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![]() Students will understand the following:
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![]() Although younger students may not have read 1984 , this activity could be adapted to introduce issues of freedom, privacy, individualism versus the state, and big government. Discuss the different issues that affect the society's privacy, such as video surveillance, drug testing, police surveillance, and racial profiling. Have students get into groups and hypothesize the reasons why these policies and practices are in place. Can they think of any positive reasons for having these policies? Ask students to brainstorm privacy issues that affect young people, such as cybersurveillance or locker searches. Have groups perform scenes in which they act out freedom or privacy infringement scenarios that have happened to them or that are realistic for people their age. Discuss the scenes and the related policies with the class and make sure they understand that not all policies are random and although some are certainly unfair, most have arguably legitimate purposes. |
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![]() Students should participate in their groups, follow all directions, and demonstrate a careful consideration of the privacy issues raised in the novel and in contemporary debates. Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson:
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![]() Your Rights at School and Home Have students research the laws and policies that affect their own rights at school and at home. They should look for answers to these questions:
Privacy and the Bill of Rights Have students take turns reading the Bill of Rights out loud. Is the word "privacy" mentioned at all? Which amendment(s) seem to deal most directly with the issue of privacy? Have students research recent court cases related to the Fourth Amendment to find out what the justice system is saying about our rights under this amendment. Ask them to role-play privacy-related hearings before the U.S. Supreme Court, with some students playing the justices and others playing attorneys and witnesses. |
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![]() Free Speech: From Newspapers to Music Lyrics Karen Zeinert. Enslow, 1995. Freedom of Speech is guaranteed by the Constitution, yet there are trends in our society that bring to mind Orwell's Thought Police. Movie and music censors, "political correctness," monolithic ownership of news outlets, and other attempts to control what we speak and what we hear are covered by the author of this timely book. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four Harold Bloom, editor. Chelsea House, 1996. This entry in the Bloom's Notes series includes a brief biography of George Orwell, an examination of the themes and structure of the novel, and excerpts of analytical essays by other writers. |
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![]() Homework Center Mission This public library site explores the issue of banned books and censorship in general. The links are most valuable to pursue discussion topics presented in this lesson. American Civil Liberties Union This is the official website for the ACLU, an organization that is "the nation's foremost advocate of individual rights�." The site, with its many features, offers support material for almost all the privacy issues presented in this lesson. Britannica.com-Orwell This encyclopedia article begins with background on Orwell and his works, then offers direct links to other Britannica articles on 1984 and the many facets of the novel. There is solid information, analysis, and criticism here. |
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![]() Click on any of the vocabulary words below to hear them pronounced and used in a sentence.
Context: She was concerned that some companies might try to figure out how long she spent at their Web sites and which pages she visited. Because she thought this information was none of their business, she disabled her Web browser's ability to accept cookies.
Context: The police department's practice of racial profiling has angered many residents, particularly members of the minority community, who feel they are being unfairly singled out for searches.
Context: His lawyers will argue that the police conducted an illegal search and seizure when they searched his house without a warrant and took certain items as evidence.
Context: Many people who denounce the evils of communism are primarily thinking of Stalinism, in which Josef Stalin formulated Marxist/Leninist doctrine into a rigid and brutal totalitarian government.
Context: The convenience store manager has just purchased an expensive new surveillance system, which will capture all customers' activities on video and automatically phone the police if it detects an object in the shape of a gun. |
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![]() This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed below. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition and have been provided courtesy of theMid-continent Research for Education and Learningin Aurora, Colorado. Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Civics Standard: Understands issues regarding personal, political, and economic rights. Benchmarks: Understands the importance to individuals and to society of personal rights such as freedom of thought and conscience, privacy and personal autonomy, and the right to due process of law and equal protection of the law. Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: World History Standard: Understands how post-World War II reconstruction occurred, new international power relations took shape, and colonial empires broke up. Benchmarks: Understands the impact of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War (e.g., the effects of United States and Soviet competition for influence or dominance on such countries as Egypt, Iran, the Congo, Vietnam, Chile, and Guatemala; the impact of the Cold War on art, literature, and popular culture around the world). Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Language Arts Standard: Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process. Benchmarks: Understands the philosophical assumptions and basic beliefs underlying an author's work (e.g., point of view, attitude, and values conveyed by specific language; clarity and consistency of political assumptions). |
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![]() Betsy Hedberg, freelance curriculum writer and teacher. |
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