Lesson Plans
Lesson1. Introduction to Africa
Objectives
The following essential questions will be highlighted on the chalkboard for the duration of the teaching of the unit: What do we know about Africa? Second, what are our common stereotypes about Africa? Third, what is modern Africa really like? Our middle school students cannot address storytelling traditions and African film without answering these essential questions.
Teacher Materials
Copy of the film, What do we Know About Africa?
Washable colored markers
Rulers
Student Materials
2" Three-ring white binder
Three dividers
Three packages of college-ruled paper
Four #2 pencils
Set of colored pencils
2 Blue or black pens
2 highlighters of different colors
Glue stick
Procedure
Seeing all 110 seventh-graders walking into my classroom with the required 2" white binder for the first day of this unit would be a miracle and one which won't occur, but the binder is essential. Supplies are items which must be planned for weeks in advance of the scheduled unit when one works in an impoverished setting. Therefore, I put a purchase order in for these in the late summer, as school is about to begin and hope for the best. If the district will not pay, I look to local grants. My students treat items such as these with care and realize that a gift has been given to them.
As the unit is divided into the three lessons, each one will begin with the students' making several graphic organizers out of their first two pages of their binders, adding more as necessary. On the front side of each page, the student will make two columns with the following headings: Ideas and Questions, and Class Notes. The back side will have two additional columns with the following headings: My Responses, and Vocabulary. I shall model what this should look like and shall encourage the students to strive for excellence in succinctly putting down their thoughts; legibility becomes extremely important this year. I tell them if I can't read the handwriting, it's wrong. Students are also encouraged to use their artistic talent to graphically annotate their notes and responses with small visuals in the columns, highlighting key concepts, and thusly making this binder interactive, visual, and extremely personal. As this organizer is an essential component of the entire portfolio, I shall go into some detail about my expectations for the four columns.
The Ideas and Questions column consists of items either prompted by the teacher or written by the students when they want to express an idea or ask a question about the subject matter on their own. Teacher prompts are open-ended, enabling the students to react individually to new concepts which they can write about. The right column, Class Notes, concerns key ideas from lectures and class discussions, guest presentations and interviews, and readings. I carefully model this column, as organizing ideas in a coherent fashion is an arduous task for beginning writers. Students will highlight main points, using different colors for main points and sub-topics. On the back side of the paper, the My Responses column will give students a chance to react emotionally to any aspect of the material presented in class. There is no right or wrong answer here. The fourth column is Vocabulary, and this is by self-selection, but students are required to list all words that are new to them within the concepts of each of the three sections of the unit. Examples of vocabulary activities might be to use the words in a meaningful way and then associate the new words with their own experiences. A common word wall will be composed by the class and me; students will be tested for the spelling and definitions of these words at the end of each of the three lessons.
I will teach this unit five periods per day. If I have a pre-AP class this year, which I have strongly requested, they will be addressed in a stricter, more advanced format. I can move them faster as I know their ability level when they enter the room. In all of my classrooms, students will be moving around the class into variegated seating arrangements, some decided by me, most decided by them. Observing this process teaches me a lot, about personalities, learning styles, and ability levels. After looping last year, teaching the same group of students for both seventh and eighth grades, my students were adept at this, tolerant, helpful, and gaining greatly in skills and confidence. Students will have their write binders with them at all times. One might hope that at home that evening to peruse, revise, add visuals, and give thought to the day's learning, but for most, this is just a dream. Reality shows a small crowded apartment or trailer, loud talking and T.V. at the same time; my student may be babysitting while a single parent works a second job. The schoolroom is the true safe refuge. For a few years, many of students stay with me until 5:30 for after school tutoring.
We will begin by thinking about the size of Africa. Students will turn to a page in their binder on which they will draw what they think Africa looks like and then compare it in size to the United States. They will not have access to classroom maps until we complete a short discussion. IEP students are carefully observed during the discussion, as I take specific mental notes on their needs, being skillful at maintaining the comfort level of the group. As this is our first unit of the year, and the students are seventh graders from 14 feeder schools, it is our first impression, a very long-lasting impression, of each other.
Large classroom maps will now be unrolled by the students for both their perusal and their surprise at the relative size of the United States compared to the enormous continent of Africa. I will now hand out markers for the students to enhance the front of their binders with their visual rendition of Africa. We will include the equator and the major topical regions such as savannah, desert, etc. Above the drawing, students will write Oral Tradition and Memory through African film. My goal is for this unit to remain in their memories forever, as it will mine. I will sit with the students in their small groups and move throughout them talking and lecturing on the difference between fact and opinion. They begin discussing what facts and opinions they have about Africa, being certain they know the difference and are showing sensitivity to the African culture. These will be recorded in their binders. Each group will choose a speaker to share responses with the class. Nervousness is apparent with this method at first; it is the first time these students have changed classes, and none of them feels confident. They need to be handled with kid gloves, looking them in the eye, letting them present from a seated or standing position, changing plans tactfully if they are so scared they look like they'll cry. These are the ones, at the end of eighth grade whom you do cry with, as they present their final portfolio to staff and family with grace.
Students will copy the following STOP WORDS onto a column in their binder. They will discuss what these words mean to them and write a phrase about their response to the word on the back page of their organizer. Groups will discuss, and a reporter from each class will bring the ideas to the larger class discussion. I will then have them write a SUBSITUTE column, followed by a MEANING column.
(table 06.01.07.01 available in print form)
Drawing the students into an intellectual, sensitive discussion of tolerance is relevant to their own lives. They will be emotional, totally quiet, or somewhere in between. I will lecture on tolerance issues specific to the African culture, skillfully using the time allotted to move the conversation carefully, as we learn together. At the end of this lesson, students will write reflections in their binders.
The Albuquerque Museum's African Arts Teachers' Institute occurred this summer, 2006; it provided expert teacher training from professors of various universities and was highly competitive. I have been in close contact with the curator, who promises to send one of the trained teachers from the northern New Mexico region to visit my students during the introductory part of the unit. This should fit in well with tolerance issues, as middle school students tend to giggle when embarrassed. They will have an opportunity to view amazing works of African art from various countries and hear a learned lecture. In addition to usual requirements for the binder, students will complete the following requirements during the museum's presentation:
List, with correct spelling, the items that the instructor is sharing.
Describe the items using at least five adjectives per item.
Write a coherent page of several paragraphs about why these African items are significant, not just to Africans, but to us in Santa Fe.
Why is it presently very necessary for us to study both the African culture and others? What might happen in the future if we ignore this type of study?
Students will prepare a list of interview questions before our museum guest arrives. They will each practice one question to ask, to ensure that this is done with confidence and we'll arrange the room for the comfort and viewing of the African art items.
I will be moving around the classroom, looking at students' binders, giving suggestions, asking students to work together and, thus, assessing the quality of their work. I peruse their written work, and I comment in writing. True, grammar is my forte, but I hope these 'comments' don't a ppear with red pen!! Over the years, I have seen this as a basically degrading influence on not only self-esteem, but also the quality of the work to follow. The last thing I want if for them not to write, so I comment on just a few mistakes. I might take this time to teach them a grammatical convention, with a few practice exercises. We teachers can include the grammar conventions in any lesson we prepare. The teacher asks himself/herself the following :
Can they organize their materials?
Do they understand the assignments? Are they complete?
Are they enjoying the experience?
Are they mastering the material covered and can they speak to the topic at hand?
Are they learning their vocabulary words?
I will conference with each student, 1:1, twice during this process.
Student mastery is apparent when he/she can teach this first lesson to their peers. I ask much of them in this respect. Though shy at the beginning, they become adept by the end of the year. The students' white binders, with their drawings of Africa as they originally perceived it at the beginning of the unit, accompany their portfolio presentation at the end of the year placement conference with staff, family, and friends. The portfolio appears to be the tradition in most American schools.
The New Mexico Language Arts Content Standards were included in an earlier paragraph. More important than the curt appearance of the large standards on my classroom wall, however, are the Alameda Middle School Essential Learning Targets for Language Arts. The Language Arts teachers meet monthly to plan scope and sequence, which we hope will allow us strong contact with both the sixth grade teachers and the ninth grade teachers. Two of these meetings included lengthy after-school sessions with our top students, whose help we needed. We also paid them and fed them pizza. The objective was to help the teachers write the standards in student language. What a great success. They are termed essential learning targets. Correlating to this first lesson, the student- written learning targets are:
When faced with real world issues, I can make meaning through my own experience and express that point of view by forming connections to other sources, evaluating the details for relevancy.
In discussions, I can change my words and style of expressing my point of view to suit different groups of people and different motives. I can listen or respond to other points of view in a group discussion.
Lesson2. African Storytelling
Objectives: The following essential questions will be written on the board, following those of the first lesson. They will remain on the board throughout the entire unit, and they are as such: How are African stories told and carried on by an oral tradition? If the oral storytelling tradition is gone, what happens to the essence of the African culture? How might a film save this African storytelling tradition?
Teacher materials:
Sundiata, an epic of old Mali
Sundjata, Lion King of Mali
The African Storyteller
African Novels in the Classroom
5 sets of 9 laminated cards (see below)
markers
Student Materials:
White binders
Mandala symbol
Colored pencils
Glue sticks
Procedures:
This lesson is a good transition from the first, as students have gained an appreciation of the African culture. Without this, they might not want to delve into an African epic such as Sundiata. The students will continue to write in their binders under the same column headings after turning to a new page which they will head African Stories. We are going to start in a large circle discussing the following:
We are looking at a very special story called Sundiata. It was written in a very old African language? How did it get translated into English? Does anything happen to a story when it gets translated?
What happens to a culture if the long stories of the people disappear?
What must the people do to retain their traditions, values, and essence of their own special culture?
What are some of the best stories that have been told to you by family members? Why do you remember them? Can you retell them?
The teacher will lecture while sitting comfortably with the students, and they can take notes if they wish. Some important points would include the fact that in translation, some of the special meaning of African words is often lost, which also signals the slow eradication of a culture. People must remember and retell the stories that have been passed along through the generations. A great African oral storyteller should be able to pierce the minds of the listeners, using voice, movements, and possibly music, to unfold the memories of the culture, which flow back into time and space. The storyteller we'll study is called a griot (bard). The griot's story is continually transformed and innovated each time it is performed. A wonderful Yoruban drummer, Akeem, will be an honored guest during this lesson, after the students are ready to retell their own African stories. Films experiment with the different ways of telling a story, of conveying a history of a people who may have been routinely denied the right to existence on their own terms. We will view a real griot in the movie Keita, in the next lesson.
We will briefly study parts of two books, Sundiata, an epic of old Mali , by D.T. Niane, and Sundiata, Lion King of Mali, a picture book version by David Wisniewshki.
Students of all ages appear to love picture books, especially those students of mine who were never read to. I'll have five copies, and the students will be in circles of five. I have used the following card method many times, with many books, to great results. Five of your best students will head this up the first time around. You will need to meet with group leaders a day or two prior to the class lesson each time this card system is used. Use the laminated teaching cards mentioned above in teacher resources. You need to make these ahead of time, putting one-hole punch in top left of each card and putting them together with a key-type metal ring. You can use them for years. Each group will have a set. They read as follows:
Introductory card:
CONGRATULATIONS!!! You're the TEACHER!! You're responsible for the level of learning in your group for this section of the reading.
- #1 This section starts at. . .and ends at. . .
- #2 Prediction. "I predict that. . ." (As the teacher, you must do this).
- #3 "Does anyone else have a prediction?"
- #4 Reading. As the teacher, you have 3 choices: read aloud by yourself, have the whole group read aloud in unison, or choose one person to read aloud.
- #5 Clarify. Ask: "What words did you find difficult to understand? What phrases did you find difficult to understand?"
- #6 Questions. "Who can ask a question based on the reading?" Remember that the answer must be found in the text. If no one has one, then you, as the teacher, must ask the question.
The student teachers and the teacher will discuss the following objectives with the student groups: their listening ability, attention span, creativity in answering questions, ability to find facts, ability to phrase a question, predict, and find vocabulary. Students will add to their writings in the binder. The teacher must be entirely familiar with the epic tale, being able to add to the student group readings of the picture book. Sundiata an Epic of old Mali is short, exciting to read. A few of the story's essentials include the legendary Malian king Sundiata Keita, known as the Lion King of Mali, liberating his people in the thirteenth-century from an oppressive ruler. Two of the most important Malian ceremonies, the Dama and Suigi, are observed. Animal qualities mimic the personalities of specific characters in the story, and archetypal patterns seen in myths worldwide are apparent. Extensive conversation about the epic should ensure student master of the story. Students will be asked to conceive of ways in which the griot might present this history of the Mali people when we see the film.
The lesson will involve an internet search for African folktales. They will have no other homework for a week other than to read and analyze the stories, finishing an art work project in class. This will be a collage made of magazine pictures and students drawings which signifies the student's favorite character in their African story. It will cover a black piece of white paper in the student's binder and speak to the qualities of the character: strengths, weaknesses, fears, good deeds, appearance, etc. It is open-ended and should show artistic creativity. Students who do not have internet access at home are both invited and encouraged to stay for after school tutoring. If this is impossible due to transportation issues and they're feeling helpless, the teacher must finesse a way for them to work in the computer lab or the teacher's room during lunch period; or, they may borrow the The African Storyteller or African Novels in the Classroom from the teacher. No student should feel a lack of self-esteem due to his/her family's resources. The students will rewrite their stories in their own words and put them into their binder. The student will be ready to hang his/her collage on the board and retell the African tale. Using differentiated instruction, there must be options for this presentation which meet student needs. The presentations will be attended by the African storyteller from Nigeria, mentioned earlier. Akeem is quiet spoken, with a deep rich voice and a love of children. Dressed in Nigerian clothes, he will be an important presence during and after these presentations, as he comments on the African stories and adds his own. Given the time, we may do some cooking together in the home economics room with Akeem and listen to African music. It needs to be memorable, feeling the essence of the African culture. This presentation will be graded according to a class-designed rubric, and students will be taught how to do fair peer evaluations. This will be the first such experience for these students fresh out of elementary school.
Correlating to this second lesson, the student- written learning targets are: I can write a coherent story appropriate to different audiences for different purposes. I can monitor my comprehension when reading by retelling, deciding what is important,connecting, making inferences, and asking questions. I know literary devices and how they help tell a story. I can identify and respond to the message an author is expressing, because I recognize different genres, time periods, and social contexts. This knowledge of context and vocabulary increases my comprehension. I can identify common themes in a work of literature and understand how a person's experience and culture inform their response to these stories.
Lesson 3. African Film
Objectives: The third, last, and longest lesson of this unit refers back to its title, Oral Traditions and Memory through African Film. The essential questions are: How does film portray the ancient griot in a film produced in Africa? What are the basics of filmmaking? How can I pull together the three lessons to reflect on what I've learned?
Teacher Materials:
Film, Keita: the Heritage of the Griot
Film, Wend Kunni
Hole punch
Twine
Markers
Scissors
Old manilla folders from last year
Student materials:
Binders
Colored pencils
Glue stick
Pencils
The students are very familiar with Africa and African storytelling; thus they are ready for a first showing of Keita. Ready to take notes and make comments, they should fill out new pages in their binder under the heading, Storytelling in African Films. As in lessons one and two, they are expected to follow the four column format and should not be struggling with it now. Differentiation for IEP students and Pre-AP students is always a must. The teacher must organize the room for the very best viewing of the film. Look for the squinting student, the troublesome student, the hyperactive student, the chatty student. All must be able to give total attention to the film. As with the legend of Sundiata, the teacher must be very knowledgeable about the film. Students should be told to look at the griot and Mabo carefully and to read the subtitles to the best of their ability; most likely, this is their first foreign film. They will be excited at first and may begin to complain, so parameters need to be set before the viewing. The teacher will show the film Keita to the students. I plan to do this by viewing the movie for half of the period, followed by a class discussion, and then time to work in pairs on their binders. Each day of this third lesson, I will give each student a piece of scrap paper five minutes before the class ends to use as an exit card which I'll collect on their way out. The exit cards will have a different prompt each day, asking them what confused them, what they learned, and so forth. As it impossible to read 110 of these each night, the teacher might peruse a few in order to get a feeling for the students' questions and enthusiastic comments about this new topic of study.
The teacher, if a novice at film studies, might spend some time seeking out community resources for help with this part of the unit. I have taken the time to do this and am truly amazed at the amount of response and the quality of the respondents. The local community college has a film department, and with some collaboration, their students can be with me for this entire third lesson, earn college credit, and possibly service learning credit. Many of those students attended Alameda Middle School. Secondly, I found Reel Deal Productions, new and owned by a 19-year old local Hispanic woman with a quest. Maria is an actress, member of the Screen Actors Guild, and she is so anxious to educate. She will do workshop sessions with the students based on film crew job descriptions if we can get our timing right. Neither of these people wants to be paid, and we shall just have to get the timing right for classroom appearances, the most arduous detail. If this can be found in a city of 55,000, it can be found most anywhere, I believe. The teacher must have the zeal to make it happen. Part of my excitement is the visualization of a possible career path for my students, including finding a niche for a close group of "film friends" in high school, an essential factor in preventing drop-outs.
The students will be presented with a few basic conventions of filmmaking, those mentioned earlier in this document: casting, lighting, blocking, scenery, costuming, and the editing of the script. These terms will be essential vocabulary listings in their binders, under the new and last heading, Keita, Wend Kuuni, and Filmmaking. It will be most important for the teacher to allow discussion time for students to voice examples of scenes in movies they've seen as illustrations. The teacher will add to this discussion by talking with the students about the camera, asking them to describe what they know about camera and film, then moving into close-ups, camera angles, and framing of shots. A second viewing of Keita will take place, this time showing short clips or single frames. Students will be asked to describe how and why they think the filmmaker portrayed a scene or clip in a particular way. Higher order thinking is involved here; answers should be considered wrong. It will help students if they are working in groups of three and feel comfortable with responding to or just listening to their peers and writing down what they say. Depending on the student's ability level, this might be termed peer tutoring, not cheating. We will have less time to spend on Wend Kuuni. As the students should be somewhat adept at reading subtitles, we will watch it without interruption. This is a good time for an unannounced quiz, written or oral, where students are to analyze the various aspects of the film
Throughout the weeks that this lesson takes, students will be instructed as to the completion of a special art/writing project which will fit into their white binders. The culminating unit project will be a small book with manila front and back covers and punched holes tied with twine and African beads. Thus, it will be removable from the binder for presentation. The project will take place of homework, and the teacher will hand out a sheet to each student with the following requirements. The title page with illustrations will be the name of either Keita or Wend Kuuni. Page one will be a paragraph about the main characters in the film chosen. It will state their name, the place where they live, their role in the story, and details about their lives. Page two will repeat the names of those characters, explaining how the filmmaker enhanced their emotions, their roles, and their emotions. Page three is a drawing by the student in colored pencil of an African setting that the student visualizes, with his/ her own interpretation. It includes one or two sentences of explanation at the bottom. Page four is an illustrated haiku about Africa, as the student now thinks of it. Page five is a Venn Diagram of the African film Keita, and the Disney production The Lion King. It compares and contrasts. Page six has the heading mise-en-scene. Students write about the unique experience of watching a foreign film with subtitles and how it has affected their view of Africa and their appreciation of African storytelling. What film features contributed to making the mise-en-scene of Keita realistic, in a way which merely reading about the Sundiata epic did not?
Students will carefully assemble their binders for display at the Language Arts Fair and at their final portfolio presentations.
Correlating to this third lesson, the student- written learning targets are: I can correctly apply grammatical conventions when I write and when I want to increase my comprehension. I understand how media affects me. I can engage my audience with precise language and literary devices. I can express myself in a variety of written works which reflect careful choice of words for their meaning and affect with different audiences.
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