My First Lie and How I Got Out Of It

 

MY FIRST LIE, AND HOW I GOT OUT OF IT 

By Mark Twain – Adapted

Mark Twain was a famous American humor writer who often used exaggeration to teach lessons about human behavior. In the story 'My First Lie and How I Got Out of It,' Twain describes a situation where a small lie begins to grow bigger and more complicated. Each attempt to fix the lie creates new problems and confusion. The story humorously shows how difficult it can be to keep track of lies once they start. 

1) Why do you think the narrator told the first lie? 

2) What happens when the narrator tries to maintain the lie?

3) What lesson do you think Mark Twain is trying to teach?

Were we lied to about George Washington and the cherry tree?!

Today, misinformation can spread quickly through social media, news outlets, and public figures. Read the scenarios below and answer the questions.

Scenario A: A famous athlete said something controversial but the quote has no source

Scenario B: A photo spreads online claiming to show a current event but the image is actually from several years ago

Scenario C: A post shares a shocking statistic about the economy but does not link to evidence

4) What clues suggest these posts might not be trustworthy?

5) What steps could someone take to verify the information?

6) What might happen if thousands of people share misinformation?

Goldilocks Number

Once upon a time---  November 2005--- someone said a very SCARY number...

What was it? Read Chapter 5 in the book (pgs. 49- 55) to find out.

Then answer these questions.

What is fear mongering and how/ why does the media lie?

War With Iran

A major U.S.-Israel attack on Iran targeted the country’s top leaders and missile sites Saturday, following weeks of rising tensions over talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has vowed to retaliate.

1) Who attacked Iran and when?

2) Why was Iran attacked, according to this story?

3) How has Iran responded?

4) What have been some of the reactions of world leaders to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran?

5) Where did Iran strike in response to being attacked?

6) Do you think a strong case has been made for the U.S.'s attack on Iran? Explain.

7) What do you think should happen now that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed?

8) "The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war," Trump said in his speech following the attacks. Do you think the U.S. should have attacked Iran? If you are not sure how to answer this question, what further information might you need?

It turns out that Iran has a pretty long history of unrest in order to put power in the hands of the people, and the most recent revolution in 1979 was, at least at first, not necessarily about creating an Islamic state. It certainly turned out to be about that, but it was initially just about people who wanted to get rid of an oppressive regime.

WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN IRAN?

State of the Union

The Constitution mandates that the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” The President’s State of the Union Message and address were known as the President’s Annual Message to Congress until well into the 20th century. Presidents Washington and Adams delivered their messages to Congress in person, but President Jefferson abandoned the practice as “monarchical” and time-consuming, sending written messages instead. This precedent was followed until President Wilson personally appeared before Congress in 1913. President Franklin Roosevelt adopted Wilson’s practice of personal delivery, and it has since become a contemporary tradition. With the advent of radio (1923) and television (1947) coverage of the address, it gained great importance by providing a nationwide platform for the President. 

Who is sitting behind the President and what is the protocol for the speech?

Hear the Response.

Say what? What words or themes did the President repeat most often?

Check the facts.  Was the President telling the truth? Yes or No? (Give 3 specific examples)

Birds On a Wire

How is the media like birds on a wire?

Brooke Gladstone compares the press to blackbirds perched on a wire, saying, “one bird will fly to another wire, and when it doesn’t get electrocuted, all the birds will fly to that other wire.” 

Senator Eugene McCarthy came up with that;  but what does it mean?

If 'courage and caution' are the 'yin and yang' of journalism,  when can a little bit of caution a good thing?

How are tracking polls often a ‘snare and delusion?

Take the TRUTHINESS Poll

How to identify good and bad survey questions.

Make your own poll

MObituaries

At ObitCon, members of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers talk about the privilege of honoring lives well-lived. Mo Rocca reports on the gathering of obit writers (where they hand out their annual awards ceremony, the Grimmys), and introduces the second season of his podcast, "Mobituaries."

According to James Loewen in his book Lies My Teacher Told Me: Sasha and Zamani are two aspects of time as expressed in some Eastern and Central African cultures. Sasha are spirits known by someone still alive, while Zamani are spirits not known by anyone currently alive. The recently departed whose time overlapped with people still here are the Sasha, the living dead. They are not wholly dead, for they live on in the memories of the living ... when the last person knowing an ancestor dies, that ancestor leaves the Sasha for the Zamani, the dead. As generalized ancestors, the Zamani are not forgotten but revered.

Your assignment:  write your own Obituary.  Assume you live to be at least 80 years old.  What will you have accomplished?  Who will you leave behind?  What will your legacy be?

Canis Journalisticus

If journalists really are like dogs, 'barking at anything that moves', then Helen Thomas agrees.

Reporters are celebrated not because of the truth of their story, but according to whether their story fits the public's mood.

Without a free press doing its job as a journalistic watchdog, citizens are left to guess if their elected officials are doing their jobs, or if the people they have entrusted have earned that trust.