A new Internet TV show lets viewers run someone’s life.
Cameras are pointed at 25-year-old Tristan Couvares, following his every move. Viewers can watch what he does, for 18 hours a day, on the Internet.
The twist is, they can also be able to vote on what he should do next.
The Web show is called “Control TV” and it’s a lot like a movie called The Truman Show, which starred actor Jim Carrey. There are also some “reality TV” shows, like Big Brother, that follow real people through their days. However, this show will be different because it lets viewers make decisions for the person.
The producers say the show is designed to help Couvares make some decisions in his life. The producers make sure the suggestions from viewers are helpful, and not hurtful, to Couvares.
The decisions could be as simple as getting Couvares to eat oatmeal rather than an English muffin for breakfast, or to wear funny clothes when he goes for a job interview.
Viewers can follow the show at Control TV and sign up for cellphone alerts, which lets them decide things for Couvares about 10 to 15 times a day. Voting is for multiple options: A, B or C.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Reality TV has always been very popular. Game shows, which date back to 1938, were the first examples of reality TV. Today, televisions have lots of reality shows, including like Survivor and Big Brother. Why do you think people like watching reality TV so much? Would you ever go on a reality TV show? Why or why not?
Reading Prompt
As you read this article, did you have “flow” in your reading? Were you able to raise and lower your voice as you read in order to highlight and emphasize interesting portions?
Primary
Read appropriate texts at a sufficient rate and with sufficient expression to convey the sense of the text readily to the reader and an audience (OME, Reading: 3.3).
Junior
Read appropriate texts with expression and confidence, adjusting reading strategies and reading rate to match the form and purpose (OME, Reading: 3.3).
Grammar Feature: One sentence paragraph.
Today’s article includes 2 one-sentence paragraphs. When is it okay to use one sentence paragraphs and what is their purpose? This should help
Unlike paragraphs with many sentences, a one-sentence paragraph is used to tell readers that this sentence contains a very important idea. Writers try not to do this too much since not every sentence they write can be the MOST important.
Do you think the writer of today’s article did a good job using one-sentence paragraphs? Why do you think so? If you were the writer, would you have given other sentences their own paragraph? If so, which ones?
