Title Page: Don't Drink the Kool-Aid: A Conceptual Unit Plan on Safe Participation In Social Groups For 9th Grade Language Arts Christopher Shelley The Florida State University _Table of Contents: Title Page: ........................................................................................................................................1 Table of Contents: ............................................................................................................................2 Rationale: .........................................................................................................................................3 Sunshine State Standards: ................................................................................................................7 Goals and Objectives: ......................................................................................................................9 Materials: .......................................................................................................................................10 Unit Outline: ..................................................................................................................................11 References ......................................................................................................................................22 Materials Appendices For Thematic Unit: .....................................................................................24 Appendix B: "In A Far Country" By Jack London (Passage From A Short Story) ................. 24 Appendix C: "Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry" By Reliant K (Song Lyrics) ...................................................................................................................................... 82 Appendix D: Peer Evaluation Guidelines Form ....................................................................... 83 Appendix E: "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks.............................................................. 84 Appendix F: Think-And-Write Items for the Song "Chap Stick..." ......................................... 85 Appendix G: Rubric for the Discussion Questions for the Song "Chap Stick..."..................... 86 Appendix H: "We Wear The Mask" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar (Song) .................................. 87 Appendix I: "Full Block Business Letter Sample" ................................................................... 88 Appendix J: "A Letter From A 17 Year Old On The Way To Prison" (Prose Text) ............... 89 Appendix K: "A Letter From A 17 Year Old On The Way To Prison" (Found Poem) ........... 90 Appendix L: Reading Comprehension Quiz for the Passage from "In A Far Country" .......... 91 Appendix M: Free-Writing Prompt for "In A Far Country" .................................................... 92 Appendix N: "Act II Prologue: Modern Text" by William Shakespeare. ................................ 93 Appendix O: "Jonestown Massacre: The Unraveled Story" .................................................... 94 _DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID 3 Rationale: Within the umbrella of individuals' participation in social or sub-cultural groups, this unit focuses on the issues of individualism getting in the way of participating well in a group and how individuals deal with moral dilemmas presented by social or sub-cultural groups. These two issues are interrelated and the boundary between them is not always clear, especially among adolescents and post-adolescents. This unit will help students to develop an understanding of the difference between healthy and unhealthy participation in social and sub-cultural groups and will give them some of the tools they need to self-monitor their participation in these groups. While I will encourage students to seek guidance from and respect the wishes of authority figures, students need to be prepared to make informed decisions when they have unforeseen opportunities to join social and sub-cultural groups and when they face moral dilemmas in relation to such groups. Students are often "put on the spot" by social groups such that the conditions of their acceptance therein necessarily requires them to make decisions without being given the time nor, often, the freedom to consult with mature and knowledgeable authority figures. If adolescents have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to make decisions about their participation in social groups, they will be less likely to avoid social situations in general and are therefore more like to exhibit avoid anti-social behavior. In this unit, I will be using William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet via a few adaptations thereof. Rather than focusing on Romeo and Juliet as a complete text, or at least, on the love story as its main plot, we will mainly focus on the feud between the Capulet and Montague families, and most specifically on the feud's manifestation among the young men in and with both families. For the sake of time and because this text only presents one aspect or viewpoint on the negative aspects of opposing social groups, the students will only be exposed to anDON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID 4 abridgement of the original text. I will attempt to preserve the flow of the plot among semi-isolated scenes via oral expositions and other delivery formats whenever possible. The primary focus within this play on familial, gang-like social groups should naturally appeal to male students, and I will intentionally include enough of the love story (similarly via key scenes in a somewhat-recent movie version) to keep the interest of the female students. I will principally use Baz Luhmen's Romeo + Juliet and YouTube user Doeby333's video "Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 1 Part 1." Doeby333's video is a well-made student film in modern English wherein all of the dialogue adheres very closely to Shakespeare's original lines and the message Shakespeare intended each to communicate. I chose this video clip for two reasons: 1) It is a student film with no special effects, so my students will be able to get the gist of the story without bloody swords or smoking guns, and 2) My students will be able to focus on and really internalize what is going on in the scene without having to focus on understanding the dialogue. I should not have to stop the film and/or spend a significant amount of time clarifying dialogue. Any other portions of the play that I show will be from Baz