Philosophy-Enriched M.T. Anderson Unit Plan for 12th-grade English
This standards-based unit on M.T. Anderson's award-winning Feed outlines the process for introducing philosophy over a five week unit. Focusing on the relevance that young adult literature has for today's generation of young people, this unit features philosophical inquiry questions that ask students to engage their understanding of "the good life" and "happiness" within the 21st century context of environmental degradation, consumerism, and critical literacy of new media. As such, Feed provides a perfect stimulus for doing philosophy with young adults in today's English classes.
The unit also features an interactive web-quest summative assessment. With this unit and this assessment, I hope to hint at the many possibilities for creatively integrating young adult literature, philosophy, and technology in the study of language arts.
The unit also features an interactive web-quest summative assessment. With this unit and this assessment, I hope to hint at the many possibilities for creatively integrating young adult literature, philosophy, and technology in the study of language arts.
Below, you'll find the Unit Plan, co-created by instructors Sean Waters and Marcus Viney in the Fall of 2012. The five-week unit includes a rationale, lesson plans, and assessments. Highlights of the philosophy enriched activities and lessons can also found on the Philosophical Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry, Philosophical Discussion, and Philosophical Writing Pages.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
Introducing Philosophy Unit Plan 2 - 21st Century Happiness.pdf | |
File Size: | 1526 kb |
File Type: |
About M.T. Anderson's Feed
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/1/25814064/3725653.jpg)
In Feed (Candlewick 2002), M.T. Anderson reveals a dystopian future where people are neurologically connected to the "feed" -- a network of streaming instant messages, advertisements, TV shows, and emails. Told from the perspective of Titus, a male protagonist dealing with love, social belonging and personal identity, Feed explores the degeneration of human thought and language, over-reliance on new technology, the psychology of consumerism in a corporate oligarchy, and the emotional demands of coming-of-age. Feed contains mature content, profanity and some drug references, and has been previously challenged in other school districts for this reason (See Kerr's informative article on ethics and experimentation in futuristic young adult literature). Despite these challenges, the book remains arguably essential reading for young people today. Because of the potentially controversial subject matter, the unit plan includes a Letter to parents.