Unwind: Summer School Schedule and Requirements

Discussion Board Requirements

• You are required to post 2 times per week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Each post must include:  1 original response and 1 response to a classmate’s post.
• All original posts must be a minimum of 3 paragraphs
  • Paragraph 1-short summary of what you thought about what you have read thus far. Think about things you liked, things that confused you, questions it brought up, etc.  (3-5 sentences)
  • Paragraph 2-short, quality response to the prompts below (5-7 sentences)
  • Paragraph 3-make connection (text-text, text-self, text-world) and/or prediction (3-5 sentences)
• All response posts must be a minimum of 100 words (2-3 sentences)
  • ‘I agree” or “That’s really interesting” are NOT acceptable posts. Interact with your classmates and respond with purposeful statements/thoughts/questions. DB’s are a common assignment in college classes and your use of this one is intended to help you prepare for that.  
• The Discussion Board is taking the place of weekly class discussion/activities, so I expect it to be rich and thorough, not a last minute afterthought. Be aware that you are NOT getting a completion grade for these. They will be read and graded for content. Both original posts and response posts are due by midnight on the same day, so plan accordingly. If everyone waits until the last minute to post their original response, then no one will have the opportunity to respond to their peers and this WILL affect your grade.
• You will receive 4 grades for the discussion posts totaling 400 points (each DB will be 60 points original/40 points response). Don’t take it lightly.

Discussion Board Prompts

• Pre-Reading DB (choose 1 to respond to in a short, well-developed paragraph) 5-7 sentences
  • Are you Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? Explain why.
  • What would you think if your parents had the option to have every single piece of you surgically removed and given to other people? If you had a child who was just trouble and messed up, would you be able to have him/her go through a surgery that removed every part of them and be given to other people who need that body part?
  • Could you believe that if every single part of a human body is kept alive in another person that the original person, whose body parts are in different people, is still alive spiritually?
• DB #1 pages 37-90 (use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • How would you feel if you discovered you were going to be unwound? What would you do? If you didn't want to go along with it but couldn't run away like Connor and the others in the novel, what other options might you have?
• DB #2 pages 90-147(use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • How would you feel if you were in an accident, or had a rare disease, and you could be cured only if your damaged organs were replaced by parts taken from unwound teens? What would you choose to do? What if you were certain to die if you refused the parts? What if it wasn't you, but someone you loved (a parent, a sibling) who was in an accident? Would your answer be different?
• DB#3 pages 147-202(use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • Which of the three main characters, Connor, Risa, or Lev, do you most identify with? Why? What traits do you have in common? Which of their traits work for them, and which make their lives harder? Which of your own traits would you like to give up? Which would you want to keep?
• DB #4 pages 202-254(use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • While being transported to possible safety, some of the kids on the run wonder, "Would it be better to die or be unwound?" If given the choice, which would you choose? Why?
• DB #5 pages 254-300(use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • Another question the kids in the book discuss is, "If every part of you is still alive but inside someone else, are you alive or are you dead?" They also wonder if consciousness can exist even if it's spread out, and if the soul remains intact. What do you think?
• Db #6 pages 300-335(use the prompt below to guide your writing for paragraph 2 of your response)
  • Risa is assigned to play in a band at a Harvest Camp, performing upbeat tunes while teens are marched to their unwinding. Risa is conflicted: She knows playing in the band will keep her alive longer, but it's at the expense of others, and her joy at having her fingers on a piano is matched by the horror of knowing what's going on around her. How would you feel in this situation? Would you accept the position? Are there any situations in history similar to this?