The second part of my unit takes place in the classroom where students are encouraged to read several Thurber fables and examine several of his illustrations. I will be inviting students to interpret Thurber’s work both orally and in written format. Thurber’s rendition of Poe’s “The Raven” will serve as a transition for the students to examine Poe’s work and interpret his writing.
Objective
This section of the unit is where I expect students to interpret the artwork and the written work of Thurber. Students will respond to Thurber’s characters orally and in written format and will be asked to make up their own “Thurber fable” based on several Thurber fables and illustrations, which we will look at in class. Later students will look at Poe as an artist and writer and create their own “Poe story” and illustration.
Procedure
We begin section two by reading several of Thurber’s illustrated fables. First we will review what a fable is, share one or two traditional fables and then discuss Thurber’s fables. Each group will be given one fable and illustration to share with the class. I use Thurber’s “The Tortoise and the Hair,” “The Little Girl and the Wolf,” and “The Fairly Intelligent Fly” because they are based on fairy tales that most of the children know and they have good examples of what I call the “Thurber Twist” or a surprise ending, Thurber style. These comical fables are short, easy to read and are simply illustrated. See Thurber’s
Fables for our Time
for a host of illustrated tales that can be used in this section. After each group has shared the fable we will discuss as a class the Thurber fable. During class discussions I will ask students to make connections between the illustrations and the work, to draw conclusions about the author based on the fables and to summarize what they think a Thurber fable is. Students will work in groups to discuss Thurber’s illustrations and will be given a picture that the author has drawn to accompany his fables. Students in each group will be asked to create a fable based on the illustrations. Groups will utilize the Thurber Fable Graphic Organizer, which I will provide to each group. A group of four or five students will have the same illustration, and come up with a group fable. Students will share their group members’ interpretation of the work with the rest of the class. For homework each individual will have his/her own fable title to rewrite and to share with the class.
Once the students have all shared their Thurber fables and illustrations, the class will be introduced to two of Thurber’s illustrated poems. Several Thurber collections have copies of poems that the author illustrated. (See
Fables for Our Time
,
The Thurber Carnival
or
Collecting Himself.
) We will begin this section of the unit with a reading of A.E. Housman’s “Oh When I Was….” This is one of many poems that Thurber illustrated. It is a short, two-stanza poem that will be easy for the students to grasp and fun to illustrate. After reading the poem a couple of times, I will ask students to imagine how Thurber might have illustrated the two stanzas based on what they know of Thurber by now. We will spend a class period illustrating the poem, sharing our illustrations and finally looking at Thurber’s comical illustration of the poem. Next we will read the poem “The Raven” several times in class and once again illustrate the poem. Since this poem is considerably longer than the Housman poem, I will allow students to choose one or two stanzas to illustrate rather than illustrate every stanza in the poem. Once again we will share our illustrations and then share Thurber’s rendition. This will serve as a connection into Poe.
Student Assessment-Thurber Section
Students will be assessed on both individual and group work at the end of this session. The rubric used for scoring will be given to students before the session begins and will enable students to successfully complete the assignment. Among other points, students will be assessed on:
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Student participated in-group discussion on the fable/illustration.
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Student shared group findings with class.
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Student completed a Thurber fable based on an assigned fable
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Student added an illustration to his/her work.
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Student’s work was consistent with style and tone of other Thurber fables.
The Poe section of the unit will center on the reading of “The Tell-Tale-Heart.” Many of my students love this story. It is an exciting, suspenseful and scary story that typifies much of Poe’s work in its look into the darker side of human nature. Students will be given a brief introduction to Poe and his life and then will read the short story as a class. After the reading students will discuss the difference in writing styles that Poe and Thurber have. We will use a Venn diagram to highlight the differences between the authors’ writing styles. I expect the students to be able to point out that Thurber’s writing is often comical as opposed to Poe’s serious, often dark, writing style. Thurber is sarcastic; Poe is glum. Thurber is funny; Poe sometimes scary. Then we begin to brainstorm titles of what might be a “Poe story.” Students will choose a title and do a quick write what might be the plot of the story.
As we prepare to write our own “Poe stories” students will be reminded of the elements of a short story (setting, character, plot, rising action, climax, resolution) and will be asked to identify the elements in “The Tell-Tale-Heart.” In order to help them get started with their stories a graphic organizer will be provided. Students will complete work on their Poe stories in accordance with the writing process guidelines set down earlier in the unit. Upon completion of the story the students will be asked to illustrate their stories, not as Thurber would have, but rather as they imagine Poe might illustrate the work himself. Students will be asked to share both their creative “Poe Stories” and their illustrations accompanying the story.
Student Assessment-Poe Section
Students will be assessed on individual work at the end of this session. The rubric used for scoring will be given to students before the session begins and will enable students to successfully complete the assignment. Among other points, students will be assessed on:
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Student participated in discussion on “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
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Student filled out short story organizer on “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
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Student completed a Poe story based on an organizer
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Student added an illustration to his/her work.
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Student’s work was consistent with style and tone of “The Tell-Tale-Heart.”