Classroom Activities
Activity 1: Introduction
The first activity was designed as a hook to get the students to engage with the themes that will be covered throughout the unit. This activity consists of three parts: Access Prior Knowledge, Review of the Celebration of Día de los Muertos, and Study of Ekphrastic Poetry.
Step 1: Access Prior Knowledge – Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
To assess what the students already know I will present the students with questions in the target language like “What do you know about the celebration of the Day of the Dead?” “How do you feel about the Day of the Dead?” “Is it possible to communicate with spirits?” Students will record their responses on paper. I anticipate that some students will mention sugar skulls, Calaveras poems, the novel “Tumba,” and the movie “Coco.” Some students will admit to being frightened or nervous about the Day of the Dead. Very few students will think it is possible to communicate with spirits.
Students then share their responses with a shoulder partner. Then I will direct a whole class discussion related to the questions. I suggest conducting a class poll related to the questions having the students create a bar graph or a pie chart of the results. This will give students visual data indicating the similar opinions and experiences of classmates.
Step 2: Review Día de los Muertos
The next part of this lesson will extend and refine student understanding of Día de los Muertos through the use of a video. Video works well in my curriculum as a large percentage of my students acquire information visually, from charts, illustrations, photographs and videos. Before delving into the ekphrastic poem “Catrina” by Xánath Caraza, written in response to Diego Rivera’s mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park,” I suggest using photographs or a video to review the celebration of Día de los Muertos to provide the students some context. There is a colorful and informative animated short video on You Tube titled “Día de los Muertos” that illustrates a young Mexican girl’s experience with the holiday.19 Using visuals, such as videos and pictures, is especially helpful for students with special needs as they help these students to acquire background knowledge and put the elements of the lesson into context. After watching the video, or as students look at photographs, I will ask questions in the target language such as “What activities are characteristic of the celebration?” “What decorations did you observe?” “Is the celebration[] happy or sad? What evidence from the video led you to this conclusion?” and “Did you like the video?”20
Activity 2: Study of Ekphrastic Poetry
For the purpose of this unit, I suggest dividing the study of ekphrastic poetry into two sections: Part 1 – Art; the study of the mural “ Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” by Mexican artist Diego Rivera; and Part 2 – Poetry; the study of the ekphrastic poem “Catrina” by Mexican – born poet Xánath Caraza. These sections, in progression, provide the students with some art history, some background about the artist, and information about the mural. As a culmination, the students will learn about ekphrastic poetry, be introduced to the poet Xánath Caraza and her ekphrastic poem, and analyze the poem in relation to Rivera’s mural. It is my hope that my students will “journey” through the history of Mexico via the study of “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” and develop a greater appreciation of Mexican culture through the interpretation and analysis of Xánath Caraza’s ekphrastic poem “Catrina.”
Part 1: Art
Vocabulary – Access Prior Knowledge
To get the lesson started I will provide each student with a knowledge rating scale chart, prior to any instruction about the terms. The chart will have a list of twenty or so vocabulary words in the target language related to the work of art. My students will rate themselves on their level of familiarity with each term by placing a check in a column under one of the following headings; “Have No Clue,” “Have Seen or Heard,” and “I Know It Well.” I will instruct the students to provide the English meaning of the word in another column labeled “Definition” if they know a word on the list well enough to provide their own definition. If a student has seen or heard a vocabulary term from the list I will direct them to write an educated guess as to the meaning of the word in the column labeled “I Think It Means.” It is important to encourage them to be honest, as their responses will determine how much time will be devoted to the instruction of each vocabulary term.
Vocabulary – Direct Instruction
After the students reflect on their knowledge of the target language vocabulary, I will use a vocabulary chart made up of two columns, one with the vocabulary terms and the other with their English meanings, to clearly teach the vocabulary. Using this chart makes certain that all students have the needed vocabulary to participate in class discussions and activities. Students use the definitions to complete a graphic organizer based on the vocabulary terms in the target language by writing a definition or meaning of the word in English, writing a sentence in the target language using the term in context, and sketching the vocabulary word. Initially I will instruct the students to complete each section of the graphic organizer for every term with the end goal in mind of each student determining which option--definition, sentence, or sketch--is the most effective tool for him/her to learn and remember the vocabulary.
Close Reading
As the students prepare to view the mural I will explain to them that they will be using a strategy called Close Reading, working both independently and collaboratively to closely analyze the work of art. I will further explain that they will view the mural a couple of times, each time focusing on a different aspect of it. I suggest that the mural to be studied be divided into three separate viewings. In the first viewing of Rivera’s mural I will project the work. I will ask the students to look at the picture in silence for a minute or two and think about what they see. What is happening in the picture? After a minute or two I will ask the entire class, in the target language, "What do you see in the picture?" I anticipate the students to respond with the obvious — "There are a lot of people in a park. Some of the people are really dressed up. The mural looks old. There is a skeleton dressed up like a lady." When a student provides an answer, I will ask her/him to supply more information. "You said it looks like the people are in a park. What makes you say that?" The students will justify their answers by providing evidence from the painting. They may say, "There are a lot of trees, a fountain, and what looks like a merry-go-round.” Next I will encourage the students to share differing opinions and provide justification for their opinions, as this will deepen the conversation and allow for a wider variety in the student interpretations of the various elements of the piece. One student may say, "The man in the hot air balloon is from the Wizard of Oz because it looks similar to the scene in the movie." I would then ask if everyone agrees with the statement. Another student might say that s/he doesn’t agree because the balloon has the initials “RM” on it, and the Wizard of Oz takes place in Oz, not in Mexico. The discussion continues until students have shared all they can about the painting. I will summarize what the students said. After the discussion, the students will use a graphic organizer, a one-page paper divided in half with the first half labeled Learning and the other half labeled Reflection, to write a Learning/About statement and a brief summary.
The second viewing is viewing with purpose. I will provide each student with a copy of the mural. Students study the work independently, highlighting details in the mural that support their learning statements. Using the above graphic organizer, students reflect upon what they just viewed. I will explain to the students that the reflection column can include questions they still have about the work, observations, or a personal connection that they have to a particular part of the mural. With a shoulder partner, each student will discuss the details they selected from the mural and how they support their Learning/About statement. Reflections are also shared. I will then conduct a whole class discussion regarding the details of the mural in order to check for understanding. In addition, I will address student questions about the mural.
The next step in the close process is a series of text-dependent questions. I will model for the students the process of answering these questions by working through the first question with them. The process requires the students to begin by review the mural. Next, they will review the completed graphic organizer. Then they will seek the answer to the question and discuss the question with a partner, checking for accuracy and clarification. The final step is where the students write their best possible answer using all of the information that they have gathered to adequately answer the question.
To end the close reading process I will lead a whole class discussion of the questions and the work in order to check for accuracy and address any inaccurate responses.
Check for Understanding
This check for understanding for the art portion of the unit can be used to assess students’ comprehension of the work of art. I will provide each student with a copy of the mural which they will glue or tape onto a looseleaf sheet of paper. I will direct the students to write six sentences in the target language about the mural. The sentences can be statements or questions. Students will share their sentences with the class. This allows the students to have a visual with their own notes to remind them of what they are learning and thinking, and it provides for me a quick check to assess their compreshension of the work.
Part 2: Ekphrastic Poetry
Vocabulary
The vocabulary introduced at this point will be related to poetry terms and vocabulary specific to the poem of study, “Catrina.” In order to provide consistency throughout unit, I will use the same procedures for accessing prior knowledge and direct instruction of vocabulary as in the previous lesson with the exception of the completion of a graphic organizer for vocabulary definitions. Instead of using the graphic organizer I will have students create digital flashcards using the website Quizlet or a similar site. On sites such as Quizlet students can create their personalized study stack of vocabulary terms, allowing them to be active participants in the learning process. Digital media works well in my curriculum because of its multisensory appeal and will engage my visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.
Close Reading
In order to maintain consistency I will employ the same close reading processes used in the previous lesson when reading Caraza’s poem. Within this theme I suggest dividing the text into three different readings. To get started, I will explain to the students that they will be reading the text a couple of times, each time focusing on a different aspect of it. I suggest that the poem to be read be divided into three separate readings. In my opinion, the most logical division is by thirds; the first section will include the first seven stanzas, the second section [] the next seven stanzas, and the last section [] the final eight stanzas. This division of the poem allows the students to identify the build up to the transformation of Mictecacíhuatl into La Catrina, the exact moment in the poem that transformation takes place, and then Catrina’s evolution into the Mexican icon of death that she is today. The first read of the first section is read aloud by the teacher. Students follow along circling any words they do not know and annotating any text they do not understand with a question mark. After this first read students use a graphic organizer, a one-page paper divided in half with the first half labeled Learning and the other half labeled Reflection, to write a Learning/About statement and a brief summary.
The second reading is reading with purpose. Students read independently underlining details in the poem that support their learning statements. Using the above graphic organizer, students reflect upon what they just read. I will explain that the reflection can be questions they still have related to the poem. With a shoulder partner, each student will discuss the details they selected from the text and how they support their Learning/About statement. Reflections are also shared. I will then conduct a whole class discussion regarding the details of the text in order to check for understanding. In addition, I will address student questions about the poem.
The next step in the close reading process is a series of text-dependent questions. I will model for the students the process of answering these questions by working through the first question with them. The students will be reminded of the close reading process. The students will begin by reading the section of the poem again. Next, they will take notes to help better understand the section of the text. They will discuss the question with a partner. To finish they will write their best possible answer to the question, using all of the information that they have gathered.
To end the close reading process I will lead a whole class discussion of the questions and the text in order to check for accuracy. As with the first third of the poem, the close reading process will be practiced when reading the remaining thirds with the text dependent questions being section specific.
Check for Understanding
To assess the students’ understanding of the ekphrastic nature of the poem “Catrina” I will have students annotate a copy of Rivera’s mural identifying figures, items, symbols in it that are alluded to in Caraza’s poem. I anticipate that students will identify La Calavera Catrina off to the left of center in the mural. Some students might point out the angel in the right third of the work while others may spot the rising smoke in the background. I will encourage students to review and reflect upon their learning statements and reflections from the close readings to help them with their annotations. I will then ask students to justify their annotations with evidence from the poem. I will assess their understanding of the ekphrasitic nature of the poem by looking at the evidence from the poem that they provided to justify their annotations.
Activity 3: Creating an Original Ekphrastic Poem
To conclude the unit, each student will author an original ekphrastic poem in the target language in response to Rivera’s mural. This culminating activity will require each student to complete research about figures or items in the mural that interest him/her. I will provide students with a packet containing the following information about this project; a letter addressed to both the student and their parent(s), a detailed explanation of the project requirements along with helpful vocabulary and phrases in the target language, explanations and examples of poetic forms available for the students to use, and the rubric that will be used to assess their work. Students will share their original ekphrastic work with their classmates digitally, using a learning management system like Schoology, and with the larger school community in a poetry slam.
Vocabulary
In this activity students will use semantic gradients to examine the subtle differences between related words by arranging them in a continuum. The goals of using this strategy are to help students develop their vocabulary, extend their knowledge of words, and encourage them to think about the relationships among similar words. This will provide them with a more robust descriptive vocabulary when writing ekphrastic poetry. From the vocabulary list in Activity 2, I will select [] twelve or so vocabulary terms and descriptors in the target language. Next, working as shoulder partners, each pair of students will be randomly assigned one of the twelve vocabulary terms. Using the infographic “Colour in Cultures” from the website Information is Beautiful, students will select the color that most universally relates to the descriptor; for example, yellow for happiness, or blue for sadness. Then after selecting a paint chip strip with four shades of the chosen color, each student pair will write and illustrate their descriptor on the first shade of the paint chip strip. Students may illustrate using emojis, stick figures, or whatever type of drawing helps them to best visualize the descriptor. For the vocabulary term contento, which in English means contented, the students might draw a smiley face emoji. Then students will use the remaining shades of color to create a list of semantically similar words arranging them in an order that illustrates an understanding of each word’s meaning. As they arrange the words, students can discuss and justify their ordering. I will encourage students to arrange the words in order of intensity from the original descriptor given, from least to most, to reflect the intensity of the color shades. Upon completion, students will discuss the rationale for placing their chosen descriptors in the specific order. I will encourage conversations about the subtle differences among the words. To differentiate this activity, students can be given the paint chip strip with the first descriptor determined, and the remaining descriptors on sticky notes. Students then have to place the descriptors in order on the strip.
In Figure 3, I have provided two examples of this activity using the descriptors contento (contented) and decepcionado (disappointed). Because universally the color yellow is associated with happiness and the color blue is associated with sadness, I chose the paint chip strips with the shades of those colors.21 The vocabulary in the target language, Spanish, is written on the paint chips in order of word intensity to match the intensity of the color shades. On the yellow strip, the first paint chip displays the word Spanish contento, which means contented in English. The next word in the semantic gradient is feliz, meaning happy. The third word is alegre, which means joyous. The final word choice is jubiloso, which means jubilant. On the blue strip, the first Spanish term is decepcionado, meaning disappointed. The second word choice is triste, sad. Third, I have selected abatido, which means glum. Last is the Spanish word deprimido, meaning depressed. As mentioned previously, students should be encouraged to discuss and justify their ordering during the process of creating their own semantic gradients and they should be prompted to provide their rationale for placing the descriptors in the specific order, noting the subtle differences between the words. These semantic gradient charts will be displayed on a word wall in the classroom for the students to refer to when making word choices in the creation of their ekphrastic work.
Figure 3 Examples of paint chip strip semantic gradients created by the author
Poetry Slam
As part of the culminating project of this unit, the students will participate in a poetry slam. A poetry slam is a competition in which the poets perform their original poetic works and are judged by members of the audience. Every student poet will participate in the first round. The judges’ scores will determine participating poets in the subsequent rounds. Poets will have two minutes to read their poem. If a poet goes over the allotted time, points will be deducted from the total score. The poet may not use musical instruments, props, or costumes. There will be five judges for each round. Of the scores received from the judges, the high and low score will be dropped and the remaining three scores are added together. The purpose of this activity is for students to showcase to the school community what they have learned from their study of ekphrastic poetry and creatively express their newfound knowledge of the Mexican culture. The poetry slam provides a playful environment in which student poets can verbally communicate their original poetic work in the target language to a larger audience. My hope is that because the students will be communicating to a live audience, they will put forth the effort to be understood, employing correct pronunciation, intonation, gestures, volume, and body language all of which will be practiced and coached in class in preparation for the poetry slam.
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