Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - Vocabulary Lesson

https://youtu.be/Tz1PNIOQsFs

The “Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” is a youtube channel by John Keonig that shares short videos that define and express very particular sorrows that people might feel on occasion.

For the word “lutalica” which identifies the part of your identity that doesn’t fit into categories, Keonig writes,

You tell the world who you are in a million different ways. Some are subtle. Some are not...When you were born they put you in a little box and slapped a label on it. But if we begin to notice these categories no longer fit us, maybe it’ll mean that we’ve finally arrived—just unpacking the boxes, making ourselves at home.

Task

1. Choose a word from our list of important words and create a script for a video that would fully define the word in the style of the “Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows”.
2. Use the attached worksheet for your script.
3. Find or describe images for your video.
4. Ensure that your script demonstrates the success criteria we will describe together for a video of this type (see next page).

Quick Write Idea:

After reading this article what advise would you give to one of the characters in the text you're reading?

Why Attitude Is More Important Than IQ

What's Off Limits in YA Fiction?

YA fiction author Chris Vick set himself some interesting rules to follow when he was including controversial issues in his books directed at teen audiences. I wonder if parents and teens would agree on the rules. And I wonder if the books we use in class demonstrate the rules. Interesting questions for our students...

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/may/10/teenagers-controversial-issues-fiction-chris-vick?CMP=share_btn_gp

Critical literacy lesson:

Poor Journalism:

"Rise of women teachers 'turning boys off education' as report reveals girls born this year will be 75% more likely to go to university"

This is a great example of really bad reporting. The article's headline reports as fact a claim that is revealed to be completely without merit in the body of the article. An equally accurate headline would have been "Lack of Three Stooges courses turning boys off university".
Challenge students to research the issue and generate accurate claims about gender imbalances in education.
Original article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3586401/Rise-women-teachers-turning-boys-education-report-reveals-girls-born-year-75-likely-university.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

The Green Book

A great 99% Invisible Podcast
From the 1940s to the mid 60s, the classic American road trip could be a minefield of embarrassment and even danger for african americans daring to use the wrong bathroom, or wanting to be served in a whites only restaurant. This short 99% Invisible podcast shares stories from the time. It makes real the mundane evil of everyday racism. Here's an assignment page with a few discussion questions to support it: https://goo.gl/XHsLXa 

http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/

Ekphrasis - close reading, interpreting and responding to works of art

In an excellent article from the National Council of Teachers of English: Speak Out! How Ekphrasis Inspires Writing on the Edge authors Sirpa Grierson and Sarah Orme introduced me to the idea of "ekphrasis". 

With “ekphrasis” we combine the two Greek words “ek” meaning “out of” and phrasis meaning “speak”. When we practice the technique of ekphrasis we respond in a very structured way to a work of art with both analysis and creativity. 

Grierson and Orme focus their students on responding to works of art through poetry. Building on this, I think short narratives and dialogue would also be interesting forms for students to explore as they demonstrate their observation and interpretation skills. A great opportunity to use media to teach word choice, extending understanding and critical literacy.

Google's Art Project with it's super high resolution images is a tremendous source for this sort of work.

This doc outlines the task and provides students with an organizer for their ekphrasis work: "Ekphrasis Poetry and Narrative from Works of Art"

+ bonus item ekphrasis poetry task from the Smithsonian Education group

Canada: The Greater Britain

This is an authentic lecture from 1897 by Rev. C.E. Perry. Perry shares his views on all of the many things that make a young 30 year old Canada great. I wonder if students could see some of the irony in the text and whether they could infer how Perry might feel about our nation today? This activity feels timely in the middle of an election campaign.
Canada: The Greater Britain - full text with analysis prompts