Common Core Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.5

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

 Materials

- Computers or devices with basic internet access (Students only need to be able to view material, so even SmartPhones would work) or a printed list of Aphorisms from Poor Richard's Almanac.  These are accessible at:

-  http://www.poorrichards.net/benjamin-franklin

Order of Instruction

- Begin class with the following warm-up on the board.  Give students the first 5 minutes of class to respond to the prompt. After students have responded individually, spend about 5 minutes discussing their answers as a class.

Warm up: What is the best piece of advice that someone has ever given to you?  Who gave you that advice?  Why did they give you that advice, or what was the context for it? What makes something good advice?

- Quick Lecture: Analogies, Antithesis, Aphorisms

After discussing the warm-up, briefly (10 minutes max) lecture on the definitions of these terms and provide a couple examples of each.  Allow students to add these terms to any notes they may keep. 

- Analogy - A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.

Ex. He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks.” - Samuel Johnson 

- Antithesis (an-tih-theh-sis) – Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. Antithesis creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas.

 Ex. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” – Jim Elliot “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” - Neil Armstrong

- Aphorism: A terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author’s point. 

- Pairs work: Have students explore poorrichards.net/benjamin-franklin in pairs and answer the following (15 minutes):

         - Identify examples of each: Analogies, Antithesis, Aphorisms

         - What are major trends you notice in these statements?

         - What are the most common/significant themes in Franklin’s aphorisms?

         - What do the frequency of these themes allow us to infer about the time/culture Franklin was writing in?

- Discussion: Begin by having pairs report out to the class what they have found and their thoughts on what can be inferred about the time period in which Franklin was writing.  Push the conversation towards not only understanding the meaning of these statements, but how these statements are representative of Franklin's culture.  Once they have been able to make some general inferences about this, ask students if we have these bits of wisdom in our modern culture, for example, YOLO.  Have students consider sayings from popular culture (music, movies, television, advertisements, anything they can think of) and list these on the board. Once you have a healthy list of these (~10), have students return to pairs.

- Pairs: Have students discuss the following questions with a partner.What do these statements show about general trends in our society?  What do they tell us about our morality and values?  Do you think these are different from the values of Franklin's time or have we just updated how we say them?

-Discussion: Return to discussion as a full class to debrief what was said in pairs.  This should be brief, but will help to front-load the individual writing assignment to come.

- Individual writing: Teacher should determine the length and more specific requirements, such as direct support and citations, to meet the needs of their student population.  This assignment can be completed in or out of class, depending on time constraints.

Prompt: It has been said that good advice is always good advice.  Make an argument evaluating the truth of this statement.  Support your answers with your analysis of examples of aphorisms from both Franklin's time and your own.