Embedded Files
"My arms have grown wings and I'm almost afraid of going up into the sky, as though I held a couple of captive balloons in my fists."
All Quiet on the Western Front - Of Geese & Men- Group Work (Chapter 5) : There are things that happen in Chapter 5 of this book that I believe are best handled and discussed in a small group (or alone - if the student didn't do the reading for class). There is a closeness - a "communion" between Paul and Kat, that in the past, some students, especially my male ones have had difficulty or have felt embarrassed in talking about. There is also a discussion about the "usefulness" of things learned in school - and how those academic endeavors don't apply to our lives. Group Work is the perfect way to allow students to have more nuanced, more intimate discussions (especially since they know their groups so well by this time of the year) than they would in the larger class setting. In the most recent version of the Group Work - there are links to The Things They Carried and to a poem, "Terrence this is Stupid Stuff" that tries to answer the question: "Why do we read such sad and depressing stuff". There is also a version for Remote Learning (with some of the special concerns that type of learning brings) and a shortened version (for nonhonors or a shortened class period).
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
As always the class begins with a quiz. Reminder: Grade or glance through the quizzes right away - students that have not done the reading, should not be in a group. They can finish their reading in class and do the Group Work for homework (in addition to whatever reading is assigned). By this point (into the second quarter) students should be doing tis on their own - without you having to say anything. I hated going to groups and pulling out students who didn't do the reading - but, I think it's an important thing to do.
Please see the actual Group Work below for precisely what's in it and my page on Group Work for more of the "why" do it. Here are some of the points that the Group Work goes over.
Some main points of the Group Work
The men talking about what a waste the academic things they learned in school was (a discussion our students have daily).
A more subtle take on that argument - maybe they "miss" that experience for all of their complaints.
The men talking about what they will do in peacetime and their psychological removal from the "home front".
A connection with the men's inability to "imagine" home - with the same feeling the men in The Things They Carried had.
Paul's feelings towards his older friend and mentor, Kat. Both the expected feeling and the surprising ones.
Geese as an echo of the men's predicament - and lack of freedom.
Why do we read depressing, sad works like this and their benefit as seen through the A.E. Houseman poem, "Terence, this is stupid stuff"
Group Work & Quizzes
Group Work & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
This is a two sided Group Work. This is, I think, the definitive version.
Designed for Remote Learning in both content and execution
Ideal for a nonhonors class or if your period has been shortened.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
There is a Group Work Variation above that is designed for Remote Learning.
Links
Links
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Audio
Audio
Video
Video
All Quiet 9 - Chapter 6 Part 1 (thru 117) Row Reading Discussion: Chapter 6 is huge and I've always felt it made sense for the students' reading homework as well as what we can cover in one discussion - to break it up into two parts. At times, I have also gone over Chapter 5 (which was done in group work) as well as this first part of Chapter 6, and while I will include the Student Slide - I do not have my notes for the Chapter 5 part of a Row Discussion. I have also included a version of the Row Reading Slides that has a slide to assign student Rows, remotely.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
In the intro to this lesson, I talked about the embarrassment that some boys seemed to feel over the years in talking about the closeness between Paul and Kat that is shown at the end of Chapter 5. I must also say, that as the years went on - for whatever reasons (societal change, my teaching, etc.) that embarrassment and reluctance to discuss this situation grew less and less.
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