January 6-9

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

       I'm very excited to begin 2015 with our next text, 1984.  George Orwell's most famous book is as relevant and interesting now as it was back in 1949.  It's not a "light" or "fluffy" read I admit, but it is the first real dystopian novel and some of its content is important enough to have been adopted into the English language ("Orwellian," "Big Brother.")  In this unit, students will gather evidence from fictional works (1984, the modern film "Minority Report," and more,) as well as nonfiction (a documentary describing the conditions inside North Korea, news articles and opinion pieces about Edward Snowden and Wikileaks/NSA surveillance, the existence of COINTELPRO, the information retained about consumers by corporations such as Google and Facebook, emerging laws governing internet use and technology, genetic biometrics, and examples of historical government surveillance such as a case study about wiretapping in East Germany.  All of these sources, as well as student-selected sources, will help inform a final essay supporting the student's view about how much freedom should be enjoyed by Americans while satisfying the need for security. 

      Learning objectives for this unit include:

• reading and annotating a variety of texts short and long, fiction and nonfiction, for understanding and evaluation
• gathering online and offline research from credible sources including the school database and citing them properly in MLA format
• speaking in small groups, whole class discussions, and a debate
• writing shorter compare/contrast pieces
• writing and revising a final essay

Here's what we'll tackle this week:

MONDAY:  Enjoy the last day of Winter Break!

TUESDAY:  Intro to unit.  Discuss vocabulary words specific to 1984, George Orwell, the main characters. Pick up 1984 from the textbook room.  HW: Fill out "Guide to 1984" worksheet. Bring 1984 to class everyday!

WEDNESDAY:  Begin reading 1984 aloud in class.  Students will take notes and work on "The World of 1984" assignment where they will choose a visual activity to complete for chapters 1-3.  HW: Continue work on visual assignment.

THURSDAY:  Share visual work in progress, discuss 1984 vocab.  Introduce independent reading assignment for 1984 unit.  Continue reading 1984 aloud in class.  HW: Continue work on visual assignment, due on Friday, January 16. 

FRIDAY:  Current events/issues day.  Article about recent conflict between the U.S. and North Korea over the release of "The Interview" movie.  Use laptops in class to research general information about North Korea and compare/contrast with the world of 1984 so far.  HW: Correctly cite the article you took notes on in class using MLA format.  Select and begin reading the independent reading book for the 1984 unit and begin reading and logging entries in your dialectical journal.