Related to Skill Building for State Assessment, and Essential Questions
ActivityExamples of UseSkills AddressedPossible Essential Ques-tion
Alternative Ending
: Stu-dents write, either indi-vidually or in groups, anew ending to a text. Stu-dents must use similar narrative techniques as theauthor. Students performthe ending to the class.
Of Mice and Men (1937),
John Steinbeck: Changethe shocking ending and perform to class.Plot and character review;use of dialect; making predictions and examiningcause and effect.How can all people findhappiness in a society?Is the outcome of one’slife pre-determined?
Modern Versions
: Stu-dents write a modern ver-sion of a text, using someof the basic plot, charac-ters, and narrative tech-niques, but adapting themto a modern story-line.Students may also work ingroups and act out theseversions if desired.
The Odyssey (7
th
century B.C.),
Homer: Write amodern version of theclassic story.
Romeo and Juliet (1623)
William Shakespeare:Students write and per-form a modern version of the balcony scene.Plot review; use of literarydevices such as metaphor and Homeric epithet, hy- perbole, natural meta- phors, review of themes inthe scene.Why have “classics” stoodthe test of time?How do we still “live” the“classics” today?
Trials
: The antagonist is put on trial for his trans-gressions during the book.Characters are called aswitnesses and present evi-dence from the text tosupport their attacks on theantagonist. A judge or panel of judges reaches adecision at the end.
The Odyssey
: Put Odys-seus on trial; call his de-ceased men to cast blameon his leadership.Themes such as heroism,fate, circumstances; re-view of plot events.What makes a hero?Why is no one ever truly perfect? Is to err human?
Town council meetings
:Similar to trials, but in-stead of prosecuting a “vil-lain,” all of the characterscome together to answer aquestion or solve the cen-tral problem of the text.
The Bluest Eye (1970),
Toni Morrison: The townof Lorain, Ohio meetsafter Pecola’s rape anddecides who is to blameand how to prevent thisfrom happening in thefuture.Plot and character review;analysis of larger themessuch as the effect of soci-ety on an individual.Does society create theindividual, or does theindividual create society?Can a person escape her environment?
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The “Talk Show”
: In-spired by Jerry Springer or Oprah, character meet onstage to “explore” their problems. This may in-clude students acting ascharacters and being “in-terviewed.”
A Raisin in the Sun (1959),
Lorraine Hansberry: Fa-cilitate therapy sessions between family memberswith some students actingas therapists. Analyze therelationship and suggesttips to help better it.
Fences (1985),
AugustWilson: Characters fromthe play meet “on stage”and present their problemsas “Jerry” tries to “save”the family.Plot review; actingthrough a text-based re-view of characterization.What defines a family?How can “dysfunction” become “function”?
Pre-reading historicaldebates
: Students read the background behind con-troversial books and de- bate issues of racism or sexism behind them. Stu-dents can then return tothese debates after havingfinished the book.
The Crucible (1953),
Ar-thur Miller: Research intomore modern witch hunts,debate the role of aggres-sive pursuit of a principle.
The Adventure of Huckle-berry Finn (1884),
Mark Twain: Readings on the banning of the book; de- bate use of the “n-word.”Reading factual/historicaldocuments; debating athesis using supportingevidence; detecting bias inwriting.Introduction of the text ina historical and culturalcontext.Are censorship and de-mocracy able to coexist?How can literature be atool for protest?
Diary or journal entries
:Students keep a diary as acharacter, reacting toevents in the story as theyhappen to the character.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937),
Students keepa diary as Janie, reactingto events in her life andrevealing her inner thoughtsCharacter and plot review;use of perspective; writingusing literary devices.Can a person reallychange?If something doesn’t killyou, will it make youstronger?
Magazine and newspa-per reporting
: Studentsreport what happens in asection of a text by writingnewspaper headlines, gos-sip magazine pages, or editorials.
Romeo and Juliet
: GossipMagazine analysis of Act Iin which students report plot action using the toneand narrative techniquesof this genre.
The Color Purple (1982),
Alice Walker: studentswrite newspaper editorialsabout Sophia’s crime.Have half the class writefrom an African-Americannewspaper and the other half from a mainstream“White” newspaper.Plot and character review;use of tone and perspec-tive; connecting text toself.Plot and character review;use of tone and perspec-tive; understanding bias inwriting; exploring themesof racism and sexism.How does who we areshape what we believe?How does bias affect one’swriting?Is any source truly objec-tive?
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Silent debates
: Studentsdebate one or several top-ics by responding silentlyon paper and then passingtheir response to another student who responds.After papers are passedseveral times, studentsmay share a summary of all opinions. This can also be done as a “carousel”where students movearound the room.
The Bluest Eye
: FollowingPecola’s rape, studentssilently react to what hap- pened and debate if Chollyis fully to blame.Plot and character review;creating a thesis and sup- porting with evidence;debating skills.How can there be multipleanswers to the same prob-lem?Are people always respon-sible for their actions?
Acting scenes or lines:
Students act out a keyscene in a text for their peers. For more challeng-ing texts, students mayeven act out a line or twoof great significance.
A Raisin in the Sun:
Haveeach group perform onescene for the class and“teach” it, explaining thesignificance of the sceneand its relation to theoverall theme of the play.Plot, character, and themereview; synthesis of theending of the play; exam-ining tone and conflict.How can both good and bad things come out of conflict?
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About the Authors:David J. Connor
is an Associate Professor in the Department of SpecialEducation, Hunter College, City University of New York.
Sarah Bickens
is an English Teacher at Manhattan Village Academy,
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New York City.
Fran Bittman
is an English Teacher at Manhattan Village Academy,
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New York City.
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