ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
The Outsiders: Theme Video Jigsaw
4
3
2
1
Student fully shows a critical
ability to analyze and
evaluate speeches for main
ideas and the strength of
their arguments.
Student shows an ability to
identify and analyze main
ideas from speeches and
evaluate the strength of
arguments.
Student shows a partial or
inconsistent ability to identify
and/or analyze main ideas
from a speech, including the
strength of its argument.
Student does not show an
ability to identify and/or
analyze main ideas from a
speech, including the
strength of its argument.
Part 1: Complete the questions for YOUR video.
Video #1: “The Danger of a Single Story”, by Chimamanda Adichie (18:49)
1. Adichie starts by giving three examples of “single stories”: her early perception of what counts
as books, her early stereotypes of a boy named Fide, and her college roommate’s incorrect
assumptions about her. Based on these, what does the term “single story” mean?
2. Why does Adichie believe that single stories are NOT a good thing? Give several details,
examples, or reasons.
3. Where does Adichie think that “single stories” about Africa came from/started?
4. “Power is the ability not just to tell a story of another person, but to make it the ________ story
of that person.”
5. What does Adichie imply that we should do in our lives to either PREVENT or FIX “single stories”
we have of other people?
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe her main idea/thesis?
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why?
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Video #2: “Can prejudice ever be a good thing?” by Paul Bloom (16:23)
1. In the first few minutes, what does Bloom suggest is the POSITIVE side of stereotypes and
biases? (In other words, why are they sometimes helpful?)
2.
Bloom discusses the work of psychologist Henri Tajfel. When Tajfel did studies with British
students and gave them fake labels/groups, what did the boys do with their loyalty and money?
3.
If the studies are true (that humans typically PREFER people who are LIKE them and might
punish people who are different), what are the possible consequences?
4.
“It’s possible that by extending our sympathies to an individual, they can spread to the
________ that the individual belongs to.”
5. What does Bloom suggest that we do to fight stereotypes/change attitudes?
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe his main idea/thesis?
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why?
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Video #3: “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them,” by Verna Myers (17:49)
1. Myers makes a connection to racially-motivated crimes of the past to today’s crimes, and she
suggests that we still have some prejudice and stereotypes in our minds today. BUT, is she
saying that we are ALL immoral and racist, or not? (If not, what IS she saying?)
2. What is Myers’ “call to action”? What does she want Americans to do? (Hint: there are three
parts to this answer, so you may have to come back to answer them all.)
a. “We gotta get out of __________.”
b. “Move toward young black men instead of _______ from them.”
c. “When we see something, we have to have the _________ to say something.”
3. (Opinion question: Why do you think Myers is choosing young black men as the primary
example of prejudice in this country?)
4. When Myers is talking about airline pilots, what point does she make about realizing our own
biases and WHEN we start to inadvertently act on them?
5.
What does Myers suggest we do in order to undo biases, even the ones mental associations
that we don’t realize that we have?
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe her main idea/thesis?
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why?
Part 2: Jigsaw!
Swap answers with students who watched the other three videos. (You CAN watch the other three on
your own, but you’re not required to.)
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Part 3: The Big Picture
In your small group, complete the table below.
What message do ALL of the videos share? Use
at least one example from each in your answer.
Video #3
Video #2
Video #1
What does this video argue about how we
should treat other people?
What can you predict that the theme of the novel The Outsiders will be,
based on these videos and any background knowledge you may have about the book?
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
The Outsiders: Theme Video Jigsaw – ANSWER KEY
4
3
2
1
Student fully shows a critical
ability to analyze and
evaluate speeches for main
ideas and the strength of
their arguments.
Student shows an ability to
identify and analyze main
ideas from speeches and
evaluate the strength of
arguments.
Student shows a partial or
inconsistent ability to identify
and/or analyze main ideas
from a speech, including the
strength of its argument.
Student does not show an
ability to identify and/or
analyze main ideas from a
speech, including the
strength of its argument.
Part 1: Complete the questions for YOUR video.
Video #1: “The Danger of a Single Story”, by Chimamanda Adichie (18:49)
1. Adichie starts by giving three examples of “single stories”: her early perception of what counts
as books, her early ideas about a boy named Fide, and her college roommate’s incorrect
assumptions about her. Based on these, what does the term “single story” mean? A single story
is a stereotype, assumption, or incorrect inference about either a person or a group of people. It
is a generalization based on one or a few variables, a hasty conclusion, or any type of
incomplete portrayal of people and who they are.
2. Why does Adichie believe that single stories are NOT a good thing? Give several details,
examples, or reasons. She believes that single stories “rob people of their dignity”, since we
create incomplete perceptions that don’t fully account for all of their characteristics. She thinks
that they limit our attitudes/ behavior, since we don’t know enough about a person or group.
3. Where does Adichie think that “single stories” about Africa came from/started? She believes
that European writers and explorers from as early as the 1500s started making misinformed,
incorrect stereotypes of African people (and Africa in general), and that could be the origin of
modern racism.
4. “Power is the ability not just to tell a story of another person, but to make it the ________ story
of that person.” definitive
5. What does Adichie imply that we should do in our lives to either PREVENT or FIX “single stories”
we have of other people? Read books, see movies, travel, talk to people, and do anything we
can to not make assumptions based on the single stories portrayed in the news media. We can’t
trust limited opinions or false representations of an entire people, and we have to be careful not
to generalize one person to an entire culture.
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe her main idea/thesis? Single stories
are dangerous, and that when we “reject” them, the world is a better place.
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why? Opinion question – grade based on reasoning.
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Video #2: “Can prejudice ever be a good thing?” by Paul Bloom (16:23)
1. In the first few minutes, what does Bloom suggest is the POSITIVE side of stereotypes and
biases? (In other words, why are they sometimes helpful?) He discusses that we sometimes
make decisions based on past experience, and we sometimes put people, items, and animals
into “categories” in order to predict outcomes. He suggests that this type of rational thinking is
sometimes true and even necessary for “survival”; in other words, not ALL stereotypes are evil.
2.
Bloom discusses the work of psychologist Henri Tajfel. When Tajfel did studies with British
students and gave them fake labels/groups, what did the boys do with their loyalty and money?
They gave money only to members of their group, and they focused on the differences between
them and the other group. (In other words, their stereotypes negatively influenced their
behavior.)
3.
If the studies are true (that humans typically PREFER people who are LIKE them and might
punish people who are different), what are the possible consequences? At the minimum, we will
develop stereotypes and “us vs. them” mentalities, but it can also lead to war, political conflict,
and dehumanization of certain groups. Therefore, stereotyping and prejudice can be carried to
an extreme and be very negative/irrational/destructive/immoral.
4.
“It’s possible that by extending our sympathies to an individual, they can spread to the
________ that the individual belongs to.” Group
5. What does Bloom suggest that we do to fight stereotypes/change attitudes? Watch TV shows
(especially comedies of people different than you), read books, get to know individuals to better
understand the groups they belong to. He also indirectly advises practicing the Golden Rule.
Finally, he also suggests that we stay aware of our principles and of situations where we should
NOT let stereotypes influence us.
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe his main idea/thesis? He argues
that while stereotypes are not always bad, they can easily become harmful, and that we should
be mindful of this in how we live our lives (use reason more than emotions/passions); we are
capable of rational thought instead of making decisions solely on biases.
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why? Opinion question – grade based on reasoning.
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Video #3: “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them,” by Verna Myers (17:49)
1. Myers makes a connection to racially-motivated crimes of the past to today’s crimes, and she
suggests that we still have some prejudice and stereotypes in our minds today. BUT, is she
saying that we are ALL immoral and racist, or not? (If not, what IS she saying?) No – she is trying
to suggest that society is still “schooling” us to hold SOME fears and prejudices, which are
sometimes based on race, but she is not calling everyone racist in an extreme, general way.
2. What is Myers’ “call to action”? What does she want Americans to do? (Hint: there are three
parts to this answer, so you may have to come back to answer them all.)
a. “We gotta get out of __________.” Denial
b. “Move toward young black men instead of _______ from them.” Away
c. “When we see something, we have to have the _________ to say something.” Courage
3. (Opinion question: Why do you think Myers is choosing young black men as the primary
example of prejudice in this country?) Opinion question . I hope this question spurs some later
thinking about why so many characters in The Outsiders are poor young men, even if they’re not
black…
4. When Myers is talking about airline pilots, what point does she make about realizing our own
biases and WHEN we start to inadvertently act on them? She discusses that it’s primarily when
things start to “get funky” or go wrong that we question the person, even if we never realized
we had a stereotype. It makes us realize our “defaults.” (It’s almost like her earlier example of
“clutching purses”.) In other words, we may not actively realize that we have a bias, but when
they appear, we need to recognize them.
5.
What does Myers suggest we do in order to undo biases, even the ones mental associations
that we don’t realize that we have? She wants us to “stare directly at them,” both literally and
figuratively. For example, she suggests looking at positive examples of black people so that we
mentally associate black people with positive emotions. She suggests “walking toward
discomfort” as well, and building positive connections with people to build empathy.
6. After you have FINISHED the video, how would you describe her main idea/thesis? Myers wants
us to recognize and act on our biases, both our known and subconscious ones; she suggests that
we combat our positive and negative mental associations with other groups, especially black
men.
7. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best), how would you rate the strength of her argument, and
why? Opinion question – grade based on reasoning.
ELA: SL.2&3
Name: _________________
Part 3: The Big Picture
In your small group, complete the table below.
Video #1
They all address having multiple perspectives, a
broad worldview, and/or an open-minded
attitude about other types of people in order to
treat all humans better. For example, while
Bloom admits that the stereotype itself might
not be a problem, the way we act because of it
might be unacceptable; Adichie supports his
claim by adding that our stereotypes don’t
usually cover the full truth of who someone is
or what a certain demographic is like. Since our
perceptions might be wrong, Myers suggests
that we directly address our “default” reactions
to certain demographics and try to fix them to
be more fair and just in life.
Adichie argues that we should not settle for
“single stories” of other people and be careful
about the stereotypes or generalizations we
make that might be limited or downright
incorrect.
Video #2
What message do ALL of the videos share? Use
at least one example from each in your answer.
Bloom argues that prejudice and stereotypes
themselves are not always wrong/incorrect,
BUT we should be very careful about when and
how we use them; he discusses the horrible
consequences of when we treat people who are
different than us very poorly based on a
stereotype.
Video #3
What does this video argue about how we
should treat other people?
Myers argues that we should identify what our
biases are (and admit that we all have some),
and then confront them so that we do not
continue having negative mental associations
with certain types of people.
What can you predict that the theme of the novel The Outsiders will be,
based on these videos and any background knowledge you may have about the book?
The recurring theme of the videos is definitely something about prejudice, stereotypes, and the Golden
Rule, or treating others how we want to be treated. Therefore, it’s possible that The Outsiders will share
these themes; the title of “Outsiders” suggests that there will be an “in” crowd and people who do not
fit in, so we can predict that the book will have the same conflicts mentioned in the videos, and possibly
some man vs. self or man vs. society conflicts as characters wrestle with these problems.