Tool Kit Activity
SLO #: 3 Tier: 1000 Suggested Class Time :_1-2 weeks
Complexity Index: moderate
(1, 2, 3, 4 or 5)
Snapshot: 10 minutes of class, minimal instructor preparation
Easy: 1 day of class, some instructor preparation
Moderate: 1 – 2 weeks of class; some instructor training/preparation
Complex: 1 – 2 months of class or wholly integrated into class,
instructor preparation should start one semester prior to implementing
(PreCore, 1000, or Soph)
In CT3, critical thinking is defined as:
…the disciplined and continuous process of asking the right questions and practicing logical thought processes to come to justifiable conclusions.
CT3 SLO statement: Students will be able to evaluate quality and relevance of information.
Title
Contributor(s)
Evaluating Evidence: The Lion King
Jacquie Bradley, coordinator & faculty,
El Centro College, jdbradley@dcccd.edu
Objective of Activity:
To evaluate an argument based on evidence.
Lesson Plan Outline for Activity:
Many students have seen the movie The Lion King. They know the songs by heart and think they know all there is to
know about it. Because this movie was often an important part of their childhood, they have strong ties to it. Students tend to
have strong reactions to this article criticizing the movie.
Before coming to class, students will read the article, “All’s Not Well in the Land of The Lion King,” by Margaret Lazarus.
In class, we discuss the article to be check for understanding (a reading quiz could also be given). After students think they have
decided the validity of Lazarus’s claims, we then watch clips of the movie The Lion King. Students then evaluate Lazarus’s
article claim-by-claim either supporting or refuting her claims based on the evidence Lazarus provides versus what the movie
depicts. Are Lazarus’s claims valid ones?
Web Links for Instructor Preparation for Activity: none
AV to Access During Activity:
The Lion King, DVD
Suggested M.A.T.U.R.E. Measure Technique(s):
DIRECT MEASURE
Paragraph or essay written assignment
INDIRECT
MEASURE
post-writing survey of
the student’s writing
experience
Evidence To Be Collected
Double-entry journal
Written assignment
Survey of writing experience
Bibliographic References:
Lazarus, Margaret. “All’s Not Well in the Land of The Lion King.”
The Lion King. Dir. Rob Minkoff. Perf. Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones. 1995. Disney, 2011.
DVD.
Other information:
I caution whoever uses this assignment to place it on SafeAssign in e-Campus. It has been a popular assignment
for at least a decade, and “free term papers” are easily available on the web. To avoid plagiarism, it is important to
include the double-entry journal, produced in class, as part of the assignment assessment. A sample assignment and
sample double-entry journal have been appended here. Additionally, the technique for “Dialoging with the Author” is
included as the last few pages.
English 1301
Instructor: J Bradley
Dialoguing with Author - Margaret Lazarus’ article: “All’s Not Well in the Land of the Lion King”
Writing assignment #1
SLOs measured:
3. Analyze, interpret, and evaluate a variety of texts for the ethical and logical uses of evidence.
4 .Write in a style that clearly communicates meaning, builds credibility, and inspires belief or
action.
5. Apply the conventions of style manuals for specific academic disciplines (e.g., APA, CMS,
MLA, etc.)
Using your two-column dialog with the author as a guide, write one-paragraph analyzing the validity of the evidence in Margaret Lazarus’ article “All’s
Not Well in the Land of The Lion King.”
Follow these steps:
1. Begin with a topic sentence of your overall opinion as to the validity of her argument.
2. Then summarize her argument objectively. What are her main arguments?
3. For the bulk of your paragraph evaluate the validity of her argument. What points do you agree or disagree with? What are the problems or strengths with
her evidence?
Use parentheticals and a works cited page.
Advice:
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Avoid the words on the no-no list.
Be conscious of having an intellectual dialog. Watch your tone.
Aim for a page in length, but no more than one page.
Review the “They Say/I Say” link on e-Campus for strategies for agreeing and disagreeing.
Paragraph is due in class on: _________________
Sample Student Double Entry Journal
ENGL 1302
Double Entry Journal
“All’s Not Well in Land of The Lion King”
by Margaret Lazarus
In her article, author Margaret Lazarus expresses
her feelings toward the recent release of The Lion
King. She tells the audience that she is disappointed
that The Lion King has followed in the footsteps of
many other Disney films by stereotyping the roles
of the characters. She describes in vivid detail the
characters in the movie. She first tells us about the
handsome golden male lion, “the good lion”, and his
newborn son. Lazarus says that in the movie all the
animals in the kingdom pay their respect to the
newborn who will eventually become king of the
glorious kingdom. She then goes on to describe the
bleak and dreary lands just beyond the beautiful
kingdom. The inhabitants of the outer lying area are
the grayish-black hyenas. Lazarus tells us that
Whoopie Goldberg did the voice for one of the
hyenas and that it is clearly meant to portray the
dialect found in the inner city. Lazarus tells about
another character, the king’s brother who is meant
to be the “evil lion”. The brother’s speech is done
in a style that is seemingly gay. Yet another,
stereotype that Lazarus talks about is the
subservient lionesses that never fight back against
the hyenas or Scar. Things start to go awry when
the hyenas join forces with Scar to over throw the
king. But then the king’s son comes and reclaims
the land away from evil Scar and everything returns
back to the way it was in the beginning of the
movie. After describing the animals and the plot of
the movie, Lazarus tells us that this movie is not
about the animals, rather it is a metaphor for
society: that only the very privileged in our society
will have the power to change things. Lazarus ends
When I read Margaret Lazarus’s article, I must say
that I was shocked. I had never really thought about
The Lion King as having an underlying meaning.
This article gave me another perspective to think
about. Although, Lazarus points out the faults of the
movie and describes in great detail how she thinks
the movie stereotypes certain sub-groups in our
society to me it’s just another typical film. There’s
the rise and then the fall and then the rise again. It
bothers me that she keeps criticizing Disney by
saying that they have tried to give the film a
negative underlying meaning. Sure I follow what
she’s saying and as an adult I can recognize those
stereotypes that she applies to the characters. But I
really think that a three or four year old is probably
not going to come to the conclusion that Lazarus
has made. Furthermore, I don’t believe it has a
negative impact on children. At some point
children might connect our society’s stereotypes
with the characters in the movie but that is the end
result of what they have learned from society and
the environment around them and not what The Lion
King has taught them.
her article by stating that she feels that Disney has
put hidden meaning into the film and that its impact
on children will be negative.
Dialoguing with Authors
adapted from Ballanger, The Curious Researcher
Effective communication includes the ability to listen and truly understand what has been stated. If you can accurately “say back” another person’s
statement, then you have truly heard and understood that person. The effective conversationalist should be able to uphold their end of the
conversation by then responding – asking questions, reacting, presenting their own ideas.
A double-entry journal is a good way to practice this skill.
How to complete a double-entry journal:
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Read an original passage, making note of the bibliographic information of the source on the left hand side of notebook or piece of paper.
“Say back” what you understood the author to say, essentially a brief summary, beneath the bibliographic info on the left side of the
notebook or page.
Respond to the original passage on the right side of the notebook or page with relevant commentary, reactions, questions, interpretations,
clarifications, or even feelings about what you heard/read. What was confusing, surprising, or even contrary to the students’ own
experiences?
Let’s take a look at how to “say back.” Here’s a passage from Andrew Merton’s article “Return to Brotherhood”:
For many adolescent males just out of high school, the transition to college represents a first step in a struggle for a kind of “manhood” from which women are viewed as
object of conquest – worthy, but decidedly inferior, adversaries. The idea of women as equals is strange and inconvenient at best, terrifying at worst. Unfortunately, most
colleges and universities provide refuges ideally suited to reinforce these prejudices: fraternities. (Merton 61-62)
The left hand page of Student A produced a “say back” like this:
According to Merton, for a lot of adolescent males just out of high
school, going to college is, among other things, a journey into
“manhood.” Women may become the respected enemy, seen as things to
conquer. The notion that women might be equals is not a comfortable
one for these men, who often find fraternities a refuge ideally suited to
promoting this stereotype.
Following the organization of the original material so closely, while not inherently wrong, may not be the best approach. In Student A’s “say back,”
it led to some instances of plagiarism. Note the phrases “for a lot of adolescent males,” “ideally suited,” and “refuge.” Those phrases, if used,
required quotation marks and documentation.
A better approach might be to begin with an overall impression of the passage, rather than a line-by-line restatement. In other words, alter the
organization so that the “say back” relies more on Student A’s understanding of what was said.
For example, a more reader-focused “say back” may look more like this:
Andrew Merton, “Return to Brotherhood,” Ms.
Magazine, Sept. 1985. 61+.
Fraternities may be a source of security for
many young men just entering college, Andrew
Merton argues (62). Merton implies that the
sudden presence of women in every aspect of
college life may be unsettling for some young
men, and the single-sex environment of a
fraternity may be a “refuge” (612) from
perceived competition from women in social
and academic arenas.
After the “say back,” students should respond to the passage on the right hand side of the notebook:
The word “prejudice” bothers me. Has Merton successfully argued that
fraternities are prejudiced against women? I think not. Words such as “conquest,”
“inferior,” “strange,” “inconvenient,” and “terrifying” suggest he has a negative
approach to fraternities, and a male’s attitude toward women in general. Even in
1985, his arguments seem to be a bit dated – in my experience men and women are
accustomed to being educated and socialized in the same arenas. (Find what
percentages of high schools are single-sex.) Does anyone really see women as
threatening and/or fundamentally inferior these days? And besides, a “journey into
manhood” surely includes more than a young man’s interaction with women.
Ideally, the response on the right hand side should not go off on a personal tangent, but like a conversation with a person sitting across from the student, stay within the confines of
the original topic, developing the argument. Note that the response above did not go on to discuss all the personal experiences the student may have had with women on campus or
experiences with fraternities in general (hazing, exclusiveness, scholarships, community service – though those are significant aspects of many fraternities).