angela marie bubash i am a...
TRANSCRIPT
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Angela Marie Bubash
I am a storyteller.
Education:
Summa Cum Laude 2011 graduate from
Truman State University
BA Theatre
(Acting)
BA English (Creative Writing,)
Instead, I always
found myself
most content in a
classroom.
Whether I was
teaching Italians
English or with my
Preschool class
who stole my
heart in Chicago,
I knew I was
meant to be
teaching.
When corralling 22 4-year-olds started murdering
my voice (a pretty important attribute when half
your income comes from singing), I knew it was
time for a new way. Besides that, I missed the
stories of my favorite writers: Fitzgerald, Miller
Shakespeare, to name a few. That brings me to
today: I am an actor, I am a teacher, but mostly I
am a storyteller. These paths have taken me
everywhere from Chicago to Iowa to Italy, but
for now… I am just happy to be home!!
I have always been passionate about telling stories. I believe that
everyone has a story, and those stories deserve to be told. For years, I
dreamed of becoming a writer. I was studying to become just that
when I fell in love with storytelling in an entirely different medium. As an
actor, I was able to tell stories in a more intimate way than ever before. Yet, I was never cut out to wait tables like most of my colleagues.
Overview
Shakespeare’s Hamlet Angela Bubash
British Literature Spring 2013
Rationale:
Ultimately, I want my students to learn the principles and value of really understanding
characters and their motivations. I believe this is so essential to study these concepts
because true understanding is the foundation of empathy. To practice these skills of
empathy and understanding, we will be studying Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. We will
be taking a deep look into the character and motivations not only of the title character and
protagonists, but equally to each of the players. After all, a student who can learn to
empathize with a fictional character- however rotten he may be- can certainly learn to
empathize with the humans around them.
Summary:
As a class, we will study all five acts of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Exactly three class
periods will be devoted to each act. As it is my ultimate goal that they learn to “step into
the shoes” of the characters, I will have do exactly that. Students will be a part of a
penpal system in which they will exchange letters taking on the perspective of opposing
characters in the script. They will, of course, have to respond to their pen-pal’s inquiries
and complaints. Class discussion will be heavily focused not merely on what the players
do, but why and what examples they see of those motivations in their world today, or
perhaps even in themselves. When an act is completed, the students will be required to
act out pivotal scenes of the text, with bonus points awarded to the best actors that day.
When the script is completed, we will have a “funeral day” in which the students will be
required to write an obituary for one of Hamlet’s many, many deaths. All their work will
be culminated in a summative assessment that will have the students pick any five
characters from the script and cast them supporting their choices by explaining why their
pick would be able to portray the major characteristics and motivations of the character.
Hopefully, by using their friends, family, or modern day actors to cast the script will help
them to take a look at how these characters relate to people in our own lives.
Essential Questions:
What can you learn and understand about another human being by placing yourself in
their shoes?
Common Core:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other
characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative
impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a
sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in
two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
(e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of
Icarus).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.9 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source
material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or
the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).
COMMUNITY, PROCESS, CONSTRUCTING, AND CONVERSATION
Literacy Strategies:
Word Tournament with Shakespearean words
Write Around
Clues for You
NonStop Writing
RAFTA
Using art as inspiration
My own inventions include:
PenPal System: students write letter as a character to opposing character (portrayed by
another student) using NonStop Writing on first day of Act. Letters will be responded to
on Day 3 of studying that Act.
Oscar Challenge: Groups of students will take turns acting out pivotal scenes and
compete for the “Oscar” with their performances. Seeing and reading the scene two or
three times will help students pick up on some of the Shakespearean text they did not
notice before.
Length of Unit:
55 Minute class periods five days a week for four weeks.
Materials and Resources:
School-
The Script
Teacher-
Construction Paper
Drowning Ophelia art
Atmosphere for “Funeral Day”
Student-
Notebook Paper
Markers
Assessment:
Pre-assessment
Pen-pal letters written on the first day of studying an Act. Student will write letter to
student taking on opposing role. Student will respond to the letter on the final day of
studying that particular Act. Letters will be collected and assessed by the instructor to
see student understanding.
Formative Assessment
Written and oral feedback from instructor and peers during class discussions/Oscar
Challenge
Two Quizzes on reading comprehension from reading assignment
Summative Assessment
All their work will be culminated in a summative assessment that will have the students
pick any five characters from the script and cast them supporting their choices by
explaining why their pick would be able to portray the major characteristics and
motivations of the character. Hopefully, by using their friends, family, or modern day
actors to cast the script will help them to take a look at how these characters relate to
people in our own lives.
SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET
NAME: Miss Bubash MONTH: October YEAR: 2013
MON:
TUES:
WED:
THUR:
FRI:
WEEK ONE
Introduction to Act I Act 1 Act 1 Act II
Shakespeare Pen-pal as Claudius/ Word Tournament w/ Respond to pen-pal Pen-pal Polonius/
Who was he? Hamlet- nonstop
write
Shakespearean Oscar Hamlet- nonstop
write
Intro, to language Read Pivotal Scenes dialogue CHALLENGE
And Act I As Class Intro to Act II Quiz over reading
WEEK TWO
Act II Act II Act III Act III Act III
Four write-around Pen-pal Response Penpal as Ophelia Carousel Respond to Ophelia
On characters of Oscar (student should Brainstorming OSCAR
Hamlet, Polonius, Challenge Predict her course “Why is Hamlet CHALLENGE
Ophelia, Gertrude Intro. Act III Of action) acting this way?” Intro Act IV
WEEK THREE
Act IV Act IV Act IV Act V Act V
PenPal Laertes/ Clues for you to Respond to letters Penpal (nonstop) Penpal responses
Hamlet Respond to Art of
Ophelia’s Death Read Pivotal Present Summative Time to work on
Quiz on Reading! Scenes as a class Assessment Summative Ass.
WEEK FOUR
Death Day! Funeral Day! “Panel”
Students will take xtra Present Present Chooses final
time to act deaths Present Obituaries Final Final Cast
Watch Complete Assessment Assessment
Wrks of Wllm Skspre
Unit/Course Hamlet/ British Literature Topic Shakespearean Language
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
By understanding characters and their motivation a student will learn to empathize… but they must understand what the character is saying first!
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Script Notebook Paper
Students should have read at least half of Act I
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
*How to read and understand Shakespearean dialogue
*What are the characters talking about?
Concept
Student Centered Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping
*Instructional/Q&A Period *Teacher will pick out trickier lines (for example, fishmonger) of the
dialogue, ask students to give best guess of meaning, then explain what it actually means *Explain difference between iambic pentameter and prose
Small Groups then Whole Class
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Notebook Paper
Script
Chalk/Dry Erase board
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
Students will get in groups of four and find fourteen words that are either summative of the feeling or mood of reading assignment OR are simply quintessentially Shakespearean and then have a Word Tournament for favorites.
Whole Class will get together and battle for their favorite picks
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
As a class, we will read the sections containing our favorite words and see if they have found new meaning
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
Write down words and phrases that are confusing in the reading- instructor will view.
Will collect small groups word tournaments
Strategies Homework
Word Tournament
Finish reading Act 1
Instructional Framework Initiating
Unit/Course Shakespeare’s Hamlet Topic Character Development
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
This is a chance for students to explore character rationales and motivations early in the script. As they look at these characters given circumstances at this point, they may be able to better see (and understand… EMPATHIZE) how they developed from Act I and how they will develop later.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex char develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Script Notebook Paper Read at least half of Act II
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
- Who are Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude and Hamlet?
- What is their relationship with each other?
- What makes them who they are?
Concept
Student Centered
Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping
- Instructor will review previous night’s reading
- Will read bigger “character” scenes as class
Whole Class / Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
Class will break up into small groups each taking on one of our focus characters and participate in a write around discussion
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Students will present their major points of discussion to the class. Class will, in turn, have the opportunity to respond.
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
Students will be asked to reflect on aspects of character they hadn’t considered before. Should journal about ideas before leaving classroom.
Write-arounds will be collected and assessed by the instructor.
Strategies Homework
Write-around discussion
Finish reading Act II
Instructional Framework Constructing Additional Notes
Unit/Course Shakespeare’s Hamlet Topic Act III- Review!
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
This will be a chance for the student’s to get inside the characters shoes
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Script Notebook Paper Completed reading Act III
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
-Respond to Ophelia’s letter as another character -Successfully act out a scene for the class to promote a greater
understanding of character and scenes
Direct / Presentation / Concept
Student Centered
Lecture / Co-Op. Learning / Problem Solving
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping Students will respond to Ophelia’s letters from three class periods ago as the character their partner chose to address.
Whole Class / Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Notebook Paper Script
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding) Students will get together in groups and prepare a scene to perform in
front of the class Students will vote on best performances including “Best Scene” “Best
Actress” and “Best Actor for bonus points
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Students will journal about Oscar Challenge using Nonstop Write Instructor will preview Act IV
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
JOURNAL- Who successfully portrayed a character from the script? What made the performance successful? What qualities did they bring to the character you imagined in your reading?
Bonus points awarded to winners of the Oscar. Both sets of letters collected.
Strategies Homework
- Penpal System (RAFTA)
- “Oscar Challenge”
- Nonstop Write
Read first three scenes in Act IV
Instructional Framework Utilizing Additional Notes
Reminders!!
Unit/Course Shakespeare’s Hamlet Topic The Suicide of Ophelia
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
The students should look at art to help draw their senses closer to Ophelia’s death. I also want students to look at suicide in our society.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Suicide article, poster board, markers, art of Ophelia Read Act IV
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
- Awareness of Suicide in our society - Discuss Ophelia’s death through art - What drives someone to take their own life?
Direct / Presentation / Concept
Student Centered
Lecture / Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping - Students will read article about why people commit suicide
- As a class we will read the scene that talks about Ophelia’s death aloud
Whole Class / Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Suicide article, poster board, markers, art of Ophelia
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding) - Students will get in three groups and look at three different art
works of Ophelia and use the “Clues for You” strategy to discuss
ideas on poster board and respond to each other
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
- Students will comment on other groups poster boards and journal
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
JOURNAL – What drives someone to take their own life? Why did Ophelia
Strategies Homework
- Clues for You
Have a day off to be mindful of struggling hearts.
Instructional Framework Initiating Additional Notes
Reminders!!
Sir John Everett Milais
Alexandre Cabanel
John William Waterhouse
Unit/Course Shakespeare’s Hamlet Topic Funeral Day!!!
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
Students will have to look for the good in the most despicable of characters as we hold a funeral service for them and they read their obituaries they composed for homework
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Student’s Obituaries, Mood Setters Having read the script in its entirity
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
Empathize and mourn for our fallen characters Get a deeper look at who they are
Direct / Presentation / Concept
Student Centered Lecture / Co-Op. Learning / Problem Solving
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping
Instructor, acting as minister of funeral procession, will solemnly and ceremoniously recap the deaths of each of our fallen characters
Whole Class / Pairs / Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
One by one, student will read their obituary to the class
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Students may engage in brief reception where they may enjoy snacks as long as they continue to mourn the deaths of their characters as they converse- they may also use this time to ask instructor any last minute questions about summative assessment
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
Journal- “What character are you saddest to see ‘bite the dust’” Obituaries collected
Strategies Homework
RAFTA
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS DUE TOMORROW!!!
Instructional Framework Initiating / Constructing / Utilizing Additional Notes
Reminders!! SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
ATTENTION!! MAJOR HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER HAMLET A
AND YOU ARE THE NEWEST CASTING DIRECTOR
What You Need To
Do:
1. Cast any five
characters from the
script. May use
famous actors or
those yet to be
discovered (i.e.
Friends, teachers in
this school, etc.)
2. Provide picture and
at least one
paragraph justifying
your choice. USE
MAJOR CHARACTER
MOTIVATIONS AND
OBJECTIVES.
3. Be prepared to argue
for your choices in
class. A final vote
from the panel (your
classmates) will
determine cast list.
Things to Consider:
1. Main objective and
circumstances of
character. How does your
actor embody these
attributes?
2. Character/Actor
relationships with each
other
3. Character Appearance
Total: ___
+2 for any casting picks that made final cut
+____
Final Grade: /100
Student provided
five pictures and
exhibited
originality and
creativity in
choices
Student provided
five pictures and
made sensible
choices
Student provided
four or five
pictures and made
choices without
much thought
Pictures were
missing and
choices were bland
and not well-
thought through
Student put great
thought into
character
motivations,
relationships, and
attributes that
were mirrored by
chosen actor
One element of
character was
missing in
descriptions
One or more
elements of
character were
disregarded
Character choices
were not properly
supported
Excellent sentence
structure
Perfect Grammar
1-3 mistakes made
in grammar and/or
sentence structure
4-9 mistakes in
grammar and/or
sentence structure
10 or more
mistakes in
grammar and
sentence structure
Student was able
to make
compelling case for
character choice
Student had good
facts, but failed to
present them with
gusto
Student did not
put forth much
effort in argument,
but still had the
facts
Student was
unprepared and
did not make a
case for his/her
choices
Overview
Argumentative Writing and Miller’s The Crucible Angela Bubash
American Literature Spring 2013
Rationale:
Ultimately, I want my students to explore and discover the power they have within
themselves that can be unleashed with solid argumentative writing. The ability to write
argumentatively is a skill that will benefit them not merely across subjects, but, indeed,
throughout their lives. Most of the students will at one time or another feel passionate
about something. I want to show these students the power they have to protect or even
fight for these things. I can think of no better way to illustrate this than with Arthur
Miller’s The Crucible. In this brilliant play, a girl no older than the students, themselves,
drives the city of Salem to expel of dozens of lives on the claim of witchcraft. She drives
the puritanical town to the historical tragedy known as the Salem Witch Trials with
nothing more than a little bit of drama and an argument. It is my intention to put my
students in the courtroom with Abigail. Perhaps some will be distressed by the stifling
puritanical lifestyle and argue on her behalf, others will inevitably want to spare lives.
No matter their position, they must pick up their pens with a purpose.
Summary:
As a class, we will study Arthur Miller’s The Crucible as a means of propelling us
towards argumentative writing. I believe by raising the stakes of their arguments to this
dramatic extreme will help them to discover just what argumentative writing can
accomplish. We will begin the unit by studying the historical event of the Salem Witch
Trials. Hopefully, this will make Miller’s piece feel all the more relevant and real.
Simultaneously, we will study Toulmin’s basic conception of argument. As we read the
play, we will discuss how much the characters utilized the ideas of evidence, warrant,
backing, claims, qualifications, and rebuttals. Then, we will discuss how their arguments
might have been strengthened with the proper use of these tactics. In one class, I would
like the students to rewrite the courtroom scene using these tactics and determine if the
outcome would have changed. Hopefully, this will prepare them for the day I will have
them collect data and evidence from the text and use this to make a claim of their own.
This will be the first step towards the summative assessment in which the students must
compose a Closing Argument for the court. They may choose to support Abigail’s
claims of witchcraft, defend Goody Proctor from the gallows, or even prosecute Abigail
for slander, but they must support their argument using all the elements of Toulmin’s
concept.
Essential Questions:
How can you use the power of argument to make a difference in the world (for better or
for worse)?
Common Core:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying
evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner
that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major
sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and
reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective
tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows
from and supports the argument presented.
Literacy Strategies:
Carousel Brainstorming
Exit/ Entrance Slips
Write Around
NonStop Writing
Length of Unit:
55 Minute class periods five days a week for two weeks
Materials and Resources:
School-
Script
Computers for research
Teacher-
Construction Paper
Student-
Notebook Paper
Markers
Assessment:
Pre-assessment
Students will have a Nonstop write in which they will reveal everything they know about
the Salem Witch trials and, more importantly, discuss how they believed such a bizarre
tragedy came to be. Quick writes will be examined by teacher.
Formative Assessment
Students will rewrite the final court scene using Toulmin’s aspects of argument. Their
scenes will be performed for class and will receive feedback and score from teacher
based on how well they incorporated the elements of the argument.
Summative Assessment
All their work will be culminated in a summative assessment that will require the student
to compose a Closing Argument to be presented for the Court of Salem. They may take
any position they which, be that defendant or prosecutor, for any character of the script.
It is important they make a claim and use backing, evidence, and warrant while still
managing to address any qualifications and make appropriate rebuttals. Students who
chose opposing sides will read their essays for a jury of their peers. Together, we will see
if our class will manage to avoid the Salem Witch Trials.
Unit/Course Argu. Writing and The Crucible/ American Literature
Topic: Making a Claim
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
By examining the rigidity of Puritan life, the history of the Salem witch trials, and brainstorming the evidence of Scene 1 and Scene 2 at the Proctors, the students will work toward making a claim--- the foundation of their arguments. Furthermore, they must understand why the characters make their own claims in the script.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish
the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and
counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Script/Construction Paper/Markers Students should have read at least half of Act I
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
*Understand history behind Salem Witch trials and Puritan life *Explore data and motivations in first two scenes
*Students make their first claims
Concept
Student Centered
Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping
Students will individually participate in a Nonstop Write in which they write everything they know about the Salem Witch Trials and, more importantly, discuss how they believed such a bizarre tragedy came to be.
Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed
Article on Puritan life
Article on Salem Witch Trials
Scene 1 of The Crucible
Scene 2 of The Crucible Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
Four groups will be made for Carousel Brainstorming. At one table, there will be an article about the Salem Witch Trials, one will be an article about Puritan life, one will have the pages from scene one, and the last will have scene 2. Students will brainstorm about what strikes them and what DATA they find in the scenes about whether or not witchcraft is afoot.
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Exit slips- using the data they collected from Carousel Brainstorming the students will answer the question: Is Abigail telling the truth? This will act as their first claims
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
JOURNAL – who’s story do you find most sympathetic in the script? Who do you want to FIGHT for?
Will collect Nonstop write, Carousel Brainstorming,
Strategies Homework
Nonstop Write Carousel Brainstorming Exit Slip
Finish reading Act 1
Instructional Framework Initiating
Unit/Course Argu. Writing in The Crucible/ American Literature
Topic Act III- Toulmin’s Argument
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
Students will explore how a solid argument could have changed the fates of the people of Salem
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Script Notebook Paper Completed reading The Crucible
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
-Understand Elements of Toulmin’s argument -Find evidence and make rebuttals against claims made about
witchcraft in final court scene of The Crucible
Presentation / Concept
Student Centered Lecture / Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping Instructor will present elements of Toulmin’s argument including, claim, evidence,
warrant, backing, rebuttals and qualification
Whole Class / Small Groups
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed Notebook Paper Script
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
Students will get together in groups of four and participate in a Write-Around in which each student makes a claim about the script, the next provides evidence, the next makes a rebuttal, and the next finds evidence for the rebuttal.
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Students will rewrite the final court scene using the evidence they discussed in write around for the defense. Students will perform the scenes for class.
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
JOURNAL- How could a solid argument have changed the fates of the people of Salem?
Performances will be assessed by instructor based on use of evidence to support claims.
Strategies Homework
Write Around Drama in the Classroom Final Assessment!
Instructional Framework Constructing Additional Notes
Reminders!!
Unit/Course Argu. Writing in The Crucible/ American Literature
Topic Presenting Final Assessment
Rationale CC-Standards Addressed
Students will step in the shoes of someone residing in Salem and FIGHT FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Materials Prior Knowledge Needed
Paper copies of students’ assessments Having read the script in its entirety
Objectives (Skills/information that will be learned) Lesson Plan Format
Be able to argue orally based on written work
Presentation
Student Centered Co-Op. Learning
Lesson Phase 1 (Demonstration / Lesson Details) Grouping
Instructor, acting as Judge Danforth will solemnly and ceremoniously recap the lives at stake, who is on trial, and why
Whole Class
Teaching Aids/Materials Needed Students written final assessment
Lesson Phase 2 (Engage Student understanding)
Two students, who have chosen opposing sides, will give their closing arguments and be able to make rebuttals against their classmate using textual evidence.
Lesson Phase 3 (Summary of Learning / Relatable Application)
Class will act as a jury and discuss who they believed won their case and why.
Activity (Independent activity to reinforce lesson) Assessment (Formative / Summative)
Journal- “What did I do in my case that Reverand Hale did not? Was I successful in my argument? What am I capable of?”
Summative assessment collected. Bonus points awarded to students who “won their case”
Strategies Homework
RAFTA Drama in the Classroom
Relax!! We’ll study something a little more upbeat next class.
Instructional Framework Utilizing Additional Notes
Reminders!!
BREAKINGNEWS Rev. Hale has left the Salem Witchcraft case!
The lawyer to take his place:
YOU
Which means...
You must
compose a
closing
argument
Your argument can:
Defend Any Character You Wish
OR
Prosecute Any Character You Wish
Be ready to present your argument to Judge Danforth and the Puritan Jury.
The fate of Salem rests in your hands!
Your argument must:
Be three to five pages in length
Incorporate all the elements of
Toulmin’s theory of argument
e pages in length
• Incorporate all the
elements of Toulmin’s
theory of argument
Iowa’s Dirty Little Secret
ISearch Introduction
Angela Marie Bubash
Fall 2013
I was 19 when I landed my first real “gig.” The Sondheim Center employed the likes of Robby
Benson (the voice of the Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the Justin Bieber of the 80s),
Karla DeVito (the female voice in Meatloaf’s infamous “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”), and several
other names you would recognize if you paid close enough attention to your Playbills. It was an
amazing opportunity, but there was a catch: I would be spending my summer in Fairfield, Iowa.
Upon my arrival, it did not take me long to realize this was not your typical Field of Dreams
Iowa. The basic framework of Fairfield was much like any stereotypical small town. The city was
centered around a town square and you could leave your wallet at a diner all day and no one would
touch it, but beyond that, Fairfield was littered with peculiarities. In lieu of stop signs, street corners
were marked with dress forms draped with anything but a dress, restaurants and grocery stores served
exclusively “natural” dishes, and residents sauntered about the streets with a glazed look in their eye as
if they were in a constant state of meditation. It once struck me as odd that a town with a population of a
mere 9,447 people would have any interest in housing a theatre company. Little did I know, that this
town was made up of 9,447 marijuana smoking, art loving, organic eating hippies.
Perhaps you are wondering what interest these eccentrics have in a small, Midwestern town.
Surely, they are better suited for a place like Portland or Soho or, more likely still, somewhere in the
seventies. The answer lies just a little bit North of Fairfield at the Maharishi School of Time
Management. Since that first summer in Iowa, I have spent seven months of my life in Fairfield. Yet,
more questions and less answers occupy my mind as it regards the Maharishi school. This is what I
know for certain:
1. The Maharishi school provides every level of education from Preschool to University. Its
students range from the age of four to the very elderly.
2. All students are taught and required to practice transcendental meditation, an Indian
tradition.
3. Many of the students were once very wealthy individuals, who were persuaded to give up
their possessions to the University.
4. All doors and directions of travel are towards the East, forcing the students to make
strange and inconvenient circles everywhere they go.
In general, the Maharishi students, while strange, were kind and perfectly harmless.
Harmless to us, at least. One Monday evening, a group of us lounged in a producer’s living room
when the choreographer ran in. “Get in the van,” Adam demanded, “I have to show you something.” It
was not long- it takes approximately three and a half minutes to drive out of the town’s limits- before we
were surrounded by the familiar backdrops that were the outskirts of Fairfield: cornfields, Organic
farms, more cornfields. We drove for quite some time then suddenly, things were not so familiar
anymore. In the middle of the open wilderness laid a series of lush hotels and elaborate mansions.
“Belongs to the University leaders,” Adam explained. It seemed incredible that a University that so
adamantly preached the value of poverty should live lives of such luxury, but this was not the scandal
intended for us. No, what we were about to see was far more disturbing.
Metal. Metal that twisted into a chain linked fence. Metal that contorted into bushels of barbed
wire. Metal that made up the barrel of a guard’s shot gun. Rest assured, it is not common for Iowans to
guard their crops with firearms; then again, there were no crops to be found here. Beyond the high,
barbed wire fence laid dozens upon the dozens of tiny, white houses all standing in perfect symmetrical
rows like a barracks. Then, we noticed something that noticed us quite a long time ago. Shadowed by
the night sky, several women in dark burkas clung to the fence and followed our van madly with their
eyes.
That night, we encountered what the University calls “pandits.” With the promise of a free trip to
America and the chance to earn wages, however slight they may be, Maharishi University ships
hundreds of people from India to the confines I encountered that late Monday night. There are currently
850 pandits kept in captivity in Fairfield, and for what purpose? World peace. Pandits are forced to
spend eight hours a day chanting, in hopes that they will spread positive energy throughout Iowa and the
world. Their day is consumed by transcendental meditation and philosophy, leaving but a single hour
free for recreation.
Naturally, I thought I had stumbled upon a huge secret in Fairfield. When I approached a few girls
who had been educated through Maharishi University, I was horrified to find that this was not the case.
In fact, they laughed, and even began to tell me stories about pandits trying to escape the barracks and
driving into town on farming equipment. The rogue Indian, they assured me, was quickly captured by
the police and put back in its place. “Doesn’t that prove they are there against their will?” I inquired of
the girls, but I never received an answer, only more questions. How does one escape the pandit system?
Why does this practice go unnoticed by our government? What will become of these bizarre, modern
day indentured servants?
It is my intention to find the answers for the questions I seek. To do so, I must first look at the
research that came before me. Oprah did a piece on the pandits, and though it seemed to me she
repressed her feelings out of respect for those who granted her an interview, it seems an excellent place
to start. I also greatly look forward to the possibility of conducting interviews of my own. A small town
such as this should make the mayor simple enough to reach. I would like to know his extent of
knowledge on the subject, and how this practice can continue to exist on legal terms. Finally, I would
like to conduct an interview with some of the University leaders, themselves. Through them, I hope to
understand who exactly they recruit for the pandit system, what they hope to accomplish through them,
and what one must do to escape the system and return home to their families abroad.