| Introduction: |
| British Literature is
often deadly for the average student, particularly for young contemporary |
| males. Many students respond better when
they see a focus to a unit because they can then better |
| comprehend the theme. Monsters and aliens
are popular characters in many modern films. Also, |
| the near future in science will be concerned
with biotechnology, the internet, the genome project, |
| cloning, organ donation, developing emotional
intelligence in children, distance learning, plus the |
| issues of accountability and ethics. Maybe
our monsters today are those we have socially |
| alienated. How will our children deal with
this problem? |
| Rationale: Keeping
students interested in school reduces the failure rate. A student |
| who is taught to be a critical thinker will be
a lifelong learner and a positive contributor to |
| society. While the student is having fun,
he/she is also further developing skills in reading, |
| writing, research, speaking, using technology,
debating, and interpersonal relations while |
| working with his/her group. |
| Goals: The goals for this unit are basically
fourfold: |
| (1) The student will be able to conduct research using the internet;
this information will then be |
| organized, analyzed, and otherwise evaluated. This technically
will involve being taught to |
| word process, to take notes (being able to go back and forth using
a browser and a Works |
| document), to browse the internet for information, and to ultimately
produce an attractive |
| document or a culminating project. |
| (2) The student will further develop his/her writing skills as well
as integrate direct and indirect |
| quotations in his/her document giving them the correct MLA citation. |
| (3) The student will learn to utilize appropriate resources. |
| (4) The student will learn to express his/her opinion using standard
English. He/She will |
| learn to recognize a spoken fact as opposed to an opinion. |
| Objectives: |
| Students will be able
to produce a final research paper based on internet documents as . |
| well as printed materials
(textbooks, etc.). |
| Students will be able
to stand in front of a class and produce a speech with a logical, cohesive |
| argument using standard
English. |
| Students will be able
to use the internet effectively and for problem solving. |
| Students will further
develop interpersonal skills through group work. |
| Students will learn
to be better readers, synthesizing what they read and evaluating accordingly. |
| Instructional Plan: |
| Instruct students to the history of the Celts
and early British Literature. |
| Instruct the students in the proper way to
"cut and paste" and in going back and forth between |
| a Works document and the internet. |
| Form study groups in each class. |
| Require students to turn in their notes used
for class discussions or for speeches. |
| Develop more hands-on activities for each
lesson to engage each student. |
| Teach students to write more persuasively
using logical, not emotional, arugmentation. |
| Teach students to speak properly and proudly. |
| Lure the students into thinking about the
future using books from the past. |
