“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ― Joseph Campbell Being a member of my family has always meant mastering the art of argument. Whether it was over a torah portion in temple or why we should get a puppy, argument has always been a part of my life. Because of this, my family nurtured in me a love of reading anything from philosophy to adventure stories, and in turn, creative writing. For me so much of the English discipline is about nurturing a love for reading and writing. Once a child can see that reading and writing can be an outlet, an escape from the rest of the world, or a tool to show others how to make that world better, they have a reason to work at it. It is this passion that I want to bring to my classroom. Despite this strong belief, I haven’t always wanted to be a teacher. In fact, after college, I spent three years working as a Communications Specialist in the corporate sector. Editing training documents in such a setting showed me how rare it is to be able to write well in the business setting, a revelation that I could never have imagined. There are so many brilliant analysts and marketing directors that lack a basic comfort with language. This vulnerability is such a simple thing to fix, and it would make them so much more successful to improve by admitting to it, but they are afraid to do anything about it. If I can help students gain that comfort before they leave public education, they can be that much more successful in the workforce, possibly even improving the world we live in. As hard as it was to admit that I had chosen the wrong path for me, realizing what I could impact made it worth the fear of trading in a stable income for another degree. I hope that I can use my experiences in communications to help students discover what they are capable of. The first picture to the right is of me administering a belt test at Truman. The student in the picture is my brother’s grappling partner Thomas. The second picture is of my friend Becca and I as camp councilors in Colorado last summer. The bottom picture to the right is of my mom, my brother, and me the day that I earned my blackbelt. "If it is in our hearts to question the ways of the world, then it is in our hands to change it" – Leigh Gilmore
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“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
― Joseph Campbell
Being a member of my family has always meant mastering the art of argument. Whether
it was over a torah portion in temple or why we should get a puppy, argument has always been a
part of my life. Because of this, my family nurtured in me a love of reading anything from
philosophy to adventure stories, and in turn, creative writing. For me so much of the English
discipline is about nurturing a love for reading and
writing. Once a child can see that reading and writing
can be an outlet, an escape from the rest of the world,
or a tool to show others how to make that world better,
they have a reason to work at it. It is this passion that I
want to bring to my classroom.
Despite this strong belief, I haven’t always
wanted to be a teacher. In fact, after college, I spent
three years working as a Communications Specialist in
the corporate sector. Editing training documents in
such a setting
showed me
how rare it is to be able to write well in the business
setting, a revelation that I could never have imagined.
There are so many brilliant analysts and marketing
directors that lack a basic comfort with language. This
vulnerability is such a simple thing to fix, and it would
make them so much more successful to improve by
admitting to it, but they are afraid to do anything about
it. If I can help
students gain that
comfort before they
leave public
education, they can be that much more successful in the
workforce, possibly even improving the world we live in. As
hard as it was to admit that I had chosen the wrong path for
me, realizing what I could impact made it worth the fear of
trading in a stable income for another degree. I hope that I can
use my experiences in communications to help students
discover what they are capable of.
The first picture to the right is of me administering a
belt test at Truman. The student in the picture is my brother’s
grappling partner Thomas. The second picture is of my friend
Becca and I as camp councilors in Colorado last summer. The
bottom picture to the right is of my mom, my brother, and me
the day that I earned my blackbelt.
"If it is in our hearts to question the ways of the world, then it
is in our hands to change it" – Leigh Gilmore
Unit: Slaughterhouse 5
Class: Juniors – English III
Teacher: Leigh Gilmore
Date: Spring 2013
The Overview The Rationale:
English III uses American Literature as a lens to understand what it means to be an individual as
well as a member of a culture and society. As an American, our identity as a nation is shaped by
a mere 300 plus years of history and a connection to the many countries that our families
emigrated from. This defines our view of our role in both world wars and the decisions we made
as participants on a national and individual level. In order to continue the curricular aim of
introspection and searching for identity, this unit will focus on Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5, a
book with increasingly complex subject matter and style. Students will use the tools of analysis,
group dialogue, argument, and textual deconstruction to evaluate Vonnegut’s message (if there is
one) as well as decide if his creative interpretation of Dresden through the eyes of Billy Pilgrim
provides something that a historical text cannot. Key terms will include: satire, sarcasm,
reliability, and vice. Focus of this unit relies on a collaborative presentation of the subject (both
History, Art, and English). For this reason, students are given a challenge for their summative
assessment: how can you accurately portray a historical moment? This challenge will culminate
in a mock trial of Vonnegut (defending his portrayal of PTSD) against the families of war
veterans. Emphasis for this challenge will be on literary criticism, research, and reflection.
The Summary:
Students will read “Slaughterhouse 5” by Kurt Vonnegut. They will discuss the nature of war as
a setting for stories, reliability of narrators, satire, sarcasm, nonlinear storytelling, and vice. They
will continually discuss their perspective, historical accuracy, and respond to others as they read.
Next students will be given a problem to solve: “How can you accurately portray a historical
moment?” using historical information and literary criticism skills that they have been practicing
throughout the year. They will use their findings to either prosecute or defend Vonnegut’s
interpretation of war through the eyes of a soldier.
Writing Strategies:
- Daily reading reflections on essential question
- Gallery Walk – written conversations (paraphrase, restate, argue, further a statement)
- Brainstorm sessions as a class and individually
- Grammar talk – sentence structure for intentional fragments
- Style – disguise writing in original author’s work
Objectives: DESE GLE standards include but are not limited to the following:
2,3 1.5,1.6: During Reading
a.i Utilize reading strategies of self-questioning and correction
a.ii Utilize the reading strategy of inference
2,3 1.6,3.5: Post Reading
a.iii,iv,v Apply the post-reading skill of reflecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions to
comprehend and interpret text
2,3,7 1.6: Making Connections
a.i, ii, iii Compare, contrast, analyze, and evaluate connections between information and
relationships in various genre (fiction and nonfiction works), between text ideas and personal
experiences, between text ideas and the world by analyzing and evaluating the relationship
between literature and its historical period and culture
2,3,4 2.1: Summary Writing
a.i, a.ii Write complete research papers/projects that develop a thesis, contain information
from multiple sources and conform to a style manual (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago)
Length of Curriculum: 4 weeks (50 minutes for 5 days a week)
Materials and Resources:
(a) School – aprox. 60 copies of “Slaughterhouse 5” by Kurt Vonnegut
- computer access for JSTOR research for at least 4 days
- printer access for summative project
(b) Me – Gallery Walk – Dresden Materials (images, videos, plus..)
- Art samples from historic period
- Vonnegut background summary
- Satire summary and possible handout
- Article on nonlinear stories
(c) Students
- computer access
- paper
- writing utensils
Means of Assessment: Summative and Formative
(a) The summative assessment – Mock trial on presenting a historical moment in fiction
(b) summative assessment format = rubric
(c) Formative assessments:
- Daily Reading Reflections
- Annotated book checks
- Draft work and peer reviews
- Debate preparation
- Discussion Participation
- (Maybe a pop quiz if needed)
Cooperative Learning Model Lesson Plan
Teacher: Leigh Gilmore Subject: English Grade Level: 11
Topic: Dresden Cooperative Learning approach: Group Investigation
Stage in Unit: Initiating (pre-reading activity)
Objective(s): After visiting various stations that present the bombing of Dresden, students will be able to
reflect on each artifact individually for author perspective and how that perspective impacts the overall
view of the event, using evidence and inference style reflection skills.
Materials needed: books, paper, worksheets, pencils, station materials (3 computers/printed docs or pics)
Timeframe (2 class periods or 100 minutes)
Phase 1: Introduction: Clarify goals and establish set. (5 minutes)
- Previously introduced the topic of Dresden and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse 5”
- Will now take a deeper look at the bombing of Dresden though a paired gallery walk, using actual
artifacts and reflecting on them
- Understanding of this information will be necessary to succeeding in your reading and preparing
for your assignments throughout this unit.
Phase 2: Present information (outline of content):
- Each group will be given 6-7 minutes at each station to investigate and reflect on your artifact. Be
sure to fill out your worksheets as you go, in order to refer back to them throughout this unit.
- Provide worksheets
Phase 3: Organize students into learning teams:
- Place students into groups and assign them to initial stations
Phase 4: Assist team work and study: (70 minutes)
- Move among the groups to monitor and assist/answer questions
- Continue to walk around and monitor. Remind students that behavior results in loss of points
Phase 5: Test on the materials: (30 minutes or remainder)
- Host larger group discussions on overall interpretation
o Would this affect an American soldier differently than a Dresden citizen? explain
- Finally they should construct 2 questions and answers based on what they have seen during the
gallery walk and how they think it might relate to the book. (store for later use)
Phase 6: Provide team recognition
- Recognize good inferential thinking and strong organic discussions.
Discussion Model Lesson Plan
Teacher: Leigh Gilmore Subject: English Level: 11th
Grade
Topic: Slaughterhouse 5
Objective(s):
After reading halfway through Slaughterhouse, students will discuss selected quotes for author
intent and narrator reliability, contributing meaningfully (new idea or expanding on other views
beyond what already has been stated) throughout the gallery walk.