Book+Club+3

Book Club 3: Pulling Back the Curtain




 * Book Club Round 3 - “Pulling Back the Curtain”**


 * In lieu of the traditional wiki roles for this book club, your group will spend the book club periods discussing and documenting information from the book. Any key facts, quotes, or concepts should be noted on your wiki page. Your note-taking can take any form your group decides. Additionally, your group should determine how much reading and what responsibilities you want to take on. Your wiki will not be graded, but rather will serve as a method of collecting and organizing data for the next step. Yes, you are still allowed to bring in food:)**


 * After the five book club meetings have wrapped up, your group will “teach” your book to the class. Essentially, your goal is to distill the information from the text into an informative and engaging teaching lesson. Your lesson can take any form your group decides, including but not limited to lecture, question and answer, interaction (games, activities), audio/visual presentation, etc. Your presentation will be AT LEAST 20 minutes and no longer than 30 minutes in length and should cover the concepts in the book comprehensively. In addition to the lesson, you will provide your audience with a “fact sheet” of important concepts, statistics, and/or quotations from your book. Your presentation will be assessed via the district’s presentation rubric and count for 100 points (your book club grade).**

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich Presented by Dara Liebeskind, Alexa McManus, Erin Smith and Kelsey Witt**
 * Wednesday, March 30

Twitter, Formspring, Tumblr, MySpace, and the infamous Facebook: these are all ways that kids are connected to the Internet. Social Networking does wonders to the world by connects people from all over with a single click of a mouse. It shocks the world that this crucial part to a person’s everyday life was merely created by the minds of college students. In Accidental Billionaires, we are exposed to how Facebook came about in the Harvard population. This little site has turned into a phenomenon that has engaged the whole world. Our presentation dissects the book, Facebook itself, and it’s effects throughout the world today. Through powerpoint, questions, surveys and even seeing Facebook in action, this presentation will allow you to truly understand what Facebook is all about. Facebook connects the world... Are you connected?

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Presented by Greg Gottfried, Zach Granat and Ali Sharifbeigi**
 * Thursday, March 31

Outlier (n)- 1.) Something that is situated away or classed differently from a main or related body 2.) A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample.

Have you ever wondered what makes someone successful? Have you ever wondered why certain people have achieved greatness others cannot fathom? Outliers answers these questions and more. In a brief 20-30 minute presentation we will reveal to you Gladwell’s time-tested analysis of success. These tests will be applied to your lives and life in general as you experience these tests first hand. You will also offer input through undoubtedly controversial and weighty discussion regarding the points presented, allowing the reader to better understand the themes.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Teacher Got Wrong by James Loewen Presented by Caitlin Bakofsky, Samantha Bansil, Hana Chung, Amelia Stalknecht and Paige Zlotolow**
 * Friday, April 1

Your life is a lie, and you don’t even know it! Everyday in school you are learning -- learning wrong information. We are here to present you with the right information that can change your perspective on your own country’s history. On April 1, 2011, our presentation will reveal the hidden truths forgotten by American history textbooks. You would be appalled at how many empty promises are found in the nice, neat textbooks that you have always trusted. Be shocked, be concerned, be afraid; Be very afraid. You can’t run from the truth.

Dude You’re A Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School by C.J. Pascoe Presented by Kyle Cottrell, Lili Feinberg and Sarah Choi**
 * Monday, April 4

Do you believe that everybody deserves to be treated equally? No matter your skin color, religion, or sexuality, no one deserves hate. You’ll learn how such mindless actions in high school can actually hurt those around you and how members of the LGBT community have to deal with unnecessary hardships everyday. After C.J. Pascoe spent an 18 month period of extensive research at River High School in California, we were provided with views on homosexuality from high school students varying in size, religion, skin tone, age, and gender. The results are more surprising than the average student will believe. Just as we’re going to highlight the hate that people are forced to endure, we’ll also be talking about the helpful corporations that help struggling members of the LGBT community. Hopefully, the viewers of our presentation will understand what a serious topic homosexuality is these days and will decide to help do something better for it too. After all, no matter what, things will get better.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich Presented by Emily Kramer, Stacey Rosenfeld, Kyle Schroeder and Allison Waldman**
 * Tuesday, April 5

Want to be a millionaire? Want that money fast? Why don’t you just count cards? We’re going to teach you how to do that with this presentation. You’ll learn the basic game of blackjack, along with some basic strategies on how to count cards, while feeling like you’re in a Vegas casino. There are many obstacles while earning this money, such as the Pit Boss and Eyes in the Sky, but we’ll teach you what that means and how to avoid them later. One minute you could be sitting in our Morone Casino, and the next you could be rolling with the high rollers, with a million dollars worth of purple chips in your pocket.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah Presented by Christina Giovanni, Sung Jin Kim, Joanne Suh, and Kimberly Wang**
 * Wednesday, April 6

You wake up. Rub your eyes. Think about what you’re going to have for breakfast before you walk to the bathroom to wash up. Just as you’re stepping out of the shower, the smell of waffles drifts up from the kitchen. In your room, you pull on your jeans and lace up your new pair of Converse. As you head out the door at around 7:32, you groan about having to go to school. Living our comfortable, sheltered lives, we often fail to realize just how fortunate we really are. We tend to be blind to the circumstances of the rest of the world, when in reality, there are conflicts going on in places that we may have never even heard of. Just one of these conflicts occurred in Sierra Leone in 1991, when insurgents from the neighboring nation Liberia flooded into the country. Devastation, bloodshed, and senseless violence ensued. What would become of Sierra Leone? Be here on Wednesday, April 6, as our group enlightens the audience through a highly interactive and informative presentation.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman Presented by Jordan Bloom, Justin Choi and Jack Lepore**
 * Thursday, April 7

If you have ever wondered how the Earth would be without humans, The World Without Us is definitely for you. This book offers exclusive information on how floods would immediately inundate cities and how buildings would erode without the presence of humans. It also covers all aspects of human life including but not limited to marine-life, evolution, culture, and natural disasters. In addition this book provides theories about how there would be drastic changes in the patterns of evolution in animals and much more, all of which are backed up by scientific research and findings. With the use of Google maps and visual aids (video clips from Life after People), we will display the various places across Earth that Alan Weisman has brilliantly observed. You will surely learn something from this presentation.

Zeitoun by David Eggers Presented by Dara Cooper, Halley Gradus and Carly Truglio**
 * Friday, April 8

Imagine living as refugees; no food, no water, isolation from the rest of society. Most of us could not believe that this could happen in the United States of America. But unfortunately, after Hurricane Katrina lives were changed. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is one of the many individuals to watch from his steel canoe as New Orleans sunk underwater. Throughout this presentation, you will get a taste of what happened to Zeitoun and his family. You will experience the tragedy, desperation, and true events that the Zeitoun family suffered through during and after the Hurricane. You will learn about the failure of our country to provide surviving individuals, like Zeitoun, with the rights given to American citizens on a regular basis. We will discuss the brilliance of David Eggers and engage you in conversation and interactive activities. You will view various videos of the aftermath of the Hurricane, some of which will even include the Zeitouns. There is no doubt that your understanding of this topic will expand through our presentation.