ETHICAL DILEMMAS

¨Before reading, activate the student’s thoughts concerning this story by utilizing the Pre-Reading Activities worksheet. Review all answers with the group and write all definitions on a chalkboard or flip chart before proceeding. Encourage students to help each other.

¨Before reading, also clue students in on the general details of the story to assist them with comprehension.

¨Read the story aloud to students and encourage them to follow along and underline any important details in the story as they read. They should focus on the following details:

Reading Questions:

What are the facts?

What ethical decisions do people make in the story and how do they back them up?

What are the outcomes of their decisions?

¨After reading the story remind students of the class rules for discussion.

¨Focusing on the questions presented above, ask students to answer them as a group. Recognize any differences in opinion. Write student answers of the board or a flip chart. Each student will have notes to answer the guided reading questions. These notes should be written on the post-reading worksheet for this story.

¨Turn to the Compare and Contrast section of the Post-Reading Activity Sheet. Ask students for details about what was similar and different in the case of the two stories "Deadly Cold" and "37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police." Ask students to identify details for each of the categories on this chart.

¨Ask students to return to their pre-reading activity journal entry. After reading this story, ask them to answer the following post-reading question: If you were posed with the same situation as the one detailed in the story "Deadly Cold," what would you do? Identify at least three ethical reasons for why you would make this decision .

¨Have students share their answers with the group. Focus on the different decisions students made and their reasons. After writing the student’s different responses on the flip chart or chalk board, have a discussion with them about the fact that the ethical decisions we make are usually learned from someone or something that happened to us in our life. Give some specific examples. The child of a member of the KKK may hate Jews and African Americans. This ethic was learned from her parents. After this discussion, ask students to turn once again to their writing and have them determine from whom or from where they learned the ethic that informs their opinions about this story.

Homework: Ask the students to begin working on their scrapbook of ethical dilemmas, looking in the newspaper or magazines as sources. (see Overview) Show students an example.

¨Complete the pre-reading worksheet and have any answers about vocabulary answered.

¨Read the story "Deadly Cold" with the class. As you read, underline or highlight any details you see that answer the following questions:

Reading Questions:

What are the facts?

What ethical decisions do people make in the story and how do they back them up?

What are the outcomes of their decisions?

¨Remember class rules for discussion.

¨Work together with the class to answer the questions on the Post-Reading worksheet. What is your opinion about what happened in the story?

¨Go to the Compare and Contrast section of the Post-Reading Activity Sheet. Write down details in each of the categories on this chart. Offer suggestions for these answers during class discussion.

¨Returning to your pre-reading journal entry, think about what you wrote and compare it to what you learned about from this story. Answer the following question in writing: If you were posed with the same situation as the one detailed in the story "Deadly Cold," what would you do? Identify at least three ethical reasons for why you would make this decision .

¨Share your thoughts with the group. Think about the ethical decisions you made about the story "Deadly Cold." Where did you learn the ethics that informed your decision?