Dana M. Buckmir
The following lessons are suggested for a ninety minute block period. However, some of the lessons can be condensed to accommodate a forty-five minute period schedule and thereby extended over a longer time bracket.
Lesson One: Interview of a Female Role Model
Purpose: To initiate interest in a gender based topic by personalizing the information and applying it to the students' lives and experiences therein. Asking a student to share information about an older sibling, mentor, coach, teacher, mother, grandmother or friend builds a sense of fosters community, pride, respect and responsibility in the classroom by demonstrating that we all share commonalties. Students will generate pride towards those individuals they admire and express their interest in the lives of others by participating in this lesson. Also, this lesson provides examples of positive female role models that inspire us to achieve higher expectations and withstand struggle
Initiation
: Students will quick write in their journals: What makes a role model?
Think/Pair/Share
: After thinking independently about the journal prompt students will share their responses in partners reading their responses word for word to their peer. This is a strategy that helps students improve their writing because when they listen to their writing read aloud they can recognize errors.
Reading
: Students will read
An Interview with Sandra Cisneros
; however the interview will be separated on index cards designated by number in question and answer format. This interview contains thirteen questions followed by thirteen answers so in a typical classroom with twenty-six students each student will get a part. Each index card will be numbered one through thirteen and will say question or answer. We will proceed to read the interview together in question and answer form. Students will take turns reading aloud as if they are the role of the interviewer or interviewee. Organizing the lesson in the manner holds all students accountable because they each have responsibility in the learning. Also, it is more interactive and each student gets an opportunity to participate and express their voice.
Discussion of reading
: How does Cisneros identify herself? What is her most difficult challenge? How did Cisneros find her voice as a writer? Does Cisneros feel that society views women in a positive or negative way?
Writing
: Considering the interview we read, create three potential interview questions you would ask a female role model. When students finish generating their individual questions we will create a class list of potential interview questions. Some examples for possible interview questions may be: What do you remember most about growing up? What was the hardest experience you encountered? How did you manage to get through difficult times? Did you have a role model that guided you in the right direction? What were you passionate about?
Homework/Independent Assignment
: Students will choose ten of the questions the class generated for potential interview questions and conduct an interview with a female role model of their choice. The interview will be in question and answer format similar to the Cisneros interview. The interview will be typed as a finished product and presented to the class one week from the date assigned.
Lesson Two: Response to Literature
Purpose: To increase reading comprehension skills by recognizing sensory and descriptive language in the literature. This short story provides an effective example for teaching this lesson because it is manageable for students in length; however the author does not sacrifice impact with brevity. Also, the topic can extend to discussion on gender roles and female expectations in society.
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Initiation
: Students will respond to an anticipation guide as a pre-reading strategy to the short story
Girl
by Jamaica Kincaid. The anticipation guide will consist of a list of statements organized in the form of a table that initiate an emotional response. For example, cooking, cleaning and raising children are not
really
considered work. Students will circle whether they agree or disagree with the statements provided prior to reading the story.
Reading
: Students will read the story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid once independently. We will read the story a second time aloud while I read aloud students will highlight any words that they view significant to the meaning of the story in one color as well as sensory words in another color. Students will proceed with the
Point Reading
activity in an attempt to decipher meaning from the text. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to the students that multiple readings increase reading comprehension skills and overall understand of the text. Also, students will notice that after the first reading they didn't necessarily understand the meaning in fact many will have questions and this is the right opportunity to have students discuss the text. Also, after students highlight the most important word they can tell why they chose that word which will later lead to a better understanding of the short story.
Discussion
: After reading the story, I will make a list of all the sensory words the students discovered and post them on a transparency. On another transparency, I will transcribe significant words in the text. Because Kincaid uses a great deal of sensory language it would be effective for students to chart out their thinking from the text emphasizing the words that represent the five senses. What was the most important word or phrase? Does this remind you of anything you have heard, seen, read? What questions do you still have of the text?
Closure
: Students will reconsider the anticipation guide to check their understanding and monitor if they have any changes in their thinking after reading the short story
Girl
. Does the story affirm their thinking or does the story alter their thinking? Students will discuss the change or consistency of their responses.
Lesson Three: Poem Interpretation
Purpose: To strengthen analytical and reading comprehension skills by reflecting on a poem.
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Initiation
: Students will participate in a pre-reading activity called Tea Party described by Kylene Beers to initiate thinking about the text before reading the text. The students will be able to make predictions about the text by using the information provided to make inferences about the relationships and sequencing. I find that students are often intimidated when I ask them to make inferences because they assume the activity is too sophisticated. However, what many students do not realize is that they make inferences on a daily basis subconsciously without even realizing they are practicing the skill. Students activate prior knowledge when they make inferences about a text before reading the text. For this particular lesson students are given separate lines from the poem
Introspection
by Nikki Giovanni. Students will consult with classmates by reading their line to as many people in a five minute period. Students will try to construct the poem from the various lines distributed. Students will read the lines they have organized and brainstorm about what they think the poem might be about and why they think so.
Reading
: Students will read the whole copy form of Giovanni's
Introspection
once independently, once following along while the teacher reads it aloud, and once in which each student will read a line as we go around the room.
Writing
: Students will question the text by writing three "I wonder why questions" independently. Students will question anything they are uncertain about in the poem beginning each question with "I wonder why".
Discussion
: Students will exchange their questions with a partner and their partner will answer their questions while they answer their partner's question. After, students will return papers and agree or disagree with the possible answers. If they disagree, students will describe what they feel the answer should be. So, when they are finished each student will have three questions with three possible answers that they agree or disagree with and explain why.
Closure
: Students will check their predictions and see how they have changed by speculating on the meaning of the poem; that is an interpretation of the poem after multiple readings.
Lesson Four: Discussing Positive Black Women by examining Rap Lyrics and Poetry
Purpose: It is my understanding that for some reason black history education starts and finishes with Martin Luther King Jr. for many students that I teach. If they were taught about other aspects of black history they have not retained that knowledge. Students I have asked on the high school level know mainly Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks. My observations of this injustice, that many black students do not know their history was apparent when I taught the play
Fences
by August Wilson. Prior to beginning the play, we learned about the time period leading up to and surrounding the civil rights movement. I have also noticed that students are easily persuaded by the medias' image of black figures which is in many ways inaccurate and derogatory. During a time when role models are few and far between, it is imperative that students are exposed to positive images from prominent figures that cultivate solid morals and values. As a Language Arts teacher, poetry is always a genre that the students struggle with, especially the reluctant students who have been turned off by poetry and its ambiguity and difficulty level. However, I feel that if poetry is presented in a way that the students can relate to they are more readily engaged. Poetry is comparable to music lyrics because of its musical quality and the fluidity of words that can be interpreted in numerous ways. Many of the students that I teach enjoy rap and rhythm and blues music, so poetry and rap music make sense to incorporate together for a successful teaching strategy. Because women are generally portrayed in a negative image in rap music I chose to use rap lyrics that described women in a positive light along with a strong female poet Maya Angelou.
Initiation
: It is important to precede this lesson with the sound recording of Angelou sharing her life as a child especially for this unit that concerns identity because she has endured many obstacles that have strengthened her character and shaped the successful woman she has become. Angelou is a good example to model to students because she is direct and the students can relate to her descriptive words. Also, in this particular sound recording she demonstrates a reading of her poem that illustrates the musical aspect of her words. Students will be assessed of their knowledge of the issues in the sound recording by the questions and the class discussion that precede the lyric poem pairing.
Phenomenal Woman
or
Still I Rise
are two examples of Maya Angelou poems that convey a positive image of female identity. Erika Badu or Lauren Hill are two female artists that convey messages of strong women who have endured struggles and survived.
Cooperative learning groups
: Students will be organized into small groups of three to four. After listening to the poem and the lyrics they will answer the questions in writing together.
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Reading
: Students will receive a copy of the lyrics they will follow along with the sound recording and underline the most important word or phrase. Students will answer the following questions to accompany the song: What do you think the most important word in the text is and why?, Does this remind you of anything that you've seen either a movie, a book, another song, a story that you've heard from a friend or family member? How do the lyrics make you feel? What types of emotions do you think the artist is trying to convey to the audience? Students will use the same procedure and questions for the sound recording of the Angelou poems.
Writing
: Students will chart their thinking on a transparency and share their information with the class.
Lesson Five
:
How powerful is the media's representation of women?
Purpose: Students will use a variety of magazines to critique the media's representation of female body images. This activity allows students to practice using a critical eye as they evaluate the different advertisements and articles that make up a typical female targeted audience magazine. Students will notice that many of the articles have a consistent theme base such as advice columns from experts on love, marriage, relationships, and sex, which reinforce the emphasis that women are interdependent and relationship oriented. Also, students will observe that many articles contain information on conflict resolution skills, communication with significant others, family and friends which are considered to be general qualities that women are expected to possess. Many articles describe how to accommodate others and improve appearances by weigh of clothes, changing body type through excursive and dieting as well as cosmetics. Students will evaluate the advertisements by recognizing marketing strategies that companies use to sell their products by way of celebrity endorsement, sexual appeal, status, statistic and Band wagon.
Hands on
: Students will each choose a different advertisement to evaluate independently. Students will answer the following questions: Describe the product that is being marketed in this particular advertisement. Which technique does the company use to market their product? What type of audience do you think the company is targeting? How are women represented in this advertisement? How are men represented in this advertisement? Do the models in the advertisement represent the average person, why or why not? Do the images display an array of body types, are they realistic representations? Is their one central standard of beauty that you notice in the ads you have reviewed, if so what are the standards of beauty projected in the marketing strategy? What messages are these ads provided to adolescence about female beauty?
Published thinking
: On a piece of poster board provided students will cut out the ad they have chosen and glue it in the middle of the paper. Students will use markers to label their responses to the above prompts on the poster board around the ad by diagramming with arrows that led from the image to their remarks.
Writing
: Students will finish by reflecting in their journals about the activity and making a personal connection with the material presented and their lives. Considering the discussion and the magazine evaluations how does the media's representation of body image and female standards of beauty affect the way you view yourself, explain? To modify this prompt for males I would ask them to write about how the media's representation of body image and female standards of beauty affect the way you view women that you interact with on a daily basis?
Discussion:
Sharing the responses from both the males and females will most certainly initiate an interesting discussion.
Lesson Six: Memoirs
Purpose: People are experts on their own lives. There is a persistent desire within people to convey or tell their stories in their own words. The genre of memoir is an effective way for students to practice the writing process and express their voice by way of the written word. Writing is a process that must be practiced regularly to improve. Frequently, students in my classroom practice writing informally through journaling, but the memoir is a step towards more formal published writing. My students have no difficulties expressing themselves verbally. They readily participate in conversation and class discussion; however they often lack the appropriate skills to communicate in writing to their audience. I like to use the memoir lesson to get the students interested in writing by discussing a specific time or event in their lives. Students will use descriptive, sensory language to describe a vivid memory using action words to paint a picture to the reader taking the reader on a journey along with the writer. Also, this lesson requires that students convey their experience through specific, detailed accounts there is no room for ambiguity or vagueness in a memoir. This lesson is the first lesson of a unit on teaching memoir.
Initiation
: Students will participate in a chalk-talk about memory. I will place the word memory in a circle on the board and students will take turns writing everything they know about memory; for example, what is their earliest memory, what is memory? There are three rules for chalk-talk: everyone must go at least once, no one must talk during the activity only through writing, and no one can cross off anyone's response.
Reading
: Before assigning a memoir for students to write I like to model an example of my own personal memoir. If a personal memoir is unavailable, any vignette from Sandra Cisneros'
The House on Mango Street
will be a helpful example for explaining the genre. Also, Cisneros is an appropriate pairing to incorporate while beginning to discuss gender and adolescence. What memory is the author conveying to the reader? What words does the author use to convey their message? What emotions do you feel as you read the memoir?
Pre-Writing
: Students will brainstorm about an event in their past that sparks emotion or that they feel passionate about. For example, quince cumpleanos, graduation, the first day of high school or middle school, the birth of a child, a death or illness in the family, the loss of a friend, the end of a relationship. All of these examples noted above give the students an outlet or voice to express themselves through writing and sort out identity issues and adolescent experiences in a personalized genre.
Resources
Annotated Bibliography for Teachers
Atwell, Nancie. Lessons that Change Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.
Comprehensive lessons on teaching students to write a variety of genres.
Antonia, Maria and Oliver-Rotger.
An Interview with Sandra Cisneros
Voices from the Gap January and February, 2000.
Excerpt from a collection of positve female writers.
Beers, Kylene.
When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.
Bloom, Benjamin, S.
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1984.
Describes the three domains of learning including the cognitive levels.
Brumber, Joan, J.
The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls
. New York: Random House, Inc., 1997.
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Historical context on the evolution of the female image and how the representation of being female affects adolescent girls.
Carroll, Rebecca.
Sugar in the Raw: Voice of Young Black Girls in America
. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997.
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Memoirs that describe the experience of African American girls during adolescence considering conflict and resolution.
Ehlers, Tracy, B., and Sugar Turner.
Sugar's Life in the Hood
. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
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Psychologist and former welfare mother who have been friends and collegues for almost a decade unite to discuss struggles with oppression in an inspirational, true to life account.
Erikson, Erik.
Identity: Youth and Crisis
. New York: W. W. Norton, 1994.
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Classic psychological evaluation of adolescence and the stages that correspond with the processes and behaviors.
Habell-Pallan, Michelle, and Mary Romero ed.
Latino/a Popular Culture
. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
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Discusses issues of stereotyping and identiy in Latino culture and the media's influence in shaping these images.
Hine, Darlene, C., and Kathleen Thompson.
A Shining Thread of Hope
. New York: Broadway Books, 1998.
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Historical background detailing the obstacles that African American women and their families endured over the decades during and post slavery.
Muharrar, Aisha.
More Than a Label
. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc., 2002.
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Written by an undergraduate student from her account and observations of high school this is a comprehensible description of labels that define adolescents.
Pipher, Mary.
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls
. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.
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Psychological analysis of identity formation in adolescent females. Provides information on how parents and educators can assist in the process.
Santrock, John, W.
Adolescen
ce.. Columbus, Ohio: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1998.
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Psychological perspective and evaluation of the adolescence stage of growth. Provides excellent resources for gender topics.
Tatum, Beverly, D.
Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
. New York: Basic Books, 1997.
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Description of identity formation and influences that affect the stages of childhood, adolescense and adulthood with particular emphasis on African American identity.
Velasques, Gloria, L.
Teen Angel
. Houston, Texas: Pinata Books, 2003.
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High interest young adult novel in a series that describes an adolescent romantic relationship and their struggle with pregnancy.
Wolff, Virgina E.
True Believer
. New York: Antheneum Books, 2001.
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High interest, young adult novel that is narrated by a young female girl growing up in the city evaluating herself and the world around her.
Student Reading List
Antonia, Maria and Oliver-Rotger.
An Interview with Sandra Cisneros
Voices from the Gap January and February, 2000.
Excerpt from a collection of positve female writers.
Carroll, Rebecca.
Sugar in the Raw: Voice of Young Black Girls in America
. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997.
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Memoirs that describe the experience of African American girls during adolescence considering conflict and resolution.
Muharrar, Aisha.
More Than a Label
. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc., 2002.
____
Written by an undergraduate student from her account and observations of high school this is a comprehensible description of labels that define adolescents.
Velasques, Gloria, L.
Teen Angel
. Houston, Texas: Pinata Books, 2003.
____
High interest young adult novel in a series that describes an adolescent romantic relationship and their struggle with pregnancy.
Wolff, Virgina E.
True Believer
. New York: Antheneum Books, 2001.
____
High interest, young adult novel that is narrated by a young female girl growing up in the city evaluating herself and the world around her.