Example 1

Sample Activities for Use in Class

1. Review 1: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Have students read (aloud or to themselves) the following passage from Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, then try to answer the questions below. Then, gather students into groups or as a class, and discuss student’s answers along with possible other responses to the questions.

“Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it? No. Nor do I really. It's silly to be depressed by it. I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account the fact that one is dead, which should make all the difference. Shouldn't it? I mean, you'd never know you were inside a box, would you? It would be just like you were asleep in a box. Not that I'd like to sleep in a box, mind you, not without any air. You'd wake up dead for a start, and then where would you be? Apart from inside a box. That's the bit I don't like, frankly. That's why I don't think of it. Because you'd be helpless, stuffed in a box like that, I mean, you'd be in there for ever. Even taking into account the fact that you're dead, it isn't a pleasant thought. Especially if you're dead, really. Ask yourself, if I asked you straight off, “I'm going to stuff you in this box now, would you rather be alive or dead?” Naturally, you’d prefer to be alive. Life in a box is better than no life at all. I expect. You'd have a chance at least. You could lie there thinking well, at least I'm not dead! In a minute somebody is going to bang on the lid and tell me to come out. [bangs fists on floor] Hey, you! What's yer name! Come out of there!”

1. The speaker in this passage repeats the words “alive,” “dead,” and “life” to drive home his point. What are some synonyms for each of these words? How does the passage change if you replace the words “alive,” “life,” and/or “dead” with one or more of their synonyms? Do the changes improve the passage, or do they interrupt its flow and/or make it more confusing?

2. The speaker’s statement that if you slept in a box without any air, “you’d wake up dead for a start” is an example of a paradox. What is the paradox created by this phrase? How does it add to (or confuse) your understanding of the speaker’s point? Is the speaker afraid of sleep? Of death? What does the speaker seem to think happens to you after you die, if anything?

3. The speaker in this passage uses a number of short sentences. Some consist of only a single word. Try combining some of these short sentences into longer ones, rearranging the words if necessary. Can you reduce the entire passage to only one, two, or three sentences? What happens to its meaning when you do? Is it easier or harder to follow?

4. The speaker claims that it’s better to be alive in a box, rather than dead in a box, because at least you would be alive. Does the speaker indicate there’s a difference between “being alive” and “living”? If so, what images does the speaker use to convey this difference? How would your understanding of the passage change if the speaker said “I think the difference between being alive and living is _____”?

Example 2

2. Review II: Reading On the Job

The following passage is an abstract from a U.S. Forest Service Research Report, “Drinking Water From Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature.” Have students read the passage and then try to answer the questions that follow. During discussion, have students share their answers and brainstorm additional possible answers as a group.

“This report reviews the scientific literature about the potential of common forest and grassland management to introduce contaminants of concern to human health into public drinking water sources. Effects of managing water, urbanization, recreation, roads, timber, fire, pesticides, grazing, wildlife and fish habitat, and mineral, oil, and gas resources on public drinking water source quality are reviewed. Gaps in knowledge and research needs are indicated. Managers of national forests and grasslands and similar lands in other ownerships, environmental regulators, and citizens interested in drinking water may use this report for assessing contamination risks associated with land uses.”

1. Where would you look if you weren’t sure what the word “synthesis” in the title meant? How does knowing what this word means change your understanding of what the report is about? What possible synonyms could the writer have used in place of “synthesis”?

2. The first sentence uses no fewer than six prepositional phrases. What are they? Try to rewrite the sentence in order to make it easier for a reader to understand. Break it into two or even three sentences if necessary. Are “contaminants of concern to human health” different from “contaminants”? If so, how? Would the writer of this abstract think to include a “contaminant” in water that didn’t harm (or even improved) human health in the report? Should the writer do so?

3. Based on the context, what does the sentence “Gaps in knowledge and research needs are indicated” most likely mean? If you aren’t sure, try looking up the various words in the sentence and replacing them with possible synonyms. Does this make the sentence’s meaning clearer?

Quiz 1 Questions

Quiz 2 Questions