August 20 th, 2014

Warm Up Warm Up: Intelligent vs. Smart Date:_Wednesday, August 20 th, 2014 Prompt: Is there a difference between being intelligent and being smart? Why or why not? (Your response must be at least sentences.) 1. Start at the Table of Contents in your Source Book. 2. Label today’s Warm Up in the manner below. If you have space left over from yesterday’s Warm Up, make a HORIZONTAL LINE beneath it and then begin today’s Warm Up.

Find the Genius In groups of four or five, work to match the genius with his or her name. You have one song to complete this task.

What is intelligence? Multiple intelligences-Howard Gardener 1. Traditionally, people have defined someone who is intelligent as an individual who can solve problems, use logic to answer questions, and think critically. But psychologist Howard Gardner has a much broader definition of intelligence. Compare the traditional idea about intelligence with Gardner's. How have his ideas changed the way we assess the strengths and weaknesses of people? 2. Why are linguistic intelligence, emphasizing sensitivity to the meaning and order of words, and logical-mathematical intelligence, stressing ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems, more valued than other intelligences? Are they really more important forms of intelligence? 3. One criticism of Gardner's theory is that he classifies talents as a type of intelligence. Critics might say that a talented dancer or chess player is not necessarily smart. How would you reply to this criticism? 4. Does it matter if we call special abilities “talents” or “intelligences”? 5. Gardner suggests that schools must develop assessments that better represent what people will have to do to survive in society. For example, rather than writing an essay about urban development, students studying structures might be assessed in their group work determining what kind of building is most appropriate for an urban, residential area. Give an example of an assessment that could be used to evaluate what students learn about the civil rights movement or the deforestation of rain forests. 6. How does an understanding of multiple intelligences change how you view your own abilities?

Meet Me in the Middle Meet Me in the Middle with a twist. Five students have been given cards with specific characteristics. What would you change about yourself? Let us see how many of you fall into these categories.

Background Information Daniel Keyes was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, New York. After working as a merchant seaman, he attended Brooklyn College, where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He went on to become a fiction editor at Marvel Science Fiction and also worked as a high school teacher for developmentally disabled adults. Having periodically published science-fiction stories since the early 1950s, Keyes drew on his experience in the classroom and his love of science fiction to compose a short story called “Flowers for Algernon” in The story, about a mentally retarded man whose IQ is tripled as the result of an experimental operation, was widely acclaimed and enormously popular. The story received one of science fiction’s highest honors, the Hugo Award, for best story of the year in In 1961, a successful television adaptation, The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon, starred Cliff Robertson as Charlie.

Homework Read “Flowers for Algernon” pages Yes, you may read ahead if you so desire. Make note of at least one observation, question, or thought in the margins of each page.

Closing Anticipation Walk You have one song to walk around the room and record your thoughts. What do you anticipate about this story we will read based on today’s discussion? Write your thoughts on the designated sheets of butcher paper.