JH


 * A Look Back in Time With Diane Harris**

**Interview**

She is one of the few people who knows the secrets to making the perfect brisket, a delicious noodle pudding, and a mean gifiltafish. People have traveled far and wide for a taste of her superb chocolate chip cinnamon cake. She is always there to lend a hand or an ear to listen. She is my strongest ally, and I can always turn to her when my mom gets mad. She is my grandma: Diane Harris. I offered her a cup of coffee, a little bit of milk, hold the sugar, and then we got down to business. For as much as I know about my grandmother, this was the first time I ever had the opportunity to delve into her experiences during the [|Vietnam War]. Before I could even finish my first question she said, "Hold on Ms. Reporter, I didn't realize this was going to be so serious." She then proceeded to fluff her hair and reapply her lipstick. I reminded her that she is not going to be on TV and this is just a simple interview for my English class, however she continues to beautify herself. I was not surprised by this, because I know my grandma, and she would want to look her best even for a radio interview. "So Diane, how old were you during the war?" I asked with my most serious tone. "I was twenty-five years old and I was very pregnant with your Aunt Susie." "Did you ever fear that the war would come home?" "To be honest, I really thought that the Apocalypse was coming and that the world would never survive the [|Cold War] ," she laughs as she recalls the now foolishness of her fears. "I know that being a woman, you could not be drafted, but did you know anyone who was drafted?" "Well, during the war and up until your mom was born I was a [high school] teacher in the Bronx. Two of my students were drafted into the war and another boy enlisted in the Army. All of the other teachers in my school told these boys how brave they were and that they were fighting for their freedom and that they could change the world. Looking back I feel as if we cheered these boys on to their deaths." I was shocked to learn how close my grandma was to people who went off to war. These people were not just men in stories that she heard about, they were her students who she interacted with everyday. "Did you notice a change in these boy's personalities when they returned from Vietnam?" She waited for a minute, looking for the right words to satisfy my question. "I wouldn't know because I never saw any of them again. I guess by the time they got home from over there, school was the least of their concerns. But there were always [|horror stories] about the young soldier from Vietnam coming home and killing himself because he was no longer himself and could not live anymore." She was quiet for a minute. I could sense her sadness and tried to guide the interview in a more uplifting direction. "So grandma, were you one of those rowdy rebels, like the ones at [|Kent State] or the [|1968 Democratic Convention] ?" She laughed and told me I was "too much." "No," she replied, "I was not a 'rowdy rebel'! I was older already by that time. I had a family to look after, I couldn't risk getting arrested at some foolish riot that I didn't really believe in." I sense a hint of regret in her voice. "Do you ever wish you had been there?" "Maybe if I was younger and more carefree, or if Poppy had been drafted I would have been more interested in rebelling, but I was simply at a different place in my life then the rest of those rowdy rebels." "Do you feel that Vietnam War is similar to the current Iraq War?” "The wars are pretty similarly: A war being fought for an uncertain cause, with no sign of victory in sight. Today a lot of people complain about the tax increases they face and the oil crisis due the war. Times were just different I guess, but it seemed like a much more righteous fight to end the war then. Now people are only motivated to end the war because of the pinch in their pockets. We finished our interview the same way we end all of our times together: we baked. After licking to spoon clean and putting our cake in the oven, I noticed a pleased look on my grandma’s face. She told me she was so proud of me and she couldn’t wait to hand up a copy of my report on the wall right next to the last project I wrote about her, in second grade. I thank her for being an excellent specimen in my study and hug her good-bye. I have known my grandma for seventeen years, but I fell like I have learned about an entirely new person today.

**Pictures**

Chaos at the 1968 Democratic Convention A rioter is killed in the crossfire at Kent State Two men protest the Vietnam War

**Videos**

An interview with a real Vietnam veteran media type="youtube" key="aiAJh0LlzEE" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="Zteuflh8wUY" height="344" width="425"

**Podcasts**

I found an interesting podcast on ITunes entitled A380 Vietnam War. I suggest listing to Kent State, and Is Iraq like Vietnam.

**1984 Lesson Plans**


 * BOOK 1: Newspeak + INGSOC= Doubleplusgood**
 * · **Standard**
 * Language Arts Literacy 3.C.2 - Analyzing characteristics, structures, tone, and features of language of selected genres and apply this knowledge to own writing.


 * **Expectations **
 * My group will be able to understand the importance of Newspeak to the power of the Party
 * They will use Newspeak to rewrite a Times article that has become “outdate”
 * They will show their ability to write creatively and their use of Pages


 * **Materials**
 * Laptop with Internet and Pages
 * Word search (either online, or printed out)


 * **Opening**
 * My group will complete the [|Newspeak wordsearch] . After they have found all of the words they will discuss the importance that Newspeak plays to the power of the Party


 * **Middle **
 * In a past //Times// article Big Brother’s daily address was about the brave and unwavering dedication of Oswald Slovia to the party. Slovia was being awarded the Doubleplusplusgood award that morning for his service to the military. Unfortuantly, this information is no longer correct. Your job as a worker for the Minitrue is to rewrite Big Brother’s address so that it reflects the truth. You will have 15 minutes to complete this assignment using Pages.
 * **Ending**
 * The group will share their articles with me.

>
 * BOOK 2: OUR DUTY TO THE PARTY**
 * ** Standard: ** __3.C.1: Use print and electronic media texts to explore human relationships, new ideas, and aspects of culture (e.g., racial prejudice, dating, marriage, family, and social institutions).__

>>
 * __** Expectations **__
 * Students will understand and analyze the importance of fear in a society
 * They will discuss the necessity of fear and hope in society in accordance with Machiavellian theory and previous wars of the world, such as the French Revolution, fall of the Roman Empire.
 * **Materials **
 * **Laptop with Internet and Comic Life**


 * **Opening **
 * We will demonstrate the way that Julia and Winston are fored to communicate by playing a game of telephone. I will secretly assign one student with a location that the two will meet. Without the use of facial expressions or hand gestures, the student must try to convey the location to the other person, by playing telephone, within 30 seconds.


 * **Middle **
 * The group will create two comic life projects (one per student). One project will depict the life of an outer party member, such as Parsons, or Winston (circa Book One.) The other student will create a comic depicting the life of an Inner Party Member, such as Winston. The students will not the differences in their homes, food, and clothing.
 * When the group is finished with the comic life project they will respond to one of the two wiki discussion questions.
 * Why is it necessary for the Inner Party to make the Outer Party inferior in order to keep order and power in society?
 * Is Oceania a Machiavellian society?
 * A Machiavellian society is one in which the government uses a balance of fear and hope in order to maintain power and order in society.


 * **Ending**
 * The group will give [|Winston] and [|Julia] makeovers for the Brotherhood by giving them new hair, lips, noses, eyes, ears, teeth, etc. Import pictures of Julia and Winston and give them a makeover worthy of the Brotherhood.

//For how could the fear, the hatred, and the lunatic credulity which the Party needed in its members be kept at the right pitch except by bottling down some powerful instince and using it as a driving force?// (Orwell 133)


 * BOOK 3: 2+2=5 **
 * **Standard:** __3.B.7: Participate actively in panel discussions, symposiums, and/or business meeting formats (e.g., explore a question and consider perspectives).__
 * __     **Expectations **__
 * Students will discuss their feeling towards the book overall as well as discussing and interpreting main themes, ideas, and symbols from the novel
 * **Materials**
 * Laptop
 * 8x11 piece of blank paper
 * crayons, color pencils, or markers
 * **Opening **
 * We will begin by writing a summary of the way the student thought the book should end. The students will use interesting ideas and syntax.
 * **Middle **
 * We will spend 30 minutes of the period doing a Socratic seminar for the latter part of the novel, focusing mainly on Book 3 and the novel overall.
 * How do you think the novel should have ended? (sharing what they wrote in part one of the activity)
 * Was Julia a real rebel against the party
 * Was Julia really in love with Winston? Was Winston really in love with Julia?
 * If O’Brien and the Thought Police had been watching Winston for 7 years, why did they wait so long to arrest them?
 * Why did they ultimately let Winston keep his life?
 * How is it ironic that the place of torture is called the Ministry of Love?
 * Does the party really believe that by torturing a citizen it is really an act of love?
 * Could this ever happen in real life? If so how and when? Has this already happened in our society?
 * **Ending **
 * Using the blank paper and coloring materials, the student will draw what their Room 101 would be (illustrating their biggest fear).