1. Kurt Vonnegut “And so it goes.” 1922-2007

2. Respond to the following quote: “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies – ‘God Damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

3. Quotation Response What does this quotation mean to you? If you could rewrite the last sentence, what would it be? What rule would you give to future generations?

4. Read the 1 st 14 paragraphs of the following article: www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20070413friday.html www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20070413friday.html Who is Kurt Vonnegut? Why is he considered to be a literary idol? What about his work might you enjoy? What might you not like, if anything? What might you expect to learn by reading one of his novels? Why do you think he set some of his novels in alternative universes? What was the defining moment in his life? How did this influence him? What is his opinion about war? What are some less enthusiastic views of his work?

5. Assignment #1 Prepare a 1- page response that illustrates your response to how the events of Vonnegut’s life shaped his beliefs and works. The one-pager must include 1 quotation from the text, and 2 questions that you would like to ask someone mentioned in the article, including the reporter. Some topics I’d like to discuss include how the visuals, quotes, and topics relate to Vonnegut, particularly the importance of the phrase, “so it goes.” Homework: Create a one-pager for your own life that includes the following: a symbol or other illustration that represents who you are, an inspirational quote or slogan, and 2 questions that you’d like to be asked if you were to be interviewed.

6. Follow-Up Discussion We’ll share and respond to the personal pagers just as we did to the ones about Vonnegut. Why do humans questions their own existence? How does fiction help an author write about reality? Which author do you admire most? Why? How might a work of fiction teach a reader about real-life events? Which current events do you feel should be the focus of today’s authors? Why?