Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for
Algernon
Before Reading
Vocabulary Quiz
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Refute: a. run away b. agree c. prove d. disprove
Tangible: a. real b. tasty c. graceful d. breakable
Specter: a. happiness b. disturbing thoughts c. moon d. wand
Psychology: a. mind study b. counselor c. history study d. emotion
Illiteracy: a. disturbance b. darkness c. inability to read or write d. mismanagement
Quick-Write
What is knowledge? Why do we value it?
How have you gained knowledge in your life thus far? In what ways is knowledge important to you?
Agree or Disagree
It is better to know than not to know.
Questions are an essential part of knowledge.
Failure should be prevented or avoided.
“Ignorance is bliss.”
Activity Reflection
How did these activities make you feel?
Imagine if you felt this way while reading, writing, and learning each day. Charlie
Gordon, the main character in “Flowers for
Algernon,” experiences these feelings of frustration and inadequacy every day.
“I told them becaus all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb.”
Quick-Write
Charlie Gordon takes a huge risk because he wants to “be like everyone else.” In a brief paragraph, make a connection between his decision and situations you have been a part of or observed in which people misjudged or made fun of someone who they saw as “different.”
Quick-Write
Predict what you think will happen at the end of
Flowers for Algernon.
