Tuesday, January 15, 2013

MONDAY, JANUARY 14 ( SUBSTITUTE TEACHER )


Essential Question: What do the terms conformity and outcast have to do with being a teenager? 

Do Now: Regardless of which novel you are reading, read and begin the following:

The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

This novel is a post-WWII work that contains much about the thinking of that time. This thinking may or may not have a lot of relevance to our own time? This is a coming of age novel; does the voice of Holden Caulfield ring true as that of a true-blue teenager for you? 

Stargirl ( 2000) is a 21st century work that also explores teenage identity.

In The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden’s favorite word is “phony” ; he is keen on identifying who are phonies and who aren’t.

In Stargirl, everyone is trying to figure whether she is genuine or real; is she a phony?


1. Draw two large intersecting circles on a piece of loose leaf. Next to one, write the word CONFORMIST. Next  to the other, write PHONY. Identify differences in the outer circles and how they are alike where their intersect.

2. What are your definitions for CONFORMIST, PHONY & OUTCAST? Write the answers out; give an example for each.

To conform: to be obedient or compliant; to act in accordance with prevailing standards or customs.

Phony: One who is not genuine or real; (1) intended to deceive or mislead (2) intended to defraud, probably dishonest, having no basis in fact.

Outcast? Someone is literally treated as though he has been cast out of society for some indiscretion. 

3. What does it take to be an outcast among your own peers?


4. Watch the following YouTube short video entitled Shy Guy (1947) and answer the following questions ( This movie was shown in many American high schools in the late 1940s; why do you think?): 


Answer:

1. What does the narrator say is the young man’s problem?

2. What is the problem with the young man’s record player?

3. What happens when the young man asks his father how he (the father) fits in at the office (Dad says: what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another).

4. Is it okay to be different (according to the film)?

5. Is it really okay to be different, in your opinion?

6. What advice does Dad give the young man about fitting in?

7. For those who are reading The Catcher in the Rye, what is the connection between the “hero” of “Shy Guy” and Holden Caulfield, who we might call an anti-hero. Explain in several paragraphs a connection between the “Shy Guy” and its message and Holden Caulfield’s reality. How do the terms conformity, phony and outcast connect to this discussion?

7. For those reading Stargirl, in a paragraph or more explain the actions of Stargirl and how these are very different than what the “Shy Guy” concludes at the end of the film. How do the terms conformity, phony and outcast connect to this discussion about Stargirl and Shy Guy?


Homework: Finish; continue reading your novel.  MAKE SURE THAT THIS CLASSWORK IS COMPLETED AND TURNED IN AS IT WILL BE MARKED AND PUT ON INFINITE CAMPUS!



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