Activities
Anatomy of a frame
Why do some of us remember 1939 film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz of as “creepy,” and does it really deserve to be called “the happiest movie ever made”? This multi-modal activity is for use before we begin reading the novel. After we briefly sketch what we know of the movie plot on Freytag’s Pyramid, we will study at least two frozen images from the film with contrasting moods. The first certain image is of the four main characters bounding down the Yellow Brick Road at the beginning of their journey with the whole group. The second will be an exterior shot of the witch’s chambers with the monkeys looking in towards the viewer. Both will be accompanied by a graphic organizer that moves from the objective (colors, verbs, details, perspective) to the more interpretive (what do these colors suggest, for example?) to the more analytical (what details best develop the mood and how?). As a follow up short write or journal, students will create a setting with an intended mood with well-chosen objective details and word choices. This serves as a warm-up activity for their own fantasy pieces, as well.
Narration exploration
Two activities here are intended to link the verbal with the visual so that students might begin to fill in the gap between the two with their own meaning and ownership.
First, to link language and image, to enhance comprehension, and to help students improve their own writing of dialogue, they will study structures of phrase and use of modifiers as used by Butler in Bloodchild. After developing some appreciation for her visual spoken scenes, writers will re-create the form and use with their own re-made dialogue, either from their day or fictionalized. For example, from Bloodchild: “I shrank back against the door. ‘Here? Alone?’” The first clause is simple description of action with a strong verb and concrete noun. It is followed by two short questions that sound emotional because of their brevity and interrogative nature. I might model something like: “I dove behind the stone wall. ‘Lights? Sirens?’” After several of these, I’ll encourage students to write a brief exchange of dialogue using image and language effectively.
Another activity to link language to image to reinforce comprehension and engagement will turn the students into visual artists, in charge of re-making the verbal. Students will draw at least one detailed drawing from a description in the story, forcing them to slow down, see details that will bring the scene to life and sustain in the readers’ minds. In the first six pages of the story, before the inciting incident, there are regular pieces of description to give the reader a dynamic visual of T’Gatoi, with her segments, velvety underside and length. Mining these pieces, students will draw what they “see” and explain their visual interpretations.
Fantasy writing project
Several other activities beyond our usual practices will fill out the unit. The cumulative writing project will be a developed, original fantasy story that remakes or looks anew at a reality for the writer. YA fantasy writer Laurence Yep says, “By transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar, writers can also change the ordinary into the extraordinary. Take one step to the side, and authors can create lively stories; but if the take an additional step to the side they begin to think in terms of fantasy. . .”16 Writing a story in the subjunctive allows them to ask “what if?” in a safe place. This piece gives them the opportunity to do that, while converging what they’ve learned about plot, dialogue, story type, and reading fantastic literature for new meaning. They will “prewrite” at least one character by drawing it in detail as an exercise in character development. They will create scenes with detail for mood and meaning as a filmmaker would a storyboard. They will include dialogue imbued with emotion for the skill they have developed. Most importantly, they will have the power to write their own future or present reality with new clarity, based in their own paracosmic imaginations.
Installation art
Kara Walker’s Subtlety provides another chance for students to use visual art to build their skills in analysis. As in literature, students studying the piece can find evidence of symbolism, setting, characterization, and theme. At the end of this unit, when they have seen the Art 21 video on the evolution of the Walker’s work, my students will collaboratively create an installation piece, probably in our building unless a site specific to the needs of the piece becomes apparent. I imagine that this will evolve organically once an issue or topic is selected. Regardless of the topic, we’ll brainstorm about images, associations, language, and geography, and consider how materials might be used along with these things to convey metaphor, serve as symbol, and develop theme. We may discover that other ways to add layers of meaning. We’ll create our own rubric to assess our success.
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