Kerry Jones
CEE 593
Professor LoMonico
May 3, 2006
Unit Plan: GraceLand
Introduction: This lesson is designed for 11th (honors) and 12th grade students who are reading GraceLand, by Chris Abani. It is broken down into lessons of 40 minutes each. Each homework assignment requires students to read two chapters of the novel per night and answer a question on the class discussion board. If the class does not have a discussion board, students can respond through blogs or paper-journal entries. If students are using paper-journals, teachers must allow some class time to discuss the entries and respond. Students will be assigned three long-term projects: an advertising campaign, a film project and a webquest. These will be the students’ portfolios for the unit and the best works will be added to the students’ portfolio for the year. The ad campaign is 15% and the webquest is 15% of the students’ grade for the unit. The film project will make up 25% of the students’ grade for the unit and the unit exam will make up 20% of the student’s grade for the unit, and completing the nightly homework assignments will make up 15%. Class participation counts for 10% of the students’ grade.
Lesson 1: Setting the Stage
What’s on for today and why: The first five pages of GraceLand are incredibly rich in their descriptions. They also set the stage for the reader to see Elvis’s relationship with his father, give us an idea of Elvis’s character and what kind of conditions the family is living in. Understanding these concepts will increase students’ comprehension and allow them to think about the book on more than one level.
What to do: 1. Create the scene (should be done before the first class). Teachers can create a banner with the first words of the story: “He who brings kola, brings life.” As students enter the room they have a few minutes to think about this and what it means.
2. Read aloud (10 minutes): Read the first six pages of the novel--up to “What do I have to do with all this?” Ask students to jot notes or close their eyes and imagine the first scene of Elvis’s house, his father, and his room. After reading, discuss what they think it looks like.
3. Visual Representations (20 minutes): Students make a visual representation of Lagos and Elvis’s home. Give students art materials such as glue, scissors, magazines, paper, markers, stickers, and pencils. Each time they think they have finished, students are asked to see if they can include more details based upon what they have heard. They can use the book as a reference.
4. Picture Discussion and Book Introduction (10 minutes): Students should now have represented each character that appears in the first six pages, describe Elvis’s home and his relationship with his father.
Homework: Read Chapters 1 and 2
Discussion Board/Blog/Journal Entry Question: What do you think it means to be a man? Tell us one thing you noticed about how the author wrote and why you think he wrote that way.
How did it go? If students are curious about the novel and eager to begin reading it, then it’s a very good day. If they add thoughtful and insightful comments to the discussion board, then it’s even better.
Lesson
2: Fathers and sons
What’s on for today and why: The relationship between Elvis and Sunday is arguably the most important relationship in the novel. It is also one with which many students can easily identify. In Chapter 2, the reader is introduced to the importance of ritual and one’s name. Can names have an impact on who we are?
What to do: 1. Improvisations (15 minutes): Write two scenarios on the board
- A
parent is waking his/her child up because it is after 6:30 am. Although the child does not need to go
to school or work that early in the morning, the parent feels he/she
should be out of bed and doing something more productive than sleeping.
- A
child is telling his/her parent that he/she wants to be a dancer. The parent does not think this is
suitable employment.
Students have 5 minutes to get a partner, choose a scenario and decide what how they want to perform this scene. Each group is on stage for one minute. Ask students: how do you think Elvis feels about his father?
2. What’s in a name (5 minutes): By chapter 2, the reader has a chance to meet some of Elvis’s extended family, his mother, his grandmother, Oye. We see Innocent—the warrior—and even Comfort, who is very cold to Elvis (15). Ask the students: Are there ironies in the author’s selection of names? Why do you think that is? Have your names changed since you were five? For example, was someone Jenny and now she is Jennifer? Students go around the room, say the meaning of their name and if it has changed since he/she was five and why it changed.
3. Rituals (20 minutes): Choose 10 students to act out the ritual scene. The rest of the class acts as directors, blocking the scene and telling the students what to do. Bring in props, if possible. Use Handout 1 for the dialogue.
Homework: Chapter 3 and 4
Discussion board/blog/journal entry: Describe any rituals that you do with your family. Was there ever a time when your parents decided you were becoming an adult? When did you know (if ever) that your parent(s) realized you were growing up?
How did it go? If students were engaged, learning and enjoyed themselves, then the lesson was a success.
Lesson
3: Learn the language
What’s on for today and why: In order for students to have a better understanding of the conventions of the dialect Standardized English, it is helpful for them to study the dialects of other forms of English, like the one Elvis uses in GraceLand. In addition, when students become familiar with the dialect used in the novel, they spend less time deciphering what is being said and more time looking into the novel’s deeper meanings.
What to do: 1. Tossing lines (10-15 minutes): Students are handed Handout 2. They can spend 1-2 minutes looking over the lines—all used in the first three chapters. Students go around in a circle reciting the lines. Then, toss a rag (or sock, mitten—whatever) to a student. When he/she catches the rag he/she must recite the first line. She passes the rage to another student who must recite the second line, and so on.
2. Code-switching (15 minutes): a. Discuss with the class the differences between the lines in Handout 2 and American Standardized English. For example, how does an American say, “Ole! Ole! Thief!” (30)? Is it the same, or different? Write different examples on board using examples from Handout 2.
b. Consider the conventions of other dialects, such as a New York dialect or Black English Vernacular. Ask students to think about the rules in each dialect and compare them to Elvis’s use of English. Is one better? Why or why not? Ask students: why does Abani use such a dialect in his writing?
3. Translation (10-15 minutes): Students turn to page 15 and translate Comfort and Elvis’s conversation.
Homework: Chapters 5 and 6.
Discussion board/blog/journal entry: 1. How is Oye’s dialect different from Elvis’s? Use quotes from the novel to support your answer. 2. Please list any concerns/questions you have about the content of Chapter 6. Consider this definition of irony: the distance between what is and what ought to be. Give one example of how irony is used in the novel.
How did it go? If students begin to feel more comfortable with the language in the novel and enjoy playing with language, then things are going well.
Lesson
4: Colonial Mentality/Postcolonial lens
What’s on for today and why: Popular western culture, consumption and the magnetic draw of America is thread throughout the novel, but are American students so entrenched in our culture they are unable to see it? Some teachers will need to reserve the computer lab for this lesson. If students are concerned about the graphic nature of Chapter 6, now would be the time to answer any questions students might have.
What to do: 1. The effects of western culture on Lagos (20 minutes): Ask students to please consider the following: Colonized people are highly diverse in their nature and in their traditions, and as beings in cultures they are both constructed and changing, so that while they may be ‘other’ from the colonizers, they are also other from one another, and from their own pasts, and should not be totalized or essentialized (John Lye). What do you think this means? Does this seem to be true in Elvis’s Lagos? Consider the differences between Sunday and Oye. Do they share the same culture? Use quotes from the text to support your answer. What happens when people are lumped into one shared culture, if anything?
a. Based on what students have read so far, list on the board every reference to someone or something that is American or European. Ask, based upon this list, is Elvis affected by American culture? If so, how?
b. Ask a student to read aloud page 29. Ask students, if you were to set up this as a shot, how would you do it? Consider the following: if the story was set in America, how would it be different? What references to the culture of the Igbo are found in American novels?
2. Nigerian-style marketing (10 minutes): Ask students to read page 9 aloud. Ask students the following: draw/describe what is going on in the scene. What is the man trying to sell? What are the qualities he is trying to emphasize and why would they be important to the others on the bus?
How would this be different in America? Explain.
4. Introduce Project (10 minutes): Students are given a short-term assignment that is based on colonial mentality. Students have one week to create a product that will be sold to Nigerians. The product should be something that can be used in America and the following questions should be addressed. How would it be marketed differently to Nigerians? What qualities would you try to emphasize in Lagos and not in America? Explain. What kinds of slogans, spokespeople, colors would you use? Are they different than what you would use here? Why/why not? Student are to look at the following websites for assistance: Coca-cola Nigerian style vs. American Coca-cola
America found elsewhere discussed in America
Students should consider marketing techniques, the use of slogans, target audiences, etc. Students can draw the ads themselves, use technology or cut out magazine pictures. The ad can sell a real or imagined product and have a specific audience in mind.
Homework: Chapters 7 and watch this about Nigeria at home:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCK3RwVpH3Y&search=nigeria%20. Begin working on advertising campaign. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: Consider this definition of symbolism: something that suggests more than its literal meaning. Give one example of symbolism used in the novel.
How did it go? Hopefully students will gain an understanding of American influences on other nations, and consider this as one of the main plots of the book. At the very least, it should get students to think differently about advertising, consumption, western influences, and diversity.
Lesson 5: “Ah, my son de useless dancer!”
What’s on for today and why: Sunday and Elvis have different ideas about sexuality and masculinity. Today students will examine how each character views sexuality and masculinity. We will also discuss why students think the author chose to create characters in such a way.
What to do: What does it mean to be a man? (40 minutes): Read pages 79-80 aloud. Ask students to list character traits on the board of what they believe to be male characteristics (i.e., strong, unemotional, etc.). Discuss why these are so, for example, why are men considered stronger than women? What if a woman is stronger than a man, then how does the man feel? Why do men often feel uncomfortable if their wives make more money than they do? List as many as you can. Break up into groups of four. Students make up two lists of male characteristics according to Elvis and Sunday. Students must use quotes from the novel to support their answers. Students regroup as a class to discuss their findings.
Homework: Chapters 8 and 9. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: Who do you feel is right, Sunday or Elvis (or neither), when it comes to their opinions on masculinity? Explain your answer.
How did it go? According to Abani, one of the main themes discussed in this novel is the theme of gender and society. At the very least, male adolescents who like to dance should consider themselves no less a man than those who don’t.
Lesson 6: Women’s Herstory
What’s on for today and why: Students will examine GraceLand from the feminist perspective. We will look at the female characters in the novel and examine life from their perspectives.
What to do: 1. Women’s biograpy (15-20 minutes): Look at Handout 3: list of quotes from the following women, Comfort, Beatrice, Oye, and Rohini. Students are the reporters. Write a brief bio of each woman including likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams fears, etc. Be descriptive as possible. Students read bios aloud.
2. Improvisations (15-20 minutes): Students go around the room, reading pages
36-37 aloud. Students break up into
pairs and create a one-minute scene with any two women in the novel (boys must
also act out the parts of women in the scene).
Students should think about the following: where are the women? What are they doing? Are there men present? If so, do they act differently in front of
them? Why/why not?
Homework: Chapters
10 and 11. Discussion/blog/journal
entry: Respond to “The Good Wives
Guide” posted on the discussion board (Handout 3B).
How did it go? Students should begin to understand life in Nigeria is different for women and why, but just as important, thinking/acting from another’s point of view enables students to find compassion for others and learn something about themselves.
Lesson 7: Mysticism and superstition
What’s on for today and why: So much of the novel discusses the mysticism, witchcraft and superstition. Why do these seem largely feminine traits? Students will examine the origins of witchcraft and the connection to femininity.
What to do: 1. Understanding the mysticism of Oye (10-20 minutes):
Students can sit in a circle and discuss the following questions. Do you think Oye is really a witch? Why or why not? Why do you think Oye had pen pals when she could not read or
write? Do you think Oye believed the
letters Elvis created were really from her pen pals? Explain your answer using quotes from the novel. Why do you think she has a Scottish accent?
2. Writing a letter to Oye (20 minutes): Write a letter Oye based upon one of your favorite films. Students read letters aloud.
Homework: Chapters 12, 13, and 14. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: How did you feel about Elvis’s conversation with his father? Do you think Sunday believed Elvis when he told Sunday about Uncle Joseph? Use quotes from the novel to explain your answer.
How did it go? Students should have created their own piece of fiction for a rhetorical audience and gained a better understanding of Oye.
Lesson
8: Film Project
What’s on for today and why: So much of Elvis’s childhood is affected by the escapist qualities of film. What do these films want to tell viewers about the culture within they live? Students are also assigned a long-term/final project. See Handout 4.
What to do: 1. You are the expert (40 minutes): Students watch 5 minute film clips of the following films: “The Searchers”—John Wayne, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” -- Clint Eastwood, “Casablanca”—Humphrey Bogart, “Dirty Harry”—Clint Eastwood, “Easy Rider”. Students will use Handout 5, Film Expert Group Handout and in groups of five, note different aspects the film is trying to convey. Each group is one expert. They watch the movie and note any observations on the handout. List on the board any common elements such as theme, costume, actor, setting, etc. Change experts until each group has had a chance to be a certain group. Consider what these films say about America.
Long-term film project: Students are asked to create a film project based upon a chapter in GraceLand. Students can make their own film or write a one-act play or screenplay based upon a chapter of the novel. Students have two weeks to complete this project.
Homework: Chapters 15 and 16. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: You are the projectionist. Choose one of the films viewed in class and describe it like the projectionist described on p. 148-149.
How did it go? Students are beginning to see how both the authors’ choice of films and the directors’ choices of both non-verbal acting and dialogue sends messages to the audience about American values.
Lesson 9: Elvis then and now
What’s on for today and why: Students compare the scenes in chapter 15 and 16 in order to understand how Elvis’s life has deteriorated in three years.
What to do: 1. Now (20 minutes): Students pair up. One half of the class acts out scenes from p. 159-161. The other half acts out 168-170. Students have 5 minutes to prepare their scenes. Students do not perform the whole scene, but parts. They will not know which part until the class is ready to perform.
2. Then (20 minutes): Each student reads a sentence beginning on page 178-181. Class discussion: what are some things you noticed and why? What are some differences in Elvis’s demeanor, living conditions and his relationship with Sunday. Do Felicia’s comments surprise you, why or why not?
Homework: Chapters 17 and 18. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: What do you think the reasons are for the dramatic change in Elvis’s economic situation and his relationship with his family? What do you predict Elvis’s future to be? Use quotes from the novel to support your answer. Cite one example of foreshadowing used in the novel.
How did it go? Students should begin to have a clearer picture of
the transformation of Elvis and understand this is the story of a boy coming of
age.
Lesson
10: Great novel webquest
What’s on for today and why: Throughout GraceLand, Elvis is often found carrying around an exceptional novel. Baldwin, Rilke, Gabril—who are these people? Do students know the difference between Ellison and Mabel the Sweet Honey That Poured Away? Students have one week to complete the webquest and they will begin during class time. Teachers may need to reserve class time in the computer lab for this lesson.
What to do: Students follow the guidelines of the webquest.
Homework: Chapter 19 and 20. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: Discuss any questions/concerns/feelings you have about chapter 20. What do you think are the qualities of a great novel?
How did it go?
Lesson 11: Brutality of Poverty
What’s on for today and why: Today students will compare the brutality of poverty in Lagos to the brutality in the United States. What are the similarities or differences and how much do external factors such as commercialism, fear, and greed play a role if any?
What to do: 1. Read Chapter 21 aloud (15 minutes): Read the whole chapter aloud assigning parts to students. One or two students act as director and determine how perform scene. As a class students discuss the power of the scene, how it affected them and why. Ask students to consider the following: who has the power in the scene? How does it shift? Why do you think Elvis didn’t do anything?
2. Handout 6, “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans” (20 minutes): Each student takes a line from the poem and reads it with expression. Students sit in a circle and, using the Socratic method, the teacher asks students to spend the remainder of the class discussing any similarities between the poem and the chapter.
3. Discuss lesson 14 with students (5 minutes): Discuss your plans for students in lesson 14. Students should form groups of five and, based upon their group, be prepared to bring in the necessary items that day.
Homework: Chapter 22 and 23. Discussion board/blog/journal entry: Continue the discussion and any concerns you might have about the brutality of the scenes. Write a rap song, poem, or short story based upon either the poem or the chapter but change the setting to a wealthy neighborhood. How does it change? Why do you think that is?
How did it go? Hopefully students can take Abani’s words and bring
them to other settings. At the very
least this discussion should have enabled students to see poverty and society
through a different lens.
Lesson
12: The Colonel vs. Sunday
What’s on for today and why: Today students are going to look at the most powerful men in the novel: the colonel and Sunday and consider the Marxist lens.
What to do: 1. Create a word journal (25 minutes): Students break up into groups and choose one recorder. They are asked to brainstorm using the following model:
Students draw two of these shapes and put in the primary circle the most predominant characteristic of Sunday and the Colonel. They use the other lines for less predominant characteristics. Students must agree upon these traits and use quotes from the novel to support their responses. Students share their findings with the rest of the class.
2. Class discussion (5 minutes): Are there similarities between Sunday and the Colonel? Why do you think that is? Who does Elvis fear more? Who does he respect? Explain your answer.
Handout 7/PTSD (10
minutes): Students should spend a few
minutes looking over this Doonsbury comic and create a short story or a
comic using this idea but from one of the following characters point of
view: Elvis, Redemption, Sunday or
the Colonel.
Homework: Chapters 24 and 25. Finish Handout 7. Discussion board/blog/ journal entry: How do you think the author uses imagery, metaphor and symbolism?
How did it go? If students leave thinking about Abani’s intentions, dialogue and writing that support their beliefs and think for a moment of the traumatic effects of war on the rest of one’s life, then it was a successful lesson.
Lesson
13: Revolution!
What’s on for today and why: Today, students will organize themselves as revolutionaries.
What to do: 1. Setting the scene (30 minutes): Students enter the classroom under the banner, “Madam Caro’s”. The classroom will be set up as a bar. As they enter they will be assigned parts. Students will read aloud p. 253 – 258. A few students will be assigned the main parts in the scene, i.e., Madam Caro, Sunday, Elvis, etc. These students will read one page, then new students will move forward and read a page, until the scene is complete.
The bar is removed. The class sets a new stage based upon the beginning of chapter 25. We do the same thing again with p. 263-271, but this time the class splits into two groups: the soldiers and the revolutionaries.
Finishing the scene (10 minutes): Students create an improvisational ending for the novel based upon what they think will happen to Sunday, Elvis, and the slum of Maroko.
Homework: Chapters 26, 27 and 28. Discussion board, blog, journal entry: consider the following: based upon what we have discussed in class, what do you think are the main themes of the novel?
How did it go? If students have a clear understanding of this scene
through performance than it was a good day.
Lesson 14: Food, endings and Redemption
What’s on for today and why: Today students will read the final chapter in class aloud while we prepare one of the recipes found in GraceLand. Abani said food often brings people together as a culture and preparing the food found in the novel is a way of connecting what we have read from the aesthetic—the novel is an intellectually way of expressing oneself—to the practical—food is often a pragmatic way of expressing oneself. In addition, often students cook in younger grades as way for students to create something useful and beautiful, to make connections by physically learning, not passively listening. I, personally, feel these physical connections need to continue in the higher grades are not seen often enough in secondary school classrooms.
What to do: 1. Checking out the web (10 minutes): Look at a few webquests and use a computer to project them onto a screen.
Read aloud and cook (30 minutes): We need a hot plate and a cutting board for this exercise, which I have seen used in lower grade classrooms. If possible, it would be helpful if the teacher could reserve some time in the home economics classroom. Students are making Fried Okra and Sweet Potato. Students break up into groups of five. Each group has a specific job, similar to in home economics classes. One sets/decorates the table, one group cuts the vegetables, one group cooks, one group provides drinks, and one group cleans up. Students take turns reading the last chapter aloud as they eat with their peers.
Homework: Finish the rest of the chapter and study for the unit exam.
Lesson
15: Unit Exam (see attached)/film
projects due
What’s on for today and why: Students will take their unit exam and begin to present their projects
What to do: (20 minutes) Students will take a unit exam based upon the novel. Students will be given quotes of different characters and they will need to identify the speaker, and will be asked what their opinions of the following questions:
What are some important themes addressed in the novel?
What do you think are some ways the author used imagery, symbolism and metaphors?
How did the author use language to give the characters more substance?
Do you think the ending to the story was happy or unhappy? Explain your answer.
This book talks about the significance in the Igbo culture of names. Explain what you feel the significance is of Redemption’s name.
Students will be judged on how well they can support their statements.
Film project presentations: (20 minutes)
Students will continue these presentations until everyone
has presented their project to the group.