Teacher Guide

Lesson 3, Unit 2

Socratic Seminar

Ongoing Unit Overview

During this unit, the student will continue to locate herself as part of an Advocacy community while the content of the texts will move toward a thematic study of individual identity. A focus on literacy, deep reading, and annotation will continue, as students employ the norms developed and honed in Unit 1.

Lesson Overview

In lesson three, students consider a passage from Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s 2010 novel 1Q84. A character from the novel explains why he enjoys math—because it is natural and “flows from high to low over the shortest possible distance.” In the real world, conversely, things do not flow so easily, and in this way Murakami’s character sets up a distinction between things that are natural and offer respite, and things that are unnatural and do not. Students may enjoy discussing the merits of math, but the conversation need not end there—English, or science, or gym could all serve similar purposes for different-minded people. You may also consider how to make the world seem normal, just as this character does through the act of writing stories. After a connections question about math in general, the steps again proceed as outlined in the lesson plan. In the next lesson, students will engage in another self-assessment seminar.

Potentially Difficult Vocabulary

For this piece, it may prove beneficial to post the following words and definitions on a whiteboard:

· logic: the use of reason to determine something.

· scenery: the natural features of a landscape, especially related to their qualities of beauty.

· reconstruct: to put something together again after it has been destroyed or damaged.

Helpful Strategies and Discussion Questions

· Post questions on a whiteboard or using Microsoft Word.

· Possible discussion questions:

· Do you agree with the main character about math?

· Are there other subjects—or hobbies—that make perfect sense to you?

· Do those hobbies or subjects provide escape?

· Why do people feel a need to escape the “real world”?

· How well did we follow our group norms?

· Do we need to update our group norms?

Socratic Seminar

Name: ________________________________

Date: _________________________________

Advocate: _____________________________

Author: ________Haruki Murakami _ ______

Title: _____________from 1Q84___________

Step 1 – Connections – 5 min. In a discussion circle, everyone shares a short answer to the question below.

In this passage, a character explains why they like math. Do you like math, and why or why not?

Step 2 – Read/Annotate – 8 min. – One person reads the piece aloud. Then, everyone silently annotates, marking at least three things and writing a comment for each.

“What do I like about math?” He asked himself aloud again. “Math is like water. It has a lot of difficult theories, of course, but its basic logic is very simple. Just as water flows from high to low over the shortest possible distance, figures can only flow in one direction. You just have to keep your eye on them for the route to reveal itself. That’s all it takes. You don’t have to do a thing. Just concentrate your attention and keep your eyes open, and the figures make everything clear to you. In this whole, wide world, the only thing that treats me so kindly is math.”

She thought about this for a while. “Why do you write stories?” she asked.

He converted her question into longer sentences: “In other words, if I like math so much, why do I go to all the trouble of writing fiction? Why not just keep doing math? Is that it?” She nodded. “Hmm. Real life is different from math. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route. For me, math is—how should I put it?—math is all too natural. It’s like beautiful scenery. It’s just there. There’s no need to exchange it with anything else. That’s why, when I’m doing math, I sometimes feel I’m turning transparent. And that can be scary.”

She kept looking straight into his eyes as if she were looking into an empty house with her faced pressed up against the glass.

He said, “When I’m writing a story, I use words to transform the surrounding scene into something more natural for me. In other words, I reconstruct it. That way, I can confirm without a doubt that this person known as ‘me’ exists in the world. This is a totally different process from steeping myself in the world of math.”

Step 3 – Individual Question – 2 min. Create an individual question that you can share with the class and write it below.

(Example: What do you think he means when he says that math is “natural”?)

Step 4 – Sharing Individual Questions – 5 min. Each seminar member shares her/his question. Note five interesting questions by writing down the speaker’s name.

Step 5 – Large Group Conversation – 15 min.

Highlight interesting questions from Step 4 and discuss in a large group. Revisit the group norms before discussing.

Step 6 – Reflection – Writing – 10 min, in journal.

This passage is about math, but it is also about things that seem natural. If math is natural to this character, what kinds of things are natural to you? Do you agree with him that things in “real life” don’t always flow the shortest possible way? Is there anything you can do to reconstruct the world in a more normal way—like this character writes stories?

Reflect on our group norms. How well did we follow them? What behaviors should we continue next class, and what do we need to get better at?

Context for Today’s Piece:

Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer of novels, short stories, and essays. Murakami’s paternal grandfather was a Buddhist priest, and his mother and father both taught Japanese literature. Murakami grew up reading a wide range of Western literature and was influenced by such writers as Kurt Vonnegut and Jack Kerouac, giving him a unique multicultural style. He often uses magical realism in his writing, a type of literature that involves a realistic world, but one where magic and the supernatural exist and play important roles. This passage from his 2010 novel 1Q84 describes the “real world.”