The Value of Human Life: “The Most Dangerous Game”
Grade(s)/Level: 9th Grade
Background to share with students:
Throughout history, many courageous people have placed a high value on the lives of others. Think of people such as Harriet Tubman who moved slaves from the South to Canada and out of harm’s way; and Oskar Schindler who used his own factory to protect Jews from the Nazis during World War II. These people risked their own lives and fortunes to aid others. One would say that they placed a high value on other human beings. So, what is the value of a human life? Can we measure the value of a life? During this module, you will read fictional stories, poems, news stories, magazine articles, blogs, and speeches to explore the idea of the value of human life.
Tasks: Can you place a value on life? After reading literature and informational texts (see below), write
· A found poem
· A bite-sized sonnet
· Another short poem
· An editorial for a local newspaper that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
Reading texts:
CCSS Text Complexity: 9-10th Grade Flesch-Kincaid Goals = 8.32 - 12.12
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell (Flesch-Kincaid: 4.4)
Life Value Calculator http://www.lifehappens.org/human-life-value-calculator/
Choose among the readings below (arranged from least complex to most complex quantitatively):
What is the Value of a Human Life? By Kenneth Feinberg (Flesch-Kincaid: 8.1) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90760725
Your iPhone was built, in part, by 13 year-olds in China by Henry Blodgett (Flesch-Kincaid: 8.2) http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46027028/ns/today-today_news/t/your-iphone-was-built-part-year-olds-china/#.T84zRaN5mK0
Why the Syrian Regime is Killing Babies (Flesch-Kincaid: 11.0) http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/opinion/ghitis-syria-killing-children/index.html?hpt=imi_t5
Is Victoria's 'Secret' child labor in Africa? by David A. Love (Flesch-Kincaid: 11.4) http://thegrio.com/2011/12/16/is-victorias-secret-child-labor-in-africa/
Pope: No Human Life is Dispensable (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0)
http://www.zenit.org/article-33828?l=english
China: Death Row Provides Most Organ Donors (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0)
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32563370/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/china-death-row-provides-most-organ-donors/
49 Decapitated Bodies Found in Mexico (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0) http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/13/world/americas/mexico-remains/index.html?npt=NP1
The Value of a Human Life: $129,000 By Kathleen Kingsbury (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0)
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1808049,00.html
As U.S. Agencies Put More Value on a Life, Businesses Fret (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/business/economy/17regulation.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1
What’s the Value of a Statistical Life? (Flesch-Kincaid: 12.0) http://stats.org/stories/2011/value_statistical_life_jun27_11.html
Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers (Flesch-Kincaid: 13.4) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/science/06stem.html?ref=stemcells&pagewanted=print#
No Man is An Island by John Donne (poem)
http://web.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poetry/island.html
Mi Historia by David Dominguez (poem)
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/240052
The Value of One Life (poem)
http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?poemnumber=562674&sitename=apoetslaststand&password=&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry
Charts from the Social Security Administration (scroll to bottom of page). These charts can lend themselves to rich
discussions about the relative worth of different groups of humans according to government tables.
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/as120/LifeTables_Body.html
Original Author(s): Melissa Brown, Melissa Champion-Hurst, LaTonya McNeill, Jeff Merithew, Pam Shive, Kim Shropshire, Ben Taylor
Contact Information: ; ; ; ; ; ;
*I have modified this unit, but these authors deserve all the credit!!