Week 3
Lesson 1: Fishbowl 3
What’s On For Today and Why:
Today’s class will be devoted to the third fishbowl
discussion on the historical criticism lens. The procedure will be the same as
the first two and the objective is, again, to make the participants the experts
and the rest of the class will take notes on the discussion for reference in
their “character sketch” assignment.
What To
Do:
First, remind students that the next two days will be spent
in the library working on the newspaper assignment based on the WebQuest. They will need to bring all their research with
them to refer to in the library. They will also have access to the computers in
the library to use. Then, ask students about the “alternate ending” assignment.
Ask a few students to summarize what they wrote. Then, begin the “fishbowl
discussion” by posing the question: Do the political/social events in the novel
mirror reality and what do they reveal about the author’s views of
Homework:
Read Chapters 23 and 24 (pp.
240-262) and bring in research materials from the WebQuest
assignment for use in the library the next two days. Give Fishbowl 4 their
assignment to prepare for Thursday (Lesson 4). Give the whole class their “character
sketch” assignment. The Fishbowl Assignment will read as follows:
Your discussion will focus on
analyzing
“Psychological criticism deals with a work of literature primarily as an expression
in fictional form, of the personality, state of mind, feelings, and desires of its
author. This theory requires that we investigate the psychology of a character or
an author to figure out the meaning of a text.”
In addition to finding
textual evidence, you will be required to either go to this website: http://www.blackreader.com/profiles/abani.html
to read about Chris Abani’s past or listen to this
interview with Abani on NPR at this website: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2004/03/22
(scroll down to find Abani’s interview, about 28
minutes long) in order to effectively analyze whether the author’s own
experiences are represented in the novel. Look at any and all characters to
find parallels or argue that there are none if you so choose. Due for Thursday.
Class Assignment: “Character
Sketch”—by now, you should have a fairly developed set of notes on your
selected character and the fishbowl discussions you have listened
to/participated in. For this assignment, you will need a 4-5 page paper tracing
the chronology of your character and how they develop over the course of the
novel. Your essay must include all four of the critical lenses discussed in the
fishbowl and a brief application of each to your character. You will need to
use specific textual references (with page numbers) to support your ideas.
12-point font, double spaced. First draft due next Monday
(Week 4, Lesson 1), final copy to be included in your portfolio (due end of
Week 4).
How Did It Go?
If the fishbowl participants were able to hold an
insightful and analytical discussion and incorporate information from both
web-based sources and concrete textual examples, the lesson was a success.
Hopefully the rest of the class will be taking notes, as they will need them
for their character sketch.
Lessons 2 and 3: Library Days
What’s On For Today and Why:
These two days will be spent in the library to give the
newspaper groups a chance to work on developing their newspaper and piecing it together.
I expect that the first day will primarily be devoted to sharing research and
coming up with ideas for the individual columns. The students will have access
to computers to begin writing their articles and researching newspaper formats.
The second day, hopefully the groups will have a pretty solid foundation as to
what each individual group member will need to do and the groups can start
figuring out layout issues (resources for how to set up the newspaper are
available under the WebQuest process heading).
What To
Do:
Allow students to work, primarily, on
their own for these two days. I will circulate to each group throughout
the two days to assist the groups in planning their articles and layout.
Hopefully, the groups will be able to do most of their group work in those two
class days but, if not, they will need to meet outside of school to continue
working as these will be the only two days devoted to this activity.
Homework:
Students will be expected to
have finished reading the book by Friday (Day 5). I will leave the pace up to
them, since they have a lot to work on this week (character sketch, fishbowl
for those who are in it, newspaper, etc.).
Fishbowl 4: due Thursday
Character Sketch: Draft 1 due
Monday
Newspapers completed by
Tuesday (Week 4)
How Did It Go?
If the students were working together effectively in their
groups and being productive, I’ll be happy. I will also get an initial idea of
how the newspapers will look and who’s doing what in the groups. The evaluation
for this assignment is on the WebQuest page and each
group will need to print out a copy of it to bring in the following week when
they present their newspapers to the class. They will receive an average of the
group grade and their individual grade.
Lesson 4: Fishbowl 4
What’s On For Today and Why?
Today’s class will be devoted to the final fishbowl
discussion on the psychological lens. The main objective will be to assess the
students participating in the discussion using the same criteria as the first
three discussion groups and to expose the rest of the class to the final
critical theory they will need to incorporate in their character sketch
assignment.
What To
Do:
Give students a few minutes at the beginning of the period
to meet with their newspaper groups and finalize any details. Remind the rest
of the class to take notes on the discussion for use in their character sketch
(essentially, notes that will help them to apply that lens in their analysis of
their own character and how to go about doing so). Then, the fishbowl will
begin. The students will be evaluated in the same way as the previous groups.
Homework:
Finish reading
How Did It Go?
If the students involved in the fishbowl participated
effectively and the rest of the class paid attention and took notes, I will be
satisfied.
Lesson 5: Student-Generated
Discussion
What’s On For Today and Why:
Today’s objective is to gauge the students’ understanding
of and response to the novel as a whole. In having the students develop
discussion questions, I am giving students ownership of the discussion and
allowing them to discuss the aspects of the novel that they found interesting
and important.
What To
Do:
At the beginning of the class, I will remind students that
the first draft of their “character sketch” will be due on Monday for peer
workshop. I will also determine the order for the groups to present their
newspaper to the class to be completed on Days 2 and 3 of next week. Then, I
will ask students to choose one of their two discussion questions, move their desks
into a circle, and begin the wrap-up discussion of the novel as a whole using a
question from each student. After the discussion, I will ask students to
exchange questions with the person sitting next to them and have students write
an answer to the second question posed by their partner in the form of a
free-write. At the end of class, I will collect the free-writes to review
informally to determine whether more discussion will be required for next week.
Homework:
Draft 1 of Character Sketch
due Monday; continue work on blog and newspaper.
How Did It Go?
If students were able to produce intelligent, insightful
questions and hold an interesting discussion about the novel, I will be
satisfied that they have a good understanding of the novel. The free-writes
will allow me to see whether the students will need another day to discuss the
novel or whether they have a solid understanding of the novel.