unit six exploring the big question
TRANSCRIPT
Unit Six
Exploring the Big Question
“A goal is a dream that has an ending.”
~ Duke Ellington
Quotes for
Small Group Facilitated Discussions
“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps—we must step up the stairs.”
~ Vance Havner
“It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.”
~ Helen Keller
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”
~ Andrew Carnegie
“All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. The first step is to know exactly what your problem, goal, or desire is.”
~ W. Clement Stone
“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.”
~ Thomas Carlyle
“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.”
~ E. O. Wilson
“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.”
~ Steve Garvey
“Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined, personal goals.”
~ Paul J. Meyer
“Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Derek Redmond and the Olympic/Human SpiritA Short Love Story
Dan Jansen: Olympic Heartbreak and Triumph
Think Different
Reflect: Expository Critique applied to video2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s conclusions. 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations. 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.
A Further Exploration of Worthwhile Goals
As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following pieces in the reading textbook:
“Madam C. J. Walker” by Jim Haskins on p. 724“Damon and Pythias” by Fan Kissen p. 734“Brighton Beach Memoirs” excerpt from Neil Simon on
p. 762“TIME: The Best of Buddies” by Kevin Gray and Cindy
Dampier on p. 772
Peruse the following selections in your reading textbook, and choose three selections you would be interested in reading and discussing in class:
“The Bracelet” by Yoshiko Uchido on p. 746“Executive Order No. 9066 from I Am an American by Jerry Stanley
on p. 757“The Phantom Tollbooth, Act One” by Susan Nanus on p. 775“The Golden Touch” by Mary Pope Osborne on p. 808
As you read, you will be thinking about how these stories might relate to the themes of worthwhile goals, what brings out the best in you, fairness, what makes you who you are, why you read, and what makes a hero.
Comparing and Contrasting:What Are Worthwhile Goals
and Authors’ Techniques
A Time to TalkRobert Frost
When a friend calls to me from the road And slows his horse to a meaning walk, I don't stand still and look around On all the hills I haven't hoed, And shout from where I am, What is it? No, not as there is a time to talk. I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground, Blade-end up and five feet tall, And plod: I go up to the stone wall For a friendly visit.
SilencePaul Laurence Dunbar
'T is better to sit here beside the sea,Here on the spray-kissed beach,In silence, that between such friends as weIs full of deepest speech.
Comparing and Contrasting:Worthwhile Goals and
Authors’ Techniques
As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following pieces in the reading textbook: “Zlateh the Goat” by Isaac Bashevis Singer on p. 815 “The Boy Who Lived with the Bears” by Joseph
Bruchac on p. 824
Reflecting on the Big Questions:
What Makes a Hero? Why Read? What Makes You Who You Are? What’s Fair and What’s Not? What Makes You Who You Are? What Are Worthwhile Goals?
Celebrating HumanityCelebrating Humanity Again
CourageStrength is measured in pounds.Speed is measured in seconds.Courage...You can't measure courage.
Bronze Just a reminder: At the Olympic Games You don't have to come in first To win.
GiantTo be a giant.This has forever been our passion,this desire to be a giant.Not to stand on one's shoulders or have one for a friend,Though these may be fortunate things,But to be one.Giants step over barriers that seem never-ending.They conquer mountains that appear insurmountable.Giants rise above fear,Triumph over pain,Push themselves and inspire othersTo be a Giant,To do Giant things,To take Giant steps,To move the world forward.
Silver Someone once said, "You don't win the silver, You lose the gold." Obviously... They never won the silver.
RhymesThey gather together, thousands and thousands and thousands still moreFor sixteen straight days the stadiums roarThey line all the fields, they polish the courtsA rainbow of colors together for sportThey sprint, they jostle, they jump, they shoutThey sometimes get hostile but they work it all outThey smile, they laugh, they learn life's lessonsThey respect one another regardless of weaponsThe big and the small together seem awkwardbut amazingly enough they push the world forwardAnd when it's all over it's as good as it getsA lifetime of memories with zero regretsThen they pack up the balls and roll up the matsPut on their best suits and the finest of hatsThey all wave goodbye, they hug and they kissAnd you think, that maybe, just maybe, it could all be like this.
SmileWhen you smile, I smile, that's the deal.I'll not walk past you, and not look you in the eyes, and not acknowledge you.Instead we'll pass each other and say hello.Not with our words--they're not the same--but with our faces.I meet you and see there is good in your eyes.There's passion in your heart and there's a friendly hello in your smile,And for the first time we can relate and appreciate each other.That's all it takes.That's where it starts.Because I know that you will smile and I will smileAnd all the rest is easy.
Adversary
You are my adversary, but you are not my enemy.For your resistance gives me strength,Your will gives me courage,Your spirit ennobles me.And though I aim to defeat you, should I succeed, I will not
humiliate you.Instead, I will honor you.For without you, I am a lesser man.
Assessments:Words of Week weekly vocabulary testAccelerated Reader reading, vocabulary, and literary
analysis testTreasures Unit 6 Assessment on pp. 846Discussion of what are worthwhile goals and
reflections on individual goals and the implications for one’s own life
Optional if needed: Treasures individual story assessments and Treasures formative assessments to define differentiation
Standards Embedded:1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency , and Systematic Vocabulary Development Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
Word Recognition 1.1 Read aloud narrative and expository text fluently and accurately and with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
Vocabulary and Concept Development 1.2 Identify and interpret figurative language and words with multiple meanings. 1.3 Recognize the origins and meanings of frequently used foreign words in English and use these words accurately in speaking and writing. 1.4 Monitor expository text for unknown words or words with novel meanings by using word, sentence, and paragraph clues to determine meaning. 1.5 Understand and explain “shades of meaning” in related words (e.g., softly and quietly).
2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials) Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. In addition, by grade eight, students read one million words annually on their own.
Structural Features of Informational Materials 2.1 Identify the structural features of popular media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, online information) and use the features to obtain information. 2.2 Analyze text that uses the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern.
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 2.3 Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics. 2.4 Clarify an understanding of texts by creating outlines, logical notes, summaries, or reports. 2.5 Follow multiple-step instructions for preparing applications (e.g., for a public library card, bank savings account, sports club, league membership).
Expository Critique 2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s conclusions. 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations. 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They clarify the ideas and connect them to other literary works.
Structural Features of Literature 3.1 Identify the forms of fiction and describe the major characteristics of each form.
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character (e.g., courage or cowardice, ambition or laziness) on the plot and the resolution of the conflict. 3.3 Analyze the influence of setting on the problem and its resolution. 3.5 Identify the speaker and recognize the difference between first- and third-person narration (e.g., autobiography compared with biography). 3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters, actions, and images. 3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices (e.g., symbolism, imagery, metaphor) in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts. 3.8 Critique the credibility of characterization and the degree to which a plot is contrived or realistic (e.g., compare use of fact and fantasy in historical fiction).
Additional Standard Embedded in Poem of the Day:3.4 Define how tone or meaning is conveyed in poetry through word choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length, punctuation, rhythm, repetition, and rhyme.
Expository Critique 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations.