Responsibility

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/Units/Respon/Intro_Responsibility.html

Introduction

This is the first week of a 5 week unit on responsibility. During this week you will explore your own ideas about responsibility through writing and class discussions. We will read poetry, fiction and humorous anecdotes about responsibility written by several current authors.

The Task

By the end of this week you will have developed a better sense of what responsibility is through:

a series of daily quickwrites about responsibility
reading selections from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters followed by class discussion
reading selections from Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen followed by class discussion
reading a selection from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan followed by class discussion

Resources

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters

"Enoch Dunlap"
The burden of responsibility to the community
"Roscoe Purkapile" and "Mrs. Purkapile"
Responsibility in marriage
"State Attorney Fellas"
Responsibility to community and family

Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen, 1st edition, 1994

p. 172, Who is responsible for men's behavior
pp. 194-195, Accepting (or not accepting) the responsibility of having a child
pp. 199-202, The responsibility of fatherhood
p. 203, Being a responsible role model for child
p. 206, Accepting the father's role in daughter's upbringing

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

"Jing-Mei Woo: A Pair of Tickets"
A mother's responsibility to her children

Week 1 Plans

Day 1

Quickwrite, "What is responsibility?"
Introduction to unit on responsibility
Discussion of responsibility
On this day you will be assigned a selection to read from the novel, Les Miserables, to be completed by the following Monday-Week 2, Day 1.
As you read, consider what kinds of responsibilities you find in the book. For further explanations see the Les Miserables responsibility page.

Day 2

Quickwrite,"What responsibilities do you have now and what responsibilities will you have after high school?"
Read aloud selections from Spoon River Anthology
Discussion of readings and how it relates to the quickwrite

Day 3

Quickwrite, "How will your responsibilities change in your life?"
As a jigsaw activity, read selection from Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man
Discussion of readings and how it relates to the quickwrite

Day 4

Quickwrite, "What responsibilities do we have as a society?"
Read selection from The Joy Luck Club

Day 5

Finish reading selection of The Joy Luck Club
Brief discussion of reading
Hand back first quickwrite, "What is responsibility?" and now quickwrite, "How has your definition of responsibility changed over this week?"

Supplemental Reading

Critical analysis of the Joy Luck Club, read section 4.
What Do We Mean By Responsibility?
Personal Development

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on participation in class discussions and on your thoughtful responses to quickwrites. You will have points awarded for your contributions to the class. The sole purpose of this week is to develop your understanding of responsibility, therefore there will be no letter grades .

Conclusion

By the end of this week you should have a better understanding of responsibility . You should be able to extend this knowledge to your studies in Social Studies, Math, and Science.

Last updated May 21 , 1996. Return to the Responsibility Page