Strategies
Students will read the novels to compare and contrast the authors view point and perspectives and write a comparative essay.
Students will use the computers in the computer lab to do a web search on the background of "African Film writers" will introduce and re-enforce computer skills necessary for my students to succeed in today's technological society. Through a series of guided exercises, they will develop skills in research. After investigating the history of African films on the internet, the students will be asked to construct a model of it as a way to strengthen comprehension skills taught through direction reading and interpreting. It is very important that study skills and research techniques are thoroughly taught in advance.
As visual learners it will be necessary that the students will continue to see elements throughout the film that will depict reality in an effort for them to connect what they are learning to what they already know. I will begin this discussion by showing various clips from the films Hotel Rwanda and Beloved that highlight brokenness within the family. I will use certain images from the films to symbolize the efforts of the authors to make sense of slavery and to comprehend their relationship to affects of slavery.
Students will use resources available to research the real-life events that were depicted in the films shown. They will identify characters in the film that they or someone they know can relate.
Students will maintain a series of journal entries analyzing the filmmaker's purpose at several key points within the film. They will be encouraged to include drawings or poems as well in their journals reacting to the film's images.
Students will highlight the themes portrayed in the films and discuss how the themes were played out in cinematic, theatrical, and literary elements.
The final strategy will be dramatic scene writing, where students complete scenes that are only partially read or viewed in class. This instrument will encourage cooperation, increase writing skills, develop organizational skills, and present my students with a sense of fulfillment and pride of accomplishment. Using dramatic skills and those learned as the result of our discussion of film, the students will experiment with scene development.
I will use dramatic theme writing to allow students the opportunity to write in their journals the thoughts inspired by the films and the novels, as well as their reactions and expectations. This strategy will be useful to enhance writing skills, thought development, to expound upon vocabulary, and effective use of grammar. I will use a variety of methods to engage students. Several chapters of the novel will be read in class at times allowing students to ask questions as we read. We would also look at the most important words and phrases within a work. This will help us discuss why word choice is so important. Also, there would be a great deal of modeling. I would model different writing styles for my students as well as having them model the readings as they compare related films. For example, students will read from novel, Kindred, and then will write a comparison to the film, Sankofa.
As a teacher, it is important for me to identify the different learning styles of all the students. Some students will do quite well at writing creatively in a journal or writing an essay, and taking test and quizzes; while others quite obviously will struggle. It will be imperative for me to address the needs of these struggling students. I will do this by giving the students who are more visual learners an opportunity to draw pictures, to make posters, collages, or create images and bring them in for sharing. The students will engage in both cooperative and collaborative learning. They will participate in whole group, small group, and peer group activities. Students who are kinesthetic learners will lead their group by recreating scenes from the films and the novels to show the relation in time.
I will assess students daily to ensure that they understand what their task is. The students will conclude the unit by completing a portfolio. The portfolio will be a collection of notes taken from both the films and the novels. It will include all research materials, along with the bio of each of the authors of the films and novels. Students will be free to include any pictures, poems, and other artifacts. All handouts, tests, quizzes, and references will be a part of the portfolio and the final grade. Class participation will also be factored into the finality of the unit, which usually encourages students who are not as apt as others in reading comprehension and test taking to participate in class discussions.
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