Submitted by: Adapted by Molly Lynde. Created by Alan E Miller, Berkley High School.
Collaborators: Darien Fisher-Duke, Susan Little, Joanne Spotts, other classes addressing the definition of power
School: Mills E. Godwin High School
Summary
As one of the founding documents of modern political theory, students will discover Machiavelli’s The Prince remains relevant today. Students will specifically deconstruct select readings, produce online posters (www.glogster.com) of modern day administrators’ and school community leadership realms, examine popular media (The Simpsons episode “Bart the General”), and participate in a live blogging seminar (“Does the ends justify the means”) in which parents, administrators, teachers, and senior English students also participate in the conversation via a www.CoverItLive.com event blog. Final assessment will be a series of modern day dilemmas in which students will address in a Machiavellian manner (“What would Machiavelli advise and why?”)
TIPC Ratings
This is an example of a Developing lesson for Research and Information Fluency. Creating functional labels of paragraph readings offers a foundation to translating Machiavellian text into current language.
This lesson is an example of an Approaching lesson for Communication and Collaboration. Students participated in a microblog seminar which invites communication between different classes and with administrators, teachers, and parents. Students created online posters of Machiavellian realms as seen in modern-day school settings to facilitate communication and collaboration.
This is an example of an Approaching lesson for Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. A Fishbowl style seminar was conducted, with parents invited to participate as outer channel participants. The seminar questions required participants to apply Machiavellian principles to modern day situations. Students also had to respond to questions that were generated which required them to apply their knowledge of the Machiavellian thought to current day issues.
This lesson is an example of an Approaching lesson for Creativity and Innovation. Students created original online posters to reflect and analyze how the Machiavelllian thought is applied to today’s world.
