Instructional Objective: The student will be able to understand the theme of the rights of the individual versus the whole as they explore the major conflict in Panther in the Basement by (1) making a connection to Proffy’s experience and (2) analyzing the text in historical context

Resources/Materials: Panther in the Basement, by Amos Oz

Time Frame: 40 minutes for post-reading discussion.

__ days / weeks for group projects and presentations (to be determined by teacher)

Strategies/ Activities:

During Reading: Students will keep an ongoing journal in which they relate their personal response to the literature and respond to the following questions:

How does Proffy’s life in Israel differ from our lives here in the United States?

How is his experience both unique and universal?

Have you ever been torn between your own wants and needs and those of your friends/ parents / allies/ country?

Post-reading:

Ask students to write for seven minutes after asking the following question:

Would you befriend a student from a rival school if your entire student body had decided that the rival school was to be shunned? Why, or why not?

1. Ask for volunteers to share their responses and discuss opposing views.
2. Does Proffy really betray his friends? His country? Is it worse than betrayal, is it traitorous?
3. Assessment/Closure: Brainstorm with the class using the board to list their ideas on the following questions:

What seems to drive Proffy to action?
What act tells us most about him?
What acts affect your feelings about Proffy?
What are some of his basic character traits?
What is his greatest weakness?
How does he relate to other people?
What is special or important about his moral or religious life?
How does he change or mature?
What personal insights enlighten him?

Assignment: First draft of essay: As relates to Panther in the Basement, what are the individual’s responsibilities to the whole versus his responsibilities to himself?

Extended writings:

1. Pretend that you are the British police officer and write Proffy a letter once you are home in England.
2. Pretend that you are the object of Proffy’s affection and that you have just discovered his peeping; write him a letter in response to his actions.
3. Pretend that you are Proffy and that you have access to a time machine that catapults you into United States in the twenty-first century. What are the things that surprise you most? What social causes will you support? Will you have a political affiliation? What are your favorite TV shows?

Group Research and Presentations: Class should be divided into groups of four or five students. Place the research titles on the board with four or five places for the students to come up and sign up for the area they are interested in studying. This provides ownership for the student. Final presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes per group. Each group should submit their notes and a 2-3 page research paper that they work on together.

Group One: The Israeli Resistance

1. How did it operate
2. Who was involved?
3. What danger was present?
4. What kinds of pamphlets and literature were circulated?
5. When did it begin?

Group Two: Pre-independence Government in Israel

1. What was the leadership like?
2. How was power structured?
3. Who were the players?
4. Why was a curfew enacted?

Group Three: Government in Present Day Israel

1. What is the structure of the government?
2. Who are the leaders?
3. What is the political election process?
4. What types of political parties exist?
5. What are the key political issues?

Group Four: Everyday Life in Israel: Then and Now

1. Family Life
2. Architecture of the home
3. Fashion
4. Education
5. Music/Literature/Art

Group Five: Military Service in Israel

1. When was the military established?
2. Branches of the military
3. Mandatory service in the armed forces
4. Evolving technology and weaponry
5. War

Note: This project usually takes two class trips to the library. Ask students to meet outside of class a minimum of two times and to document their activities during their time together. Students must include at least one visual component in their presentations.

Vocabulary: Literary terms: theme, point-of-view, narrative voice, setting, conflict, characterization, New Historicism

Related Internet Sites:

• Amos Oz This site contains a biography and bibliography of writings, which cover the author’s body of work. In addition, there is an interesting interview with Mr. Oz.
• Israeli Culture This site provides students with information on what is going on in Israel today. It contains links to many interesting sites, including an Israeli Culture Music Center where students can explore popular songs of the culture.

New Jersey Core Standards:

3.1.1 Use listening, writing, reading, and viewing to assist with speaking (post reading activity).
3.1.13 Use visual aids and nonverbal behaviors to support spoken messages (group presentation).
3.1.15 Speak before a group to defend an opinion and present an oral interpretation (group presentation).
3.2.8 Demonstrate comprehension of, and appropriate listener response to an oral report, discussion, and interview (viewing of presentations).
3.3.12 Publish writing in a variety of formats (journal and extended writings).
3.4.27 Understand that our literary heritage is marked by distinct literary movements and is part of a global literary tradition (research project).
3.4.28 Analyze how the works of a given period reflect historical events and social conditions (extended writings and research project).