“What is a life worth?”
Quickwrite 3: How much money should your
family be paid if you die due to someone
else’s negligence? How would you figure
the amount of money? Is the life of a poor
person worth as much as that of a wealthy
person? What is a life worth?
Surveying the Text
The article "What is a life worth?" comes from
the February 12, 2002, issue of Time magazine:
1. How much time do you think it will take to
read the article?
2. Have you read anything from Time magazine?
What do you know about that publication?
What kinds of articles are commonly included in
it? Who usually reads Time?
Making Predictions

1.
2.
Read the article’s title and subtitle:
What predictions can you make about the
article's content based on reading the
subtitle?
What connections do you think you might see
between this article and the previous two
texts you have read?
Preview Vocabulary
 Understand:
the denotations and
connotations, as well as the
connections between them.
 Create a Vocabulary Chart (Cornell
Notes style).
Preview Vocabulary Connotations
1. perverse – wrong-minded
2. squeamish – uncomfortable
3. degrading – shameful
4. disparities – inconsistencies
5. forensic economists – people who analyze
legal claims for injuries due to major
catastrophes
6. valuation – what something is worth
Preview Vocabulary Connotations
7. unprecedented – never before seen
8. garish – tasteless; uncomfortable
9. dispersing money – deciding who gets how
much money
10. chump change – small amount of $
11. cold calculus – unfeeling calculation
First Reading



Look for the main issues and the various
stances people take in response to those
issues.
Look for connections to what was previously
said about valuing life by Shakespeare and
Armstrong.
Consider the way “life” is defined in this text.
For example, does “life” refer to a human body,
a soul, human experience, existence, or quality
of life? Does this definition include a person’s
personal life and professional/working life?
After 1st Reading
1.
2.
3.
Do you sympathize with any of the victims’
families? Think specifically about the
Blombergs (¶ 25), Cheri Sparacio (¶ 26), and
Angela Fields (¶ 27). Is it okay that they are
each receiving different amounts of (or no)
money? How could this be made fair?
How do you feel about Feinberg and the way
he is handling this issue?
What are your overall feelings about the
issues raised in this article?
Strategic Rereading and
Evaluating the Text





Highlighting with Two Colors: Choose 2
highlighters and revisit the text.
1st color = words/sentences that describe
valuing life in legal and financial terms.
2nd color = words/sentences that describe
valuing life in human and emotional terms.
Left margin = your thoughts;
Right margin = questions.
Annotating the Text



With your partner, choose 7-8 sections of text
that you highlighted in the previous step. Make
sure you choose sections that represent the
entire text.
Left margin = write a comment about the
highlighted text.
Right margin = write a question (Costa’s L2 or
L3) connected to the highlighted text.
Prepare for Socratic Seminar


Choose one of the questions that you wrote in
the margin (circle it). This should be a question
that you think will generate interesting
discussion in our Socratic Seminar.
Additionally, write 2-3 L2 or L3 questions at the
end of the text. These are questions that take
the entire article (and unit) into account. These
will serve as our “umbrella questions” for our
Socratic Seminar.
Following Socratic Seminar

Write a 1-page reflection following our
Socratic Seminar. For most of you, this
was your first Socratic Seminar, so focus
your reflection on this experience. Was it
valuable? What did you learn? What
connections did you make? Were there
things that you didn’t say that you wish
you would have? What went well? What
should we improve for the next seminar?
Summarizing the Text


Using the sections you highlighted in the
previous step, write a summary of the
article's descriptions of how life is valued
– in financial/legal and emotional/human
terms, and people's response to that valuing of
life.
The summary should include only the most
important ideas and is limited to only six
sentences. You may work on this summary
with a partner.
Note: This is an alternative activity if we do not do Socratic Seminar
Connecting the Texts
Partners: Discuss how Hamlet and Armstrong would
probably react to the way that "What is a life
worth?" describes the value of life. Answer the
following questions in your notes:
1. Would Hamlet agree with any of the ideas
presented in the article? If so, which ones? If not,
why not?
2. Would Armstrong agree with any of the ideas in the
article? If so, which ones? If not, why not?
3. Would Armstrong and Hamlet be in agreement with
each other in the way they would likely interpret
this article's ideas? If so, how? If not, why not?
Rhetorical Appeals
1. Ethos: Most news articles such as "What
is a life worth?" try to take an objective,
unbiased approach. Would you agree
that this text is unbiased, or do you think
it favors one perspective? Explain your
answer.
Rhetorical Appeals
2. Logos: What kinds of evidence does
Amanda Ripley, the author of the article,
use to get across the key ideas and issues
associated with the compensation of 9/11
victims and their families? Are any
specific types of evidence more
compelling to you as a reader? Less
compelling?
Rhetorical Appeals
3. Ethos: How well do you trust the
accuracy of the information within the
article? In other words, do you think that
Time magazine and/or Amanda Ripley are
to be trusted? Why or why not?
Rhetorical Appeals
4. Logos/Pathos: Does the article use logic
and/or emotion to make an impact on the
reader? If so, please describe how, and
compare the use to the way logic and
emotion are used by Shakespeare and/or
Armstrong.