The Rabbit Hole

3. Students will be able to describe the progression of post-modernism from it’s past to it’s present form using knowledge of it’s history and the philosophies of at least 3 post-modern philosophers mentioned in the presentation. They will do so in class and on any given test.

Resources:

•   Materials needed by the Class:
  • hand out (to be used in the future as a study sheet, as it will have questions as well as notes)

• Equipment needed by the presenters: 
  • Computer (to be provided by teacher)
  • Notes in power point presentation format (not to be copied by students, and provided by Jessica M.)
  • Projector (to be used so that the students can see what is on the computer)
  • Smart board (to be used for the in class analysis of Slaughter House Five. An alternative PowerPoint version of the activity could be prepared if this is unavailable).
  • Printed notes on cue cards.
  • Whistle and/or sling-shot to ensure attentive and quiet students (optional)
  • NOTE: Should the computer become unavailable or the electronic files non-functioning the presentation could run as a discussion with the presenters using prepared notes on cue cards and the students following along using their hand outs.

Methodology:

 Total Duration of class: 70 Minutes

Total Duration of Lesson: 40-50 minutes (allowing extra time for set-up, questions, discussion, and the input that Mr. Murray always has.)

1. Introduction (5-10 min)

-Rhetorical Question: What is post-modernism?

-Answer with statement that “We don’t know” and explain that the topic is so broad and undefined that there is no clear definition.

-Begin PowerPoint. Give two brief definitions of both modernism and post-modernism so that the class has a base to expand upon.

-The next few slides will show a couple of the principle ideas or concepts supported in post modernism.

-Ask question: What movies use these concepts?

2. Comparison (5 min)

- charts will be presented that contrast modern and post-modern ideas so that the students can clearly see the difference.

- Another chart will be presented comparing modern and postmodern words. The differences will be discussed.

- Question: Mention a word that is modern and ask the class to give a corresponding word that is post-modern.

3. History (5 min)

- history will be briefly covered and displayed in the form of a time line to allow students to visually understand the progression of the criticism. Will not be explored deeply.

4. Philosophers (10 min)

- slides will name a few important philosophers that contributed to post-modernism and their philosophies. The longest part of the presentation a few bits of interesting/quirky information will be thrown in to add interest.

5. Analysis (10 minutes)

- slides will describe the different literary elements of a literary work of post-modernism. Each slide will give examples from a variety of mediums such as children’s books, novels and film to allow for a better understanding.

- With all the necessary knowledge the class will now be given brief background knowledge into the novel “Slaughterhouse five”

- Exerts will then be displayed and the class will help to deconstruct the exert seeing which elements of it make it post-modern.

6. Conclusion (5 minutes)

- Class will be asked to come up with their own definitions for the word “post modern”

-If the class has any questions they may ask them at this point.

Evaluation:

- Students will aid in the analysis of a literary work to ensure that they can succeed in identifying it as post-modern and can notice what elements of the writing prove this.

- Students will be asked a variety of questions throughout the presentations (see methodology for examples) to ensure a basic understanding and to ensure they are involved.

- The final discussion question “What is port-modernism” will evaluate their understanding of the concept and prove whether or not they can utilize the information learned to create their own ideas.