Activity One: Media Concepts

Name:

Hour:

Objective: Students will recognize and understand stereotyping and bias in literature by looking at representations of wolves. The lesson begins with a discussion about storytelling and an introduction to the many different versions of the fairy tale: The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. Students will analyze the depictions of wolves in popular fairy tales and then compare these stories to real facts about wolves. Once students have separated fact from fiction, he or she will write a persuasive letter. This letter will show a biased viewpoint on whether or not he or she believes that wolves are portrayed accurately in fictional stories.

Monday, March 9th

Activity One: Media Concepts

This lesson introduces students to the following concepts: point of view; message, stereotype; and bias.

Read 3 different versions of The Three Little Pigs and then complete the Wolf Story Analysis Sheet below. (Highlight in red the three sites you visit)

http://www.shol.com/agita/wolfside.htm
http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/green10.htm
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0124.html#lang
http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~odenbach/pigs/pigs.html
http://www.veganism.com/mtp/littlepig.htm
http://www.shol.com/agita/pigs.htm

Story 1 / Story 2 / Story 3
Stereotypes are fixed ideas that we have about people or animals. What stereotypes about wolves appear in your group’s story?
What bias exists in your story? Which characters are protagonists and which characters are antagonists? Whose point of view is the story told from?
What is the message of the story?

After reading 3 different versions of The Three Little Pigs, compare and contrast the messages about wolves from these stories to the stereotyping, bias and messages about wolves in the story of Red Riding Hood by Christopher Coady.

Click on the following site to read Red Riding Hood: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0333.html#perrault

Tuesday, March 10th

Activity Two: Fact OR Opinion

This lesson will give students the opportunity to identify facts and opinions in a text.

Visit the following websites and write down any “facts” or “opinions” about wolves that are presented. Highlight “facts” in red and “opinions” in green. After viewing several websites, form a group of two, and decide together which facts about wolves are true. Underline any facts that you both agree upon.

http://www.wolfcenter.org/education/wolfbehavior.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311684/wolfbehavior.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wolf.html

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Tuesday, March 10th

Activity Two Continued: Fact OR Opinion

This extension lesson will give students the opportunity to take a persuasive stance on whether or not they think wolves are accurately portrayed in fictional stories.

Part I: Using the Wolf Story Analysis Sheet, and the Venn diagram, brainstorm a list of 3 possible stereotypes and/or biased viewpoints authors have about wolves.

Part II: After brainstorming 3 possible biased viewpoints or stereotypes, you are to take a persuasive stance on whether or not you think wolves are accurately portrayed in fictional stories. Write a one paragraph letter below to your fellow movie critiques about your feelings on this matter. Make sure to incorporate at least ONE persuasive technique we have learned about this year (glittering generalities, bandwagon approach, testimonials, or citing statistics).

March 10, 2009

1440 E. 151st Street

Olathe, Kansas 66062

Dear Fellow Movie Critiques,

Make sure to double space and indent each new paragraph.

Sincerely,

Type your name her

Wednesday, March 12th

Activity Three: Fact OR Opinion

This lesson asks students to identify facts, opinions, and stereotypes.

Read “The First Americans” on page 499 and answer the following questions in red.

1. What does the slogan “America First” mean to the Grand Council?

2. What does “America First” mean to the mayor? (Read Before You Read on pg. 499 for help with this answer)

3. According to the council, how is a double standard used to teach American history? What examples are used to support this argument?

4. What is the council asking of the mayor?

5. Can you identify a persuasive technique in paragraph 4? Do you think this is an effective way of arguing? Why?

6. According to the council, what words do white people use to describe American Indians? Note the date when this speech was delivered. Are Indians still spoken of this way today?

7. How would you define civilization? Do you agree with the Grand Council’s definition?

8. Is the first sentence of paragraph 8 a fact or an opinion? If it is an opinion, is it valid? Explain.

9. What evidence does the council present to demonstrate the richness of American Indian culture? Name seven facts about the Indians that the council wants children to be taught.

10. Review the suggestions in paragraph 10. Do you think students learn these facts about Indians today?

11. What stereotypes about American Indians are found in this speech?

Thursday and Friday, March 12th and 13th

Activity Four: Fallacious Reasoning

This lesson asks students to identify fallacious reasoning when evaluating the author’s argument in “Edgar Allan Poe: His Life Revealed in His Work.”

Read “Edgar Allan Poe: His Life Revealed in His Work” on page 534 and then answer the following questions (Put your answers in red):

1. The first sentence is a negative statement about Poe. What information would the author need to provide next to support that statement? In the second sentence, the author says that “every single story” is about insane people. Could this statement be supported? Explain.

2. Why is the last sentence in this paragraph an example of name-calling? Look back to page 533 to review the definition of name-calling.

3. Can an author’s work show that the author is a drug addict or an alcoholic? What kinds of logical fallacies are made here?

4. What type of fallacy is made when the writer says, “We know that all writers…”?

Practice the Strategy

Practice 1

Identifying Types of Fallacious Reasoning

In the selection “Edgar Allan Poe: His Life Revealed in His Work,” there are several types of fallacious reasoning, or arguments that are not logical. Review the types of fallacious reasoning on page 533. Then, answer the questions below. (Highlight the correct answer in red).

1. “Every single story and poem he ever wrote is about disturbed, usually insane people” is a hasty generalization because the writer-

a. probably hasn’t read everything Poe wrote

b. is not of Poe’s generation

2. “The only way he could have known is by being insane himself” is another hasty generalization because-

a. the statement assumes we all agree on something

B. there is insufficient evidence to support the statement

3. By saying that Poe’s use of dashes and exclamation points suggests that a very nervous person or someone on drugs wrote the text, the writer is-

a. using false cause and effect

b. name-calling

4. By implying that we shouldn’t take Poe’s stories seriously because he was always drunk, the writer is-

a. using the either/or fallacy

b. name-calling

Practice 2

Practice recognizing different types of fallacious reasoning by completing the following statements: (Type your answers in red).

1. Hasty generalizations: She would not loan me a pencil. Everyone obviously…

2. False cause and effect: After I used this new toothpaste, I got invited to a party. This new toothpaste…

3. Either/or fallacy: If we don’t elect a girl for class president, then girl’s…

4. Stereotyping: All teenagers are…

5. Name-calling: Ray’s in favor of school uniforms. That’s no surprise because Ray…