Ethereal Issues

1. Ethereal Issues How do the things that are important to us create the person we are and influence the person we will become?

2. Classroom • Seniors • English 12 or Contemporary issues portion of Bible Lit. and Contemporary issues course • Can be adapted to work with World Literature

3. Standards • Reading Comprehension 2.2: Analyze the way in which clarity of meaning is affected by the patterns of organization, hierarchical structures, repetition of the main ideas, syntax, and word choice in the text. • Writing 1.2: Use point of view, characterization, style, and related elements for specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes. • Writing 1.5: Use language in natural, fresh, and vivid ways to establish a specific tone. • Writing 1.7: Use systematic strategies to organize and record information. • Writing Applications 2.3a: Explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, or concerns by using rhetorical strategies. • Literary Response and Analysis 3.2: Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. • Literary Response and Analysis 3.3:Analyze the ways in which irony, tone, mood, the author’s style, and the “sound” of language achieve specific rhetorical or aesthetic purposes or both.

4. Learning Outcomes • Learning Outcomes: • 1. Students will be able to analyze the way in which importance is established by the patterns of organization, repetition of main ideas, and word choice in various texts (See Grades 11&12 Reading 2.2). • 2. Students will be able to use point of view, characterization, and style for specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes in order to display their exploration of personal goals (See Grades 11&12 Writing 1.2). • 3. Students will be able to use language in natural, fresh, and vivid ways through the use of a series of short pieces which, when placed together, will explore a single unifying idea (See Grades 11&12 Writing 1.5) • 4. Students will be able to use systematic strategies in order to analyze a piece of writing in relation to an alternative text [Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs] (See Grades 11&12 Writing 1.7). • 5. Students will be able to write reflective compositions, which explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, and concerns in order to create a diagnostic and personal trajectory for their own person (See Grades 11&12 Writing Applications 2.3a). • 6. Students will be able to analyze the ways in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support their interpretation (See Grades 11&12 Literary Response and Analysis 3.2) • 7. Students will be able to analyze the ways in which tone, mood, and the “sound” of language achieve specific rhetorical or aesthetic purposes and apply these strategies in their own writing (See Grades 11&12 Literary Response and Analysis 3.3).

5. Texts Primary Text: The Stranger by Albert Camus Summary: A young man buries his mother, shuns a female lover, defends his mistress-beating friend, and kills a man without experiencing any of the expected internal conflicts. One might consider him a genuine sociopath yet something about his outlook on life gives the reader pause in passing judgment. Also Works With: Hamlet, Macbeth, or King Lear by William Shakespeare 1984 by George Orwell Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt

6. Supplemental Texts The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall The spoiled nephew of an oil tycoon must complete extraordinary tasks, which build upon his character in order to receive his inheritance. Note: This text is a very easy read. It is not to be used for analytical value but rather as a starting point for a few of the activities and as an aid in getting the students thinking about life questions.

7. Supplemental Texts

8. Supplemental Texts • “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut: In a world where compulsory equality of intelligence is enforced, a couple sits and watches TV. They watch the world’s smartest and thus most dangerous man gunned down without even realizing he is their son. • “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff: A seasoned book critic mouths off to a cliché bank robber. He is subsequently shot in the head. The bullet travels through his brain forcing synapses to fire. He flashes back to an afternoon on a baseball field in his youth, where the simple misuse of words actually gave him joy. • “War is Kind” by Stephen Crane: A cleverly crafted poem that explores a side of war that most choose not to talk about. • “A Theory of Human Motivation” (excerpts) by A.H. Maslow: An article, which explores a hierarchy of human needs and the motivations that drive them.

9. Prompt “Manual of Me” You Trajectory Piece • Personal Motto Piece • Family Motto Piece Assembly Instructions • Golden List Piece • Song of Significance Piece • Personal Scenarios Piece • Role Model Collage Piece • Heirloom Piece • Last Day Itinerary Piece

10. Activities • Maslow’s Hierarchy Write-ups: During one of the first lessons of the unit we read excerpts from “A Theory of Human Motivation” During this lesson students create their own graphic organizer of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. They are then assigned 5 Write-ups. These are 1 page reflections which analyze any text we read (besides the primary text) through the lens of Maslow’s theories of human motivation. These write-ups can focus on either characters within the texts or on the authors of the texts. The texts are arranged in such a way that doing these write-ups gets harder as the unit progresses. There are a total of 8 opportunities for these write-ups so students benefit from getting them done early. • Quickwrites: Every lesson for the first three and a half weeks has a quickwrite. These quickwrites are all intended to either help the students reflect on the primary text or consider another aspect of the essential question. Some are also designed to help them with creating their “Manual of Me” project.

11. Lessons • Mood Separation Word Hunt Lesson The class will be split up into four large groups. One portion of each group will be given the task of creating a timeline for the chapter which shows the major events. They will put each of these on the board. Other members of the group will be given sections of each chapter in which they will find every adjective, every noun, and possibly every verb. These will eventually be counted and placed on the board with the corresponding timeline. The purpose of this is to give the students a visual representation of a specific craft choice made by the author. Discussion or writing follows. • Gift Day: Students will start with a quickwrite which provides a transition from their reading to the supplemental material. We will discuss the events of the text and Meursault’s reactions to them briefly. We will then move on to read two excerpts from Jim Stovall’s The Ultimate Gift. The character in this novel is going through a few trials of his own, and the students will mimic these trials first, by creating a “golden list” of ten things they are thankful for, and second, by creating a “last day itinerary.” 

12. Lessons •  Learning the ABCs to Making Meaning: The session will begin with a quickwrite that is designed to get the students thinking about family. The students will then be given the essay “Son of Mr. Green Jeans.” Each group will be assigned a section of the essay. For this section each group will write a “talks about” phrase of 5 words or less, and a “says about it” phrase of a sentence. These phrases will be shared with the class. The class will discuss common themes, subjects, and ideas. The teacher will take notes for them on the board. They will use these observations to come to some conclusion about what the author is trying to say with the essay. The teacher will help the class generate family-based themes and topics on the board. They will then be given the task of creating their own alphabetical list about family, which explores some bigger message. • This essay is available on the internet