ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Chinese Disenfranchisement

Refer to “Equal Opportunity,” Identities 9: Endless Possibilities.

Equity and Ethics Lesson Three Chinese Disenfranchisement

Disenfranchisement: denying people a legal right, privilege, or immunity. Most often it refers to people being denied the rights of citizenship, especially the right to vote.

Write expository essay

Chinese Disenfranchisement Report

 

 

 

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Equal Opportunity

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some of the factors that create inequality?
2. How have inequalities shaped our world? 

Refer to “Equal Opportunity” from Identities 9: Endless possibilities or find photographs highlighting historical injustices.

Equity and Ethics Lesson Two Equal Opportunity

Reading & Viewing Historical Records

Historical records give us clues about past events. There are two categories of historical evidence that people use to get an understanding of the past—primary and secondary evidence.

Primary evidence: the record of the actual words or other documentation of a person who participated in or witnessed the events described. These records might be photographs, letters, diaries, interviews, newspaper accounts, video footage, audio records, autobiographies, or legal documents.

Secondary evidence: the record of the findings of someone who did not participate in the event but who used and interpreted primary evidence. The information in most textbooks would be considered secondary evidence.

Strategies

1. Predict: Before reading, use the text features (visuals, captions, headings, titles) to make predictions. Questions: What is this about? Are these primary or secondary accounts? Summarize your ideas in a couple of sentences.
2. Visualize: Using the visuals provided, make a mental map of what is going on in the texts. Questions: What is going on? How is the visual related to the text around it?
3. Connections: build connections between these texts and what you already know. Questions: How does this information connect with other things I’ve read or experienced? What background events about the events do I already know that can help me interpret the information?
4. Questions: Look for gaps in your understanding or in the information. Questions: Is there anything I don’t understand? Are there parts that seem confusing? Is there background information missing that I need to find out in order to understand the situation?
5. Infer: Use clues in the text and your own knowledge to fill in the gaps and draw conclusions.
6. Evaluate: Think about the text as a whole and form opinions about what you’ve read. Questions: Which individuals and groups are portrayed in a positive way? Which are presented in a negative way? What kind of language is used to describe them? What perspectives do the images project? What is the background of the person presenting the information? What message is he or she trying to get across to the reader? Is there another side to the issue?

 

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, The Ballad of Birmingham

“The Ballad of Birmingham”

Ballad: a song/poem with a regular rhyme, a strong rhythm, and a refrain. Most ballads have a strong emotional or sentimental quality.

Before Reading

What do you think the subject of this poem will be, based on what you know about ballad as a genre?

Background

 

• A number of kids were at Sunday school at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The church had a significant Black population. Four young girls were killed: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley. The other 22 Black members were injured, but not killed.
• Freedom March: when citizens come together to protest governments’ laws which discriminate against some citizens. During the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, the Black people often participated in Freedom Marches.
• Jim Crow Laws: state and national laws which imposed segregation on Black people. They were overtly racist.

YouTube video of period photos:

A YouTube video of the song:

During Reading

1. What are some of the most vivid images in this poem? (4)
2. Circle the verbs in stanzas five to eight. How does the author’s choice of verbs (diction) enhance the drama? (2)
3. What is the irony in this poem? (When there’s a disparity between what you think will happen and what actually happens.) (2)

After Reading

1. What is the rhyme scheme? (1)
2. What is the metre? (1)
3. Repetition—how does the poet’s use of repetition intensify the drama of the poem? (2)
4. What rhetorical strategy does the poet use in the first four stanzas? How is this effective for dramatizing the poem? (2)
5. The mood of this poem could be one of poignancy (a state of deeply felt distress or sorrow; heart-wrenching). In particular, how does the poet pull at your heart strings? (2)

/16

Equity and Ethics The Ballad of Birmingham Assignment

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded

“He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded” by Alden Nowlan

Link to the poem

Equity and Ethics He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded analysis

Before Reading

1. Think about an uncomfortable situation you’ve been in, in particular, a situation in which you were uncomfortable and didn’t know the acceptable behavior.
2. It might be a new school or classroom. It might be when you’re the outsider: the only person of your race, language, faith, etc.
3. Examine the title. What does this tell us about the subject of the poem?
4. What is inclusive language?

• Inclusive language: language that does not degrade, offend, exclude, or stereotype people on the basis of disability, gender, or race. For example, parenting rather than mothering; fair play rather than sportsmanship; letter carrier rather than mailman; chairperson rather than chairman, and so on.

 During Reading

1. Line 21:
   • Why is he feeling ashamed?
   • Why is the narrator there at all?
   • What will the narrator do to soothe his guilt?
2. Listen to what the poem is about. Create three brief sketches to illustrate the sequence of events in the poem.
3. Line 53:
   • What does the young woman do as they listen to the concert?
   • What is the narrator’s reaction?
   • What might he mean by the reference to the fence?
   • Why does he look around for a teacher?
   • Examine Nowlan’s allusions. What connections are there between these allusions and the narrator’s situation?
4. Finish reading the poem.
   • What does the narrator feel by the end of his visit?
   • What has he learned?
   • What can we apply from the poem?

 Sticky note activity

Write on sticky notes or in the margins if the photocopied text:

? – Question or something that is not understood

! – Something that is interesting or amusing

X – Something that is disliked or that you disagree with

+ – Something that is liked or that you agree with

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Holocaust Poetry

Holocaust Poetry

• Elegy: a poem lamenting the death of an individual.
• Holocaust Elegy: a lament for the six million people killed in the Holocaust.
• Concrete Poem: The graphic shape or pattern of the poem conveys the meaning, effect, etc. of the poem.
• Enjambment: the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break. If a poet allows all the sentences of a poem to end in the same place as regular line-breaks, a kind of deadening can happen in the ear, and in the brain too, as all the thoughts can end up being the same length. Enjambment creates audible interest.
• Juxtaposition: placing unrelated ideas side by side, leaving it up to the reader to establish connections and impose a meaning.

“Blue” by William Heyen

1. Concrete poem: What is the shape of this poem?
2. How does enjambment enhance his message?
3. This poem, in a way, embodies the children who were killed in Auschwitz. Explain.
4. Notice all of the images that are signified as blue. How does this create juxtaposition?
5. How does “the blue sky” connect the poem to human existence?
6. “To witness”—what does it mean to witness something? Does a witness have a responsibility?
7. Who do you think is the “you” (your) of the poem?
8. To write a text is to oppose the silence. What does this mean?

“The Six Million” by Naomi Replanski

Naomi Replanski was a Russian Jew.

1. Examine the structures of the poem:
2. Number of stanzas?
3. Repetition?
4. Rhyme Scheme?
5. What questions does she raise in the poem?

Handout: (with responses) Equity and Ethics_The Elegy

“First They Came” by Martin Niemöller

(prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor)

 In Germany they came first for the

Communists, and I didn’t speak up

because I wasn’t a Communist. Then

they came for the Jews, and I didn’t

speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the trade

unionists, and I didn’t speak up

because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,

and I didn’t speak up because I was a

Protestant. Then they came for me,

and by that time no one was left to

speak up.

1.  What is the message of this poem?
2. Read the information about the author. What does this show us about the importance of the poem?

Equity and Ethics First They Came

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Night – After Reading Essay

Power Structure Essay

Use Power Thinking to structure your essay.

Power Thinking Essay Outline

Power Notes and Power Thinking

Complete this essay assignment:

Night Essay

Write an essay that elaborates on two incidents of injustices. The first one will be the Holocaust, using Night as a source. You will choose the second incident.

Use Power Thinking (The essay only needs to be four paragraphs in length)

Power Zero Hook: (include some of Wiesel’s acceptance speech OR refer to a Scripture (e.g., “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” Proverbs 31:8) OR another provocative statement/quote.

Power One: Thesis/Introduction: When we see injustice in the world, whether we hear about it happening somewhere far away or whether we witness it in our community, we must do something. We cannot remain silent. When people are silent the enemy wins. (You can use the suggested thesis I wrote or write your own.) Two examples of people responding to injustice they saw are the Holocaust and ________________________.

Power Two: (Support for Power One) The Holocaust

Power Three: (Support for Power Two) Give two details to explain how the Holocaust happened and people didn’t say anything to stop it.

Power Three:

Power Three:

Power Two: (Support for Power One) Refer to one of the other incidents of injustice we looked at in this unit OR another injustice you are aware of.  (See end for more examples)

Power Three:

Power Three:

Power Three:

Power Zero: Conclusion Reinforce the importance of people speaking up.

Other Incidents

1. African American slavery: people just accepted that it was okay to treat African Americans like slaves.
2. Pee Wee Reese: Jackie Robinson is being heckled by fans in Cincinnati. Shortstop Pee Wee Reese, from nearby Louisville, goes over to Robinson and puts his arm around him. The event has become a principal moment of the Robinson story — a man from the south showing support for Robinson. There is even a statue at the Brooklyn Cyclones’ home park commemorating the event.
3. King David saved Keilah from the Philistines (1 Samuel 23)
4. To Save a Life: the protagonist doesn’t stand up against the bullies and the friend kills himself.
5. Someone defending you when you were being bullied.
6. Rwanda genocide
7. Arab Spring
8. Kony 2012

 

 

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Night– During Reading Activities

Night Activities

Complete the following chapter activities

Equity and Ethics Night During Reading Activities

Chapter 1 (3-22)

Respond to the following questions in your notebook.

1. Where is Elie from? (3)
2. What does it mean that Elie is “deeply observant” (3)? Which activities reinforce this?
3. How does Elie describe his father? (4)
4. What is the kabbalah? (5) Look at the longest paragraph on page five. From the context, what is the kabbalah?
5. What important event happened on page 6? How did the Jews respond to this?
6. What did Moishe the Beadle tell the community? (6) How did the people react? (7)
7. How many years pass during the first chapter? Refer to pages 3, 7, and 8.
8. What is the Russian Front? What is the Jews’ attitude about the power of the Nazis? (8)
9. What does Elie mean when he says: “In those days it was still possible to buy emigration certificates to Palestine. I asked my father to sell everything, to liquidate everything, and to leave” (8-9)? What was his father’s response? (You may have to do a bit of historical research to understand this historic phenomenon.)
10. Where did the Nazi officers live? (9)
11. What was the first edict by the German soldiers? (10)
12. What was the role of the Hungarian police? What did they do to the Jews? (10)
13. What was the new decree? (11)What other edicts are listed? (11)
14. Based on the context what is a ghetto? (11)
15. What does Elie mean when he says: “The ghetto was ruled by neither German nor Jew; it was ruled by delusion” (12)?
16. What is the news that Elie’s father brings to them? (13)
17. What do you infer about the Jewish Council? (You can research it briefly.)
18. Elie says: “To the last moment people clung to hope” (15). What do you make of this? Do you agree? Can you think of other situations in which this might be true?
19. How did the Jews prepare for deportation? (15)
20. How did the Hungarian police treat the Jews? (16)
21. “It was there for the taking. An open tomb. A summer sun” (17). Elie constructs a rhetorical device known as juxtaposition. Take a stab at what it means and how it is constructed here. (We will discuss it in class.)
22. Elie writes: “My father was crying. It was the first time I saw him cry” (19). What does this imply about the relationship between the father and Elie? (This will continue to intensify throughout the text.)
23. Who does Elie hate? Why? (19)
24. Elie wrote: “From behind their windows, form behind their shutters, our fellow citizens watched as we passed” (19). Elie is nudging to the reader. What do you think he is saying to us?
25. What opportunity did Elie’s father pass up? Why do you think he refused? (20)
26. What is the first word on page 21? What is the significance of this? How can it be a symbol?
27. What did the people think of the impending deportation? Why did they talk like this? (21)
28. What is ironic about their “expulsion” happening on the Sabbath? (21) What is ironic about their time in the synagogue? (22)
29. How were the Jews deported? (22)
30. What is the attitude of the Gestapo officers? How did they view the Jews? (22)

 Chapter 2 (23-8)

1. Describe what it was like in the cattle car. (Write at least four sentences to describe it.)
2. Describe Mrs. Schäcter. How is she foreshadowing what happened at the concentration camps?
3. What did Elie and his family experience when they first arrived at Birkenau?

 Chapter 3 (29-46)

During this chapter, you will learn what it was like in the concentration camp. You need to formulate questions for the chapter. You will need to write fifteen questions in total, five from each of the following categories. You will share your questions with the class and it will generate the class discussion. I have given you an example for each, but you need to make up your own. You will also hand this in and be evaluated on the quality of your questions.

1. Questions of fact:
   • Focus on details of the text. (What did they eat in the concentration camp?)
   • Ask about people, places, and things? (To where did Elie get deported?)
   • Choose surface questions for others to answer. (Why did Elie and his dad lie about their ages?)
2. Questions of interpretation:
   • Focus on meanings that the text communicates. (What is the attitude the author has toward the Jewish Council?)
   • Ask about symbols, themes, and underlying messages. (How is Mrs. Schäcter’s vision foreshadowing later events in the book?)
   • Choose deeper questions for others to answer. (How did Elie deceive himself as a means of coping with his trauma?)
3. Questions that are open-ended:
   • Focus on moving beyond the text. (Can you relate Elie’s experiences with any other human rights violations in our time?)
   • Ask about future and implications. (Do you think Elie’s book has made a difference for Jewish people? How?)
   • Choose open-ended questions for others to answer. (Do you think you would have persevered? If not at which point do you think you would have given up?)

Chapter 4 (47-65)

Write a summary for this chapter. Follow the steps listed below. (It should be one-half to one page in length).

Summarizing:  include the following information

1. What happened?
2. What is essential to tell?
3. What is the outcome?
4. Who is involved?
5. Why does this happen?
6. What is the main point?
7. What does the author want me to remember or learn from this section?

 Chapter 5 (66-84)

Double-Entry Reflective Journals

Copy down a table in your notebook. It should look like the one below. You need to include at least five direct quotations or summaries from the book Be sure to include the page number. For each quotation/summary, write one or more sentences, by using one of the thinking prompts.

Direct quote of summary from source and page number.	Thinking prompts: This reminds me of . . . I predict . . . I am confused because . . . I will help myself by . . . I think this means . . . I wonder . . .
You need to include five.

 Chapter 6 (85-97)

1. Sketch/draw images that come to your mind when you read this chapter. You need to include at least five images. They can be minimalist.
2. What happened to Rabbi Eliahu? (91) Why does this concern Elie?

 Chapter 7 (98-103)

1. What happened on the train?

 Chapter 8 (104-12)

1. Describe Elie’s father’s demise. Also explain how Elie responded in the situations.

 Chapter 9

1. What event or description stands out to you the most in this chapter?

 

 

 

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Night – Before Reading

Night by Elie Wiesel

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented (Night)

 

Before Reading Lessons: Equity and Ethics Night Before Reading Activities

Memoir

•  Night is a memoir, sometimes called a survivor’s testimony. It is written by Elie Wiesel who is a Holocaust survivor.
• The memoir gives us access to a Jew’s experience during the Holocaust. This text can be difficult to read because it shows the indescribable horrors suffered by the Jews.
• It is important for us to study the Holocaust so that we never ever reproduce the same travesty.
• Elie Wiesel coined the term, the Holocaust. It was the systematic, bureaucratic annihilation of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and their collaborators as a central act of state during World War II.

Assignment #1: What is a memoir?

• Be able to explain what kind of prose it is and what some of the basic conventions are. (This will be on your test.)

Assignment #2: Historical Overview of the Holocaust

• Complete the K-W-L Chart

Know	Want to Know	Learned (complete after reading the book)
(at least four things)	(at least four questions)	(at least four things you’ve learned/questions answered)

Assignment #3: Viewing Activity

View the book trailer of Wiesel’s book.

1. While you are viewing it, write the timeline of events that are presented in the film.
2. What is effective about the cinematography (art/technique of making movies) of this film? Think about kinds of footage, amount of text, sounds, music, speed, lighting, etc. Identify at least three cinematographic features and explain how they are effective/ineffective?

 

Assignment #4: Research Activity

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

• Research one issue related to the Holocaust.
• You will go to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website to research your topic. They have a site dedicated to educating students.
• You will be assigned one topic.
• You must complete a page (half to full page) of notes about that topic. Select only the most pertinent information. This is a lesson in summarizing and synthesizing. Read the entire entry and then write a summary in which you pull from information throughout the text.
• Then you will present your findings to the class in the chronological order of the events.

(See Word Document attached for assigned topics)

Refer only to the US Holocaust War Memorial Museum website or you will receive ZERO!!!

Assessment:

Summarizing

• Includes most important information /5
• Put in students’ own words (NO PLAGIARISM) /5
• Organized and understandable /5

Synthesizing

• Pulls ideas together from the entire text /10

Oral Presentation

• Prepared /2
• Speaks with clarity and articulation /3

Total                                                                                                   /30

ELA B10: Equity & Ethics, Lesson 1

Equity & Ethics: Introduction

Equity and Ethics Lesson One Introduction

Life presents us with many problems and doing the right thing is not always easy or obvious. We are empowered when we (and our ideas) are appreciated, when our wants and needs are listened to and addressed, when we clarify our goals and values, and when we take action to achieve our goals. Expected to exercise rights and to address equity, we must consider our responsibilities to ourselves and to others. It is in this consideration that our ethics are sometimes questioned, and we must decide what is right, what is just, and what is fair. Justice and equality have been and continue to be part of life, and we dedicate ourselves to their achievement.

Sub-Themes

• Who and What is Right?
• Empowerment
• Degrees of Responsibility
•  Justice and Fairness

Unit Questions

1. What are some of the factors that create inequality? How have inequalities shaped our world?
2. What is my role and responsibility in addressing inequalities?
3. What is the relationship between rights and responsibilities?
4. Who decides what is right? Why should we do the right thing? How can I act on the right thing?
5. How does one become an ethical person?

Introduction

https://prezi.com/embed/umkbyitagwrd/?bgcolor=ffffff&lock_to_path=0&autoplay=0&autohide_ctrls=0&landing_data=bHVZZmNaNDBIWnNjdEVENDRhZDFNZGNIUE1JdVZOVTA0RUhWTGkxUGVJaWFqdC9qWjdIM0FMT1JvLzl0VjRuR0lnPT0&landing_sign=eEr3V8CmlwzuFXhGdI9rck8j08Ywrfhxs3_WSuJuItI

 Definitions

1.  Ethics:
   • The study of values, of how we should live.
   • Used interchangeably with morals and values; beliefs; standards by which we live and make decisions.
   • Denotes systematic, rational reflection upon a particular behaviour.
2. Values 
   • Standards or ideals which serve as guides to conduct and decision-making.

 

ELA A9: All that I Am–The Search for Self, The Giver

The Giver
All that I Am Dystopia Notes-1
All That I Am The Giver Text Coding
Trailer of 2014 film:

Audiobook, if you prefer to listen to the novel.