In Who’s Eyes?
Overview: This lesson is during a unit of study on beauty. The eight grade English students started the unit by writing “Beauty is” poems and discussing what beauty means to them and their culture. The students are now looking at beauty in other cultures; this lesson is on the Latino culture.
Goals: *The student will be able to discuss the characters, challenges faced by the characters, and the outcome of the short story.
* The student will be able to identify the Latino’s cultural idea of beauty.
* The student will be able to compare and contrast “American” and “Latino” beauty.
* The student will have the opportunity to widen their concept of beauty.
Materials: *An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio by Judith Ortiz Cofer
*Pictures of famous Latino persons
*Latino music
*Spanish dictionary
*Latino magazines
*Scissors, glue, construction paper
Procedure: Day One
*Students were to read the short story Beauty Lessons in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio as homework the night before.
With the desks in a circle, start class by asking what the different Spanish words meant, then move to discussing the story; who were the characters, what happen, how did it end? Then ask the student what they think beauty is in the Latino culture, have them quote the story. Also ask the students if they know what the Latino culture finds attractive. Then pass out the Latino magazines and in groups of two, ask the students to find examples of what they think the culture views as beautiful (do not have the student cut the magazines). Go around the circle and have each group show and explain two of their findings. For homework have students look on the Internet for more examples.
Day Two
Start class by talking to the students about what they found on the Internet. Next, show the class pictures of famous Latino people and ask if they fit the stereotypical idea of beauty. How or how do they not fit the stereotype? How do they fit/not fit into the American stereotype? Next, play a few songs that address in some way beauty; be sure to hand out lyrics with translations in necessary. Do these songs support or not support what they have found so far? Is there anything new addressed in these songs, if so what? As a class, define beauty the best you can from the Latino point of view. (After this is done is all cultures the students will compare and contrast them)
Day Three
Pass out the magazines once again and have the students create a collage that best represents the class difenation of beauty. Does it include things like art, flowers, clothes, etc. that the Latino culture may find “beautiful”? When/if the student finish the collages start the next culture.
Accommodations: This lesson covers a variety of learning levels, from discussion to comparison. This lesson also includes more than one form of media so that the students will have more than one way to relate to the material being presented. This lesson will help the hearing impaired because of the work with photos and the visually impaired will be able to pick up information from the music and reading.
Extensions: It may be beneficial to add another work of literature into the lesson so the students can get another point of view into this part of the Latino Culture. It is also possible to view a move so the students get another visual of the “beauty” of this culture. If possible, have a Latino artist, writer, clothing designer, etc. come talk to the class. If a student is from a Latino area and can genuinely speak of this topic/show pictures have them do so, this will allow the student another chance “to shine.”
Assessment: The students will be graded on a +, - scale based on the effort put into the collages and the ability to show the definition made in class. The students will also receive one point for each time they contribute to the classroom discussion.