Sandra K. Friday
Objective:
The students will create a framework based on their assumptions about their
space
to guide their observations when viewing their own geography and that of the characters in the films and novella. This framework will serve as a basis for their observations, discussions and in their essays.
One way to manage the juxtaposition of
place
and
space
, is to develop a framework that the students can apply to each film and piece of literature they study. Actually they can begin using this framework when they start thinking about the
places
and then describing these as
spaces
in their own neighborhoods, and when they expand their exploration to their city.
Categories that come to mind are our
assumptions
about: how and where we get food and what that food is, what we consider comfortable shelter, what clothing is necessary for us in our space and where we get it, how the clock dictates our day, how we get around in our space, language we depend upon to communicate and the technology such as computers and cell phones that carry that language, how we understand the mores and rules that govern our space, and how we defend ourselves, if need-be, when someone intrudes into our space, because in each of these films and in the literature, people's spaces are invaded. A scene from the film
Emerald Forest
comes to mind when the chief of the Invisible People who is also the boy's surrogate father says to the boy's real father who has found them in the rain forest, "You have come to the center of the world." As I mentioned earlier in the unit, we all believe that our
space
is "the center of the world."
The students, thinking about their own daily lives, will brainstorm the social and geographical categories that would be used in the
framework.
While they might need some guidance, they could have the satisfaction of creating this framework themselves, rather than having it imposed by the teacher.
With these graphic organizers about their own assumptions and expectations in their subjective sociological and geographical
spaces
, students will be able to make observations about the assumptions and expectations of the main characters in the films and literature regarding these categories, and how they alter their way of thinking about these categories, and in several cases radically alter their lifestyle. On the graphic organizers, they will record their observations and evidence to back them up. Not all categories will apply to each character. But several main characters undergo changes, beginning with a set of assumptions and expectations, and then as a result of events, they experience an epiphany that alters their assumptions and expectations. This framework can be used not only for their own life styles and the life styles of the characters in each film and piece of literature, but it can then make it possible for students to compare their own life styles with those of the characters in the films and literature, both individually and as a class. The role geography plays in these life styles will be significant. Ultimately this framework of categories can be used to develop an essay, giving the students the opportunity to practice the writing process.
(see Lesson Plan # 3)