JE

= = = __1984__ Lesson Plans  = Torture
 * Title of Lesson:**


 * What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:**
 * a) The different methods used to extract information.**


 * Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):**


 * Materials Needed and Technology Used:**
 * a) Laptop**
 * b) 1984**
 * c) Die Another Day DVD**
 * d) Pen & Handout**

I will start off the presentation by showing part of James Bond Die Another Day in which Bond is tortured but doesn't crack. He is still removed by the government because they believe he spilled information.
 * Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

They will then research the use of torture as outlined by the Geneva Convention and recent news with torture (like water boarding or prisons in Iraq). After the research they will create an outline of the allowed use of torture.
 * Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

Finally, we will have a discussion on the ethical and political use of torture and whether they feel it is right or wrong.
 * Closing Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

Revolution
 * Title of Lesson:**


 * What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:**
 * a) The similarities between the rebellion in 1984 and those of history**


 * Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):**

C. Living with Media

 * 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).


 * Materials Needed and Technology Used:**
 * a) Laptop**
 * b) 1984**
 * c) Futurama DVD**
 * d) Pen & Handout**

I will start off the presentation by showing part of the Futurama episode in which Earth is being oppressed. After the episode they will have to identify major causes that led to the revolution.
 * Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

They will be given a handout on revolutions and have to compare that of 1984 to many of the well known ones, like the American Revolution and the French Revolution.
 * Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

Create a pamphlet outlying how to successfully organize a revolution.
 * Closing Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

Then & Now: The similarities between 1984 and our current government
 * Title of Lesson:**


 * What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:**
 * a)** The traits of the dystopian 1984 are not so far off from our current government
 * b)** How media can be used to distort public opinion


 * Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):**

A. Discussion

 * 1) Support a position integrating multiple perspectives.
 * 2) Support, modify, or refute a position in small or large-group discussions.
 * 3) Assume leadership roles in student-directed discussions, projects, and forums.
 * 4) Summarize and evaluate tentative conclusions and take the initiative in moving discussions to the next stage.


 * Materials Needed and Technology Used:**
 * a) Laptop**
 * b) 1984**
 * c) Pen (for handout)**
 * d) V for Vendetta DVD**

I will start off the lesson by showing part of V for Vendetta in which V provides the explanation for how the government came to be and seized power from the masses by using manipulation. They will have to fill out a handout on the methods used and how they relate to the methods used in 1984.
 * Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

After the hand out, the students will then have to find an article of a current event done by the US government that is very 1984-like. They will have to summarize the article by creating a collage using pages, only using methods used in V for Vendetta and 1984 (that they listed on the handout).
 * Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

In closing I will ask them to discuss why they think our government is so similar or dissimilar to that of 1984, and ask them why we allow this to happen. Why don't we take a stand against our government now that we can clearly see the direction in which it is headed? Is it possible for us to have a government that would be completely void of these traits?
 * Closing Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

=Interview=

Although I’ve known him all my life, I have never really talked to Randy, my dad, much about his life and the events that he has lived through. One such event was the [|Vietnam War.] The Vietnam War occurred from 1959 until 1975, but US involvement took place from 1960 until 1969. The conflict caused over [|30,000 US casualties] and received huge protest by many Americans. He sat down casually, responding, “Okay, so what do I have to do? Just answer questions?” And upon that we started. I asked him how old he was during the Vietnam War, and he shifted into a more comfortable position, his focus never wavering. “It started when I was around 7”, he started”[But] by the time we finally pulled out, I was a senior.” Although my dad was too young to serve in the army or be [|drafted] for Vietnam, it seemed like the question started to stir something within him. “So did you know anyone who fought in it?” I asked. media type="youtube" key="IC4tpeN6pj4" height="344" width="425" “I didn’t go over, luckily, I was too young to be drafted.” He said evading the question. His relief of that fact was obvious in his voice. He grew up in York, PA; an all American town. Two of the people from his town were drafted, and a larger number went willingly. The distress at home over their constant danger was immense, but luckily all came home without physical harm. Now that he had relaxed a little, we discussed the effect this conflict had on him, and his family. “…It ruined my view of the US government.” At this things took a more political tone. The town of York, which he grew up in, was pre-dominantly conservative, but because of certain actions taken by the government, many of the children growing up during the Vietnam War, became more liberal. The Government's actions received a lot of protest. Even devout [|christian priests] participated in protest against the War.

Randy continued straight on into his memories of the war. A smile flickered on his face as he reminisced about his youth. He frowned and said, “The pictures of all the coffins coming back from [|Vietnam] really showed what war really was.” Like most of the baby boom generation, [|WWII] had seemed glorious to him; the teaming up of nations to take down the evil of [|Hitler] and [|Mussolini]. The reason this stuck in his mind so vividly was because seeing, “The coffins [were a] stray from traditional thinking”. To sum it all up, I asked about the wars affect on our family. “Well, my family wasn’t really affected that much. Your Uncle Jack was in Vietnam, but Aunt Sue met him after the war.” My Uncle Jack has never mentioned his experience in the war, but from other people it has been pieced together that he served in the back lines; away from the major fighting. Randy went on to realize “I hated the small town mentality, which is why we’ve lived in Chicago, Houston, and now right outside NYC”.

The conversation with my dad made me realize how much of my life has been indirectly influenced by the [|Vietnam War], as well as most people. For me it dictated where I live, and how my parents taught me about education and politics. For others it may be as simple as the U.S. Federal Government has became more liberal, and is more closely followed by the public than it once was. Either way, the [|Vietnam War] has had a lasting effect on all of us. = =