A Small Place 1-19

Inquiry: Tell me about a time when you were a tourist. What might your story be missing?

Quick history of Antigua. And who is this Jamaica Kincaid?

Discussion
Re-Introduce SAS triangle: Speaker, Audience, Subject. It’s about relationships

-why do we look at form and content?

-observations and interrupted reading

-SAS as a device

1. What is the importance of the point of view? Purpose of second person/use of second person?
2. What is the narrator's point in discussing the hospital and the library?
3. p. 13: what is the narrator saying about tourists?


BIG QUESTION: How are identity and belonging influenced by hierarchy and systems? Oh NO!! I just used all the biggie ideas. Mind blown. 

POCO!!

Day 26: Chpts 7 & 8

From previous day ...

Choose a passage that demonstrates the use of literary device or language usage to help convey a deeper meaning of globalism, belonging, systems, and identity. Share out as a class.

Getting ready for the final assessment

Final Assignment

Rubric

Let's start by reading some articles from The Voice.

Day 25: Chpts 5-7

Inquiry 1: What do you notice about Boo's perspective and creation of a narrative? (give 3-4 pieces of text evidence to support ideas)

Inquiry 2: How does Boo use POV or form or structure or plot curve to tell a story?

Discuss both

In groups
Choose a passage that demonstrates the use of literary device or language usage to help convey a deeper meaning of globalism, belonging, systems, and identity. Share out as a class.

Day 24: Chpt 4 (Manju)

Inquiry 1: What connections can you find between the article and some of the ideas and themes we've talked about thus far?

Discuss article. What are some parallels to the text? What new things did you learn?

Inquiry 2: Look back at p 62-63. Would you work as hard as Manju to be good?

Fleshing out characters ...

Asha, Abdul, Sunil and now Manju

HOW does Boo get the reader to empathize with each character? What stylistically does she do? Any literary devices used to build this empathy?

Day 23: Chpt 3 (Sunil)

Inquiry: You’re Sunil. Do you join Kalu in a life of thievery? Why or why not?

1a. Discuss inquiry

1. check vocab

2. What are the central conflicts set up so far in the text? Support with text?

3. Describe one important symbol from each chapter we've read thus far. What's the significance o the symbol?

4. Fleshing out Asha and Sunil

Day 22: Chpts 1 & 2

Inquiry
How would you handle Mr. Kamble and why?

Discussion
1a. Review vocabulary words --> QUIZ!
1. Start with inquiry
2. What is the caste system? Look at pp. 16-17 from Prologue.
3. What tensions does Boo set up in the first two chapters? (list on board)
4. Fleshing our Abdul and start fleshing out Asha

Closing
Insights gained and/or questions raised

Day 22: Boo Begins ...

Inquiry: Is morality a luxury or a necessity? Why or why not?

Discussion
1. Start w inquiry question ...
2. History scavenger hunt --> 10 minutes. You can work in teams of 2. Find everything you can about the state of world affairs in 2008. What was going on politically across the globe? What about in India? What was happening with the economy (both international and national)? Become an expert in 2008. --> share out ideas on the board --> what does this tell us about Behind the Beautiful Forevers?
3. Find Annawadi:  Using the text, draw a map of the location and be sure to cite pages numbers to support your ideas.
4. Find annawadi: Let's explore google earth and maps and see what it looks like.
5. Review the plot of the prologue. What literally happened?
6. Review vocabulary
7. Character fleshing out --> Abdul

Day 20: keeping fit

Inquiry
What is point of view? How does point of view influence a story?

Discussion
1. Look at the contrasts present in the short story: What purpose do they serve and how do they reflect the divisive nature of apartheid? Use text to support ideas and interpretations. Think about all of the ways in which the white man and the black woman are divided.

• Road as boundary vs road as freedom
• house vs shanti town/shack
• white man vs black woman
• white family vs black family
• other ideas ....

2. From what point of view is this story told? How does that limit what we know? How might descriptions differ if from black woman's POV?

3. What is the relationship between the white man and the black woman? How does it change over the course of their interaction?

4. When the protagonist returns home, what has changed about him? Does he comes to any new understanding about himself? If so, why? Of not, why not? Use the text.

5. What is the main conflict in the protagonist's life? Over what is he conflicted?

6. The bird ... symbol of what?

Closing
Questions raised; insights gained?

Day 19: The Moment Before the Gun Went Off

Inquiry
Re-read the 2 1/2 pages of the story. What did you learn about Van der Vyver the second time reading this story? How did your understanding of Van der Vyver change the second time?

The narrator
1. Who is the narrator and what is the narrator’s attitude towards white Afrikaner ruling party, to blacks, and to Europeans?
2. What do these attitudes tell us about why people are divided in SA and in our larger world, maybe regardless of race?

Van der Vyver
1. What does the action of his crying in the police station suggest to us? Are you surprised by this reaction—why or why not? Does this make him more likable—why or why not?
2. What do we learn about him by his action at the funeral?
3. What does it show us in the description “he does not let her clothing, or that of anyone else gathered closely make contact with him’ (116). How does this moment contrast with “The farmer carried him in his arms, to the truck. He was sure, sure he could not be dead. But the young black man’s blood was all over the farmer’s clothes, soaking against his flesh as he drove” (117)? What do we learn about Van der Vyver?

The moment
1. What exactly was the moment like for Lucas and Van der Vyver before the gun went off? What does this say about their relationship? p 116-117
2. Why is this moment compared to the moment that he and Lucas’s mom share at the funeral? What does it suggest to us about their relationship? p 116

To close: 1. In what way is this story about difference? About misconception? 2. What is the more tragic element of this short story in your mind?

Day 18: Comrades

Question: In what ways is the title of the short story ironic and how does that irony manifest in the short story itself?

Please be sure that you identify why the title is ironic and also make sure you address its greater significance (think about some of the contrasts present in the story).

Tweet-Essay in 6 slides:

Rules ... you get 6 slides. Each slide can contain no more than 140 characters (spaces count), that doesn't include text evidence. But it DOES include claim and analysis. Pictures are encouraged as long as they're appropriate. Text/twitter speak is ok, too. Again, just be appropriate. No usage of abbreviations that imply profanity.

Slide 1: Intro/Thesis

Slide 2: Argument #1

Slide 3: Argument #2

Slide 4: Argument #3

Slide 5: Conclusion/Big Picture connection

Slide 6: bonus side ... can be used at any point in the presentation

45 minutes to prepare ... then we present

-----------------------------
Discussion

1. What happens on a literal level in Comrades?
2. Find words or specific passages that convey the irony in the text.
3. What is the point of view—what are the effects of that?
4. In what way is the woman, Hattie, conflicted?
5. What does she understand about the young men and why?
6. What does she NOT understand about the young men and why?  What does this suggest to us about the sympathizers in Apartheid SA?
7. What are the greatest differences between them that separate them?
8. What is the significance of the title?

Day 17: Magona's "I'm Not Talking About That Now"

Inquiry What does this short story tell us about the divisive nature of apartheid South Africa?

Pairs
Cover the basics --> plot, character, conflict

Discuss these questions, spending the most time on the italics/underlined ones.

Who is Mamvulane? 

What is her greatest concern? 

What is the consumer boycott about? 

Her shopping trip: how does she prepare, and what happens to her?

Who is Mdlangathi? 

What is he angry about at the beginning of the story?

How does Mamvulane react to her husband’s story?

What does this incident make Mdlangathi think about young people?

Who is Mtetelli?

Why is his father angry with him?

What happens at the very end of the story?

Triads

Please record your answers and refer to at least one specific example from the text to support your ideas.

1. What do you think is the significance of the stories Mdlangathi brings home to Mamvulane?

2. What does Mamvulane’s trip to the store suggest about her, and why?

3. What are Mteteli and his father really arguing about at the end of the story?

4. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the character does not know; thus, the words and actions of a character suggest a different meaning to the audience than to the other characters in the story.  Where do you see irony used in this story?

5. Given the story’s ending, and the author’s use of irony, what do you think this author’s purpose may be in writing this story?

Solo time and then large group

1. What did you learn about how apartheid functions – specifically, about how it affects families and communities?

2. What makes the ending so tragic, and what does this tragic ending suggest to us about life in South African townships?  What does it suggest to about the fight for freedom?

3. In what way is this story about what Adiche calls “the danger of a single story?”

Day 15: Titles, Intros, Conclusions AND Quoting

Let's review a bit: Titles, Intros & Conclusions

Let's review how to use evidence: Quoting Fugard

Workshopping your outlines

Day 12: MC! MA! ... the end

Review monologues from previous class. Discuss.

Inquiry
With what character do you identify the most? And why?

Discussion
1. Identify your character's conflict on each level. (use text evidence to support ideas)

Self vs self (psychological)
Self vs other people (interpersonal)
Self vs society

2. How was the ending a resolution for each character? (use text evidence to support ideas)
3. How satisfying were the resolutions for each character?

Review Essay

Day 11: MC! MA! up to 56

Inquiry
What does it mean to be an ally across race, class or age? How might you have been an ally across one of those lines?

Discussion

• Review packet re Fugard, glossary and South Africa

• Scene 4 vs Scene 6 (Mr M & Thami) (in four groups)

You and your group members are going to re-read your assigned soliloquy and re-write it, being sure to answer the following questions. You can be playful with your writing, but you must capture the basic elements listed below. The goal is to really understand your character, where he's coming from, and where he's going.

Who he is? (the facts)
What inspires him? (the events)
What frustrates him? (the circumstances)
What does he want? (the ideas)
What tone does he use? (how does he share his information)
What has he experienced in South Africa? (be specific)
How have those experiences shaped his view of the world?
How will he survive?

• Review the poems
• Look at scene 5 (tension/how staged?)

Day 10: MC! MA! up to 31

Inquiry: How does the set act as a metaphor?

Discuss inquiry

Brief context for play ....

• South Africa in 1985 --> Apartheid ended in 1985, Soweto Uprising in 1976, Mandela incarcerated for 27 years (until 1990), 19 million blacks/4.5 million whites
• Bantu education ... limited, under-funded, over-populated, Avg teacher: student = 1:60.
• Motifs --> order vs disorder; animals vs humans

Group Work (in small groups, in larger groups, teach to class)

ALL IDEAS MUST BE SUPPORTED WITH TEXT!

Character A

1. Mr M // 2. Thami // 3. Isabel

• Best moment that shows who your character is. Why?
• Moment that shows your character's conflict. What's the root of the conflict?

Character B

1. Mr M // 2. Thami // 3. Isabel

• What does your character value?
• What single story influences your character? What's the root of the story?

Steps

1. Work with partners with same letter/number combo. (all A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3 together)

2. Join with the other letter but same number (AB1, AB2, AB3 together) (share information)

3. Teach to entire class

Day 9: Looking for Makola ... Post-Colonial

Inquiry: How might someone else see you as a single (static) story?

Adichie TED Talk (20 mins)

1. Makola/Henry Price worksheet. What does this tell us about his character? About Makola's role in the short story? About Makola's role in Adiche's idea of no single story? How is Makola/Henry Price related to Achebe's thesis?

2. Solo --> In what ways is Makola a victim of a single story? How is our initial understanding of his character the biggest tragedy of the short story?

Socratic Seminar

4. Big take aways? Should we teach/read Conrad?

Day 8: Community day reflection & socratic seminar

Reflection (Extended Inquiry)
1. Tell me a little about where you went
2. What is something new that you learned?3. What was the best part of your experience?4. What do you wish you got to experience at your place?

Socratic Seminar
Taking Achebe into account, who or what is responsible for the tragedy at the close of Outpost of Progress? Be sure to define the tragedies (can be people, places, thoughts, etc) of the story.

Day 6: Achebe & Community Day Prep

45 mins
Inquiry: What do you picture when someone says Africa? Why?

Discussion

In triads:

1. What is Achebe’s argument? What is his thesis? (eventually get thesis statements on board)

2. Cut-up work: Discuss your passage as a group. What thesis statement does your piece of evidence support?

3. Large group --> Do you buy Achebe's argument? Why or why not? SAS triangle.

4. Back to triads: Find connections between “Heart of Darkness” and “An Outpost of Progress”. Where do we see the same language in Outpost? (pushing to make connections to Makola)
---------------------------------------------

30 mins
Inquiry
Define each term and comment on its connotation and meaning.

• Charity
• Community Service
• Service Learning
• Community Day

(How does it relate to our English curriculum?)

Discussion

Review systems and individuals → what’s the relationship between the individual and the systems?

Systems we’ve seen impacting characters and the self?

• What systems is Makola operating in? (black identity but craves white privilege)
• What systems is Kayerts operating in? (lacks white consciousness)

You → feel equal in term of system. People you meet are shaped by a system and so are you. When you’re interacting and looking around, how does the system impact others and the self? Even though the systems impact us differently, we’re all shaped by the system. Lived experience … how is it shaped by larger systems?

Community Day = connect and understand. Service is giving us a reason to be together. Everyone has a story. Humanizing the other.

Systems (family, teams, classes, school → who you are, how you see the world, what impacts your experience?)

Writing (individual, then discuss triad and then share out)

• What barriers might exist between you and the people you will meet at these places? Be realistic.
• What are our comforting myths? (Conrad = purveyor of comforting myths, example “We are not like Branson”)
• What value might this experience have?
• What apprehensions might you have?

Preview homework

Day 5: Finish Outpost & In-class writing

Inquiry: Think of one social system you are a part of (could be family, team, school, race, gender, class, etc). How does that social systems impact your identity? Without that social system, how might your identity change?

Discussion: What happened in the end?

Write: See handout. 50 minutes

Day 4: Outpost 14-21

Inquiry
Makola: "I did the best for you and the Company, ... Why you shout so much? Look at this tusk," (17) What has Makola done? What are the implications of his actions? How does Makola's race complicate the situation and further plunge Makola into that inbetween space?

Discussion
1. General plot run down ... what happened?
2. Handout on natives
3. Crime (ivory trade for people --> what is Makola's response? what is K&C response?)

Closing
Insights gained and observations made?

Day 3: Outpost 11-13

Inquiry: "Makola sat apart and watched," (12). In this moment, Makola is neither a part of the group of strangers nor a part of Kayerts and Carlier's connection. Reflect on a time when you were in an in-between moment like Makola. Why were you in this position and how did you feel?

Discussion:

Character analysis in pairs 

Using the text to support and develop your answers, discuss ways in which each of the following characters is conflicted (can be more than one). Be sure you specifically name the conflict (e.g. define what two forces or ideas or things that are in direct contrast with each other).

Reminder on conflicts --
person v person
person v self
person v society
person v nature
person v technology

Kayerts // Carlier // Makola

Share on board when done

Handout --> views on natives

Day 2: Outpost of Progress (1-11)

Inquiry question
How does our current position in life inform our views of the past?

Class discussion
Who wrote the story? When? SAS the story as best we can.
Who are the key characters? Kayerts, Carlier, Makola/Henry Price, Father Gobila
What is the conflict?

Partner Work
Handout on Views on the Natives --> share out --> connect to narrator

Closing write --> what did you observe? learn? What questions do you have?

Day 1: Quick exam review, White Man's Burden, Outpost

1. Welcome back
2. Exam feedback

• How was the exam?
• Did you feel prepared?
• Did you feel the exam was fair, overall?

3. Writing feedback (strengths//challenges)

• Structure --> mastering organization // transitions & structure complementing argument
• Arguments --> getting more complex ideas // need to narrow (don't take on too much)
• Analysis --> more explanation + close readings // when argument is BIG, analysis suffer; more HOW + close reading needed
• Intros/Conclusions --> getting hang of it // conclusions

4. "White Man's Burden" (Kipling)

• Why are we reading this? Colonial era, colonial text. Published within two years of Outpost.
• What's the tone? Intention?
• Recall Imperialism!
• Systemic Hierarchies! How is poem related to systems?

5. "Outpost of Progress" (Joseph Conrad)

• First paragraph --> make observations about setting, narrator, tone, mood character.