Course Information:
Travelling Around the World through Literature
I look upon travel as a means of spiritual testing. What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, we are so far from our country . . . we are seized by an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment, we are feverish, but also porous, so that the slightest touch makes us quiver to the depth of our being. By exercising our most intimate senses, we understand a culture. It is through travel that we learn about ourselves. (Albert Camus)
Unit 1: Border Crossing and Cultural Clashes
Unit 2: The Human Condition and the Search for Meaning
Essential Questions:
- What does it mean to be human?
- In the face of adversity, what causes some individuals to prevail while others fail?
- What is the meaning of life, and how does an individual's perception of that meaning affect beliefs regarding death?
- Are we governed/guided by fate, free will, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere on the spectrum between?
- How do we make decisions for ourselves about our identities in cultures where we are bombarded with other people trying to define us?
Week of 16 November 2009
- introduction to unit: exploring essential questions, discussing topics of interest
- pre-reading & writing: What Do You Believe? (instructions),
- What Rules Guide Your Life? This I Believe interview task (instructions)
- introduction to The Tao of Pooh (100 Acre Wood Personality Quiz)
- reading and discussion of The Tao of Pooh (pages 1-21)
- development of reading assignment for The Tao of Pooh
Week of 30 November 2009
Week of 7 December 2009
Week of 14 December 2009
- 12/14/09 This I Believe essay DUE (NPR website, instructions)
- W 12/16/09 FINAL EXAMS (3rd, 5th, 7th periods)
- Th 12/17/09 FINAL EXAMS (2nd, 4th, 6th periods)
- F 12/18/09 FINAL EXAMS (1st and 8th periods)
Useful Links:
Links to Critical-Thinking Games:
Gifted English 10 Summer Reading:
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