Making Connections
Explain significant connection(s) across texts, using supporting evidence – (1.8)
This is an awesome standard! Look at the 3 texts we have studied in class. What ideas or themes can you see that pop up in each of them? Your task is to find a significant connection between the texts and then to choose another (4th) text to include in your analysis.
In class we have studied: The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson (short story); The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (novel); and The Truman Show, by Peter Weir (film). Choose your own 4th text that also has your connection. There are some options below.
Some of the ideas that our class found when looking at these texts were to do with violence, power, control, tradition and survival.
You need to choose your own theme to explore. You can keep it to one word or you can decide on a thesis statement e.g. “Some traditions can harm society” (Don’t use this one! Make your own!)
If you were choosing your own 4 texts, your connection might be that they are all written by the same author. Your connection could be that they were all created for a similar purpose (e.g. gun control or raising awareness of racism). Your connection might be that your 4 texts were all created in the same social circumstances or time period. They may all be the same genre – but do not use 4 texts all from the same series like Harry Potter or Bourne Identity – they may be used independently though. Most students will choose to find a connecting theme or idea.
This assessment requires you to prove that your connection is in the text. You do this by finding at least 2 examples from the text. I.e. 2 quotes of specific details from the text. Identify them and then explain why these quotes show your connection.
Next, your task is to explain what the writer/director wanted us to understand about the connection. Don’t just keep it connected to the story. Take it to the next step which is to explain what we can therefore learn about this idea in real life or in general.
E.g. In The Lottery, the seemingly harmless townsfolk participate in a brutal tradition. Why? If my connection is “some traditions can harm society” I can prove that this village has a very harmful tradition – especially for Tesse Hutchinson – by including quotes about how she pleads for her life at the end and the way that her little boy is given some stones in order to participate. (See how to include quotes and then explain them below in the writing frame.) But what is the writer trying to tell her audience to think about “tradition” in general? What lessons can we learn from the story that apply to what we know in real life about how “tradition can harm society”? (NB: Remember, this is a guide. In your report you will discuss what you learned in general about YOUR connection.)
After proving my connection with quotes, I might say:
STATEMENT: Shirley Jackson wanted us to think about how many of the traditions we do every day, without thinking, might actually be harmful for society. EXAMPLE: For example, in NZ it is traditional for teenagers to get involved with alcohol and drinking at a relatively young age. It is considered by many as just part of being a Kiwi. MY OPINON: I think this is not only sad, expensive and silly but also worrying because it frequently has devastating consequences when someone dies from alcohol poisoning or in a fight or in a car crash. Sometimes, just like in The Lottery, it is even the families themselves who have provided the means of death, e.g alcohol. WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT THE CONNECTION FROM THIS WRITER: I think Jackson wanted us to see how easy it is to point out harmful traditions in cultures that we do not agree with or understand while being oblivious to our own socially destructive traditions. Her story urges us that we should be willing to challenge”how things have always been done” if it will help the greater good. Jackson also wants us to understand that when people follow tradition without question or without really looking at the damaging consequences, social cohesion will be maintained but sometimes at great individual cost. COMPARE/CONTRAST: This is similar to the situation Truman finds himself in when he wants to challenge the way his life has always been…..
The really cool thing about this assessment is that your next text will have something slightly different to say about how “some traditions can harm society”. By identifying and explaining the differences you are able to be perceptive.
NB: I have used ‘tradition’ as it is not the strongest or easiest connection. Avoid it and do your own.
Choose your 4th text that also shows evidence of your connection. Some suggestions of other texts are in the links below.
Explain significant connection(s) across texts, using supporting evidence – (1.8)
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
https://sites.middlebury.edu/individualandthesociety/files/2010/09/jackson_lottery.pdf
Examination Day by Henry Slesar
http://www.gdhsenglish.com/thompson/assets/pdfs/ENG3U1%20pdf’s/Short%20Stories/Examination%20Day.pdf
The Pedestrian, by Ray Bradbury
Next, complete the writing frames below – one frame per text (4 in total).
1.Text title: Author/Director: My name:
| What significant connection/idea did I find in this text? | |||
| What 2 or more events, characters or other aspects of the text helped me see the connection or gave me this idea?Eg: One event in the text that made me see this connection was when…Eg: A character who showed this connection was…. | 1 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: |
| 2 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: | |
| Because of what happened in the text, what lesson or message did I learn about this connection/idea?Eg: Because of what happened in the text, I realized that…What did the writer/director want us to understand about this idea?E.g. By presenting us with this situation, the writer wanted us to understand…. | |||
| Where have you seen this idea in action in the real world? Give a specific example. | Explain what is similar about this IRL example and the idea from the text. | Explain what is different. | In your opinion, how relevant is this idea to society today? Explain your reasons. |
| What was the difference between the way this text looked at this idea, and the other texts I am analysing? | |||
2. Text title: Author/Director: My name:
| What significant connection/idea did I find in this text? | |||
| What 2 or more events, characters or other aspects of the text helped me see the connection or gave me this idea?Eg: One event in the text that made me see this connection was when…Eg: A character who showed this connection was…. | 1 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: |
| 2 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: | |
| Because of what happened in the text, what lesson or message did I learn about this connection/idea?Eg: Because of what happened in the text, I realized that…What did the writer/director want us to understand about this idea?E.g. By presenting us with this situation, the writer wanted us to understand…. | |||
| Where have you seen this idea in action in the real world? Give a specific example. | Explain what is similar about this IRL example and the idea from the text. | Explain what is different. | In your opinion, how relevant is this idea to society today? Explain your reasons. |
| What was the difference between the way this text looked at this idea, and the other texts I am analysing? | |||
3. Text title: Author/Director: My name:
| What significant connection/idea did I find in this text? | |||
| What 2 or more events, characters or other aspects of the text helped me see the connection or gave me this idea?Eg: One event in the text that made me see this connection was when…Eg: A character who showed this connection was…. | 1 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: |
| 2 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: | |
| Because of what happened in the text, what lesson or message did I learn about this connection/idea?Eg: Because of what happened in the text, I realized that…What did the writer/director want us to understand about this idea?E.g. By presenting us with this situation, the writer wanted us to understand…. | |||
| Where have you seen this idea in action in the real world? Give a specific example. | Explain what is similar about this IRL example and the idea from the text. | Explain what is different. | In your opinion, how relevant is this idea to society today? Explain your reasons. |
| What was the difference between the way this text looked at this idea, and the other texts I am analysing? | |||
4. Text title: Author/Director: My name:
| What significant connection/idea did I find in this text? | |||
| What 2 or more events, characters or other aspects of the text helped me see the connection or gave me this idea?Eg: One event in the text that made me see this connection was when…Eg: A character who showed this connection was…. | 1 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: |
| 2 | A quote from the text that supports this is: | Explain how this quote shows your connection/idea: | |
| Because of what happened in the text, what lesson or message did I learn about this connection/idea?Eg: Because of what happened in the text, I realized that…What did the writer/director want us to understand about this idea?E.g. By presenting us with this situation, the writer wanted us to understand…. | |||
| Where have you seen this idea in action in the real world? Give a specific example. | Explain what is similar about this IRL example and the idea from the text. | Explain what is different. | In your opinion, how relevant is this idea to society today? Explain your reasons. |
| What was the difference between the way this text looked at this idea, and the other texts I am analysing? | |||