Classroom Activities
The hook for this unit will be two-fold. On the first day of introduction of the novel I will hold class in the auditorium. I will arrange for a still shot of Daphne Monet, the mysterious woman in the blue dress, from the movie Devil in a Blue Dress, to be shown on the projection screen. Students will spend ten minutes working in pairs, one assigned as a recorder, to describe the woman in the picture. Guiding questions will be provided. They include: Describe what she looks like. How is she feeling? Who is she? What is her story? Students will then be given their own copy of the novel. Students will follow along as I read the blurb on the back of the book. I will also read any text on the inside front and back of the cover of the novel. Each student will be asked to write down what they think is the first sentence of the novel. The note cards will be collected. I will mix them up and include the real sentence in the mix. I will read each sentence once, then reread them for students to vote on which they think is the real sentence. Any student who guesses correctly will be awarded Mosley Money. The student whose sentence received the most votes will also receive Mosley Money. A discussion regarding student expectations of the book will take place.
At least three times during the novel (likely at the end of chapter ten, twenty and thirty) the students will become human graphic organizers. Students will work in groups and use their notebooks to copy character traits and descriptions (which they've already recorded in their notebooks) on large poster paper (with the sticky stuff on the back). Each group will be assigned a character(s). Each group will decorate the paper with colors, pictures, and listed ideas about the characters. Clues and insights related to each character's connection with the crimes will be listed. Murders in the novel, quite apart from other crimes, those of Coretta Jones, Howard Green, Richard McGee, and Matthew Teran. The murder of Joppy and Frank Green can also be included, the reader does not need to "figure them out." The reader is plainly told that Joppy is killed. We will spend class time presenting each character. In addition, each group will also be given one or more of the following components of a mystery: setting, initial crime, subsequent crime(s) committed, clues, the way detective traps the culprit and finally the obvious subplot of love (Fry, 2007). The class will collectively come up with transition sentences that connect the characters and components of the mystery. The teacher will record the transitions on poster paper. Individual students will be called upon to be the "transitions." All students will stand and hold up either the character, theme or transition they were assigned. Students will have to move around to make the connections coherent. Designated speakers will read the organizer and transitions. The student made materials will be saved for the next human graphic organizer. After reading more of the novel the students will add to, delete and amend their previous ideas about the characters and participate in the graphic organizer again. The visuals and kinetics of the activity will provide multimodal learning. Students will see that their perception of characters is accurate throughout the novel.
One of the culminating activities of the unit will include a field trip to the main Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, located in Oakland. I will arrange a book talk with one of the librarians specializing in literature for youth. A book talk is when a teacher or typically a librarian gives a brief description of a book to create curiosity about the book. She will discuss Mosley's other Easy Rawlins novels and briefly describe his other preferred genres, including science fiction, political polemic and his recently published children's book, 47, a science fiction novel about a fourteen-year-old boy who is a slave in 1832. A strange man introduces him to magic and, consequently, freedom. The librarian will also offer a book talk on other African-American detective fiction authors. Students will have time to review all novels discussed. We will come to a consensus on what novel we will read next in the classroom. The fieldtrip will include students obtaining an application for a library card. They will need to return the form with a parent/guardian signature independently. Mosley Money will be given for students who produce a library card.
Upon completion of the novel, students will share it with one of two groups. They will decide whether to bring the novel to one of the local middle schools or the senior citizens center. Both are within walking distance of the school. Students will decide democratically which group to present the novel to. They will not be able to read the entire novel to the middle school students. A short excerpt will need to be chosen. My students will have to develop an activity to engage in with the middle school students and arrange for a plan to keep them engaged in the learning. This collaboration's benefits are twofold. First, for the middle school students, it is often a difficult transition to high school. The anxiety about the unknown is overwhelming. Meeting high school students is rewarding and will give them a connection when they arrive at Langley within the next few years. Secondly, high school students benefit from being a mentor to younger students. The idea of being a role model is immensely beneficial to my students, who often have low self-esteem because of their known disability.
If the students choose to read the novel to the members of the senior citizen center, they will need to make some decisions about time and length of stay at the center. The center will be more flexible and more able to accommodate our group on a regular basis than the middle school. Many students at the school already volunteer at the senior center. A rapport has previously been established. My students will be asked to dress up as a character from the novel to intrigue either group. Mouse, Daphne and Albright would be the likely characters, as their dress is the most distinct from all the other characters.
Finally, I'd like to touch upon my efforts to make the readings and classroom activities fun by actually taking them outside of the classroom. In a class of students with learning and emotional disabilities, there are many individuals who benefit from movement and change of scenery. At least once a week, I'd like to have class at a locale other than my classroom. These places will include the local library (located directly behind the school), the school library, one of the two courtyards, on the front lawn of the school, or on the playground of the local public park (within walking distance). Outside locations are of course weather permitting.
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