What is courage? ( A Lesson Plan Connected to the Play "The Crucible"

 



Description of Lesson Plan 

This lesson plan will discuss the idea of courage.  In the first part, I use a Prezi presentation created by Jamie Ritone in order to put in perspective the concept of courage. Next, students practice this concept with a handout by George Hillocks, author of "Teaching Argument Writing". Then, I include a New York Post article as an extended activity to make sure that students have understood the concept. Finally, I connect this idea to a writing assignment for the play "The Crucible".


Reason for This Lesson Plan

Students do not think critically about the idea of courage or the concept of being a hero. Distinctions are needed because every situation is not courageous or heroic. A police officer or fireman are not always courageous. Their courage must be put in context. 

Step 1
Show the presentation to the students and have them discuss the idea of courage, asking them to develop a criteria for it.
Presentation

Step 2
In groups, students discuss the Hillocks handout, using the criteria they developed in step 1, and decide if the scenarios presented in the handout are courageous.
Hillocks's Handout

Step 3
Students read a New York Post article and evaluate if the character in it, based on the criteria they have developed, is courageous.
Article

Step 4
Using their criteria for courage, students will write an essay in order to assess if John Proctor's actions in the play are courageous or heroic.

Two Different Perspectives On Tenure ( Where do you stand on this issue?)

The following articles report two different perspectives on tenure. The first one is a New York Times article that discusses the well-publicized court case that eliminated tenure in the state of California. The judge presiding over the case said, “Substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the 
challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and/or 
minority students”.



Article










The second article makes the claim that tenure is not the issue. It 
points out that "modifying teacher tenure rules is not the 
new Brown. The decision in Vergara v. California  won’t do much 
to help poor kids and is a diversion from the real source of 
inequality identified in Brown itself: the segregation of our public 
schools."

Article