It’s the final week of February, so we’re wrapping up our foray into fun. This last installment builds on the previous weeks of fun, so you’ll want to check those out before you go into this one if you haven’t already.
Week 1: Up the Fun in February
As a final “fun” learning opportunity, I have a chance for you and your students to answer this question:
Would Catherine Price and Isaac Asimov agree on what “fun” is?
Here are the steps to answering this question:
Have your students read the sci-fi short story “The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov. Click here for a PDF of it.
Have students answer this question: How would Isaac Asimov define the word “fun”? Use evidence from the story to back up your answer. Students could tackle this individually, or have them answer the question as a group to prompt some good discussion. I’d have them work with a group and give them poster paper to answer the question and collect three to four pieces of direct text evidence to back up their thoughts.
Now, take it a step further and have students draw on the work you did analyzing Catherine Price’s TED talk on fun to compare and contrast her definition of the word and how they believe Asimov would define it. You can use this prompt to get them started: Compare and/or contrast Asimov’s definition of fun with Price’s definition. Use text evidence from both authors to back up your assertion.
That’s it for this month of fun. I do hope that you’re making time for fun in your life and taking care of yourself as you work so hard to take care of so many others!
-Jonda