Strategies
Because I teach two sixth grade classes in a balanced literacy and social studies learning block of at least 120 per minutes per day, I will have ample time to spread my unit over the course of the 4-6 weeks or one grading period. This unit will be taught primarily during our social studies lessons. However, the unit will stretch across the curriculum and include reading, writing and media arts. Furthermore, because the essential question, Who Am I? is the driving inquiry for our entire Sixth Grade Small Learning Community, it is easier to spread this theme of self discovery and identity throughout an extended term instead of just focusing it in a short period.
Resources
In previous years, I have collaborated with the mentally gifted support teacher and librarian to do I-Search projects. Their support provided additional resource persons for my students including those with special needs. In addition to the resources available at school, I will rely on the University of Pennsylvania's Center for East Asian Studies. The center's outreach department provides a speaker's bureau along with teacher resource materials including films, books and cultural artifacts from and about East Asian countries. Their website is www.ceas.sas.upenn.edu. I recently attended a Teachers' Institute sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for East Asian Studies and found that education and outreach coordinators were very willing to collaborate with teachers.
Films
The films that I plan to use in my unit and the order I plan to use them with my students are listed as follows:
Disney's Mulan ( &, 1998) - I will kick off the viewing on films with this Disney adaptation of the folk tale of Mulan. This animation film will provide a good way to introduce some history of China and deal with issues around gender roles and responsibilities.
The King of Mask- Bian Lian (, 1996) — I will next use this film to further explore gender issues as well try to understand aspects Chinese performing arts and culture.
Not One Less- Yi Ge Dou Bu Neng Shao(, 1999) This film will be used to explore issues involving both rural and urban PRC.
Red Firecracker — — This film will not be viewed in its entirety. Excerpts will be viewed to analyze Chinese film aesthetics along with gender and culture issues.
Beijing Bicycle- Shiqi Sui De Dan Che (, 2001). This film will not be viewed in its entirety. Excerpts will be view to analyze Chinese film aesthetics along with class and modern urban culture issues.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon — Wo Ho Can Long (Ang Lee,2000). This film will not be viewed in its entirety. Excerpts will be viewed to analyze some of the actions along with the film's aesthetics and landscape.
More details about each film are listed in the annotated filmography.
I-Search
I have previously used I-Search papers to support students' inquiry and research skills. Ken Macroie, in his publication, The I-Search Paper notes that "an I-Search is when a person conducts a search to find out something he needs to know in his life and writes a story of his adventure" (preface, par 17). I enjoy teaching and reading I-Search Papers, because my students' voices in this style of research are more authentic. Combining an I-Search project with viewing and analyzing films should provide great synergy. The inquiry of this project will allow students to uncover their own questions they have about China and their own culture.
KWL- What You Already Know, What You Want to Know, What You Learned
Using a KWL graphic organizer is a good starting point. With a KWL chart students write what they already know about a subject, what they want to learn and, after the inquiry is over they write what they have learned. Students will therefore ask questions about what they know about culture and gender issues in general and what do they know particularly about Chinese culture and gender issues. These broad questions will allow students to come up with their own specific topics which will drive their inquiry in their I-search projects. A sample KWL chart is provided in the Appendix 1.
The films we view in class will further aid or complicate students' questions. Students will come up with their own topics to research. Using the KWL model to explore topics relevant to specific films will help students with their I-Search projects. During this process of watching films and doing their individual research students will take notes, do journaling and workshop their I-search narrative report.
Using the Lens of Literature to View Films
Movies have much in common with stories and novels in literature. In this unit, films will be used in conjunction with social studies, reading, and writing standards. When reading fiction or non-fiction text my students are often asked to describe the author's purpose. Therefore, a question like who produced a particular film can be related to questions about author's purpose. Furthermore, students may be asked to think about deeper questions regarding what the film maker is trying to communicate.
Film Analysis
A host of questions related to film analysis may be explore with students according to their abilities. The list below was adopted from the book, Teaching Ethnic Diversity With Film (Gerster C. 45-48)
- Who is the intended audience for the film?
- Could the story or information of the film be presented in another form (e.g. print, theater, radio)?
- What are some aesthetic techniques used to communicate the film's messages? How does the film maker use camera placements, angles, lighting, movements, images, sounds, and music to tell the film's story?
- What is the film's narrative? Does it have a beginning, middle and end? Does it follow the standard dramatic arc with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution?
- What are the characteristics of the protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters?
- What is the theme or central idea of the film? Does the theme or central idea of the film relate to other stories or events?
- Is the film maker Chinese or American and does this affect your perception of the film?
- How are Chinese represented in the film? How do they dress, act, move, and speak? How does their gender, class, ethnicity, age and body type affect your perception? How is identity communicated visually, through dress, costume, make up, posture, and movement?
- What personal connections to students' lives or literature can be made from viewing films from or about China?
The above essential questions will help reinforce literary concepts that are taught during our reading and writing of various genres including: folk tales, historical fiction, creative non fiction, myths, dramatic plays and poetry. The questions will also help shape students' personal inquiry projects about Chinese culture and gender issues. Student will keep separate film response logs similar the reading logs students keep for reading instructions. Overall this unit should help improve students' critical thinking skills as well as strengthen their literary knowledge and comprehension skills.
Multi-Media Show Case Media Show Case
After viewing films used in this unit and completing their narrative I-Search papers students will apply and synthesize their findings and produce a media showcase. This multi-media show case will include the use images, text, sound, motion and interactivity. This is a powerful way to celebrate and acknowledge students' discoveries. When students know that their work will have an audience beyond the classroom teacher they gain greater commitment to the quality of the finished product.
Categories for Strategies
Because the objectives of the unit are comprehensive, lessons can be easily staggered over a longer time period, or implemented as discrete lessons taught in a stand-alone fashion. The strategies in this unit can be similarly grouped into four categories:
Strategies Related to Researching and Analyzing Chinese Culture and History
Conducting mini lessons on researching and I- Search techniques will be central technique used to drive students' inquiry about Chinese culture and history. Students will take field trips and observe special guests to collect primary and secondary data about Chinese culture and gender issues. Within school students will visit the school library and use internet, text books, and other reference sources to explore students' inquiry about Chinese culture and gender roles. Furthermore the teacher will show students how to use graphic organizers to plan, structure, outline and draft their I-Search papers. Lastly, teacher and students will conduct writers' workshop for revising, editing and publishing I-Search papers.
Strategies Related to Interpreting and Analyzing Chinese Film
To promote students' interpretation of Chinese film the teacher will conduct mini-lessons on using literary elements for viewing and analyzing films. In particular mini-lessons will be taught on viewing and analyzing film maker's craft i.e. Mulan, King of Mask, and Not One Less. No at films will be view in their entirety for some films we will view excerpt to discuss film aesthetics and issues around culture and gender i.e. Red Fire Cracker, Beijing Bicycle and Crouching Tigers Hidden Dragon. Lastly, teacher will conduct mini-lessons on comparing, critiquing and summarizing film.
Strategies Related to Creating Original Media and Literary Art
To encourage and support students to generate their own media and literary products student will be provided time to draw art work or locate images related to students' I-search paper. Teacher should also show students how to use text from their research to create poems or other literary and media arts representations of their learning. Furthermore, mini-lessons should be conducted on how to make story boards for student's multi-media presentations. To generate multi-media presentations teacher should conduct mini-lessons on how to use PowerPoint and media software to incorporate images, text, sound, motion and interactivity.
Strategies Related to Performing and Showcasing Students' Works
To prepare for a culminating showcase teacher should conduct mini-lessons on delivering and evaluating oral presentation. Additionally, mini-lessons should be conducted on how to create skits or mini-clips related to students' film studies and research findings. Time should also be devoted to conduct mini lessons how to promote students' and media artist's collaborations. Ultimately, these strategies will lead to collaborating, showcasing and performing students' work.
Standards and Core Curricula
This unit will meet standards required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Academic Standards in Social Studies, Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening along with Standards for Arts and Humanities. This unit employs mini-lessons which easily tie into the Philadelphia School District's Core Curricula standards. The specific standards which are aligned with the Pennsylvania Department of Education Academic Standards are:
- 1.2. Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- 1.4. Variety Types of Writing
- 1.5. Quality of Writing
- 1.6. Speaking and Listening
- 1.8. Research,
- 9.1. Production, Performance and Exhibition of Visual Arts
- 9.2. Historical and Cultural Contexts
- 9.3. Critical Response
- 9.4. Aesthetic Response
These standards are detailed fully in Appendix #2.
Project Assessment
Each student will be responsible for completing an I-Search paper on their inquiry about Chinese culture or gender issues. The I-Search paper will be assessed based on the completeness of the research; proficient writing standards (focus, content, organization, style and conventions); as well as validity of students' research sources. Students therefore, should be able to effectively use internet sources, personal interviews, direct quotes and shots from films. Students will not only demonstrate what they discovered about their topics related to Chinese culture and gender issues, but what they learned about themselves.
Students' film viewing logs will also be assessed for completeness. Their journals should contain aesthetic responses, research notes and finding as well as notes on the concepts and techniques explored during mini-lessons. Students' notes should reflect the mini-lessons which will progress from concrete and accessible concepts to more difficult and abstract ideas.
The production of the students' multi-media show case should be the culminating project assessed. Students may be assessed in following areas:
- Does the presentation match with the story board design?
- Does the presentation provide enough details to demonstrate students' new discoveries?
- Does the presentation use relevant images or pictures related to culture and gender issues?
- Does the presentation incorporate any aspect from Chinese films viewed?
- Does the presentation incorporate other elements of sound, animation and interactivity?
- Does the presentation have no or few spelling and mechanical errors?
Students will become very adept at multi-tasking and may work on two or more duties. The mini-lessons and hands-on tasks will allow for both individual and cooperative team work. During this time, the class will be structured according to the principles of constructivism and autonomous learning. I will place students in groups of four-to-six to practice skills or concepts taught after the mini-lessons are conducted. These groups might be functional-based teams, where student team members perform tasks based on their predominant skills and intelligences.
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