For adults
: On the Amistad Affair
Chase, Barbara.
Echo of Lions
. New York: Riboud, William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1989.
Chase has used a great deal of historically accurate material for her novel, but also a great deal of imagination. For example, she satisfies her own need to understand what brought Cinqué to the High Road to be captured, and how he was able to release his chains. She also calls him Singhe Pei, which is undoubtedly closer to his real name than Cinqué. However, she does ignore some hints about the truth which might have enhanced her work, such as the question of the debt owed by Cinqué which may have led to his capture. These errors might be more forgivable if the work kept its pace. It doesn’t. It drags a great deal in the middle during the trials. She invents characters and relationships which enhance the novel and attempt to give us a clear picture of how free African Americans lived in these times, but even these are romanticized beyond recognition. No one is poor. Still, it may be less intimidating than Howard Jones’ book, and may help a teacher create an atmosphere for a theatrical production.
Jones, Howard.
Mutiny on the Amistad
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
This is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to untangle the complicated threads of the story of the Amistad. Jones has researched meticulously the archives of the various nations and persons involved. He has included drawings of the central characters. His work is full of notes and references to the original source. In addition to this impressive research, the book is readable.
On Problem Solving
:
Weissberg, Roger, Marlene Caplan, Loisa Bennetto, Alice Stroup Jackson. “Sixth Grade Problem-Solving Module, 1990-1991.” For further information contact:
Roger P. Weissberg, PhD.
Department of Psychology
Box 11A Yale Station
New Haven, CT 06520-7447
(203) 432-4530
This is the curriculum, updated, which was taught in the sixth grade in 1989-1990 and will be taught again in 1990-1991. The basic steps for problem solving will be taught in all grades in a similar format by 1993, we hope. Dr. Weissberg, along with James Comer, has a contract with the New Haven Public Schools in the Social Development Program.
On Theater Games
:
Fluegelman, Andrew, Ed.
The New Games Book
. The New Games Foundation Staff, Doubleday, 1976.
This is an extremely difficult book to find, though it is currently available from the publisher. It is filled with cooperative games which encourage group cohesion and identification of feelings.
Hodgson, John and Ernest Richards.
Improvisation
. Grove Press, New York: 1987.
This is a good guide for the teacher as s/he embarks on this curriculum. There are many excellent suggestions and explanations which will help the development of a script from the class sessions. I recommend especially his chapter on “Building a Play from Improvisation” and the preliminary sessions from the chapter on “Beginning and Developing Improvisation”.
Spolin, Viola.
Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher’s Handbook
. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University, 1986.
Spolin has included hundreds of games in eighteen categories in this Handbook. As opposed to the
Director’s Handbook
, the Teacher’s Handbook focuses on the development of theater skills apart from a specific production.
Spolin, Viola.
Theater Games for Rehearsal: A Director’s Handbook
. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, 1985.
This is a very useful handbook about how to produce a play, including many games to guide the actors through the production.
For students
: On the Amistad Affair
Sterne, Emma Gelders.
The Slave Ship
. New York: Scholastic Paperbooks, 1953.
Written at the fifth grade level, this tells the story of the Affair from the perspective of a boy, supposedly the only boy aboard the Amistad. The story is abridged, the legal issues condensed. It would prove useful as long as the teacher remembers to give a clear understanding of the rest of the story.