Task 1: Comprehension
Task 1: Comprehension
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Today you will read “The Censors,” a satirical short story by Luisa Valenzuela. The purpose of this first task is for you to develop an understanding of the changes in the character of Juan and the bigger message that Valenzuela is delivering about the government in Argentina during the 1970s. You will use your quick write and annotations from this task in a culminating writing project at the end of the unit.
BACKGROUND
Luisa Valenzuela (b. 1938) was born in Argentina and published her first story at the age of seventeen. After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires, she moved to Paris and traveled abroad for several years. She returned home in 1974 to find political turmoil and oppression. A fascist dictatorship, a system of government in which a leader suppresses opposition through violent means, now ruled Argentina. Despite threats of censorship and physical harm, she began using her writing to document the horrors of life under a dictator. “The Censors” is set in Argentina during the time that the dictatorship ruled.
SATIRE
”The Censors” is a satire. A satire uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Step 1: Developing a shared idea about censorship
Step 1: Developing a shared idea about censorship
Using our shared Jamboard, please post your responses to the following questions:
What does it mean for something to be censored?
What have you heard about groups (political groups, countries, schools, etc.) censoring language?
I'd like you to respond to the first question using your own words, but you might expand on your response to question 2 by including an image or linking to an article about language being censored. Please be sure to explain whatever artifact you include. Additionally, please make sure to include your name.
Click the image to the left to open the Jamboard.
Step 2: Individual Reading and Annotation
Step 2: Individual Reading and Annotation
Please click the image to the left. This will take you to your copy of the short story, "The Censors" in our Google Classroom. Once you have access to your copy of the text, please read like this:
First read the whole text through to get your head into it.
While you read, please annotate the text.
To annotate it, mark or underline or circle sentences with your brief comments or summaries of the ideas that seem important to what the text is mainly about. You can decide which ones really matter after you read and go back to review.
Step 3: Quick Write
Step 3: Quick Write
After you have finished reading and annotating the text, please compose a quick write in response to the following questions:
What do you learn about Juan in this short story?
What is the bigger message Valenzuela is making about the government through the actions of the censors?
Keep your annotated text next to you when you write so that you can use evidence from your annotations when you compose your quick write.
Please post your quick write to the PearDeck and be prepared to discuss your quick write with a partner during our Zoom meeting.
If you have trouble accessing the PearDeck using the link to the left, please use:
www.joinpd.com and the code wwrccm
Step 4: Zoom
Step 4: Zoom
We will meet on Zoom during our normal class time to discuss your quick write. This means that before we jump on Zoom, you should have finished Steps 1-3. When we meet in Zoom, you'll work with a partner to talk about your quick write and create a slide to share with the class. You can access the slides for your partner work below.
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