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Group One's (Christina, Amber, and Jay) Book Talk on "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future" by Daniel H. Pink

Hook: Trailer from the motion picture //Outsourced// via Youtube- []

Opening Activity: Ask students: = = = = =Characteristics of both Right and Left Brain Thinkers=
 * 1) Can your summer job be outsourced?
 * 2) Do you think teaching can be outsourced?
 * 3) Are you left brained, right brained, or in the middle?
 * Right Brain**: free flowing, seeing/making connections, creative
 * Left Brain**: Logical, mathematical, science. Book smart.


 * Left**: Logical, Sequential, Rational, Analytical, Objective, Look at parts
 * Right**: Random, Intuitive, Holistic, Synthesizing, Subjective, Looks at wholes

=The Six Steps/characteristics, according to Daniel H. Pink, that will help you succeed in life and most importantly, SAVE YOUR JOB.=


 * Design**- Creativity; the ability to make things and design new ways of doing old things. This connects to the standard "teaching a curriculum grounded in standards, relevant to adolescents' concerns, and based on how students learn best; and use a mix of assessment methods". By allowing students to be more creative in their education they can have a mix of assessment methods that will address the different ways students learn. When used, this characteristic demonstrates the use of logical thinking. For example, students would have to use their ability to think logically to create a better item. Another one of the standards that it connects to is "use Instructional methods that prepare all students to achieve high standards", this is a good idea because if you design your instruction and lesson incorrectly then your students may not understand the information or they will not learn the information that you wanted them to know.
 * Activity: Take a household item that you dislike, and make it better.




 * Story**- Linguistic. The ability to write and comprehend stories.




 * Activity: Write a story based on one of these “opening lines” from a novel.

"Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I’ve come to learn, is women". -//Pride and Prejudice// by Jane Austin

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". -//Anna Karenina// by Leo Tolstoy

"All this happened, more or less". -//Slaughterhouse-Five// by Kurt Vonnegut

"It was the day my grandmother exploded". -//The Crow Road// by Iain M. Banks




 * Symphony**- The ability to put together the pieces; to see relationships; to invent something new by combing elements no one else saw.
 * Activity: We will be handing out different magazines, that most people would not normally read, and you will be reading/looking through them and eventually you will discuss what the magazine is about, and try and make connections to your own work or life.

//Better Homes and Gardens Cooking Pleasures Parents AARP Fortune Expression PSM Gameinformer U.S. News and World Report//

Activities:
 * Empathy**- The ability to understanding where someone is coming from, not to be confused with sympathy. This step is important when students organize relationships for learning since it helps them to understand where someone is coming from. Also, when empathy is encouraged in the school environment it will be easier to govern democratically since they will understand one another. This also links to the standard "staff middle grades schools with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents, and engage teachers in ongoing professional development", because to be an expert not only implies that you know all of your content knowledge, but it also means that you know your students -- with empathy, you can learn where your students are coming from and understand them more deeply. It also links to the standard" involved parents and communities in supporting student learning and healthy development" because you can get community outreach if you manage to get them personally engaged and allow them to understand where you, both as a teacher and a school, are coming from; if the community knows what you are doing and want to do then they will be much more receptive.
 * Take the [|multiple intelligence test] so that people know where everyone is coming from.
 * [|Spot the fake smile]: tinyurl.com/2u7sh
 * [[file:Spot the True Feelings.doc]]




 * Play**- The ability to have fun, joke around, laugh, and smile. If students are encouraged to play the school and classroom environment will be safe and healthy.
 * Activity: You will be given a cartoon that has had its captions removed and you will be asked to add your own caption to it and then talk about it.




 * Meaning**- Being in touch with your spirituality, wanting to know what you are here for.
 * Activity: Take the measure your spirit test to check for spiritual health: [].



More Activities from Daniel H. Pink:
Keep a Design notebook – keep notes of things that have great designs Read design magazines: //Dwell//, //HOW//, //Print//, //O Magazine// Visit a design museum: Design Exchange (Toronto), Design Museum (London), Eames House (Los Angeles)
 * Design**:

Tape Record a Friend or Family Member- ask a friend/family member about his/her life. Visit a Storytelling Festival- //Bay Area Storytelling Festival//, El Sobrante, California in May; //Sharing the Fire, New England Storytellin Conference//, Cambridge Massachusetts in September. Digital Storytelling
 * Story**:

Listen to a Symphony- Beethoven’s //9th Symphony//, Mozart’s //Symphony No. 35// Keep a Metaphor Log Create an Inspiration Board – use this when you want to plan a big assignment or project.
 * Symphony**:

Eavesdrop – listen to someone else’s conversation and put yourself in his or her shoes to solve the problem. Take an Acting Class- this will help you build up your empathy. Volunteer- volunteer in a place in your community that helps people who are in a different situation than yourself.
 * Empathy**:

Play Video Games: Here are some good gaming sites to read about games: gamespot.com, gamezone.com, wgamer.com Dissect a joke- listen to a joke and pick it apart to see how or why it is funny.
 * Play**:

Say Thanks: say thank you to someone who has helped you through your life. List things that you would like to change about your life and list the things stopping you from making those changes. Read these books: //Man’s Search for Meaning// by Viktor Frankl, //What Should I Do with My Life?// By Po Bronson Visit a Labyrinth Picture your life at ninety- talk about what you have accomplished and how your life is now.
 * Meaning**:

More Attributes of Left and Right Brain Thinkers:
detail oriented, facts, rules, words and language, present and past, can comprehend, knowing, acknowledges order/patterns, perception, knows objects name, reality based, forms strategies, practical, and safe.
 * Left**:


 * Right**:

uses feeling, "big picture" oriented, imagination rules, symbols and images, present and future, philosophy & religion, can "get it" (i.e. meaning), believes, appreciates, spatial perception, knows object function, fantasy based, presents possibilities, impetuous, risk taking.

Pink, Daniel H. (2005). //A Whole New Mind//. New York, NY: The Berkley Publishing Group. Baron-Cohen, Simon (n.d.). //Reading the Mind in the Eyes//. Retrieved March 4, 2010, from //[].//
 * Resources**: