Preface
In April 2006 the Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools accepted fifty-one public
school teachers from ten cities to participate in five national seminars held at Yale. The Initiative is a long-term
endeavor to establish exemplary Teachers Institutes in underserved school districts in states throughout the
country. Following the approach developed in New Haven and demonstrated in Houston, Pittsburgh, and other cities, it
builds upon the success of a four-year National Demonstration Project. Teachers Institutes are educational
partnerships between universities and school districts designed to strengthen teaching and learning in a community's
public schools. Evaluations have shown that the Institute approach promotes precisely those dimensions of teacher
quality that improve student achievement.
Half of the teachers, designated Yale National Fellows, were from seven cities that are planning or exploring the
establishment of a new Teachers Institute: Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Richmond, Santa Fe, and
Wilmington. Other National Fellows were from Teachers Institutes that are members of the National Initiative League
located in Houston, Pittsburgh, and New Haven. The Fellows attended an Organizational Session of the seminars held
in New Haven on May 5-6. The seminars reconvened during a ten-day Intensive Session from July 3-14.
The seminars, which concluded in mid-August when the Fellows submitted their completed curriculum units, included
"Stories around the World in Film," led by Dudley Andrew, Professor of Comparative Literature and of Film Studies;
"The Supreme Court in American Political History," led by Robert A. Burt, Alexander M. Bickel Professor of Law;
"Children's Literature, Infancy to Early Adolescence," led by Paul H. Fry, William Lampson Professor of English;
"Native America: Understanding the Past through Things," led by Mary E. Miller, Vincent Scully Professor of the
History of Art; and "The Science of Global Warming," led by Sabatino Sofia, Professor of Astronomy.
The twin purposes of the national seminars were to provide public school teachers a first-hand acquaintance with
the Institute approach to high quality professional development, and to cultivate their leadership either in a
League Teachers Institute or in the development of a new Teachers Institute. Each participating teacher wrote a
curriculum unit to teach his or her students what they had learned and to share with other teachers locally and,
over the Internet, internationally. The units contain four elements: objectives, teaching strategies, sample lessons
and classroom activities, and lists of resources for teachers and students. The curriculum units National Fellows
wrote are their own; they are presented in five volumes, one for each seminar.
The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute is a permanently endowed unit of Yale University, which undertook the
National Initiative in 2004. The 2006 national seminars were supported in part by grants from the Jessie Ball duPont
Fund and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. The material presented here does not necessarily reflect the views of
the funding agencies.
James R. Vivian
New Haven
September 2006
Introduction by
Dudley Andrew, Professor of Film and Comparative Literature
Telling stories is the most natural thing in the world. Stories orient us and our children; they make sense of
where we are in life, how we got here, why we do the things we do, and what happens if we do what we shouldn't.
Stories also allow us to project a future we hope to make real (utopia) or represent the future we fear (nightmare).
As we know whenever we interrogate someone who has gotten out of line (whose behavior doesn't fit what is supposed
to happen), we often hear stories we are dubious about. For stories don't, on their own, tell us if they are fact or
fiction. But even when they propose something that doesn't exist, they always tell us something true about the
direction of our thoughts and desires. This is why stories are so endearing and why we expect students to perk up
when a good story is introduced in one form or another into the midst of the school day. We want students to be as
eager to get on the story's journey as when they were little kids, listening to a grandmother recount the old days
or having a parent or sibling read a book. Stories draw audiences along and unite them not just to the characters
involved in the plot, but to the storyteller and the others who experience it. They are perhaps the most powerful
means of social cohesion.
And so stories are the most cultural thing in the world. Not only do the topics of stories vary from social group
to social group, but the way they are told changes as well. Supposed universals like chronology and cause-effect
play surprisingly distinct roles for storytellers in Tamil, say, as opposed to ones in Peru. Studying stories from
around the world, we can appreciate those things that all humans seem to value and those things that are different
from our own tradition. We can come to understand how precious are the stories we construct, indeed how precious and
powerful is our way of constructing them. And we can begin to have respect for other views as well as other values
in the world.
Our seminar aimed to get immediately beyond the American context so as to encounter other worlds created by other
peoples. And we did so via foreign films with the idea in mind that when other cultures go to the great trouble of
telling stories in such an expensive medium, they may want to mimic Hollywood, but they are more likely to want to
feature their culture's difference, including its different approach to pictorial and narrative art. We chose films
that seemed intent to be distinctive and we tried, wherever possible, to anchor that distinctiveness in such
cultural practices as we could access: poetry, written stories, graphic design. Cued by a sense of the specific
aesthetic tradition operating in one or another region, we identified the cinematic devices at play in the films we
watched, accounting as best we could for the distinct tone these films sounded and for the values they promoted.
For films can best be seen as perspectives on a common world that seems open to other perspectives. As theorist
Jean Mitry once said, a novel is a world built up through a story, whereas a film is a story cut out of the world.
We know what he means: we go into the theater and nearly pass through the screen to be present in a different world.
In this new environment we look and listen for the clues and signals that let us make sense of it; we narrativize
what is put before us. Of course, the filmmaker has arranged things so that the story that emerges from our viewing
of what's before us is (approximately) what he had in mind in the first place. Through framing, sequencing,
repetition, music, glance-object cutting, and many other devices, the filmmaker organizes a world that seems to
exist on its own but which also looks "a certain way" and so takes on meaning. All of our sessions, and all of the
units that came out of this seminar were attentive to the "certain way" that each film has of approaching the world.
By contrasting Hollywood's way with the way the world appears in African, Iranian, Irish, and Chinese films, we all
expanded our sense of what is possible in cinema, and we countered the prejudices of our own perspective, including
egregious stereotypes perpetrated often unconsciously in American films, TV, advertising, and ordinary conversation.
Watching full-length stories unfold from a different perspective can be humbling; it gives you the time and it gives
you the rationale to adopt a different point of view, if only momentarily. It's hard to imagine a better way to
foster respect for difference and to foster enthusiasm for stories, whether written, spoken, or filmed.
The units produced during this seminar cannot help but clarify for students in both middle and high school how
stories are put together in every medium. Some of the units aim directly to improve the understanding and criticism
of narrative, in part to lift scores on standardized tests. Other units plan to deploy stories as a way of getting
students to look more broadly and more deeply at the world around them. What is the life of children or women like
in Iran? Iranian films can tell you, not just in what they show but in the way they show it and the voice they
adopt. Several other units take on the specific mission, so relevant to urban schools in the USA, of how black
people are represented. Since young people understand their futures in relation to the images that surround them,
this is a crucial topic. Letting American youth "listen" to African filmmakers who have taken on the traditional
role of the griot will liberate them from the limited and dependent roles black Americans are thought to play, at
least as the mass media would have it.
And so these units operate on the three dimensions: first, they provide practical ways by which students can grow
to understand, analyze and use stories in literature, and especially film; second, they demonstrate ways teachers
can use foreign stories to widen the cultural and geographical knowledge base of students in our global world;
third, they pose powerful ethical questions either by using exemplary films that can shock our students into
awareness, or by probing beneath films to find a substrate of ideas that, for better or (more often) for worse,
affect the behavior and attitudes of a given culture, including the very culture the students belong to. May many
"stories around the world in film" find their way into classrooms around America, where, if taught in the ingenious
ways proposed in these units, their power may be released…a power to delight, amaze, and provoke students who
otherwise retreat to the comfort of standard TV and film fare.
Dudley Andrew
Synopsis of the Curriculum Units
06.01.01 - Cultural Literacy through Media: Breaking Down Stereotypes by Building Up Knowledge
by Erin Blazek Ellis
Students are influenced by everything around them—family, religion, peers, school, and the media.
Unfortunately, this means that music videos and television shows play a significant role in their ideas and beliefs.
This unit addresses the stereotypes that develop from students' limited exposure. The unit's goal is to break down
these stereotypes through new knowledge.
The unit begins by teaching students to see the 'stereotypical American' often portrayed in television shows. This
includes the standard gender roles of mischievous boys and beautiful, stay-at-home wives. Students will learn about
how the definition of beauty has changed throughout centuries.
After this introduction, the unit uses films, a novel, and several nonfiction texts to increase students' knowledge
of Middle Easterners and Native Americans. At the end of each study, students will re-examine their initial
stereotypes and use their new knowledge to paint a better picture of each culture. The final project allows students
to choose a topic that fills a gap in their own knowledge.
I designed this six- to ten-week unit for my middle school reading class, but it also meets many social studies
standards. Teachers can adjust it to meet the needs of high school students as well.
(Developed for Intensive Reading, grade 6; recommended for Reading and Social Studies, grades 5-8)
06.01.02 - Life Made Aware: Scripting Lives through Eyes Only
by Bonnee L. Breese Bentum
This curriculum unit will help teachers explain how Black people are depicted in African and American films. It
will expose students to West African cultural groups, giving them a technically visual understanding of
misinformation in the American film industry. It probes matters concerning the visual imagery surrounding American
students including the glorifying of violence; the self-degradation of Blacks; the exploitative lewdness of spirit
in film and the savoir-faire tactics of propaganda tools in American films.
Students will learn to adopt filmmakers' worldview through the telescopic eye of the movie camera and editorial
cut. Using literary terms closely associated with the industry, students will be able to intelligibly question all
aspects of film. Students will understand the making of films, keeping in mind the written story, the use of film
editing and adaptations. This unit offers a learning environment that celebrates the phenomenal intellect of Black
writers, directors and filmmakers, past and present.
This unit is designed for use in the high school classroom setting, fitting the mold for advanced or regular
English language arts classes, social studies classes and students in film and/or cinematography classes. This unit
is also appropriate for use in classrooms of varied racial diversity.
(Developed for English, grade 9, and African American Literature, grades 11-12; recommended for English, African
American Literature, Social Studies, and Film, grades 9-12)
06.01.03 - The Spanish Civil War through Film
by Maria Cardalliaguet
The Spanish Civil War through Film is an interdisciplinary unit that uses films, art, history, literature
and music to help students understand the social and political situation in Spain and in Europe during the late 30s.
It is designed to be taught in upper level classes: Spanish IV and with proper modifications, could also be taught
in AP Spanish, and Spanish III.
As a result of this unit, students will learn about The Spanish Civil War, will learn how to watch and analyze
movies and how to give opinions after analyzing different perspectives of the same event. In order to do so, they
will work with an ample variety of movies related to the Spanish Civil War: they will be able to analyze newsreel
movies, documentaries, state-sponsored movies and fiction movies. They will also deal with poems, articles, pieces
of art and music from that time.
The unit is recommended for Spanish students with an upper-intermediate level since it will be conducted in
Spanish.
(Developed for Spanish III and IV, and AP Spanish, grades 11-12; recommended for Spanish III and IV, and AP
Spanish, grades 11-12)
06.01.04 - Women in World Cinema: Stories of Struggle and Resistance
by Clary W. Carleton
Film offers a unique storytelling experience that students find tremendously engaging. Like quality literature,
film can offer them a challenging text to decode. Ironically, while film is a communication tool that stimulates
student engagement, film generally receives little critical study in the secondary classroom. As a multi-sensory
technology, films contain countless, carefully selected visual and auditory details to be "read" by viewers, making
these powerful texts worthy of serious examination. The focus of this unit will be on cinematic narratives that
involve women struggling against cultural traditions within India, Africa, and Iran. Building on an initial study of
literature from or about each region, this unit undertakes the critical analysis and comparison of their different
film traditions. Using the films Water (Canada/India, 2005), Finzan (Mali, 1989), and The
Circle (Iran, 2000), students will explore how stories reveal the diversity of global culture, address larger
social issues, and uncover the universal aspects of human nature. Strategies will involve the identification and
analysis of technical, aesthetic, and rhetorical choices made by filmmakers via critical viewing, reflective
writing, and collaborative learning.
(Developed for World Literature, grades 9-12; recommended for World Literature, grades 9-12)
06.01.05 - The Delicate Marriage of Theatre and Film
by Michea R. Carter
The Delicate Marriage of Theatre and Film is an exciting theatre arts curriculum designed to inspire and
impassion the study of theatre in the secondary classroom. This curriculum effectively blends the genres of
Classical Japanese Theatre and film into one magnificent educational experience. Students are introduced to the
classical performance elements of Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki Theatre through screening Japanese films which are based
in each of these theatrical styles. This unit is designed to give students a greater appreciation for Classical
Japanese Theatre while gaining a stronger understanding for the elements and power of Japanese film.
This curriculum is the result of an artistic search for a more organic theatrical experience which can be
communicated in the classroom. This search has led the writer to the truest sources of theatre in the east; its
primary form. Without a doubt, Classical Japanese Theatre is one of the most organic forms of theatrical performance
that has survived centuries and is still performed in its original nature.
(Developed for Theatre Arts, grades 10-12; recommended for Theatre Arts, Cultural Education, and Film and Media
Production, grades 6-12)
06.01.06 - Uniting Children of the World through Film: Planning an International Film Festival for Middle School Students
by Lynn W. Marsico
This unit provides suggestions for presenting five films about children from around the world to students:
Children of Heaven from Iran, Not One Less from Mainland China, Into the West from Ireland,
Rabbit Proof Fence from Australia, and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun from Senegal, Africa. A desire
to make U.S. children members of a world community is the strongest goal for this unit, but other objectives are met
along the way. Each film provides a sense of common humanity and at the same time supplies clarifying and important
images of local landscape, cityscape, family interactions, religion, and a whole host of cultural information. The
films offer profiles of children with fortitude, courage, and strength of spirit. These visual glimpses into the
lives of children in Ireland, Iran, China, Africa, and Australia furnish instantaneous opportunities for increasing
empathy and understanding.
Several categories of information are provided for each film. These are: a brief background of film in the country
or region represented; a synopsis of the film and background information about cultural issues, the director, and
relevant historical information; ideas for teaching an element of filmmaking or cinematography with each film; and a
brief discussion of a national or regional literary style that is evident in the film. Although the unit is planned
for students in a middle school for the creative and performing arts, parts of it are suitable for a film studies
class, world cultures class, or any curriculum studying one of the five countries covered in this unit. The
curriculum might also be valuable to Language Arts teachers interested in reinforcing literary concepts and
terminology.
(Developed for Creative Writing, Media, and Drama, grades 6-8; recommended for World Cultures, Communications and
English, grades 6-12)
06.01.07 - Oral Tradition and Memory in African Film
by Claudia L. Miller
This unit is designed to imbue seventh and eighth grade middles school students with a deepening awareness of
African storytelling through African produced film. Students will find cultural relevance in films heretofore
unavailable to them; indeed, this is an innovative methodology which will challenge both the student and the teacher
while adhering to state standards for Language Arts. Lesson plans encompass the use of a portfolio with graphic
organizer, art projects, open-ended questions, and a student-as-teacher in class project. Elements of African
storytelling will be studied with the role of the African griot as the transmitter of ancient secrets leading to a
boy's destiny in Keita, a rite of passage film produced in Mali. Wend Kuuni is the story of a mute
boy, displaced from his village and raised in the bush. The research on the background of African storytelling and
on these films is included in the unit. The elements of filmmaking will be presented, appropriate to the level of
middle school students, and the unit includes lesson plans dealing with cinematic conventions. Thus, the students
can view the films in entirety first, studying the subtitles, and then watch clips or short sections of them in
order to analyze the filmmaker's task. Students will enjoy studying the oral traditions of African storytelling with
a new, realistic vision through film.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 7; recommended for Language Arts, grades 7-8)
06.01.08 - I Search - Exploring Culture and Gender through Films Made in or about China
by Samuel A. Reed
This unit draws from both social studies content and literature to allow students to conduct research to better
understand culture. It is intended for middle grade students (grades 6th-8th) and revolves around an essential
question, "Who Am I?" In this unit students explore Chinese culture through films, non fiction and fiction
literature. The intention is that by exploring Chinese culture through research and films students may come to
better understand their selves. The first part of the unit involves researching and analyzing Chinese history and
culture in general and selected Chinese films in particular. Next the unit will analyze and compare cultures and
gender issues facing young people in China with those of typical American students. Then students will design
multi-media presentations on their findings about Chinese Culture, while concurrently producing an I-search, first
person point of view narrative report. The unit will culminate with digital and media presentations exploring the
theme Who Am I and How am I More Alike than Different from people from China?
(Developed for Social Studies, grade 6; recommended for Social Studies and Language Arts, grades 6-8)
06.01.09 - From Africa to America: The Untold Story
by Beverly Rice-Hooper
Hollywood filmmakers have depicted the African-American race with such degradation that in order to reclaim the
minds of young African-Americans the true story must be told. I have chosen four films and four novels to give
students a direct view of where the African-American race has been to help them understand where they need to go.
The films are: Sankofa, by Ethiopian Haile Gerima, Amistad directed by Steven Spielberg, Hotel
Rwanda by filmmaker Terry George, and Beloved, screenplay by Akosua Busia a prince from Ghana.
Companion novels are: Kindred, by Octavia Butler, Mutiny on the Amistad, by Howard Jones, Hotel
Rwanda, (Bringing the True Story of and African Hero to Film), and Beloved, by Toni Morrison. These
authors and filmmakers are diverse in race and gender; they produced their works under quite different
circumstances.
We will highlight the differences in visual styles of the filmmakers and writing styles of the authors as each
takes up themes of oppression and the quest for liberation. Slavery and the impact of African history on the U.S.
today must be understood by students so they can appreciate their past and the struggle, pain, and sacrifices, of
others.
(Developed for English and Language Arts, grades 9-12; recommended for English and Language Arts, grades 6-12)
06.01.10 - Raising Social Consciousness
by Jennifer Leigh Vermillion
The focus of this unit is fostering multiculturalism and social consciousness in tenth grade English Language Arts
students. Using family life as a platform, the unit uses film and nonfiction texts to explore issues of social
concern in foreign nations. The material focuses on apartheid in South Africa, the Travellers in Ireland, women in
Afghanistan and the one-child policy in the People's Republic of China. Each of these issues and the skills required
to understand them are scaffolded to ensure student growth. Carefully selected nonfiction texts promote reading
skills and create active and informed readers. The films are engaging and offer opportunities to promote literacy
and awareness of social issues. Explicit analysis of the films will provide students with critical thinking skills
as well as a foundation for the appreciation of foreign cinema. This unit utilizes a discovery learning process that
engages the students and challenges them to perpetuate the process of acceptance and understanding of other
cultures. Students will engage in discussions, group activities, and written activities that prepare students to
engage in lifelong literacy as independent learners. The content and culminating unit activities actively promote
visual and cultural literacy as well as introduce the idea of social activism.
(Developed for English Language Arts, grade 10; recommended for English Language Arts and Social Studies, grades
9-12)
06.01.11 - The Rhetorical Nature of Narrative
by Eric D. Whiteside
The goal of this unit is a common one for the high school English teacher: to teach students to read closely, think
deeply about what they have read, and demonstrate this in writing. What is unusual about this unit is that I have
chosen to use techniques derived from film studies to accomplish this.
Film studies utilizes segmentation to analyze the structure of texts. Segmentation provides the means to
systematically take a text apart and examine the relationships between the parts, analyzing them for the ways they
work together to craft meanings. This unit seeks to teach students to segment a film first and then apply that same
tool to a written text.
The long-range goal is to introduce the complexities of narrative structures into the classroom. After analyzing
multiple narratives for possible meanings, the class will examine the ways that narratives themselves operate in
accordance with specific societal and cultural demands and expectations. This introduces the beginnings of a
conversation about ideology and narrative into the classroom. Hopefully the students will begin to realize that
thinking of literature rhetorically reveals much about what we as a culture think about ourselves.
(Developed for AP Language, grade 11, AP Literature, grade 12, and Film, grades 10-12; recommended for Film Studies
and AP English Language and Composition, grades 10-12, and AP English Literature and Composition, grades 11-12)
06.01.12 - Back to the Future: How Earlier Art Forms Have Influenced Contemporary Cinema in Ireland, Iran, and Africa
by Laura Viviana Sturgeon
This unit started with the idea of teaching students about different cultures through cinema, but in the process of
refining my topic, I came to realize I could also teach my students to understand a particular region's cinema
through its culture. This symbiosis was a revelation to me, and I hope students will delight in it as much as I
have. Students can learn from the movies a great deal about a nation's or region's history, geography, and people,
including their values, hopes, and fears, but to understand the way filmmakers express these through cinema, it
helps to know something beforehand of the culture from which these movies spring. In analyzing the cinema of
Ireland, Iran, and Africa, students will uncover the artistic and cultural traditions out of which movies from each
of these regions arise. This process of discovery should help students better appreciate the films. Students may be
surprised to learn that the novel or short story is not necessarily the starting point from which all cinemas have
grown. Arguably, poetry, visual arts, and oral tales have had, in many cases, an even greater influence on
non-Hollywood films. This unit offers teachers an array of works in these other genres to use as vehicles to help
students understand and enjoy the international films they will see. It is written with ninth grade students in
mind, but can be adapted for students in grades 8 through 12.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 9, and World History and Language, grade 12; recommended for English Literature
and Language Arts, grade 9)
Introduction by
Robert A. Burt, Alexander M. Bickel Professor of Law
The Supreme Court has played a significant role in American political history; but there is considerable dispute
about the actual practical effects of its rulings, about the desirability of any clearly demonstrable effects, and
about the democratic legitimacy of its interventions. Our seminar examined landmark Court decisions, both in our
past history and in our own times. We considered Marbury v. Madison (1803), the foundational ruling for
judicial authority; Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which attempted to rebuff Northern attacks on slavery and,
many would say, helped to provoke the Civil War; Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which overturned
state-sponsored race discrimination and, many would say, precipitated the modern Civil Rights movement; Roe v.
Wade (1973), which invalidated state abortion restrictions and fueled a continuing national political and
social controversy; Bush v. Gore (2000) which made George W. Bush president and, many would say, cast an aura
of illegitimacy over his accession; Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) which upheld race-based affirmative action
admissions policy in universities; and Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which overturned state laws criminalizing
consensual homosexual relations.
The curriculum units prepared by the Fellows address some specific political or social implication of the Supreme
Court's work. Some of the units directly deal with the cases we discussed — Justin Boucher on the development
of the idea of judicial supremacy in Marbury, Dred Scott, and Bush v. Gore; and Danielle Gothie on the
implementation of Brown v. Board of Education. Other units used these cases as starting-points for exploring
specific themes in the Court's work — Florilis Davis, Jr., on the development of individual rights in
Brown as well as Gideon v. Wainright (regarding criminal defendants' entitlement to state-appointed
attorneys). Elouise White-Beck on the implications of the right to education recognized in Brown for
protecting freedom of learning and thought generally. Still other units examined different cases with similar
thematic exploratory goals — Deborah Samuel on the Court's response to state discrimination against Chinese
immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century. And other units used Court decisions to illuminate general social
issues — Daniel Addis on rhetorical techniques of advocacy revealed by comparing the majority and dissenting
opinions in Walker v. City of Birmingham and Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail (where
he was imprisoned as a result of the Supreme Court's decision) and Jeffrey Joyce on the social psychology of
obedience or resistence to law.
All of the units provide a rich perspective on the basic underlying question that we considered in our seminar
discussions — that is, the actual practical effects of Supreme Court rulings, the desirability of any such
effects and the legitimacy of the Court's claim to authority in resolving these intensely disputed issues.
Robert A. Burt
Synopsis of the Curriculum Units
06.02.01 - The Language of Justice
by Daniel J. Addis
In this unit, the students will find information about Walker v. City of Birmingham and learn about the
Civil Rights movement, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and the Constitutional questions involved in the case. The
unit contains edited versions of Justice Stewart's opinion of the court by and Chief Justice Warren and Justice
Brennan's dissenting opinions. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" must be obtained by the teacher. In groups, the
students will analyze the reasoning and language of assigned sections of these texts and prepare and do a
presentation, either orally or on Power Point. The class will highlight and take notes. The students, working
together in groups, will prepare an outline for a paper that compares the four texts, and, in the computer lab, they
will work on their paper for three class periods and finish it on their own. As they work through this unit, the
students will learn to interpret, analyze, and synthesize prose and develop that ability, learn to work
cooperatively, and develop their public speaking skills, their capacity to articulate their thoughts, and their
ability to think on their feet.
(Developed for AP Language and Composition, grade 11; recommended for English, grades 11-12)
06.02.02 - The Powers We Accept: A Brief Unit on the Supreme Court
by Justin M. Boucher
This unit seeks to explore the role of the Supreme Court in the political history of the United States through a
very brief study of three landmark cases. The goal will be to explore these cases in depth, reading both the
opinions and history surrounding those opinions in a way that will illuminate not only the powers of the court but
also public reaction to its decisions. In this way, the students will compare the court of Marbury vs. Madison with
the court of Bush vs. Gore, evaluate the positions and opinions of the court, and explore in relative depth the case
of Dred Scott vs. Sanford. It is the goal of this unit to introduce the court, its history and some of its processes
in an extremely concise way.
This unit makes use of a variety of teaching tools to allow students to explore the court in, what I hope is a fair
and balanced way. Students will look into the various cases through both primary and secondary sources. They will
evaluate the opinions of the court in various situations, as well as writing their own opinion. The unit culminates
with a project comparing a modern case (Bush vs. Gore) with earlier cases (Marbury and Dred Scott) to allow students
to develop their own perspective on the court from a modern point of view.
(Developed for US History I, grade 10; recommended for US History and Civics, grades 9-12)
06.02.03 - Why Do We Have to Rely on the Supreme Court? An Interactive Examination of How the Supreme Court Shapes Policy through Individual Rights and Public Opinion
by Florilis Davis
This curriculum unit is designed to have the students understand the Supreme Court's role in American political
history, regarding the development of individual rights and the role of public opinion in the Supreme Court's
decision making. The students will interact as peer teachers to gain insight into their thoughts regarding the
Supreme Court's role in shaping policy. This will provide a deeper understanding of the thought processes of Supreme
Court justices as the students prepare "briefs" on important legal issues regarding individual rights. The
Curriculum plan will be a vehicle used to infuse the ideas shared from the seminar, heading straight into the
classroom, in unit lesson plan format. For example, I plan to have lessons focus on certain cases (Brown vs. Board
of Education and Gideon vs. Wainwright). Teacher and student interaction is critical for this unit to be seen as
practical to the student and the teacher. The quality of interaction will make this unit stimulating for everyone
involved.
(Developed for AP U.S. History, grade 11; recommended for American Government and American History, grades 11-12)
06.02.04 - Justice in Action: Reactions to Brown v. Board of Education
by K. Gothie
The curriculum unit "Justice in Action: Reactions to Brown v. Board of Education" is designed to be implemented in
a fifth grade classroom as part of their social studies curriculum. The overall objective for this unit will be to
have students understand the significance of a particular event, such as a Supreme Court ruling or an act of civil
disobedience, in the broader context of an overall movement or series of events that ultimately change our society.
The unit consists of four elements that will enable the student to be able to define the purpose of the Constitution
and the impact of the Bill of Rights and its amendments on their present day lives. The overarching theme of the
unit is justice. The students will investigate and analyze the concept of justice. The main activity for the unit is
an independent research project whereby the students will investigate events that transpired in the South in
aftermath of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that led to school desegregation. A final written
assessment will determine the student's understanding of the complex nature of justice in action as the South
struggled to desegregate their schools.
(Developed for Social Studies, grade 5; recommended for Social Studies, Civics, and Government, grade 5)
06.02.05 - Obedience and Defiance: The Rule of Law in American History
by Jeffrey C. Joyce
This unit will be useful for both an American history class and an American government class. It is also useful for
Advanced Placement classes of the same variety. The unit is meant for students on the high school level. The unit
itself deals with the obedience and defiance of Americans to the rule of law over the course of our history.
Specifically, it is designed to require students to absorb the arguments presented in our history through research
about pinnacle moments that have centered on the conflict between those with the willingness to abide to the law and
those who seek to make drastic changes to the law as it exists. The unit will culminate in a role-play exercise. The
long and the short of my rationale for this particular exercise is that it provokes students, who clearly have the
penchant for adolescent rebellion, into inquiring about prominent figures in our nation's history while concurrently
tapping into characteristics many of them may possess. My hope is that students will not only gather important
information important to our understanding of American history but also connect themselves to it through dramatic
presentation. Adjunct to this educational exercise is a voyage into the field of social psychology. Students will
use theories of prominent theorists to evaluate our history and the people who have worked to profoundly reshape it.
The unit ends when students have completed a series of seven role play reenactments and subsequently used the
information gathered from them to answer this question: Over the course of American History have the people of this
nation been a defiant rebellious sort or a compliant and conformist group: express the validity of your position
with historical evidence.
(Developed for AP U..S History, grade 11; recommended for AP U.S. History, AP Government, and U.S. History, grades
11-12)
06.02.06 - Chinese Immigration, Exclusion and the Chinese-American Experience
by Deborah Samuel
Chinese immigration to this nation is a shameful chapter in our history. Chinese men flocked to our western coast
in search of gold in the 1840's and in search of work on the railroads later in the century. Many were lured under
false pretenses, and streets paved with gold and opportunity were not to be found as expected. Discrimination was
awful and intense. The efforts made by the Chinese to protect their rights in our court system set many important
precedents for immigration and for civil rights. This curriculum unit tells that story. The teacher can use this
unit to expand that knowledge base for themselves as well as their students; to produce an empathy for Asian
Americans; to provide background information that will assist students in their understanding of the characters in
the novels about the Chinese-American experience; to reduce racial prejudice against Asian Americans as we see that
fundamentally, we share similar struggles and goals no matter what our race. It could be used in a history class as
well as an English class in preparation for reading literature involving Chinese Americans.
(Developed for English, grades 11-12; recommended for History and English, High School grades)
06.02.07 - Our Right to Read, to Learn, and to Think: Ray Bradbury's Prediction
by Elouise E. White-Beck
Fahrenheit 451 is the focus of this unit which utilizes Supreme Court decisions to illustrate how American
laws and judgments determine who is allowed to learn, what they are allowed to learn, and where they may learn it.
Issues of censorship and freedom to think are brilliantly depicted in Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel and his
accuracy in predicting events occurring in today's world speaks to contemporary students. Taught in a 3-week time
frame to 9th grade scholars, the unit provides background in Supreme Court cases involving education and continues
through reading and discussion of both the novel and Francois Truffaut's 1966 film, with essay questions, video
viewing forms, and a day-by-day reading schedule.
(Developed for English 1 Pittsburgh Scholars Program, grade 9; recommended for English 1 Scholars, grade 9)
Introduction by
Paul H. Fry, William Lampson Professor Emeritus of English
The seminar in which these curriculum units were written was called "Children's Literature: From Infancy to
Adolescence," but I have preferred to entitle this volume "Children's Literature: Incentives to Read for All Ages,"
because there is no unit in the volume for which instilling the habit of reading is not a central concern. With
great pleasure we primarily read some "classics" of children's literature in the seminar, and many of the units
adapted those stories and novels to their purposes, but all of these units, as is quite proper, are chiefly about
the students, and the books that may serve them best. The volume contains materials for students all the way from K
to 12, in addition to a unit for teachers of students with learning disabilities. The units have in common a deep
concern about the literacy crisis facing many public schools, together with an awareness that meeting mandated
testing standards must be accompanied by a content- and quality-driven approach that makes reading fun and important
to each student as an individual, not just a hurdle to be cleared and then avoided in the future.
Several teachers in the seminar saw the interest of an idea I had floated in a YNI Open House before the seminar
began, an idea I had picked up from a unit written for me by a teacher in a New Haven seminar several years ago. It
consists simply in noticing that older students can profitably revisit books they read or had read to them when much
younger, and understand them now in a new way. The burden simply of parsing such books is no longer a problem (as it
may still be for many trying to read "age-appropriate" books), and as a result students can luxuriate in the broad
field of the critical reader, learning that books aren't just words to be read but can also be interpreted and
applied to real life. The first three units here have this interest in common, using elementary literature as a
means of interpreting through illustration (Thomas), learning the "elements of literature" before finding these
elements in grade-level literature (Vari), and, in successive years, introducing themes of character development
that are then taken up in age-appropriate texts (Sheila Carter-Jones).
A number of teachers — like Carter-Jones — saw a close connection between reading and character
development, a broad notion that I'll extend to include the realization of personal identity, with the sense of
integrity and emplacement that comes with it. In order, we have a unit that teaches children's experiences of war as
a result of the teacher's well-founded belief that her students are too full of justifiable personal resentment to
care as they should for the sufferings of others (Isabel Carter); a unit that recommends "bibliotherapy" as a means
of empowering students to choose books that allow them to come to terms with personal, problems (Short); a unit that
explains the importance of getting students to discriminate between relevant but worthwhile and unreflectingly
self-mirroring books (Amos); and a unit that actually uses the metaphor of the "mirror" to mediate through
children's literature between Hispanic cultures that consider themselves to be at odds — the descendants of
the Conquistadors and the "Aztlan" population descended from intermixture with the Aztecs (Wasser).
Three units saw the advantage of making students understand that books aren't just books but kinds of books
by teaching a specific genre. The first of these stakes its claim on the belief that all readers have a special
relation to the literary realm of "fantasy," and offers a syllabus of books that can be called fantasies (McGowen).
Two others concern Trickster stories in the folklore tradition. One, for first through third graders, offers careful
definitions of folklore and folktales while zeroing in on African and African-American trickster stories and showing
how they can be studied electronically in Computer Skills classes (Sorrentino). The other offers teachers of high
school seniors an alternative to standard Senior research projects by suggesting that trickster figures (not just
African but from around the world) are excellent topics for research (Humphrey).
Two units, finally, address the uses of children's literature in forming reading habits in the newly literate and
marginally literate. One of these explains how picture books, stories for older children with illustrations, and
films based on children's books can be used to introduce students with learning disabilities to rudimentary forms of
interpretive understanding (Franklin); and the other argues that students from grades one to three who are already
being prepared for their first mandated test profit more from reading traditional stories taught in the right way
than from doing drills or reading books geared to the occasion (Kennedy).
This seems to me a remarkably comprehensive volume, and I hope it persuades many teachers that children's
literature has a great many uses in classrooms for all ages.
Paul H. Fry
Synopsis of the Curriculum Units
06.03.01 - Picture This: A Journey through Fairy Tale Production
by Sara E. McGrimley
Both the reading level of entering students and the new CAPT mandates are forcing us, as teachers, to find new ways
to incorporate both reading and writing across the disciplines. This unit is a great way to incorporate these skills
along with the expected art elements and principles of design for high school students. If one provides students
with literature that is not intimidating, they can focus on themes and construction, instead of worrying about
comprehension. In this unit students will read and analyze a variety of different versions of Cinderella, The
Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood while having a variety of other fairy tales available to
them. Students will also be challenged to compare a variety of different styles of illustration and will then use
Molly Bang's Picture This to learn the elements of creating a composition. After much comparison and
discussion about fairy tales, students will be challenged to write and illustrate their own fairy tale, including
all of the key elements they have identified in literature and art.
(Developed for Art, grades 9-12; recommended for Art and English, grades 9-12)
06.03.02 - Teaching the Elements of Literature Using Stories from Infancy to Age-appropriate
by Thomas J. Vari
This unit entitled "Teaching the Elements of Literature Using Stories from Infancy to Age-appropriate" is designed
to use fictional stories from all reading levels in ascending order, starting with elementary stories and concluding
with the complexities of the fiction novel. By first reading elementary texts, the students will identify the
structures of the story in order to apply prior knowledge to the next, more complex, story. As each successive story
gets more difficult, longer, and closer to the students' age-appropriate reading level, students are transferring
knowledge from their prior reading and applying it at each new level. While this in-class study of the Elements of
Literature is unfolding, students are reading an individual selection in order to apply their knowledge, once more,
in the form of a reader response composition. In this composition students are asked first to summarize their
selection, then to identify and analyze some of the elements from the story (at least three), and finally to offer
an evaluation of the text. Students will then write a story of their own (prompted or original), using the elements
to create a work of fiction. The idea behind this unit is to construct an equalization strategy for any group of
students who enter the classroom with various reading abilities.
(Developed for English Language Arts, grades 9-11; recommended for English Language Arts, grades 7-12)
06.03.03 - Reading as an Act of Creating Value: Character Education in a Public Montessori School
by Sheila Lorraine Carter-Jones
This curriculum unit gives a theoretical basis for the need to present character education in a Montessori public
school. The idea that reading is a valuable act through which students can learn to interact with people is brought
into concrete form in activities and writing. The quality of prepared activities, discussions and writing
assignments that encourage self-motivated learning is reflective of the Montessori philosophy of education. This
unit seeks to provide some creative dramatic activities that guide students to recall sensory experiences,
discipline the movement of the body and body parts, and endeavor to develop creative critical thinking. Much
discussion occurs in debriefing that is based on carefully developed teacher questions aimed at reflecting
critically on characters' thoughts, words, and behaviors.
This curriculum is developed around a unique situation in that I am the only Communications teacher at the middle
school level of the k-8 school where I teach. This affords me the opportunity to teach and learn with the students
over a three year period of time. To make use of such an opportunity, I have developed this curriculum so that a
quality of character education would be discussed at each grade level. As well, the unit calls for a reread of a
previous grades novel that is required reading on the school district scope and sequence. This reread of a text is
called a text revisited or T-R. The second reading is for character education: engaging the text in a different way
than for reading and comprehension. For sixth grade the T-R I is I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly, for
seventh grade the T-R is Holes and for eighth grade it is The Giver. Also incorporated in the reading
is a picture storybook for each grade level that has a similar theme as each of the longer novels. The picture story
books offer a nonthreatening way to begin to look at respect, justice and courage as qualities of character
education being put forth in this unit.
(Recommended for English, Theatre Arts, and Communications, grades 6-12)
06.03.04 - Examining War through a Child's Perspective
by Isabel Guerrero Carter
In the past few decades civilian casualties in wars have increased. Half of those casualties are children. It is
important for high school students to understand that over 2 million kids have died from wars; that over 8,000 of
them are killed by landmines each year; that those who aren't killed, but are directly affected, are either severely
wounded, recruited as child soldiers, raped, and/or orphaned (UNICEF). Rather than wait for my students to learn
half-truths about the damage war can do to civilians, in particular children, I want to expose them to this topic by
way of children's literature.
By exposing my students to these experiences via children's fiction and nonfiction literature, I hope that they
will achieve a broader view of the world. I expect that my students will develop sympathy for the plight of others
as they learn about the horrors some children face. Along the way, I intend to teach my students to develop a
critical eye for texts; improving their ability to make decisions about the validity and purpose of literature.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 9; recommended for Language Arts, grade 9)
06.03.05 - Hey Wait! I Think I've Read about Something Like That! Using Bibliotherapy to Help Teenagers Cope with Issues in Their Lives
by Katrina Graham Short
Adolescents face issues that seem almost insurmountable, from acne to physical, mental, and substance abuse,
homelessness, loneliness, and gender choices. Who can help them? Parents are often absent from the home, or are very
ambivalent about the issues their children face. Educators might be considered the second choice for help. Our job
is to instruct and help prepare students for the outside world. One way that teachers can help is through
bibliotherapy.
Davis and Wilson point out that "developmental bibliotherapy. . . [is that which can help to] sensitize. . .
students. . . to either potential or realized problems that occur during life" (Davis and Wilson, p. 2). Admittedly,
teachers are usually not licensed therapists. But this is one way for teachers to help their students.
This unit presents lesson plans and suggested annotated bibliographies of books that can help students address
various issues. It is built around S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, which deals with many of the issues teens
face. It involves building careful relationships with students to foster a safe atmosphere for conversation.
Students may then be willing to accept the teacher's suggestion for books that portray a character dealing
positively with a serious issue which might affect the student herself.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 7; recommended for Language Arts, grades 6-8)
06.03.06 - Students: Take Charge of Your Reading
by Lorena Amos
The purpose of this curriculum unit is to motivate students to become critical thinkers, responsible learners, and
lifelong readers. This curriculum unit will explore ways to engage African American high school students from grades
nine to twelve to connect to the text. This unit will guide students to interpret, analyze and evaluate their
reading as they cross the bridge to independent reading. Students will examine what they themselves bring to the
text and then look again through various lenses based on gender, class, race history and ideology. Students will
evaluate the literary quality of the text by creating a rubric with which to judge all books. The culminating
assessment will be book reviews in a literary newsletter created by the students.
As students feel comfortable reading stories for young children, they will be empowered to critique the stories and
study the authors, the history and the background of the writing. After they gain confidence, students will read and
use multiple perspectives of history, gender, class, ideology, and race to critique an assigned text, Macbeth
alongside the "urban" book, The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah, and a recommended book, Their Eyes
Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston.
(Developed for English, grades 9 and 12; recommended for English, grades 9-12)
06.03.07 - From Aztecs to Aztlan: Building Cultural Bridges through Literature
by Nancy Ann Wasser
This unit provides a cultural bridge from Aztec/Hispanic Mexico to Indo/Hispanic New Mexico primarily through
reading literature from three historical periods in the development of the Chicano culture, beginning with the
Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, through migration to the North of Spanish and Indian peoples and coming to rest in
the present time. The focus on the mythical kingdom of Aztlan serves to tie the stories together in a seamless river
of time and to evoke a positive interpretation of the people and events that caused this cultural fusion. Students
explore these connections through ideas, art and activities gleaned from the literature. They also gain a valuable
historical perspective.
The unit is written for bilingual (English/Spanish) fourth grade children, but contains many adaptations suitable
for delivery on a third through sixth grade level. By employing the teacher resource texts, the unit would be useful
for high school and college students. The duration of the unit is an hour a day for one quarter. The idea of
studying connections between any two ethnic groups that grow up side by side is a viable extension activity of this
unit.
(Developed for Language Arts, Social Studies, and New Mexico History, grade 4; recommended for English, Language
Arts, and Social Studies, grades 4-6 and High School grades)
06.03.08 - Fantasy Books: There's a Whole Other World Out There
by Karlene E. McGowen
This unit will focus on reading and analyzing the genre of fantasy. There are some specific aspects of fantasy that
make it a genre of its own. We will study these aspects and learn what makes this genre so engrossing. In addition
to reading, we will do some writing. It is amazing how easy it is for kids to create the supernatural. This unit
includes a lesson to have pairs or small groups of students write an original piece of fantasy with illustrations
— basically, to create a fantasy picture story book.
This unit specifically focuses on the use of fantasy books. Novels and picture books are used to teach the seven
motifs of fantasy, which are: magic, otherworlds, universal themes, heroism, special character types, talking
animals, and fantastic objects. The unit uses books that are for use in a sixth grade classroom. However, the
stories can be used in any classroom, especially the picture books.
This unit also teaches seven literary elements, which are: plot, characterization, point of view, conflict,
foreshadowing/flashback, tone/mood, and setting. These literary elements are looked at in fantasy picture story
books as well as fantasy novels.
This is a great unit because it teaches the skills every English or Reading teacher needs to incorporate in their
class, but uses stories that are popular with students today. We all know students these days devour any fantasy
novel they can get a hold of. This unit takes that passion for reading and utilizes it for teaching basic concepts.
(Developed for Reading, grade 6; recommended for Reading and English, grades 5-8)
06.03.09 - Using African and African-American Folktales in a Genre Study
by Rita A. Sorrentino
The curriculum unit "Using African and African-American Folktales in a Genre Study" is planned for an elementary
multi-age classroom to coincide with the celebration of Black History Month. The unit will be a partnership of
language arts and technology. This four-week curriculum is designed for primary students in grades 1-3 but can
certainly be fleshed out for upper elementary students in fourth and fifth grades. The reading and study of African
and African-American folktales will help students make connections to their cultural heritage as they engage a
variety of texts. Students can experience the African values of vitality and inventiveness as they interact with
small and clever tricksters and characters with Olympian strength and iron will.
Each week part of the lesson will be conducted in the classroom with follow-up lessons and activities in the
computer lab. Participation in this unit will help students acquire a schema for the folktale genre. In keeping with
the oral tradition of storytelling, they will work toward a final project of designing and publishing a podcast.
Education and entertainment become partners in learning as students appreciate how these African and
African-American folktales are "equipment for living" (Kenneth Burke) since they are part of our present life,
connecting us to the past and guiding us to the future.
(Developed for Language Arts, Computer Science, Social Studies, and Black History Month, grades 1-3; recommended
for Language Arts, Integrating Technology in Multi-Age Class, Social Studies, and Black History Month, grades 1-5)
06.03.10 - The Big Con: Tricking the High School Student into Writing a Research Paper
by Sarah B. Humphrey
This curriculum unit explores the teaching of the research paper by using trickster literature. It is geared
towards students who have found the research paper challenging or have had yet to complete one. Each step of the
research process is broken down for the students. High school students will research the various tricksters from
different cultures and will explore the relevance of the trickster mythology to the culture in question. Students
will also read a piece of literature outside of class and will identify the trickster(s) in the work as well as the
role that the character plays in the work. They will also identify the author's reason for using that character.
This unit contains instructions for teaching the research paper on the high school level and contains strategies
that work no matter what the topic is. A sample library lesson and classroom activities are included.
(Developed for World Literature, grade 12; recommended for Language Arts, grades 9-12)
06.03.11 - Children's Literature for Students with Reading Challenges Using Pictures Books and Film
by Jurline Tarver Franklin
This curriculum unit is designed to teach children's literature to students with developmental disabilities, using
children's picture books and films adapted from those books. Developmental disabilities include mental retardation,
autism, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, and spina bifida. Children's picture books offer an introduction to
literacy in a non-threatening atmosphere through vibrant colors and lively illustrations. The books will include
folktales and fantasy stories about talking animals, stories with moral lessons, and stories about friendship and
family. The films consist both of live action and animated versions. With intensive instructions using reading
comprehension strategies, children can achieve basic reading skills. Word recognition strategies such as sight
words, phonetic analysis, syntactic analysis, and semantic analysis will be used to strengthen their oral and
written vocabulary skills. Activities will include reading aloud, shared reading, completing story maps, working
with graphic organizers, exploring web sites, and making personal pictures books using digital cameras. Some of the
elements of stories the students are expected to learn and identify are: themes, plot lines, main characters,
settings, types of conflicts, problems, solutions, comparison and contrast. The curriculum unit will meet the
standards of the Houston Independent School District's Functional Academic Curriculum for Exceptional Students
(F.A.C.E.S.) Language Arts Module.
(Developed for Language Arts, Middle School grades; recommended for Language Arts and Life Skills, Middle School
grades, and Language Arts, grades K-2)
06.03.12 - Using Traditional Literature to Address Standards
by Alison B. Kennedy
The unit, Using Traditional Literature to Address Standards, tries to make current assessment practices more
meaningful within early childhood classrooms. By using classic children's picture books and differentiated
instruction, it shows teachers a way to adhere to mandated standards effectively, and simultaneously give their
students a love of literature. The unit uses some of young students' favorite storybooks to show how they can help
to teach various elements of literature. It will also give a variety of ways in which of these books can be used to
differentiate instruction, including dramatization. The unit will help students to have a strong grasp on the
elements of literature, and give them the tools with which to discuss and write about these elements.
(Developed for Literacy, grades 1-2; recommended for Literacy, grades K-2)
Introduction by
Mary E. Miller, Sterling Professor of History of Art and Dean of Yale College
Let's imagine the Americas before 1492, or before 1620, or 1534. What was the world like? How did this rugged
continent first yield to Amerindians, and what did they make of it? How did they solve the fundamental human
problems of first, shelter and food, and then, eventually, society, culture, and civilization? How did they care for
children, and what solutions did they come to for their dead? Did they dream, and how were those dreams made
manifest? How did they respond to the catastrophic events of their times, whether El Niños that drenched the
western coast of South America or devastating droughts that made the US Southwest essentially uninhabitable. What
strategies led to their success, according to Charles Mann's new book, 1491, where we started our
investigation? How did they cope with the invasion of Europeans, who brought, as Jared Diamond has written, Guns,
Germs, and Steel (1997)?
Following initial work at a long weekend seminar in May, eleven teachers from the public schools of New Haven,
Connecticut; Houston, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Duvall County, Florida; Richmond, Virginia; Wilmington,
Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, met for two intensive weeks in New
Haven, Connecticut, at Yale University, for a Yale National Initiative seminar, "to strengthen teaching in public
schools." We met on a daily basis for two hours every morning; at a minimum, we met individually for half to
three-quarters of an hour in May, during the first two days of the July seminar, and during the last two days of the
seminar. Fellows prepared a prospectus for research, and then completed a first draft by the end of the July
session. They submitted a second draft on August 1 and a final draft on August 15. All members completed every
aspect of the seminar.
In this seminar, participants considered the strategies for success and adaptation all across the Americas, with
attention to the tangible materials that survive, from drinking cups to roads, from temple hearths to corncribs. We
looked at how space is conquered: when does the path take on verticality and become the stair? How do humans measure
time? We took individual objects — say, a piece of cloth — to see how much we can learn from them. Who
made them, who acquired them, and how have they survived? What can we learn about human ingenuity and the human
quest for status differentiation in an individual thing? The two great civilizations encountered by the Spanish, the
Aztecs and the Incas, were treated comparatively: were there New World empires? Throughout the seminar, recent
controversies and theories will be evaluated. Primary sources from ancient times to the present informed our
readings; real things, whether a modern-day hand-woven textile or a chocolate bean helped bring reality and
practicality into the classroom.
During the seminar, participants explored resources at the Yale University Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum,
along with the Yale University Library, including its many digital and online resources. Topics considered included
the "Columbian" exchange of foods, peoples, animals, and diseases initiated by the arrival of the Spanish in the
Caribbean; the concept of urban life, with particular attention to the Aztecs and the Inca; and the value placed on
particular materials — whether fibers, metals, stones, or shells across the Native New World. Several Fellows
chose to work on texts, from traditional 16th-century texts of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca, to the modern-day prose of
Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian writing today; other Fellows looked at the visual record as text. Two
Fellows, both art teachers, developed units in which students would learn the technology of traditional Native
American things, including cordage, pottery, and weaving. A music teacher created a unit around North American
Native music.
Teachers in the seminar represented many disciplines: science, history, English, art, music, social studies, and
elementary education. They developed units for their students that would develop skills to meet local and state
standards, and they developed their own skills of narrative and discursive writing as well.
Mary E. Miller
Synopsis of the Curriculum Units
06.04.01 - Let Our Things Speak True: Native American Writers Journey Back
by Barbara M. Dowdall
This unit is meant to be a thread woven into the junior year American Literature English core curriculum class.
Throughout the year, students will consider the question: How can we uncover the authentic voice of a people,
particularly the earliest peoples of the Americas? We will trace the beginnings of European contact with American
Indians and their culture, identify the goals, deeds and effects of that contact, observe the myriad ways Europeans
and then Euro-Americans filtered, manipulated, misstated or hid evidence of civilizations that existed prior to
their arrival and listen to present-day voices for guidance in understanding the past. Using our American literature
textbook as a jumping off place, we will evaluate its American Indian content, both in quantity and quality, then
venture into the wider world of Indian representation, both media and literary, with a prime focus on expressions by
Indians themselves. Students will develop understandings of our First Nations' history and meaning through these
readings and research.
(Developed for English III and American Literature, grade 11; recommended for Language Arts, grade 8, and American
Literature, grade 11)
06.04.02 - Things, Foods, and How We Know
by Jennifer B. Esty
The unit begins with an introduction to observation. In the next section the student's observational skills are put
into practice. In this section we will begin to study some "things," food related items in particular. The next part
of the unit, the "what do the things tell us" part of the unit, is where we start to think more deeply about the
questions that came out of the things part of the unit. In this section we also start to think about what the
objects can tell us. As it happens, all of the objects the students will study in this unit will have something to
do with food preparation and eating. The next logical step, then, is to think about what types of foods individual
cultures were eating such that they needed to make and use these food tools. In this section the students will
choose a culture to research. They will try to discover what types of food were being eaten by their chosen culture,
but they will also begin to study the ways in which information about cultures and peoples is gathered. After the
students have researched another culture's eating habits, they will research their own eating habits. The last piece
of the curriculum unit is a conclusion and a new beginning. The students will look at their own diet and the diet of
the culture that they studied and develop a new diet for themselves based on the results of the nutritional analysis
of the two diets.
(Developed for Wellness, grades 8-12; recommended for Health, Biology, Culinary Arts, and Social Studies, High
School grades)
06.04.03 - Native American Art Traditions in the Middle School Arts Curriculum
by Kennan Eugene Girdner
This curriculum was designed to help 7th and 8th grade middle school students in Santa Fe, New Mexico appreciate
the Navajo and Pueblo crafts traditions. My plan was to develop study units which would give students an
introduction to how native pottery, sandpainting, and weaving were created historically and how they are carried on
in the present. A variety of presentation methods have been employed to accomplish this. Lectures, guest speakers,
demonstrations, visiting artisans from the community, and a visit to the Museum Indian Art and Culture and
Laboratory of Anthropology can help students make connections between their own lives and the lives of their native
neighbors. A culminating visit to Bandelier National Monument rounds out the study of native arts.
The unit has been written with the hopes of addressing the issue of cultural sensitivity. It is hoped that students
can begin to be more aware of other cultures around them, as well as become more aware of their own heritage. By
exposing students to the rich Pueblo and Navajo folk traditions, I hope to increase awareness and appreciation of
the artwork from these two very unique cultures. The students will be given a view of very old customs and
traditions. Additionally, they will get a look a what is taking place with modern work created by native artists.
(Developed for Arts and Crafts, grades 7-8; recommended for Art and Social Studies, grades 7-8)
06.04.04 - The Circle of Life
by Jayme H. Hicks
This unit uses ancient artifacts of the American Indians specifically in the southeastern United States found in
mounds to introduce the ideas of more complex literary devices. The story of these artifacts as well as a trip to an
ancient shell midden compirise a launch for student writing, reading and analysis of Sherman Alexie’s poetry
and short stories. The unit culminates in a critical viewing and analysis of the 1998 feature film Smoke
Signals.
The students will identify literary devices in a variety of texts crucial to reading comprehension. The students
will participate in socratic seminars, crafts, writing responses to text, visual art, and film. The
culmination of this unit is the student’s story about themselves and the things they use to create their
own identity and how those things are similar to ancient artifacts used to create the identity of those who
inhabited the United States many years before 1492.
The unit is designed for the 9th grade standard English/Language Arts student. It can easily be used in
an honors environment by including additional American Indian authors to compare how each author uses literary
devices effectively and how the author’s personal experience affect their writing. The lessons are designed to
be varied to accommodate a variety of learning styles.
(Developed for English and Language Arts, grade 9; recommended for English and Language Arts, grade 9)
06.04.05 - Culture Graphics -- An Experience with Native American Things for the Elementary Student
by Stephanie Louise Johnson
This unit that I have written on Native Americans has evolved into being a wonderful experience for me and will be
for the kindergarten student. It can be used in other grade levels as well and adapted to any learning style. What
you will find are different ways to teach using graphic organizers and art. There are several different skills
reviewed in the unit, along with unique ways to teach them. A multi-curriculum approach has been used by taking
skills from math, social studies, science and reading. The skills reflect several different subject areas and
different concepts. They have been embedded throughout the unit to ensure that the students get to practice with
previously learned standards and skills. Also, they will be exposed to different works of art. The works of art come
from six different native nations. The six nations are Pomo, Seneca, Navajo, Cherokee, Nez Perce, Haida. A portfolio
(journal) will be developed using drawing and writing activities about the work of art. A lending and loan program
from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History will be used to bring actual works of art to the classroom. This will
help with the drawing/ writing portion of the portfolio and will provide a basic motivation to study the nation.
There is a strategy section with help for you and the student to get the maximum benefit from each nation in my
unit. The geographical location is important because physical landform is discussed. The graphic organizers are
simple and can be used to teach in different ways if you choose. The lessons that are included have works of arts
that can be constructed. There are creative activities that can be adapted to suit your teaching style. I have also
added suggestions on lessons on each nation. Take a look at this unit and enjoy the endless ideas for learning about
another culture that has meaning to the early childhood student.
(Developed for Social Studies, grade K; recommended for Social Studies, Mathematics, Reading, and Art, grade K)
06.04.06 - Native American Traditions and Identity in the Art Room
by Cristian A. Koshock
The focus of this unit is the creation of objects that represent and explore students' concepts of identity through
studies in personal history and links to the physical environment. Direct comparison to the art and historical
accounts of the American Indians will form an understanding of similarities in history and models for making
personally representative objects. American Indian art forms are conversation pieces, multi-tasking as personal and
group markers, as well as records of the culture of the surrounding areas. Examples explored with students will form
a dialogue, which can open up opportunities for inspiration. Because the local physical environment is manifested in
the choice of materials used in most Indian crafts, materials used in this unit should be gathered from local and
authentic sources, preferably by the students themselves.
The unit is divided into sections titled Mask, Vessel, Cloth and Path. Each section provides activities that
encourage the student's developing sense of self and includes a survey of American Indian art and culture.
(Developed for Art, Visual Arts, grades 8-12; VA Studies, secondary grades; recommended for Art I-IV, grades 9-12)
06.04.07 - Noble Savage: Depictions of Native Americans Throughout U.S. History
by Teresa T. Pardee
This unit uses images to illustrate Euro-American views of Native Americans throughout history. The unit shows that
the colonial era uses the idea that the "New World" was a "New Eden." The Native Americans were portrayed as noble
and exotic. This changed when colonists and Native Americans began the unavoidable clash of cultures. The savage
image emerged and portrayed Native Americans kidnapping, scalping, killing, and burning villages. Next, the unit
examines Manifest Destiny in visual form. The Native Americans are pushed out of the way as "progress" is made.
Marginalized, driven west, and passed by, their way of life appears to become extinct. Concurrently, there are
paintings that celebrate Native Americans. Many of the artists who portray Native Americans as a noble model were
painting them because the artists believed Native Americans to be dying out. To examine assimilation efforts, the
unit uses photographs taken at Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools, in particular photos of children arriving in their
traditional garb and after they have been "processed." The new clothes and haircuts make a stark contrast to the
before pictures. The unit will use photographs to capture 20th century points of view, including pictures of steel
workers building high rise buildings. These can be used to contrast the stereotypical modern images using
advertisements, mascots and video.
(Developed for U.S. History and Social Studies, grade 11; recommended for U.S. History and Social Studies, grade
11)
06.04.08 - Mythology of the Inca and Maya
by Janelle A. Price
This unit is designed for high schools students in English or Language Arts classrooms. An exploration of
Mesoamerican and South American ancestral literature is the unit's first goal. The second goal is to emphasize
writing and this is accomplished through student journals, discussion prompts, entry and exit slips, and the unit's
final assessment which calls for students to create their own myths. The unit includes a writer's template based
upon Joseph Campbell's work in mythology and uses movies, classic and current, to delineate archetypes and themes.
(Developed for English IV, grade 12; recommended for English and Social Studies, grades 9-12)
06.04.09 - Native American Music and Dance
by Enetta Nelson Rose
The rationale for developing my curriculum unit is to provide an interdisciplinary unit for music history, theory,
social studies, geography, and to introduce the concepts of field study research. More importantly, I wanted to used
a method for helping my students retain both their knowledge and skills incorporated.
The discourse of my unit will survey some of the musical practices and tribal traditions that are a forgotten part
of the American folk culture and music. The overall organization of my unit is divided into the following sections.
The first section is the introduction and a brief explanation of my title. The second section is the unit rationale.
Within this section, are my reasons and purposes for developing this topic into a curriculum unit. The third section
is entitled "pedagogical strategies". In this section, I discuss the instructional methodologies for cultivating
successful learning outcomes. Moreover, my state's curriculum guidelines and the Houston Independent School
District's guidelines are mentioned (refer to the appendix). In the fourth section, the demographic data or profile
as well as my classroom setup are discussed. Section five contains detailed information about the unit objectives
and the expected learning outcomes. The next section is a discussion of the historical background and awareness of
the culture before the coming of the European settlers. The topics in this section are tribal social systems,
functions of music, Native American culture areas of the southeast and the northeast. The Southeast Culture tribes
surveyed are Alabama, Choctaw, Coushatta, and Creeks. The tribal ceremonial rituals, traditions, performances, dance
and musical genres, plus, theoretical analysis of melodic progressions, scales, rhythm, and the meter of various
songs were examined.
The Northeast Culture Area tribes discussed in the unit are the Iroquois Nations and the Illinois. The tribal
ceremonial rituals, traditions, performances, dance and musical genres, plus theoretical analysis of melodic
progressions, scales, rhythm, and the meter of various songs were examined.
The last section of this unit is a summary or conclusion. By preparing this unit, I hope to encourage more teachers
of the arts to write interdisciplinary units that will reflect an aesthetic appreciation for culture, art, dance,
and music. In addition to this, by making correlated distinctions between compositional devices that are utilized to
show idiomatic cultural influences on folk music we will reinforce the need to keep the arts in our schools because,
"Art is not an end in itself, but a means of addressing humanity" (Modest Mussorgsky as stated in Harper's Book
of Quotations).
(Developed for Piano and Music, grades 7-8; recommended for Piano and Music, grades 7-8)
06.04.10 - Symbols of Hierarchy: Things of Bling in the Pre-Columbian Americas
by Ralph E. Russo
Symbols of Hierarchy: Things of Bling in the Pre-Columbian Americas is an introduction to Pre-Columbian
civilizations of Central and South America. Activities in this unit will help high school students examine artifacts
that were symbols of status and things of importance from representative societies of South America and Central
America. The unit aims also to help students make connections to things of importance in our society today. The unit
addresses district, state, and national curricular standards and goals for history and social studies. An essential
question is framed to help students connect their study of the Pre-Columbian Americas with characteristics of
contemporary society; how can ancient things of importance teach us about the relationship between material goods
and social status in both ancient civilizations and in our society today?
The unit is aimed at urban ninth grade world civilizations classes in New Haven Connecticut. Activities include
working with multiple texts.
(Developed for World Civilization, grade 9, and U.S. History I, grade 10; recommended for World Civilizations and
U.S. History I, grades 9-12)
06.04.11 - The Popol Vuh: A High School Literature Unit
by Raymond F. Theilacker
This is a curriculum unit whose aim is to expose twelfth grade students to the mythology of the ancient Maya, as
part of state and local standards requiring the reading and appreciation of world literature and culture. The unit
is based on a translation of the ancient text of the Popol Vuh. Students analyze the work as a literary
selection. Through this analysis, and a period of guided research, students make inferences about the nature of the
Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. Throughout the unit, students are drawn to considerations of the culture,
traditions, geography, and the visual art of the Maya.
This unit spans a 2 to 3 week period in a block schedule, but is fully adaptable to a school year structured in two
semesters in a standard forty-minute schedule. The lessons are designed for collaborative or cooperative teamwork,
and are driven by an inductive approach to learning. Students simultaneously tackle discrete reading assignments,
tasks involving specific literary foci, and research routines that culminate in an evaluative essay and group
presentations. Evaluation takes place through informal and formal assessments throughout the unit.
(Developed for World Literature, grade 12; recommended for World Literature, grade 12, and Native American
Literature, grade 11)
Introduction by
Sabatino Sofia, Professor of Astronomy
Despite the title of this seminar, its objective was not to present a detailed, dry account of all the different
science components of the problem of global warming. Instead, I wanted to introduce the key scientific background
that would allow Fellows from various disciplines to separate fact from fiction regarding the principal
environmental crisis of our times. As the curriculum units developed show amply, this purpose was accomplished.
Thus, this compendium contains curriculum units that address global warming in literary terms, in terms of various
sciences, including physics, chemistry, biological, and environmental sciences, and even in general terms accessible
to students in elementary grades.
All humans must face up to the problem of global warming, carry out individual actions to mitigate it, and
encourage global action to implement solutions on a larger scale. The United States, which individually contributes
the largest fraction of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, is one of only two developed nations that have
refused to impose mandatory measures to curb the production of these gases. On the other hand, individual states and
cities within the U.S. have established those mandatory curbs and are, in a piecemeal fashion, doing what the
national government has refused to do. Here we have an issue where an educated citizenry can, and must, have its
input on policy that will greatly affect all their descendents. Teachers can perform a great service by explaining
to their pupils the undisputed scientific basis of the problem, by all avenues at their disposal. This book contains
curriculum units that allow teachers from most disciplines to carry out this task.
Because of the diversity of approaches and backgrounds of the Fellows in this seminar, we all learned a great deal
from each other both in terms of disciplines with which we were not familiar, and in terms of global warming issues
that concern each individual. I must say unequivocally that this was a most stimulating seminar, and I wish to
acknowledge the extraordinary participation of all Fellows, and especially of the seminar Coordinator, Eric
Laurenson, who greatly contributed to establish the high level of the discussions, and keep them focused on the
topic of the seminar.
Sabatino Sofia
Synopsis of the Curriculum Units
06.05.01 - Global Warming: Is Our Local Environment Ready for the Change?
by Justin T. Benz
This is a nine week unit for a high school environmental technology program. The unit includes background
information on the atmosphere and global warming and an inquiry based sequence of activities to lead an exploration
of the possible effects of global warming on the local environment. Throughout this unit, students interpret
relevant graphs, text, and images depicting the lines of evidence scientists have ascertained and use to predict
possible effects. With these images and graphs in their minds eye, students then engage in mapping activities to
understand how this aspect of their local environment may be affected. Having students also gather relevant
environmental data in the field locally helps students comprehend the data they access from the internet. Students
formulate hypotheses based on the data obtained online as to the possible effects that data may signal for the
global environment. The sequence of events in this unit is designed to teach students how an environmental scientist
would interpret the environment through maps, photographs, and field measurements. This unit provides students with
experiences to gain an understanding of this global environmental problem and to make the data and rationale for
predictions of possible effects more understandable and relevant to their lives.
(Developed for Environmental Technology, grade 9; recommended for Environmental Science, grades 9-12)
06.05.02 - The Consequences of Global Warming on Human Health
by Ella M. Boyd
This curriculum unit on global warming is meant for a middle school science classroom and is being used as a bridge
between two very different topics in the 7th grade North Carolina science curriculum. The students begin with a unit
on atmosphere and weather and then move onto a unit in human biology. This unit will tie those two topics together
by first of all explaining the science of global warming and its impact on the atmosphere and planet in general and
will then discuss the possible consequences to human health, particularly in relation to the spread of disease.
In addition to closing the gap between the two topics, this unit also includes some interdisciplinary lessons that
will be done in conjunction with other teachers at my grade level. Students will be working individually, in small
and large groups, and participating in whole class discussions. Students will be analyzing graphs, creating graphs,
writing persuasive letters, analyzing their own impact on the environment, conducting research, and presenting
information. They will become more knowledgeable about trying to create change within their own homes and
communities. The broad goal is to make them more scientifically literate and make them responsible, knowledgeable
citizens.
(Developed for Integrated Science, grade 7; recommended for General Science, grades 6-8)
06.05.03 - Educating the Community about Global Warming and Sea Level Rise through Earth Day
by Matthew D. Cacopardo
This unit is intended as a cross disciplinary approach to the science of global warming. It is meant to educate the
high school community as a whole on the effects of sea level rise, a forecasted phenomenon with the onset of global
warming, to our environment and economy. My goal is that math, biology, language arts and business teachers will
integrate into a lesson how the science of global warming is related to their subject. The topics covered in each
class will then be used in the school wide Earth Day event in which all students will have a role in participating.
The Earth Day event is designed to introduce the science of global warming while highlighting sea level rise as the
main theme. Biology classes will hold an art exhibit of food chains found in ecosystems which will be affected by
sea level rise. Math and business classes will calculate area lost and develop a cost benefit analysis. English
classes will write persuasive essays to politicians and hold a poetry reading and/or rap contest. By incorporating
each student and teacher there will be more of an impact and appreciation for the event and for their future impact
on the Earth.
(Developed for Biology, grade 10)
06.05.04 - Global Warming: A Physical Explanation and Implications on Climate
by Eric J. Laurenson
In this unit I will present the physics of global warming and explain the most likely consequences of global
warming. I will also address the chaotic nature of weather and why it is difficult to predict and discuss the
current scientific theories about the possibility that stress on the climate system of our current rate of
production of greenhouse gases could possibly result in a catastrophic change in our climate. The science is
absolutely clear that global warming is occurring. The extreme increase in greenhouse gases, resulting primarily
from burning fossil fuels, is the cause of these potentially catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate. Although
there are many uncertainties about the specifics of global warming, it is clear that it is one of the most pressing
issues facing humankind. It is a global issue that must be addressed and mitigated with a sense of urgency that may
be unprecedented. It is also my hope that any teacher who is interested in the issue of addressing the problems of
global warming will find within this unit the background scientific information to address the subject in their
classroom. This unit is intended to provide relevancy to the study of global warming for high school physics classes
and general science classes.
(Developed for Scholars Physics, grade 11-12, and General Science, grade 9; recommended for General Physics and
Scholars Physics, grades 11-12, and General Science, grade 9)
06.05.05 - Teaching Science and Global Warming
by Michele L. Murzak
My goals for this unit are to teach children to reason and think on their own. Children will use the scientific
method, make connections, and think critically. My unit will touch upon many concepts but most importantly it will
focus on "the basics." For example, students will learn about the Sun and Earth. Students will also learn about
greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect. Students will do hands-on experiments. Most importantly, students will
learn about the consequences of global warming and what we can do to help. The purpose of this unit is to teach
students about the most important environmental problem of the 21st century, global warming. The unit will focus on
many key concepts. It is important that students learn about this topic, global warming, because it relates to life.
As teachers, it is our duty to make students aware of such pressing issues like global warming. My students will be
given the facts. My hope is that students will not only understand what global warming is, but also want to help. I
hope I motivate my students to make immediate changes in their homes and community, simply starting by educating and
encouraging their family.
(Developed for Science, Math, and Language Arts, grades 4-5; recommended for Science, grades 4-5)
06.05.06 - A Planet Worth a Thousand Words: An English Teacher's Guide to Global Warming
by Kimberlee Presswood
In a time when climate change alters the face of the Earth — when melting ice caps are on almost everyone's
tongue — it seems appropriate to integrate a global warming curriculum in an English classroom. Such a
curriculum acknowledges the power of writing and verbal communication as a way to salvage science from the wreck of
misinformation and deliberate ambiguity.
If students know how to write, they will understand how other writers use specific techniques to serve a purpose.
They will also know how to use writing to process information, develop a greater understanding of topics such as
global warming, and pass their knowledge to others.
Students will write poetry, a short story, and a speech while learning about climate, atmosphere, and fossil fuels.
They will examine the consequences of global warming, the controversy surrounding the issue, and suggestions for
mitigation. An overview of climate change and the greenhouse effect will enable students to conduct in-depth
research. At the end of the unit, students will show how science and English can work together to improve our world.
(Developed for English, grade 12; recommended for English, grades 10-12)
06.05.07 - The Case for Biodiesel with Selected Experiments
by Matthew N. Van Kouwenberg
This unit is designed primarily for high school chemistry, biology, or physics classes. Additionally there are many
parts that could very easily be used in a mathematics or social studies class. The bulk of the content is chemistry,
but the energy balances and transfers fit nicely in a physics curriculum. Also the way in which the different
biological components fit together and the beginning ecological issues go well in a biology class. But why global
warming? While the actual consequences of global warming will be discussed later, suffice it to say they are
disastrous. Unfortunately many people are not aware of the stakes. We need to empower people and help them realize
that they can make a difference in the world, even on problems that are global in scale. We will look at the
advantages of biodiesel over petroleum, mostly from a scientific perspective, but with some conversation of the
economic and geo-political ramifications.
(Developed for Biology and Chemistry, grade 9; recommended for Biology and Chemistry, grades 9-12)
