equal" through the lens of brain science?

Quick Write: Do you believe "all men were created equal" knowing what you know about the human brain? Explain briefly.

Today we will read the dystopian short story “Harrison Bergeron," applying what we have learned about the human brain to help us interpret its meaning.

If utopia describes the perfect place or country, then dystopia is the exact opposite, meaning a society filled with oppression and human misery. In "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. a dystopian society handicaps its citizens in a variety of ways--all in the name of equality. In this quest, you will read this short story written in 1960 and analyze what Vonnegut was trying to say about the fundamental belief that “All men are created equal.”

Step 1: Read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.  keeping the following questions in mind as you read.

1     1. What is the situation in the U.S. in 2081 as described in the first paragraph?

 2. What has the U.S. government done to ensure that “everybody was finally equal”?
 3. Why do you infer that Harrison Bergeron was in jail in the first place?
 4. In your opinion, did the society succeed in making everybody equal? Why or why not?
 5. Based on your interpretation of the story, what do you think Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. believes about equality?

Step 2: After you have read the story, discuss the above questions with a partner or the class.

Step 3: Copy the above questions into a post and answer them in complete sentences.

Final Reflection: After reading “Harrison Bergeron,” do you believe “All men are created equal” remains an important principle upon which the U.S, government was founded? Why or why not? Please write at least one well-organized paragraph and post it to your blog along with your answers to the above questions.

Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.