Episode 2: "The Breakup"

New vocabulary:

• besmirch - to damage the reputation of someone
• chronicle - a factual written account
• fraught - affected by great stress (i.e.: relationships)
• chastise - to scold/lecture
• betray - to expose or reveal; to be disloyal to someone close
• humiliate - to embarrass someone, especially in public
• vindictive - showing a strong desire for revenge
• angst - a mixture of anxiety and dread
• register - to enter or record
• pester - to annoy or bother persistently
• mutual - experienced by two or more people toward each other (i.e.: feelings)
• dispel - to make disappear; to drive away
• obsessed - to fill the mind of someone to a troubling extent
• menace - to threaten
• allege - to accuse someone of wrongdoing, sometimes without proof
• fabricate - to construct or invent
• recollection - the act of remembering something; a memory
• red flag - a warning of danger or a problem

Essential question Sarah explores in Episode 2: What was the relationship between Adnan and Hae like, and was Adnan really filled with rage about the breakup?

Episode 1: "The Alibi"

New vocab words from the episode that we used most frequently:
alibi - evidence (like a witness, or video cameras) to prove that you are innocent of committing a crime.
affidavit - a sworn statement made under oath, given to police
adamant - stubborn, firm

Episode 1 plot development:

 

Checkpoint A:

 

Sarah Koenig is our storyteller, our narrator.  She frames people and information (i.e.: Jay, Adnan, Asia's witness account) in specific ways, and this influences our perspective on the crime as listeners.

Sonny:
How does Sarah present Jay to us?  What does she tell us, what does she leave out, and what are the connotations (underlying meanings) of these choices?

GeGe:
How does Sarah present Adnan to us? What does she tell us, what does she leave out, and what are the connotations (underlying meanings) of these choices?

Chloe and Vanessa; Elliot:
How does the revelation of Asia's affidavit and letters to Adnan influence the narrative?  What are we left thinking at the end of Episode 1, and what do you predict will happen next?

Cole, Adrian, Jimmy, Abby, Sam, Anjali, Sameerah, Matthew, Satti, Kiarash, and Othman: please post your response to these three questions ("Checkpoint A") in the comments.

Welcome, SHS Reading and Literacy Students!

Welcome to our class blog.  This is going to be a space where we can all talk together, across class periods, about the texts we study. 

For the Fall Semester, our main focus is Serial.  This 12-episode podcast is a TRUE story about a high school student who was accused of murdering his girlfriend in 1999.  He is currently serving a life sentence for this crime, and he claims he is innocent.  It is going to be our job to analyze the case and determine for ourselves whether or not he's guilty.  Along the way, we will listen, read, write, and discuss to solve the mystery.