Cat's Cradle Lesson Plan

Why Did They Do It?

Kind of Activity:

Group Discussion

Objective:

Students will attempt to understand the viewpoint of those who committed suicide in San Lorenzo, and those who did not.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1

Structure:

Begin the discussion by asking students to compare who, after the apocalypse, committed suicide (the entire population of San Lorenzo) versus those who did not (the Americans). From there, ask them to compare the underlying beliefs of those two groups. Specifically, everybody who committed suicide is a Bokononist, while the survivors are not, except for Jonah, and he has only converted very recently.

What's the connection? As...