Rationale
The idea behind this unit was to introduce to students a variety of different forms of performance literature; this introduction and exploration of performance literature will give them an overall view of literature as a dynamic way to express ideas and vibrantly illustrate experiences. We felt Monster was a good book to teach in order to do this since the entire book is set up as a movie script, with monologues sprinkled in as well. Each week, we intend to introduce a different sub-genre of performance literature, including film-script, music, poetry and rap, radio drama, and theatre. They will be working through the book during the first half of the week, and during the second half of each week we will work through examples of the sub-genre, ending the week with the production of their own work within the genre. The final week will be devoted to choosing a work in their developing Performance Literature portfolio, expanding and editing it, and then performing it for the class.
The main reading strategy we plan to use is DR-TA and shared reading to get through the book in class. Starting from the title and cover of the book, the students will be trained to make predictions of the text as they read together. The characters in the story are very complex and their motives are interesting and this will be great for discussion The monologues are also a good place to stop and have discussions because it is when Steve gets to share his thoughts. During the court case, Steve is not allowed to speak for most of the time and because of his nervousness, we are unable to determine whether he is speaking the truth or not. But his monologues give a personal account of what he is feeling.
At times, the writing strategy will focus around having the students write quickly, following the flow of their thoughts after a class discussion on a certain problem or theme in the text. When we are connecting the novel to outside sources such as the poem “Black Box” from Bronx Masquerade or a slam poetry video, students will be asked to write down a few words or phrases that come to mind as they listen. At the end of each week, students will begin to write using the form we studied that week. In week two when we have connected slam poetry to the issue of stereotypes in the book, they have the option in a writing assignment to write a poem or rap that focuses on how they feel about stereotypes (if they have a desire to write about something else, they can do that as well as we want them to really explore the genre), incorporating at least two metaphors (such as Anis Mojgani’s “How She Makes Me Feel" metaphors, or the Bronx Masquerade poem’s metaphor of a “black box”).
The film script portion of the unit is designed to kick off the unit, as Monster is already in a film script format. During this week in the unit, we will read the beginning of the book and using it to introduce background knowledge of the court system, the format of a movie script, as well as touch on the themes of the novel. By the end of the week, they will attempt to compose their own movie script either predicting what will happen next in the book, or of their own original idea. By analyzing the themes of the novel, they will use the standard 10 of Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity, in which they must be able to read and comprehend novels of their reading level. By analyzing and writing their own movie scripts, they are accessing standard 2. e. of Text Types and Purposes, in which they must write within the conventions of the discipline of the genre.
The second week of the unit will focus on the connection between poetry and rap. We will discuss how those forms of performance literature have been used to deal with multicultural issues similar to the ones included in Monster. Studying poetry and rap in connection with Monster will also encourage students to appreciate the difference format makes in constructing and interpreting meaning - an important tenet in the book. Furthermore, they will be comparing and contrasting the different poems and raps with passages in Monster to solidify their understanding of its major themes about stereotypes and race. The standards addressed by these lessons include CC.9-10.SL.2 Comprehension and Collaboration, because we will “integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally)” and the overarching standard for our unit and final project, CC.6.R.L.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: “Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they ‘see’ and ‘hear’ when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.”
The theatre portion of the unit is designed to get students to play active roles in extracting meaning from the text. As they become directors for their assigned scripts, they will have to critically think about the text to come up with staging and ways to get into character. Performing the text will encourage students to put themselves into Steve Harmon’s or other characters’ shoes. This will deepen their comprehension of the text and it is also an opportunity for them to engage with peers. By doing so this will fulfill the CC. 9-10.R.L.4 Craft and Structure standard in that it will get students to think about the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text. This will also help them think of the author’s intention and choices; determining the author’s point of view and analyzing the author’s use of rhetoric to create point of view. (CC.9-10.R.I.6 Craft and Structure) Exercises like "Tableaux" can also help students get a better grasp about what the book is about. Because the book is written as a movie script, they get to be creative with their assigned scenes as they come up with their own interpretations. As Eliot Eisner puts it, "We cannot know through language what we cannot imagine... Those who cannot imagine cannot read." In light of this idea, the week is designed to get students to imagine their scenes- and by doing so, they sharpen their reading skills to effectively extract meaning.
The final week of the unit focuses around the completion of students’ writing portfolio, with time to edit and add to or polish their favorite writing assignment. They will be picking which form of performance literature they want to use to display their work from the unit, and perform that individual piece to the class. The teacher will videotape the performances, and the students will upload it onto a blogspot. They will also be in charge of uploading and formatting the writing behind the performance (i.e. the written poem, screenplay, etc) as well as a short explanation of the performance process. This project will fulfill the standard CC.9-10.W.6 Production and Distribution of Writing, which requires that students “use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.”
The unit as a whole is designed to keep students interested and engaged in the lessons as we move from subgenre to subgenre of performance literature. They will be asked to write in many different forms than in traditional English classes, and they will also get a chance to perform in front of the class and use technology to share that experience with others outside the class. Although it is a demanding unit, the goal is to get students’ investment and skill in reading and writing to increase as they understand the power performance literature has to illuminate very relevant and important facets of multiculturalism in America.
The main reading strategy we plan to use is DR-TA and shared reading to get through the book in class. Starting from the title and cover of the book, the students will be trained to make predictions of the text as they read together. The characters in the story are very complex and their motives are interesting and this will be great for discussion The monologues are also a good place to stop and have discussions because it is when Steve gets to share his thoughts. During the court case, Steve is not allowed to speak for most of the time and because of his nervousness, we are unable to determine whether he is speaking the truth or not. But his monologues give a personal account of what he is feeling.
At times, the writing strategy will focus around having the students write quickly, following the flow of their thoughts after a class discussion on a certain problem or theme in the text. When we are connecting the novel to outside sources such as the poem “Black Box” from Bronx Masquerade or a slam poetry video, students will be asked to write down a few words or phrases that come to mind as they listen. At the end of each week, students will begin to write using the form we studied that week. In week two when we have connected slam poetry to the issue of stereotypes in the book, they have the option in a writing assignment to write a poem or rap that focuses on how they feel about stereotypes (if they have a desire to write about something else, they can do that as well as we want them to really explore the genre), incorporating at least two metaphors (such as Anis Mojgani’s “How She Makes Me Feel" metaphors, or the Bronx Masquerade poem’s metaphor of a “black box”).
The film script portion of the unit is designed to kick off the unit, as Monster is already in a film script format. During this week in the unit, we will read the beginning of the book and using it to introduce background knowledge of the court system, the format of a movie script, as well as touch on the themes of the novel. By the end of the week, they will attempt to compose their own movie script either predicting what will happen next in the book, or of their own original idea. By analyzing the themes of the novel, they will use the standard 10 of Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity, in which they must be able to read and comprehend novels of their reading level. By analyzing and writing their own movie scripts, they are accessing standard 2. e. of Text Types and Purposes, in which they must write within the conventions of the discipline of the genre.
The second week of the unit will focus on the connection between poetry and rap. We will discuss how those forms of performance literature have been used to deal with multicultural issues similar to the ones included in Monster. Studying poetry and rap in connection with Monster will also encourage students to appreciate the difference format makes in constructing and interpreting meaning - an important tenet in the book. Furthermore, they will be comparing and contrasting the different poems and raps with passages in Monster to solidify their understanding of its major themes about stereotypes and race. The standards addressed by these lessons include CC.9-10.SL.2 Comprehension and Collaboration, because we will “integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally)” and the overarching standard for our unit and final project, CC.6.R.L.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: “Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they ‘see’ and ‘hear’ when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.”
The theatre portion of the unit is designed to get students to play active roles in extracting meaning from the text. As they become directors for their assigned scripts, they will have to critically think about the text to come up with staging and ways to get into character. Performing the text will encourage students to put themselves into Steve Harmon’s or other characters’ shoes. This will deepen their comprehension of the text and it is also an opportunity for them to engage with peers. By doing so this will fulfill the CC. 9-10.R.L.4 Craft and Structure standard in that it will get students to think about the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text. This will also help them think of the author’s intention and choices; determining the author’s point of view and analyzing the author’s use of rhetoric to create point of view. (CC.9-10.R.I.6 Craft and Structure) Exercises like "Tableaux" can also help students get a better grasp about what the book is about. Because the book is written as a movie script, they get to be creative with their assigned scenes as they come up with their own interpretations. As Eliot Eisner puts it, "We cannot know through language what we cannot imagine... Those who cannot imagine cannot read." In light of this idea, the week is designed to get students to imagine their scenes- and by doing so, they sharpen their reading skills to effectively extract meaning.
The final week of the unit focuses around the completion of students’ writing portfolio, with time to edit and add to or polish their favorite writing assignment. They will be picking which form of performance literature they want to use to display their work from the unit, and perform that individual piece to the class. The teacher will videotape the performances, and the students will upload it onto a blogspot. They will also be in charge of uploading and formatting the writing behind the performance (i.e. the written poem, screenplay, etc) as well as a short explanation of the performance process. This project will fulfill the standard CC.9-10.W.6 Production and Distribution of Writing, which requires that students “use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.”
The unit as a whole is designed to keep students interested and engaged in the lessons as we move from subgenre to subgenre of performance literature. They will be asked to write in many different forms than in traditional English classes, and they will also get a chance to perform in front of the class and use technology to share that experience with others outside the class. Although it is a demanding unit, the goal is to get students’ investment and skill in reading and writing to increase as they understand the power performance literature has to illuminate very relevant and important facets of multiculturalism in America.