Title – Past and Future Report, WWII Vocabulary, Crossword

By – Michelle Hiltl

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Grade Level – 9-12

Purpose:

Doing a past and future unit. Have your students read

The Moon is Down

by John Steinbeck and then read the short story

Harrison Bergeron

and compare and contrast the differences of theme in stories. Two activities below are to help with comprehension of the unit.

Procedure:

1. Have your students read the short novel

The Moon is Down

about occupation in a small town and everyday life. Let them keep a reflective log.

2. This log needs to contain their own thoughts on what they think is going to happen the next time they read. Have them focus more on what they think could happen. There also needs to be a few sentences on what ideas and information they process after reading each day.

3. While the students are reading the book, tell them to write down one word a day that they encounter within the novel that they do not understand. This will be used later for an activity.

4. After completing

The Moon is Down

, immediately let them read Kurt Vonnegut’s

Harrison Bergeron

about the future and tell them to reflect about the two stories. Then tell them that they are now a citizen from the year 2081. They must write a 1-page instructional letter addressed to the town, and come up with an idea (like the townspeople did in

The Moon is Down

– with letters flying from the sky with little bombs) for the smart citizens to change the way that the government is controlling their society. Students can also present a poster visual of their scheme instead of a 1-page instructional. Tell them there are no limits to what they can do. For example: a student can design a poster and tell us how they plan to remove the loud devices planted in their ear and still let the government believe they were being controlled, etc. After a few class periods of work on this project, let them present to the class.

5. Now that your students have figured out how to save the future, tell them to go back into the present and gather up their list of unknown vocabulary words. Put them in groups of four. Tell them that they will be designing a crossword puzzle using the compilation of all four lists to try and stump another group in the class.

6. Give them computer paper to map out their crossword and help them by also showing a regular crossword puzzle in a magazine or newspaper. With a dictionary for each group they must define each word, and place the definition in the numbered “Down” or “Across” sections. Then help them draw out the correct number of squares, leaving them blank to put the answer in. After they have compiled the crossword puzzles together, take up everyone’s dictionary. Then switch the puzzles around and hand them out to other groups.

7. Before the group can begin to solve the puzzle, tell them that it is a race between groups and whichever finishes first and hands it in, will get a special treat. (You can handout a crossword and critical thinking workbook that can be purchased at a drug store as the prize. Kids love those, even I do!) You can also time them to see how long it takes each remaining group thereafter, so each group will still have some motivation to finish.

Materials:

• posterboards
  
• markers, pencils
  
• computer paper
  
• ruler (to draw squares)
  
• dictionaries
  
• thinking cap!

E-Mail

Michelle Hiltl

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