SD

**__1984__ By George Orwell**
**Lesson on Book 3: Psychological Torture**
 * __Standard__**
 * Language Arts Literacy 3.3.A.2 -Support, modify, or refute a position in small or large-group discussions.


 * __Expectations__**
 * My group will learn about the long-lasting side effects of psychological torture.
 * They will be able to explain how O'Brien broke Winston's will with the aid of psychological torture.
 * The group will understand why psychological torture is far worse than physical torture in the eyes of many victims.
 * Most importantly, my group will take action that would not have been possible in the universe in which __1984__ takes place.

__**Materials**__
 * Laptop
 * __1984__
 * Microsoft Word
 * Wikispaces

__**Opening**__
 * My group will read and discuss [|an article] about the agonizing side effects of psychological warfare, linking it to those seen in __1984__

__**Middle**__
 * The group will use their novels to find specific examples of psychological torture that takes place in Room 101.
 * The group will use the specific examples they found and write a brief paragraph in Microsoft Word comparing them to mental torture tactics in [|Abu Ghraib]
 * Group members will make a short bullet-list of ways to combat/prevent psychological torture on their individual wikispace pages.
 * My group will discuss the moral responsiblity of the world's citizens to object against torture in the modern world and link it to the lack of opposition (specific examples) in __1984__

__**Ending**__
 * My group will sign a [|petition] to help build an anti-torture majority.

=**Lesson on Book 2: War Rhetoric and Doublethink**=
 * BOOK 2: War is good. War is ungood.**


 * __Standard__**
 * 3.3.12.A.1 - Support a position integrating multiple perspectives.
 * __Expectations__**
 * My group will learn about detrimental war rhetoric of both American politicians and "Big Brother."
 * They will be able to explain how "The Party" is able to control the masses through war.
 * My group will partake in discussions that challenge their original point of view.

__**Materials**__
 * Laptop
 * __1984__
 * Google Docs
 * Wikispaces

__**Opening**__
 * My group will read [|an article] about the abuses of war rhetoric on non-war situations in modern society.

__**Middle**__
 * The group will discuss the repercussions of the war rhetoric in the article they read and liken the specific abuses to those in __1984__.
 * The group will find specific examples from the prisoners in Book 2 Chapter 1 to prove how war can control the masses in a negative fashion.
 * After proving that the use of war to control people is negative, the group will prove that it is positive (doublethink) with proof from __1984__.
 * The group will open their laptops and make a google docs link to their 1984 wikispace page that discusses the benefits or disadvantages of doublethink in understanding a concept.

__**Ending**__
 * The group will reflect on their ability to simultaneously believe two contradictory ideas.[[image:BEI058_wa.jpg width="112" height="164" align="right"]]


 * Vietnam Interview**

My mother is legendary amongst my family for her seemingly endless supply of love and happiness. After returning home from a long day of school, the aroma of mom's freshly baked chocolate chip cookies invigorates the weariest of bones. Cooking however, is not the only way into the hearts of her husband and two children. Her ability to relate to our problems and foster an undying love in every crevice of her heart has made her the foundation of our family. As a [|social worker] she has proven her indispensability to a multitude of families. But, countless hours of listening to stories of loss and torment could not prepare her for what was to come. In the first and last interview between my mother and I, she looked at me with deeply pained eyes. Her soul began pouring out from her quivering lips. My mother sat across the table from me, searching within herself for the indelible mark left within by the Vietnam War.

"My family was vehemently opposed to the War" my mother stated powerfully, reflecting on the pain. When did Terry, my mother, tune into the feelings of others? From a young age she sensed the pain in the hearts of those around her. She recalled one specific night when she was unable to finish her meal due to the disgust in her father's voice in response to the lack of [|America's purpose] in Vietnam.

Visibly distraught, my mother conceded that she viewed the returning soldiers in a negative light from the ripe age of twelve. The general consensus of troop complicity molded her entire view of the war. After decades of [|reevaluating] her negative regard for the troops, she sighed, "It wasn't their fault. They were just doing what they were told." Was my mother's opposition to the war so intense that she would support draft-dodgers? media type="youtube" key="Nl58QbpVLHw" height="195" width="240" "Absolutely." She believed that draft-dodging was not cowardly, but just. "Fighting a war which one objected to was the truly treasonous act." Simultaneously, my mother struggled to see the war as [|justifiable]. She believed that America should support suffering countries, yet still repeated one question: "Do we know what's best?"

My mother wasn't the epitome of an impressionable child, but her views were undoubtedly dictated by the surrounding sentiment. Not quite as liberal as the views of her parents, the town's conservative to moderate beliefs posed a problem to my mother. Her vocal opposition to the war and peace sign-emblazon clothing stirred the [|emotions] (scroll down on this web page to listen to one veteran's poetic interpretation of the Vietnam War) of peers and parents alike.

How did she respond to the criticism?

"Respectfully, of course." Her ability to diffuse tense situations was born at this point of her life. Instead of lashing out at others, she absorbed their strong opinions in order to supplement the daily supply of liberal views given to her by her parents.

The news, not her parents, seemed to have the most long-lasting affect on my mother. She recalled being "shocked" by the images of a napalmed nine-year-old girl and a particularly gory execution during dinner time. One could only imagine the devastating impact such an image would have on a more impressionable child.

My mother, like many other children of her time, was forced to wade through the sea of opinions on the war and shape her own beliefs. By living in a semi-conservative area with liberal parents, my mother was exposed to opposing ideologies. Her ability to "believe in herself" gave her the opportunity to create a mature opinion on the war. Although today she is saddened by the pain caused by the Vietnam War, she claims that it eventually led her to a career that she loves. Her vivid memories from one of the most [|tumultuous] epochs of American history leave one question to be asked: Why aren't there more social workers her age?