科里Morbo
Eng 112B
华纳博士
3 December 2012
学习单位：亲爱的, and Conflict of Morals
Difficult decisions are a fact of life. They are inevitable and unavoidable. I chose to do my unit of study based on hard decisions, specifically the ones that question your morals and force an outcome that is neither right nor wrong. 我之所以选择这门课，是因为我觉得这门课既能吸引学生，又能让他们沉浸在阅读中，让他们质疑自己对一系列广泛主题的看法。
为了介绍这个单元，我想从Showtime电视台播出的电视剧《嗜血法医》（Dexter）的一段片段开始，这部剧是根据原著改编的。做梦的德克斯特杰夫·林赛著。It is mainly about a man, Dexter, who works as a blood splatter analyst for Miami Metro in Florida and is addicted to killing. 多年来，他学会了引导自己的毒瘾，也滥用了他在迈阿密警局的资源，找到连环杀手和强奸犯，然后谋杀他们。我认为这将是一个很好的开场白，因为这是一部很受欢迎的电视剧，情节也很扣人心弦。在让学生们看够了了解Dexter是如何工作的要点后，我会问：
-你认为德克斯特所做的是对还是错？为什么或为什么不？
-Do you think anyone ever deserves to die? 为什么或为什么不？
-Is it ever ok to kill someone? 为什么或为什么不？
-你认为德克斯特应该受到惩罚吗？为什么或者为什么不呢？如果有的话，你认为他应该受到什么样的惩罚？
然后让学生们就其中两个问题在日记中写下答案。
The canonical work I selected is 亲爱的托尼·莫里森（Toni Morrison）著。There are several different themes that wind through this story, but the one that I want to focus on is the dilemma赛斯faces when taking her child�s life in order to prevent her from becoming a slave. To introduce this book to the class I would first do a book talk where I read out several passages and then explain that we would all be reading it. 为了激励学生阅读，我想在每次指定的阅读后分配一个日志/笔记本让他们写下来。In the journal they are to respond to what they�ve read, what they like/dislike, don�t understand, and also unfamiliar words. 在课堂上，我会用这些日记作为鼓励公开讨论的方式。看完这本书后，我想和大家讨论一下Sethe�s行动。I would bring up the questions from �Dexter� again using赛斯而不是:
-Do you think what 赛斯他对吗？为什么或为什么不？
-如果你是，你会怎么做赛斯？
-Do you think 赛斯should be punished, if so, how? 为什么或者为什么不呢？
我想同学们对这个话题会有不同的反应，所以我也计划安排一场辩论。根据学生是否都同意，我会给他们分配特定的立场，并要求他们用课文中的证据来支持自己的论点。
在阅读亲爱的作为一个班级，我也在单元中加入了文学圈活动。我会通过单独的书籍讲座来介绍每本书，然后让学生们选择他们最感兴趣的一本。学生们将根据他们选择的书进行分组，然后他们需要阅读这本书，并选出他们看到的正在展开的道德困境。我想用的书有：
1. 紫心勋章, by Patricia McCormick
这本书是关于伊拉克战争和士兵的。It directly focuses on a young man who is questioning his actions during war that have led him to receive a Purple Heart Medal. 我认为这适用于学习单元，因为主角显然对自己是否做了正确的事情感到矛盾。
2. 怪物, by Walter Dean Myers
一个小男孩被指控杀害了一名便利店店员，他坚称自己是无辜的，但似乎没有人相信他。史蒂夫·哈蒙的审判是故事的中心背景，通过它，我们看到了他所做的决定，以及这些决定是如何影响他现在的。This book applies because it causes you to question what kind of punishment, if any, Steve really deserves.
3. 偷书贼, by Markus Zusak
这本书是独一无二的。It has several sub plots but one of the main ones consists of a German family living in Nazi-occupied Germany during WWII, harboring a Jewish man. They are risking their lives, including the life of a little girl, by hiding this man but it is because they are rebels to the Nazi way of life and believe that killing Jewish people is wrong. This book applies extremely well to the unit of study because it involves the-risking-of-lives-in-order-to-save-a-life dilemma and also includes the background of discrimination and fighting against it.
4. Durango Street, by Frank Bonham
This book has an amazing amount of morality based decisions. It focuses on a teenage boy who faces several dilemmas involving gangs and violence.
5. 后, by Amy Efaw
This book is about a young girl who seems to have everything going for her. That is, until she is tried for murdering her own child. 这本书适用于这个单位，因为它带你经历主角的审判，同时也考虑到其他因素，使你质疑她的行为是正当的还是完全错误的。
6. 第一次死后罗伯特·科米尔（Robert Cormier）著
我认为这本书与道德困境有很大关系，也展示了道德困境的另一种视角。For example, the character米罗is committing an act of terrorism; 然而,他相信自己在做正确的事。Who�s to say he isn�t? I think this book applies well to the unit of study because it raises questions and shows another perspective.
After the students have read the literature circle books I would like them to state the moral dilemmas the characters face, their own personal opinions on the dilemma, and things they would have done differently if they were in the character�s position. If enough students disagree with each other, I would like to have another debate assignment where they are to argue their positions. 他们所提出的论点将为他们的期末作业——有说服力的论文——提供所需的信息。
To close the unit I would like to assign a persuasive essay. It can be done on either 亲爱的或者他们选择的文学圈的书。无论哪种方式，我希望他们陈述所说明的困境，角色做了什么，他们认为这是对的还是错的，然后从文本中提供证据来支持他们的论点。