LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

The pros and cons of discussion

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=819

A lesson plan for Grade 11 English III

Provider: IRA/NCTE

About this resource

Appropriate grades
11
Subjects
English language arts (literature, reading, writing), thinking skills (critical literacy, higher order thinking), diverse learners (gender issues, learning disabilities, multiple intelligences, race and culture)
Provider
IRA/NCTE

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In this lesson, students have the opportunity to discuss the degree to which everyone is treated equally in society. Students study the concepts of satire and utopia while reading Kurt Vonnegut's “Harrison Bergeron”. This lesson offers a variety of culminating activities such as small group discussion, informal class debates, and persuasive essays. Students are challenged to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information while developing critical thinking skills.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 11 — English III

  • Goal 1: The learner will demonstrate increasing insight and reflection to print and non-print text through personal expression.
    • Objective 1.02: Reflect and respond expressively to texts so that the audience will:
      - discover multiple perspectives.
      - investigate connections between life and literature.
      - explore how the student's life experiences influence his or her response to the selection.
      - recognize how the responses of others may be different.
      - articulate insightful connections between life and literature.
      -consider cultural or historical significance.
  • Goal 3: The learner will demonstrate increasing sophistication in defining issues and using argument effectively.
    • Objective 3.02: Select an issue or theme and take a stance on that issue by:
      - reflecting the viewpoint(s) of Americans of different times and places.
      - showing sensitivity or empathy for the culture represented.
      - supporting the argument with specific reasons.
    • Objective 3.03: Use argumentation for:
      - interpreting researched information effectively.
      - establishing and defending a point of view.
      - addressing concerns of the opposition.
      - using logical strategies (e.g., deductive and inductive reasoning, syllogisms, analogies) and sophisticated techniques (e.g., rhetorical devices, parallelism, irony, concrete images).
      -developing a sense of completion.
  • Goal 4: The learner will critically analyze text to gain meaning, develop thematic connections, and synthesize ideas.
    • Objective 4.01: Interpret meaning for an audience by:
      - examining the functions and the effects of narrative strategies such as plot, conflict, suspense, point of view, characterization, and dialogue.
      - interpreting the effect of figures of speech (e.g., personification, oxymoron) and the effect of devices of sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia).
      - analyzing stylistic features such as word choice and links between sense and sound.
      - identifying ambiguity, contradiction, irony, parody, and satire.
      - demonstrating how literary works reflect the culture that shaped them.