Content Objectives
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter and the film The Education of Little Tree (1997) directed by Richard Friedenberg.
The unit will begin with reading chapter one (Little Tree), then chapter twelve (A Dangerous Adventure) and then the last chapter (The Passing Song) from the book The Education of Little Tree.
The first chapter begins when Little Tree loses his mother and his maternal relatives are taking away his mother’s furniture. His paternal grandparents, who are of Cherokee descent, attend the funeral and Little Tree inches his way towards them, hugs his grandfather’s leg, and will not let go when the aunt tries to grab him. Little Tree ends up living with his paternal grandparents. The grandparents lived a simple Cherokee way of life in a cabin in the mountains.
I will begin by reading chapter one, then we will view the two-minute movie clip of the first chapter. There will be a discussion of the two mediums to explain the character of grandpa. Both mediums show the different events and characters, the physical differences of grandpa, the events of how the families want the boy. The chapter ends with Little Tree making his decision to live with his grandparents, and as the trio travel home, grandma reads the letters on the side of the bus. The movies do not address this scene and I think this short passage is important because this features the authentic Cherokee language and alphabet writing. Cherokee history tells of how Sequoyah had created symbols that produced letters and words. He demonstrated his reading and writing to tribal elders and the nation adopted them in 1821 and called them a ‘syllabary.’ Within a couple of years thousands of Cherokee learned to read and write using his format, which was carried on into the 1930’s and to the present. Grandma knew how to read, I assume, since she used the Cherokee language and the English language to comprehend the writing on the bus. The idea of Native American Indians reading is not looked upon favorably during the 1930’s. Another moment in the written text that should be discussed involves the way that the bus driver addresses the trio as they board the bus. The driver says, ‘how,’ this not the accurate way that the Cherokee greet one another. ‘Si Yu’ is what the Cherokee say when they greet each other. There are numerous other events within the two mediums that are excellent comparisons and contrasts with the initial part of the book and film.
In addition to comparing book to film, the formal elements of film will be introduced. The beginning of the film, the sets, and the scenery, which is the natural outdoor background for a tracking shot into the town. Then the camera zooms in to Little Tree standing alone against the steps. The narration explains what is happening in the scene and the initial part of chapter one is the prologue in the film. The first two minutes of the film contain numerous film elements that teachers can show in shorter snippets to explain the film vocabulary.
The middle of the book, chapter twelve, explains the various flowers grandma and Little Tree pick for food and medicinal purposes. The passage tells us that grandpa and Little Tree listen to the many varieties of birds and discuss their purpose and character within Cherokee legends. Then grandpa and Little Tree stroll to a stream and he shows Little Tree how to catch a fish with his hands. When Little Tree searches for frogs, he suddenly encounters a rattlesnake near the pond. The movie does not elaborate on the flowers or the birds at all but the rattlesnake scene was similar in the book and in the film. There were minimal changes in the movie, for example that grandpa killed the snake by stepping on it and throwing it farther away, whereas the literature had a detailed description of the snake, “He was bigger around than my leg and I could see ripples moving under his dry skin.”1 The movie clip of the rattlesnake scene in both mediums really complemented one another. The scene and passage where grandma used a live quail to take out the poison does not seem authentic because common knowledge about being bitten by a snake is that there is the traditional Native American Indian remedy, to use plant herbs (roots, leaves, and juices within the stem, bulbs) which are found within the surroundings in the environment of the Appalachian Mountains. Depending on the tribe, in this case the Cherokee, sometimes tobacco and whiskey are included with the herbs. Another event when grandpa cuts the area where the snake had bitten him on the hand, this scene and passage, discussions, questions, and the critical analysis of what he did, will facilitate discussions of ‘what if’s or suppose,’ to justify, defend, or evaluate his actions when he sucked out the poison, used an unclean knife, and created an open wound. Again, a variety of examples in both the book and film bring out life-threatening issues. Protecting kin or a loved one is the underlying issue of this part of the chapter. The elements of film form viewed in this portion of the clip are the scenery, the extreme close-up shots of Little Tree and the rattlesnake, and the shot /reverse shot cutting that happens with cuts to Little Tree and then to the snake, back and forth. The camera focuses on grandpa when he was bitten: it only wanted to focus on his reaction to the snakebite. The film score has slow, sad music playing while they were waiting for grandpa to get better. These examples of film vocabulary are addressed while viewing the movie.
At the end of the book, “The Passing Song,” Willow John dies from the flu and grandpa and Little Tree bury him in the hill close to the mountain. One evening while the trio is sitting on the top of the secret place in the mountain, walking on the high rim trail, grandpa slips and falls. He never recovers from the fall and eventually dies. A couple of years later a hound dog dies and then grandma dies sitting in her rocking chair. She leaves a note for Little Tree, “Little Tree, I must go. Like you feel the trees, feel for us when you are listening. We will wait for you. Next time it will be better. All is well. Grandma.”2 She is buried next to Grandpa. Little Tree leaves the cabin and walks away heading west. In the film scenes of this chapter there are changes in the plot: both of his grandparents have passed away and Little Tree ends up living with Willow John farther away in the mountains. Eventually, Willow John is gone and Little Tree travels west and meets other Native American Indian tribes. In the last ten minutes of the film, grandpa falls and dies and eventually grandma passes and Little Tree narrates his impressions of what his grandparents taught him about life and the afterlife. The narration says to look at the Dog Star when the grandparents say, “Next time it will be better.” The Dog Star is not mentioned in the book but is in the Cherokee legend and in most Native American Indian legends. According to the Cherokee, the Dog Star is the brightest star in the sky; it is the traveler’s path after death and all spirits travel to the star towards the spirit world. We will analyze the quote “Next time it will be better.” Willow John, grandpa and grandma mention these words throughout the last chapter and it is one of many critical story elements discussed in literature. We will ask what the quote means. Again the movie elements are discussed to prepare the students for their own short film. The vocabulary, including film score, narration, the foreshadowing of grandpa’s fall, the crane shot of grandma standing on the top edge of the cliff, the sound of her song, and the scenery in the area are examples of what students need to learn about.
Another main point of this unit on book and film is to focus on teaching the background of film vocabulary to help my students see and learn how a film is made. Of course it is also to explain the cultural relevance of the Cherokee tribal culture, in addition to our own Dine culture to justify Native American Indian authenticity. As I teach the culture of the tribes, I will contact the tribe’s culture specialist and use my cultural knowledge to authenticate the passages and scenes in both genres. Students will begin to understand that native tribes have different cultures while reading the passages and viewing the scene on film.
The author of the book, Forest Carter, had a racist past during his lifetime, but I believe that a human has traits of compassion and empathy for living beings. Carter’s involvement with a cult labeled his character as undesirable, damaged, and destructive. In a sense, my belief is that he might be balancing his harmony and making amends by writing this book.
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks and the film The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) directed by Frank Oz.
The book is about a boy named Omri, a young English boy who does not know much about Native American Indians. On his ninth birthday he receives unusual gifts from his older brother (an old medicine cabinet he found in an alley), his friend, Patrick, (a plastic toy Indian), and from his mother (a special magical key for the cabinet) and other gifts. Omri takes his gifts to his room and plays with the cupboard and the toy Indian. He puts the plastic toy Indian in the cupboard and discovers that the toy comes magically alive when he turns the key and opens the cupboard door. Omri and the Indian, Little Bear, become friends, and soon his friend Patrick knows about the Indian and is involved with Omri’s game. Complications arise when his friend quickly puts a cowboy in the cupboard and the goofy cowboy comes to life. The two little men end in fighting each other, which is interesting because both of them come for different time frames, Little Bear from the 17th century and Boone from the 19th century. Omri realizes the toys are real people and he is putting the miniature men in danger when they are taken to school. In due time, Boone is accidently shot by Little Bear’s arrow because Little Bear viewed the television show as a real event of cowboys and Indians fighting. Then the adventure of the loose rat roaming around the house creates anxieties for the boys and their little men. Finally, Omri uses the cupboard to change a toy medic from WWI to help with Boone’s injury. Omri finds out that it takes responsibility to care for the little beings and to do what is right for them. Little Bear, Bright Star, and Boone are returned to the cupboard and are sent back to their own time. In the end Omri realizes that he is becoming responsible and mature when using the cupboard. It is not a game when peoples’ lives are involved—it is real--and playing around will hurt them.
The book Indian in the Cupboard encompasses sixteen chapters and needs to be taught in chunks of two or three per day, which will take about seven days. Story and film elements will be addressed using the two mediums, book and film. For instance, analyzing chapter two, “The Door is Shut,” creates discussions about the authenticity of how the Native American Indians are represented when Little Bear informs Omri that his tribe, the Iroquois, live in a longhouse, not a teepee. The longhouses are sacred because the clans believe that these homes are related to everything about the earth, sky, and in the spirit world, very similar to the Navajo hoghan concept.
Also, Little Bear’s oral English language structure is not how Native American Indians from his tribe spoke. The Iroquois nation is a confederacy of five nations and it has had a political system and a constitution. I believe these attributes tell us that the Iroquois tribes were intelligent and could communicate fluently, which does not match the literature. Little Bear’s intelligence as the son of a chief will be discussed with respect to how a person of his stature is supposed to behave, in contrast to the book and film. In the Iroquois clans a The Council of the Great Peace was formed and clan councils discussed and voted on numerous issues. Pine-tree chiefs were chosen by the council for their leadership and speaking ability. The literature and film does not tell about the Council of the Great Peace, so chiefs do not make major decisions within the council. There are various examples of events in the book and film that tell us about actions performed by Little Bear which are not accurate. These passages and scenes will be analyzed and compared when discussing accuracy and inaccuracy and cultural relevance. The passages view Little Bear as insistent and demanding, which makes readers view his character as not aligned with nature, harmony and Iroquois cultural teachings. Little Bear’s demand for meat is another example of what is not accurate. The Iroquois do not emphasize meat as their main diet, the three sisters meaning corn, beans, and squash are the clan’s food staples. The corn husk, cobs, and stalks were used to make mats, twine, belts, and pit-lining. All parts of the plants were used and not wasted. There are other illustrations the teacher will be able to discuss with their students about using all parts of plants and animals. Additional characters, settings, theme and events are analyzed to ensure authenticity while teaching comprehensible input, critical thinking skills, and comparing and contrasting of book and film.
I want my students to think about their thinking while reading or watching a film. They need to begin to think about such things as “suppose this happens, then what or why and how can it change?” These high levels of questioning and thinking are meaningful and will engage students with enduring understanding when utilizing the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy teaching strategies. As story elements are taught and discussed, students will focus their learning on authenticity, film elements, and how specific passages or film clips connect to the Diné culture. Teachers will understand that literature and film are an excellent combination when teaching. A movie should not be a reward at the end of the unit for completing the literature. Comparing the two mediums gives students a wider dimension and exposure to how the authors, illustrators, producers and directors process and think. They will also think about how these writers and filmmakers think about creativity and how meaning is displayed by a written text or on the screen. Educators need to make sure the literature chosen is from an excellent source and that there is a film in relation to the book.
In the medium of film the scale or the size of the characters has a great visual effect when working with the zoom of the camera. The visuals of Little Bear, Boone and his horse are beautiful, and the film about Omri and his friend Patrick visually shows plastic toys changing into real live humans. Many camera angles create both close ups and the depth perception of the set with its characters. A film vocabulary booklet will be used to help students recall and use the vocabulary while they create their own short film clip as their summation of the unit. Thanks to the advancements of technology in supplementing movie production, students will perceive the visual depiction of the story in vivid details, which is especially helpful for those who do not have extensive background knowledge and experiences about the events, characters, and settings in the passages we read. This is when we will have a discussion of why some parts of the book passages are not explored in the film. Students will brainstorm and discuss the various reasons for this, such as the budget of the movie, the time constraints, the much collaboration of people involved in cinema production, and so on. The many facets of the mediums of literature and film give the teacher a wide spectrum of topics and skills to discuss and, at the same time, these elements can be narrowed and controlled when addressing the common core standards or other state and district requirements in the English Language Arts.
The author, Lynne Reid Banks, a British author who currently resides in England, has received favorable review from various critics who have read The Indian in the Cupboard. The book has some fantasy and some realism as the boys change toys into living beings. But the author’s descriptions and the actions of the characters are stereotypical. For instance the character Little Bear is described as an ordinary Indian like all other Indians and Boone is a common cowboy who drinks excessively. Both do not speak appropriate English and are depicted as sworn enemies. There is some inappropriate language in the literature and fifth grade students need to be informed about this. Lynne Reid Banks’ book was the bestselling novel of the year in 1981 and has received numerous state awards. She has published an additional series of books after The Indian in the Cupboard, including The Return of the Indian, The Secret of the Indian, The Mystery of the Indian, and The Key to the Indian.
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