Classroom Community Building & News Report Writing

The start of a new semester is a time to think hard about the classroom communities we're building for our students. The following activity uses a list of 50 questions to get to know someone by Andrew Tarvin as an excuse to bring students together for conversations. I think it's fun, because not only do they have a chance to talk about themselves (generally an opportunity adolescents embrace) but also we can use the list to think about the kinds of questions that are appropriate in different situations.

Character Analysis

Later in the term, these questions can be revisited as we consider characters in texts and perhaps analyze how fully realized a fictional character is based on how well we could answer these questions about a character from a short story or novel.

Small Talk & OSSLT Prep

Also, as an option for grade 9 / 10 classes, the task branches off into New Report writing as a prelude to instruction for the OSSLT.

Lesson Plan & Worksheets

Class building focus: "Awkward Silences" activity
OSSLT Focus: Building Classroom Community - Rapid Interviews /  50 Questions & News Writing Worksheet

This is interesting... - organizer

PuppySwap – The Puppy Subscription Service

This clever video is a great example of "selling the problem" -- and it's horrifying.  People are abandoning dogs as puppies outgrow their cute stage and become a nuisance... so let's create "PuppySwap".  The viewer is left to wonder where is the man taking the older dog?  What's going to happen to the dog?



This could lead to some great critical thinking.  Possible prompts:

1. At some point did you start to doubt the authenticity of the ad?

2. Why do we consider the idea for this service to be morally unacceptable? Do dogs have rights?

3. How big a problem is pet abandonment? How could we find accurate information about this issue?



It might be mean, but I'd be inclined to pause the video just before the title comes up at the end and ask the students to react and comment prior to revealing the true purpose of the ad.

Character Analysis - Introvert Island

Gemma Correll's The Introvert's Heart

Novel discussion groups can become formulaic without the injection of new material to spark interesting debate. This terrific graphic by Gemma Correll provides excellent fodder for character analysis. Use the graphic as a standalone discussion starter or consider using it alongside Susan Cain's excellent TED Talk "The Power of Introverts".
This assignment page could be used as a follow-up task:  Character Analysis - The Power of Introverts

Getting Lost: "The Last Days of Peter Bergmann"

What does it mean to get lost in our social media saturated, closed circuit tv monitored, and Googlable world? This poor man, whose name wasn't really Peter Bergmann, decided to lose himself in a small Irish town. His final days are documented in this haunting short film:


The Last Days of Peter Bergmann Trailer from Fastnet Films on Vimeo.

The full 19 minute long film can be watcher here at Aeon Video: The Last Days of Peter Bergmann.
The film explores how unsettling we find the idea of a lack of identify, and deliberate efforts of a man to leave this world anonymously. Randall Sullivan's article from WIRED tells the fascinating story of a modern bounty hunter: "The World's Best Bounty Hunter is 4'11" - Here's How She Hunts" -- in it we follow the hunt for criminals trying desperately to stay off the grid and out of prison. These are people who would love to gain the anonymity of Peter Bergmann. Contrast these present day stories with the heartbreaking documentary "No Place on Earth" and the efforts of a group of Ukrainian Jews fleeting nazi troops and disappearing into a cave for over a year.



NO PLACE ON EARTH TRAILER YOUTUBE 5D from Janet Tobias on Vimeo.

Each of these texts examines how deeply rooted in our societies we are and how difficult it is for individuals to vanish.

Additional resources:  Interview with Ciaran Cassidy (writer/director of "The Last Days of Peter Bergmann")

MTV's Teen Mom Is Good For You?

Few things push my moral outrage button harder than Keeping Up With the Kardashians or The Bachelor or 16 and Pregnant. It's so satisfying to pontificate about these exploitive messes, while quite enjoying other reality tv programs such as Dirty Jobs or Ace of Cakes.
Now I'm faced with this article from the Aspen Journal of Ideas that declares that Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant have been causally linked to declines in teen pregnancies in the US. Should educators be showing episodes of Teen Moms in health classes?

This assignment tasks students with reading the Teen Moms article and to think about the history of reality tv programs and also to consider how they celebrate / exploit the skills and behaviours of their stars.

Another useful Reality TV reference:

Tiki-Toki - Timeline of Reality TV

The Strange & Curious Tale of The Last True Hermit

Michael Finkel's story in GQ The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit is a great read. Finkel tells the story of Christopher Knight - a recluse who managed to craft a life of isolation living in the woods of Maine for nearly thirty years. Knight opens up to Finkel -- to a point and reveals a complicated set of interests and tastes. Knight describes his difficulty returning to society and his experience in prison, "I am retreating into silence as a defensive move," he wrote. Soon he was down to uttering just five words, and only to guards: yes; no; please; thank you. "I am surprised by the amount of respect this garners me. That silence intimidates, puzzles me. Silence is to me normal, comfortable".
The article connects with Into the Wild, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Glass Castle and any other text about escape, independence, mental illness or isolation.
Here's a version of the article with a few study questions added at the end:  The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit.

Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye "An Origin Story"

A great story about friendship, a terrific performance and a fun two person poetry form. A poem as a point / counterpoint. Great model for students to try emulating.