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Lesson 4

We will return to “The End of Solitude” and answer several text-dependent questions in order to deepen our understanding of Deresiewicz’s argument.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the central ideas of texts?

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in texts?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Robert D. Putnam, National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995
    • “The End of Solitude,” William Deresiewicz, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Used with permission from the author., 2009

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will characterize the relationship between community and solitude.

Individually, using your developing understanding of the text, summarize how solitude has been characterized and how it has evolved through the years.

Share and discuss your summary with a partner, noting the similarities and differences among your responses and revising as necessary.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will answer several text-dependent questions about “The End Of Solitude” and discuss our findings.

Step 1

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log, using evidence from the text to support your ideas:

  1. Deresiewicz begins his essay by describing how he asked his students about the role solitude plays in their lives. What role does solitude play in your life? Were you surprised by his students’ responses? Why or why not?

  2. What place does solitude have in a community? Can those concepts live with one another, or are they at odds with one another? Explain your answer with textual evidence.

  3. In describing how solitude has been characterized throughout history, Deresiewicz also traces the role technology has played in this evolution, going so far as to call the Internet an "incalculable blessing." Would you agree with that statement? Why or why not? What role does technology play in community building?

  4. Detailing more conversations with his students, Deresiewicz recalls them saying they have "little time for intimacy…and no time at all for solitude." How do we define these terms? Can friendship or community exist without them?

  5. “Loneliness is not the absence of company, it is grief over that absence." Is community building a coping mechanism against loneliness? Does community appease loneliness? Have communities changed over time so people can combat these feelings?"

  6. The author claims that "in thinking that they can make themselves fully known to one another, young people seem to lack a sense of their own depths, and the value of keeping them hidden." Do we need to be "fully known" to others in order to engage in community with them?

Step 2

Share and discuss several of your responses with a classmate, making sure to discuss differences and similarities in your thought processes. Keep your responses and all your notes, as you will need to refer to them in later activities.

Participate in a whole group discussion, sharing your ideas.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

We will study important concepts and challenging words from the text, paying attention to their use and meaning in the context in which the author presents them. We will use the Vocabulary in Context Tool as needed and write down important words in our Vocabulary Journals so that we can refer back to them later in the unit and incorporate them into our own work.

For this activity, you will use a Vocabulary Journal. If directed, you might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Working as a whole group, review the Vocabulary List for the words for this text. Locate the words as they are used in the text, using the provided page number, and consider these questions for each:

  1. What does the context suggest the author means when using the word? What is its connotation, and how does that compare with a dictionary definition, or denotation?

  2. Why is this word and its meaning important in the author’s ideas in this part of the text?

  3. How might I use this word in my own thinking, speaking, and writing?

Write down the words and definitions with your notes about their meaning and importance in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Share your responses with the whole group during discussion.

Activity 4: Listen – Discuss

We will examine the term civic engagement.

Write the term civic engagement in your Vocabulary Journal:

Civic engagement: any group or individual activity that addresses issues concerning the public

Examples of civic engagement include:

  • a parent volunteering in their child’s school

  • neighbors organizing a community garden or neighborhood watch

  • people creating a petition for a new stop sign in their neighborhood, gathering signatures, and taking the petition to the city council

  • people conducting a voter registration drive

  • volunteers working as crossing guards, allowing students and senior citizens to safely cross the street

With a partner, brainstorm other examples of civic engagement.

Share your ideas with the class.

Activity 5: Write – Read

We will read the abstract of “Bowling Alone.”

Step 1

Before reading "Bowling Alone," consider its title. What is seemingly contradictory about bowling alone? What questions do you have about the essay based on the title?

Write down your initial thoughts in your Learning Log.

Step 2

Define the term abstract in your Vocabulary Journal. An abstract is a short summary, typically one paragraph or less, of the major aspects of the entire essay. An abstract usually includes the purpose of the essay, the major points or results, and a summary of the author’s conclusions. An abstract is like a roadmap of an essay.

Read the abstract for "Bowling Alone."

Discuss the following questions as a class:

  1. What will this essay be about, according to the abstract?

  2. What are you interested in learning more about, based on the abstract?