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Classroom
Lesson Plan: Whole-Group Seminar Discussion
Teacher:
Dorothy Franklin, DeWitt Clinton Elementary School, Chicago,
Illinois
Ms.
Franklin’s lesson plan is also available as a PDF
file. See Materials Needed, below, for links to student
activity sheets related to the lesson.
Grade
Level: Seventh
Topic:
Whole-group seminar discussion in response to a pairing of
literary texts
Materials
Needed:
- Short
stories "Passing" by Langston Hughes and "Guests in the
Promised Land" by Kristin Hunter
- Student
Activity Sheets
- Teacher
Tools
Background
Information:
Prior to this lesson, students in Ms. Franklin’s class explored
Black History through selections of literature from the time
of slavery through modern history. Students have read excerpts
from primary source documents detailing the struggles of slaves
through the text To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, which
includes spirituals, slave narratives, and letters. They have
also read the short story "Guests in the Promised Land" by
Kristin Hunter, and discussed it, using the seminar discussion
format.
In this lesson, students get a glimpse of African American
life in the 1930s by examining Langston Hughes’ short story,
"Passing." As they discuss the text in a seminar, students
react and respond to the unique perspectives on equality and
oppression presented in this story, and compare it with what
they have discovered in reading other literature.
Lesson
Objectives:
Students will:
- read
for literary experience.
- participate
in a whole-class seminar discussion to enrich their own
understandings of the texts, considering multiple perspectives
and alternative interpretations.
- compare
and contrast how two protagonists cope with racial conflict
in two different short stories.
Expected
Products From Lesson:
- Meaningful
student conversation about the texts
- Rich
understanding of the two short stories, as well as the dilemmas
African Americans faced in the early 1930s
- An
essay comparing and contrasting the two short stories, or
other culminating activity
Instructional
Strategies Implemented:
- Teacher-directed
discussion
- Whole-group
student-response seminar discussion
- Pairing
of two literary texts
- Written
responses
Lesson
Procedures/Activities:
Prior to this Lesson: "Guests in the Promised Land"
- Read
aloud the story "Guests in the Promised Land." Consider
omitting the ending of the story and asking students to
predict what happens. You may want to reveal the ending
after the students offer their thoughts on this.
- Model
a seminar discussion, using a group of students as a demonstration
group. Talk about expectations you have for process and
products, and establish rules for the seminar. Distribute
the "Suggested Seminar
Rules and Participation Rubric" to spur this discussion.
Seminar:
"Passing"
- Tell
students they are going to read the story, "Passing," which
takes place during the same time period as "Guests in the
Promised Land."
- Model
a seminar discussion, using a group of students as a demonstration
group. Talk about expectations you have for process and
products, and establish rules for the seminar. Distribute
the "Suggested Seminar
Rules and Participation Rubric" to spur this discussion.
- Read
aloud "Passing."
- Seminar
Discussion: Remind students of seminar participation expectations.
Consider using sample discussion questions Ms. Franklin
created for "Passing"
and "Guests in the Promised
Land."
- Assign
follow-up writing activity either as homework or class work.
Follow-Up
Activities or Culminating Activities:
Compare
and Contrast Essay
- Students
will compare and contrast "Guests in the Promised Land"
with "Passing," focusing on the protagonists, their actions,
and motives. Consider additional class time for this writing
activity, as well as writing as a homework assignment.
- Familiarize
students with the use of a Venn
diagram as a prewriting activity. Ask some general lead-in
questions to the class to open discussion, such as "Who
are the protagonists of the stories? What makes them the
protagonists? How do the authors use the protagonists to
get their points across?" Encourage them to think about
the protagonists’ actions, beliefs, and feelings.
- Provide
time for students to brainstorm ideas for their Venn diagrams
in either pairs or independently.
- Share
student Venn diagrams. Make a list of traits specific to
each character, as well as traits shared by the protagonists.
Invite ideas from all students.
- Ask
students to select the key differences and similarities
from all the ideas presented. Tell students these are the
key ideas they will focus on in their essays.
- Provide
a writing rubric for students or create one with the students’
input. You can access a model here.
If students have not written a compare/contrast essay before,
they may need guidance and modeling.
- Consider
providing class time for students to draft, conference with
peers, revise, edit, and publish in class.
Alternative
Projects to the Compare and Contrast Essay:
Letter
to the Character
Consider asking students to write a letter of advice to either
Jack or Robert from the other character’s point of view. How
would each character react to how the other dealt with his
problems or his relationships with White people? What suggestions
would each character offer the other about how to deal with
their problems or life situations? Ask students to follow
the format of a friendly letter. Utilize the following Web
links to review the format for a friendly letter:
Create
a Scene
Ask students to create a dramatic scene in which a character
from one of the stories is transported to the other story.
What might be the circumstances of their meeting? What might
be the outcome of their meeting? Ask students to write a mini-play
or act out the scene in class and write a reflection afterwards,
explaining the significance of the scene and why they chose
to craft it that way.
Sentence
Collage
Ask students to create a sentence collage of best lines from
both stories that reveal significant aspects of each character.
As a companion to the collage, ask students to write one or
two paragraphs explaining the collage’s significance.
Assessment:
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