Today's Objectives:

• Help each other develop insights on your book as a whole and the ending in particular
• Reflect on the lit circle essential questions as they apply to your book

Announcements
* Book Club Honors Meeting TOMORROW 

*Fahrenheit 451 project proposals due next Monday for Book Club Honors

*Backcountry ski club ski tour day this Saturday!  Meeting after school on Friday for route-selection

*How did last week go? Do I need to follow up on the short stories you read?

Agenda
1. Starter: Reflect on the gratitude/random acts of kindness journal.

• in pairs: which option did you choose? Share a few of your notes with the other person. Discuss what the experience was like for you.
• Whole class: what was the experience like? Any boost in happiness or well being?

2. Lit Circle Final Meeting

• Be sure you have all your meeting notes in your section
• Final annotations due today too

3. Lit Circle Final Self-Evaluation 

• Ashley will conference with 1st Semester Honors students during this work time

4. Lit Circle Student-Led Lesson Explanation 


5. Begin working on student-led lessons

This Week's Learning Goals:

• Examine multiple perspectives on happiness and meaning (through Ted Talks, film and short stories)
• Analyze two  short stories about "success" and "legacy": How do these inform your own philosophy about living a meaningful life?

Homework for the week:

• Finish your lit circle books and final role by next Tuesday, January 27th.
  
• Complete the Gratitude/Random Acts of Kindness by Tuesday, January 27th
  
• Complete in-class assignments by the end of class each day
• 1st semester honors: Work on your project for exhibition
• 2nd Semester honors: Read Fahrenheit 451
• LINK PROJECT PROPOSALS (if you have spare time in Humanities, you may work on this)

Agendas
Tuesday, January 20th

A. STARTER- Journal #10
Review this week's agenda.  Write down the learning goals for this week AND your homework for the week.

B. Go over the required note-taking form for Happy 

C.  Watch Happy and take notes

HAPPY is an award-winning, feature-length documentary that takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with the leading scientists in happiness research, HAPPY brings to life the science and application of the film’s themes.

D.  Turn in your notes and if time, silently read your lit circle book.


Wednesday, January 21st
A. Starter: Mid-project survey (complete the survey at the bottom of this blog)

B. Discuss Happy

• Go through the note-taking form
• What stood out the most for you?
• Any pushbacks/disagreements with the film? 
• Does this film inform your personal philosophy on the pursuit of happiness and meaning? If so, how will you apply these ideas to your own life? 

C.  Journal #11: Legacy
In TWO solid paragraphs, answer the following questions

• Do you think it is important to leave a legacy behind  you when you move on from a place like Animas, College, your career or life in general? In other words, is having a strong/positive legacy a marker of  a life well-lived? Why or why not?
  

• Regardless of whether or not you think it is important, what do you think your legacy WOULD be? In other words, how would people remember you after you left _________(choose one of  the places mentioned in the previous question).  For instance, what might your classmates and teachers say about you a year after you graduated from Animas?

D. Time to read and annotate "The Catastrophe of Success" and "Ambitious Guest" and work on the Discussion Questions

Thursday, January 22nd
A. Journal #12: Watch this TED Talk called "The Surprising Science of Happiness" and then write a 2 paragraph reaction to it that includes a summary of the main ideas as well as your critical reaction to/personal reflection on those ideas.

B. Share your responses to the Ted Talk


C. Time to read “Catastrophe of Success” and “The Ambitious Guest” and complete the the Discussion Questions

D.  Small group (or whole class) discussion on the readings

E.  Time to read lit circle books and complete your assigned role OR honors work time (See homework above)


Friday, January 23rd
A. Journal #12_ Response to this Ted Talk: "The Paradox of Choice"
As you listen, jot down lines that stand out to you as significant or thought-provoking

• Summarize the main points of the Ted Talk
• In what ways have you experienced or do you think you could experience the paradox of (too many) choice in your own life? 
• What other lines stood out in the talk to you? Why?

B. Discuss the Ted Talk as a class

C. Independent research time on lit circle books:
INSTRUCTIONS: This activity needs to be included in your section of your lit circle binders by the end of class today. You may either type it and print OR hand write it.  If you need more time, you can take the weekend and turn it in at the BEGINNING of class on Tuesday.

• Usingthese resources, pick TWO from the list on the tab for YOUR assigned lit circle book (see the tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet doc) 

• Write a brief summary about each resource (a solid paragraph)
  
• Also explain whether or not the resource provided you with a better understanding of the book or a theme in the book. Be sure to explain HOW it did or did not with specific details. 
  

D. Time to read your lit circle books and prepare your role for Tuesday, 1/27 or work on the Gratitude/Random Acts of Kindness Journal OR honors work time (see homework above)

Driving Questions

• How has technology and social media affected Gen Y's well-being and  pursuit of happiness?
• How does gaining clarity on how you define success influence the quality of your life and decisions you make about how you live your life?

STARTER
Watch a video clip from Mike Rowe's t.v. show "Dirty Jobs": "Are People with Dirty Jobs the most Successful?"  

Mike Rowe is an American media personality, actor and amateur comedian best known as the host of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. He can also be heard as narrator on a variety of series and has appeared in recurring commercials for Ford Motor Company.

• What line(s) stood out to you? How does he define success, according to people who do "dirty jobs"?  Do you agree? Why/why not?

Agenda
1. Last Lit Circle Meeting until Tuesday, Jan. 27th

2. SELF-EVALUATION (only one more after this, I promise): See the survey at the bottom of my blog.

3. Time to finish Journal #6 (yesterday's activity)

4. Discussion about the readings and driving question

5. Last 20 minutes= ZOE with LINK

Agenda
1. Go over the requirements document
2. Ashley to explain the resources available on my DP (project tab)
3. Vote on The Great Gatsby v. Cat's Cradle for book #2

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.



Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat’s Cradle is one of the twentieth century’s most important works—and Vonnegut at his very best.