12/16/13 Give vocabulary quiz (10-15 minutes) Good morning! Sign in on your clicker, take out a pen or pencil and prepare to take your vocabulary quiz.

1) Read your character card. Ricardo is walking Mrs. Best’s two dogs-- a Great Dane named Socrates and a Chihuahua named Hercules. When Mrs. Tate’s cat leaps off a fence and darts in front of the dogs, they break away from Ricardo and chase the cat across several yards, tearing up Mr. Abram’s flower beds and knocking over Julie Ames as she walks around the corner. 2) Listen carefully as I read aloud this scenario, which is written from an objective viewpoint presenting a purely factual account without emotional involvement.  Hand out character cards. Explain that the students must get into character and take on the character’s personal beliefs and experiences. These factors will influence how each character interprets this situation.

Now, think about your character Now, think about your character. What would be his or her reaction to the scene? Imagine that you are that individual. Come up with at least three different reactions your character might have. Remind students to identify with the character on their cards. Even if they feel most similar to Ricardo’s father, that’s the perspective they have to use. Write your character’s reaction in your daybook.

Meet with the other students who have the same character as you. Write a paragraph from first-person point of view explaining what happened from your character’s perspective. Your description should seem like your character is witnessing the event Meet with the other students who have the same character as you. Together, you should.  Give the students 7-10 minutes to work in groups and write their character’s reaction to the event.

As you listen to other characters’ perspectives, pay attention to differences and similarities. Pay attention to emotional responses and any wording that seems “unfair.”

Ricardo

Ricardo’s Father

Mrs. Best

Julie Ames

Mrs. Tate

Mr. Abrahms

Observations? We all bring our own beliefs to what we experience and what we read. A bias is a tendency or a learning toward a certain belief or attitude. Being strongly biased can keep us from seeing things clearly. A person or a decision that is labeled as unbiased is fair or impartial.

Things to Think about: We all bring our own beliefs to what we experience and what we read. A bias is a tendency or a learning toward a certain belief or attitude. Being strongly biased can keep us from seeing things clearly. A person or a decision that is labeled as unbiased is fair or impartial. Read slide. Hand out bias meter. Have students evaluate their group’s interpretation of the situation. Where does it fall on the bias meter. Evaluate other groups’ paragraphs now.

Tuesday 12/17 Use slides 15-20 to guide the students through the bias notes. BIAS – Day Two

BIAS Sometimes, an author’s writing will be influenced by personal feelings about the subject. In other words, how the author feels about something will affect how he or she writes. In order to judge the truthfulness or accuracy of a passage, the reader must be able to evaluate how the author’s emotions have shaped the way the author writes. Bias: is prejudice in favor or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. It's when the author is unable to keep his or her personal feelings out of the writing. An article, speech, editorial, etc. is biased when the author seems to “pick a side.”

Bias vs. Objective Some types of writing, such as news reporting, are supposed to be objective. That means the author should not let his or her feelings about the subject show. When a writer can’t hide these feelings, or let them affect the writing, this is called bias.

How authors express their bias: Loaded Words Loaded words: Words that have strong emotions behind them are called loaded words. They are usually negative. This technique is also called Semantic Slanting. “Semantic” means word, and “Slanting” means to make one think in a certain way Loaded words are words that have a STRONG connotation that is either positive or negative. What’s the difference in connotation in these sentences? She was an opera singer. She was a diva.

More with Loaded Words Each group of words carries a similar basic meaning (denotation), but that they are perceived in different ways (connotation.)

More with Loaded Words

How Authors express their bias: Stereotypes Stereotypes: Stereotypes label all members of a group as being the same and does not take individual differences into account. This often results in prejudice. A stereotype is a widely help but fixed and oversimplified image of a particular type of person or thing.

You could tell that he was smart by the thick glasses that he wore.

Examples of Stereotypes Dumb Jock Men are strong and do the work Throw like a girl (stereotype that women aren't as good at sports) All librarians are women who are old, wear glasses, tie a high bun, and have a perpetual frown on their face. All teenagers are rebels. All women like the color pink.

How Authors Express Their Bias: One-sided arguments One-sided arguments: This happens when writers present only one side of the situation.

A One-sided Argument “Mom, you have to let me stay out until midnight. All of my other friends’ parents are letting them stay out. Plus, I am much more mature than Samantha was when she was 12 and you let her stay out until midnight all the time. There is no reason for you not to let me stay out until midnight!”

Use the bias-meter to determine just how bias or objective these paragraphs are. 1. Martin Luther King was the greatest Civil Rights leader in the history of the world. He did more to advance the rights of African Americans than any other person known to man. No one before or since has come close to the extraordinary achievements of Martin Luther King. He is an American hero. 2. Homework is one component of academic learning. Along with class work and tests, homework provides an opportunity to practice skills and absorb new ideas. Do you see one-sided arguments, stereotypes, or loaded words?

Use the bias-meter to determine just how bias or objective these paragraphs are. 3. Women make better doctors than men. They bring a natural compassion and sensitivity to the field of medicine that men do not possess. Patients in the 21st century are receiving better medical care because of the increased numbers of women doctors. 4. The recent lifting of the ban on women in combat positions in the military is foolish and dangerous. Men have superior physical strength to women. They also have a superior intellectual ability to understand combat situations. Allowing women to assume combat positions will place their fellow soldiers in harm’s way. Do you see one-sided arguments, stereotypes, or loaded words?

Practice Identifying Bias