Lesson Plan #2: Storytelling Traditions
Objective: The learner will demonstrate an evaluation of how the culture
of a time period influences storytelling narratives by comparing
Adeline’s story to the plot summary of Cinderella and
Anne Sexton’s poem entitled “Cinderella”,
and by writing a poem which reworks a traditional fairy-tale
in order to express their emotions.
Materials: Magazines such as: Elle, Shape, Vogue, etc…Cinderella
summary handout, Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella”,
model of assignment.
Procedures:
- The teacher begins by discussing how part of any person’s
growing sense of self is influenced by the popular culture
of the time. The teacher should ask students to react to the
statement by briefly clustering (4 minutes) with instances
of how Adeline is influenced by popular culture. After about
four students share responses, the teacher reminds students
about how every time period continues to influence female
behavior in some way.
- The teacher now passes out a plot summary of Cinderella and asks
a student to read aloud. The teacher tells students that society
does not have to dictate how one thinks and, perhaps, they
can use writing (as Adeline does) to empower and define them.
At this point, the teacher reads an example of how another
author did such a thing; Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella”
- The teacher asks students to pair off and hands out current magazines
that are geared for a female audience and asks students to
interpret the message of the media culture. After a few minutes,
pairs share responses while the teacher generates a master
list on the overhead: “What Popular Culture Tells Women
and Men”. Additionally, the class will discuss the ways
men are affected by the beauty myth.
- Students are now assigned to write their own revision of a fairy-tale
in which they recast themselves in one of the character roles.
The teacher reads a model. If time remains, students may begin
work in class.
Final Assessment: In an in-class writing assignment, students
are required to compare the story line of “Cinderella”
with that of Falling Leaves. Additionally, they should evaluate
the differences in the texts and speculate on possible causes
of change.
Vocabulary:
see http://www.vocabulary.com
for a complete list of vocabulary terms that appear in the text.
Literary Terms: Figurative language, autobiography, simile,
metaphor, symbolism, indirect characterization, direct characterization,
conflict, irony, hyperbole
Lesson Extensions:
Additional Readings:
Visual/Oral:
Students can select one of the following assessments:
Students can take part in a “Storytelling Festival” whereas
they memorize a story passed on within their families or from
their childhood and tell this story in small groups of four.
Writing Prompts:
- How is the author effective in maintaining her Chinese voice throughout the text? How does it affect the reader?
- How does the author achieve happiness in China? What strategies does she use to cope with the situation and who aided her
in those efforts? How would you have reacted in similar circumstances?
- How did the author change during her stay in Britain? How
is she different? How is she the same? How does this affect
her career path? How does it affect her relationship with
her father and stepmother?
- During her time in America the author's relationship with
her parents and her siblings changes. Discuss these changes
and what brought them about.
Research:
- The basis for the book's title is the Chinese aphorism "falling
leaves return to their roots." Why do you think Adeline
Yen Mah chose this title? What does it mean in the context
of her story? As a class, students will develop interview
questions and practice on classmates. Next, students will
interview another classmate, a relative, or close friend and
retell “the root of their life”. In other words,
what is the most significant moment in their life up to this
point. These anonymous stories will be transformed from notes
into a brief narrative and shared at a “storytelling
festive”.
- Students will research one of the following topics in a jigsaw group
and present within literature circles: identifying a work
of art which can be analyzed for themes and connects to the
text, researching the universality of childhood abuse and
creating a mock trial of Niang, and trace Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs theory with the success and failure of Adeline.
Related Internet Sites:
New Jersey Core Content Standards:
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 (close reading
activity and visual/oral lesson extension).
15. Speak before a group to defend an opinion and present an oral interpretation
(rules character reaction activity)
17. Solve problems using multimedia technology and be able to browse,
annotate, link, and elaborate on information in a multimedia
database (utilizing Internet sites for literature circle paper).
19. Write a research paper that synthesizes and cites data (research
paper based on literature circle task).
28. Analyze how the works of a given period reflect historical events
and social conditions (Cinderella lesson).
Global Citizen 2000 Modules – Core Questions Addressed:
Global Literature Module:
- What are universal experiences?
- How do they relate to concerns of the adolescent reader/writer?
- How does geography shape/influence/impact human experience?
- How does the need for story cross cultural boundaries?
- How does personal experience reflect cultural experience?
- How can literature help readers understand global issues?
- How does the study of global literature foster empathy with others?
- Where can readers see global forces at work in their daily lives?
Religion and Spirituality Module:
- How is religion a statement of culture?
- How does religion influence other elements of culture: family, food, work, etc.?
- How does religion create conflict?
- How does religion influence gender roles?
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