Instructional Objective: The students will be able to (1) differentiate between the terms “religion” and “spirituality,” (2) understand the roles of each in the lives of the characters and themselves, and (3) will be able to identify situations in which the struggle that exists in the story also exists in the real world either locally or globally.

Resource Materials: “House Opposite,” by R.K. Narayan, can be found in the collection titled Sudden Fiction International.

Time Frame: 70 - 80 minutes

Strategies/Activities:

Lesson Plan

Begin the lesson by writing the title of the story on the board in large letters. Looking at each word individually, have the students call out the different possible definitions of each word. With the students working in pairs, have them mix and match the different possible combinations of definitions to come up with at least 3 possible title definitions and what they each might indicate about the story we will read. List each possibility on the board or on a poster where the information cannot be erased. The students should also include this list in their notebooks (15 minutes).

As a homework assignment, have the students read the story and answer the question: which of the “title definitions” discussed previously applies to the story and why. What types of “houses” might the story refer to? What, exactly, is “opposite” in this story? *This may also be completed in class, if time permits.

Upon returning to class, refer to the board/poster listing the “title definitions” and the students’ homework in order to briefly discuss their responses to the homework questions (10 minutes).

Then, have the students break into groups of 3: one student reads the story aloud again, one student keeps a list of what the hermit is doing “right” and what the prostitute is doing “wrong.” Remaining in their groups, have the students answer each of the following questions through discussion:

1. If the hermit is doing so much “right,” why can’t he reach the “spiritual liberation” he is working so hard for?
2. If the prostitute does so much “wrong,” why would she make an offering to the hermit?
3. Considering what we learn about the prostitute in the end, what can we say these characters have in common? How are their goals similar?

(25 minutes).

When the students return to a whole class discussion, have the words “religious” and “spiritual” written on the board. Ask the students to consider the answers they have already provided and to decide which of the terms applies to which of the characters. Before discussing their reasons, take an initial vote to see what the majority believes—indicate the results on the board. Then, in their notebooks, have the students define spirituality and religion based on the decision they made connections should be made to details from the story. Choose 3 students to write their definitions on the board under the appropriate columns. As a class discuss the similarities in each column, the differences between the 2 columns, and finally how each of the definitions can be applied to the characters (15 – 20 minutes).

Final Assessment: Questionnaire & Interviews

Based on the previous discussion, the students, in groups of 2 or 3, should create a questionnaire of 10 questions that can be used to identify whether or not a person is spiritual or religious (15-20 minutes). *This can be completed as homework if time does not allow.

Using the questionnaire the students have developed, they should interview a variety people (amount depends on the preference of the teacher). With this information, the students should write a 1-2 page report indicating whether they notice a predominance of spirituality, religiousness, or a balanced blend of each, along with an analysis of these results, perhaps speculating on why one predominates the others.

Vocabulary:

• Tenement -- Residence
• Prostrate -- Bow
• Chapattis -- Flat bread from northern India
• Debauchery -- Wickedness
• Guru -- Spiritual guide
• Sieve -- Strainer
• Mantras -- A sacred Hindu prayer repeated in meditation
• Futile -- Useless
• Austere -- Severe
• Siva -- One of the principal Hindu deities
• Sri -- Hindu title for a holy person
• Shastra -- A written authoritative instruction among the Hindus
• Rama -- A famous Hindu hero
• Swamiji -- A title of respect

Lesson Extensions:

Additional Reading:

• Nectar in a Sieve, by Kamala Markandaya.
• Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

Research/Presentation: Each student will seek out a current event in which two people, cultures, religions, countries, etc, struggle with having different approaches to the same goal or in which one culture/religious group judges the activities of another based on that culture’s/religious group’s rules. The student will give a presentation using a visual that explains the comparisons between the situation presented in the story and the current event.

New Jersey Core Content Standards:

3.1.14 Use clear, concise, organized language in speaking situations (research presentations, class discussions).

3.2.11 Demonstrate comprehension of, and appropriate listener response to, ideas in a persuasive speech, an oral interpretation of a literary selection, interviews in a variety of real-life situations, and educational and scientific presentations (research presentations, class discussions, small group discussions, questionnaire interviews).

Global Citizen 2000 Modules -- Core Questions Addressed:

Global Literature Module:

• What are universal experiences?
• How can literature help readers to understand global issues?

Religion and Spirituality:

• Where can people see global forces at work in their daily lives?
• How does the study of global literature foster empathy with others?