Additional Book Resources:
A Sting in the Tale
Dave Goulson As an informational book in narrative format, this novel is written by a UK conservationist and founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. He shares his tales of growing up with a passion for bumblebees while providing insight into the research that communicates the effects intensive farming has had on our bee population and the potential dangers if we are to continue down this path. Consider as an alternative for the science fiction homework excerpt from Bethany Wiggins's Stung. |
In Pieces
Marion Fayolle With each page - or spread - visually depicting a different type of human relationship, this compilation of illustrations tap into the effect of interconnectedness, one of the interdisciplinary unit themes. One spread even shows a nurtured child - whose parents continually "water" him - grow larger than his parents and crush them to death - a negative parent-offspring relationship reminiscent of Joy Williams's "The Girls" and the relationship between the girls and Mommy/Daddy. However, it should be noted that some of the relationships are erotic (and thus inappropriate). |
Picture Book Interactive Read-Aloud:
Otter and Odder: A Love Story Adding to the Shark Tale account, James Howe and Chris Raschika's picture book, Otter and Odder: A Love Story provides a second fictional narrative of interspecies relationships. It too acknowledges individual worth because its predator-prey relationship also transcends symbiosis (a basic survival benefit to its relationship) and edges toward human concepts: love and friendship. With whimsical crayon and watercolor illustrations, the picture book presents an unlikely union between a predator and its prey: Otter and Myrtle the fish. Faced with "talking" that prompts both lovers to second guess the validity of their relationship, the pair separates. However, in his internal conflict, Otter seeks alternative menu options that would allow him to "follow his heart" instead of "the way of the otter." As a parable about nonconformity and love, the tale ultimately presents an Otter who goes to great lengths to align his actions with a core belief in his heart: Myrtle and her friends and family matter. Therefore, the picture book taps into the unit theme of individual worth.
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Supplemental Text to Prompt Compare/Contrast: "Sound of Thunder" & "Time and Punishment"
7th Stanza of "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock"
T.S. Eliot Instead of (or in addition to) supplementing Camus's "The Artist at Work" with a poem, integrate T. S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," to add a poetic supplement to the unit's first short story, Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder." Provide students with a single stanza from Eliot’s poem after students watch The Simpsons parody. In “Time and Punishment,” Homer Simpson is able to go back to the past multiple times to try to rectify his original mistake of the crushed mosquito. However, that is a main deviation from Bradbury’s original storyline. In “A Sound of Thunder,” Eckels is unable to return to the past because – in one interpretation of the story – he is shot. In the poem’s seventh stanza (“And indeed there will be time / To wonder, ‘Do I dare?’ and, ‘Do I dare?…”), the narrator believes there is time, even in old age, to fix regrets and to have second chances. However, simultaneously, he wonders if he “dare / Disturb the universe” by making such revisions. After an analysis of the poem, students could consider whether they believe Travis should have given Eckles the chance to travel back and “disturb the universe” again in order to try to correct his wayward step (i.e. could things have really gotten any worse? So what is the harm in Eckles trying to fix it?; Is the chance that another change in the past could have made things better worth the risk of the chance of it making things worse?). A poll could be taken to identify the majority opinion. Students could brainstorm the benefits of second chances and, in contrast, the benefit of living with a mistake and learning from it. Eliot, T. S. (1915). The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20220
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"...And indeed there will be time To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” Time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair — (They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin — (They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”) Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse...." |
Real-Life "Trophy Picture" (Text-to-World Connections): Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder"
1993 Photograph of Steven Spielberg & Triceratops
A 20-year-old photo of Steven Spielberg posing with a "dead" dinosaur on the set of Jurassic Park went viral this week, when humorist Jay Branscomb posted it on Facebook in a satirical nod to the recent controversy surrounding teen hunter Kendall Jones. Jones became the target of widespread criticism when she shared pictures of herself posing alongside the lions and cheetahs she killed in Africa. The images sparked a Facebook petition that ultimately resulted in them being pulled from the social media site. Branscomb cleverly parodied the scandal by posting the Spielberg snapshot from 1993, and adding the following caption: "Disgraceful photo of recreational hunter happily posing next to a Triceratops he just slaughtered. Please share so the world can name and shame this despicable man." The picture quickly went viral, racking up more than 32,700 shares and 10,000 likes. "Lesperance checked his watch. 'Right on time. That's the giant tree that was scheduled to fall and kill this animal originally.' He glanced at the two hunters. 'You want the trophy picture?'
'What?' 'We can't take a trophy back to the Future. The body has to stay right here where it would have died originally, so the insects, birds, and bacteria can get at it, as they were intended to. Everything in balance. The body stays. But we can take a picture of you standing near it.'" |
Takeda, A. (2014). Steven Spielberg Dinosaur Photo From Jurassic Park Goes Viral on Facebook, Sparks (Fake?) Outrage. Us Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/steven-spielberg-dinosaur-photo-from-jurassic-park-goes-viral-2014117
Unita-N (2011-2014). A sound of thunder [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.deviantart.com/art/A-Sound-of-Thunder-268103119
Unita-N (2011-2014). A sound of thunder [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.deviantart.com/art/A-Sound-of-Thunder-268103119
Alternative Short Story: Megan Whalen Turner's "The Factory"
* Best to replace Joy Williams's "The Girls" if the unit were brought down to the middle school level (which would most likely be eighth grade), since it is derived from a Fountas & Pinnell Level Y anthology.
Megan Whalen Turner: "The Factory" (PDF) | |
File Size: | 3522 kb |
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Alternative Short Story: Albert Camus's "The Artist at Work"
Albert Camus: "The Artist at Work" (PDF) | |
File Size: | 2644 kb |
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