Feisty Females in Fiction

Bardstown Middle School Reading Program

Stacy Wimpsett LohmanLME 527 Unit Plan

Spring 2010

Collaborative Educators

Cathy Osborne Library Media Specialist

Stacy Wimpsett Lohman English and Reading Teacher

Scenario

This lesson is geared for a middle school serving grades three through five. Bardstown Middle School is a public school serving approximately 522 +/- students. The school population, much like the community, is predominately white. Seventy-seven percent are Caucasian, twenty percent are African-American, two percent are Asian, and two percent are Hispanic.

The school is just over the state range for the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Eighty percent of the students receive free or reduced-priced lunch versus the state average of 78%. Fifty-three percent of the population in Bardstown is female.

The median income for a full-time male is $31, 850 while the median income for full-time female in Bardstown is $20, 537. A staggering 43.7% of households headed by females in Bardstown are under the poverty level.

Overview

Multicultural literature with strong female protagonists serves as the focus for e-mail exchanges and classroom discussions in this lesson. Students select and read one of five novels presented by the teacher, and they discuss the novel in exchanges with e-mail pen pals and in classroom literature circles. Students then participate in an online literacy community where they can respond to questions and post reviews, allowing them to expand their perspectives and converse with a wider audience.

Goal and Objectives Goal: To motivate students to overcome stereotypical gender and cultural biases by

providing opportunities to read and discuss multicultural literature with strong female protagonists.

Objectives: Practice reading comprehension skills to discover the significant character

traits of female characters in recommended examples of literature. Expand students’ perspectives through conversation and debate. Develop understanding of the strengths of female characters, and

appreciation for the character traits that help these protagonists solve problems.

Students practice effective communication skills as they share essential details about the main character of their book with their classmates.

Gain an understanding of the roles of women in diverse cultures by reading realistic fiction, set in a variety of times and places, that features strong female protagonists.

Participate as reflective members of an online literacy community by responding to questions and posting reviews.

Unit Description

Session 1

1. Ask students to name a memorable female character in literature. They might name heroines such as Anne Frank from The Diary of Anne Frank, or Pearl from The Scarlett Letter. Invite students to name the qualities that make these heroines memorable. Why do they remember these characters?

2. Tell students that they will have an opportunity to select and read books with strong female characters. Display the five books you have chosen for your class from the Suggested Booklist and introduce each book by giving a synopsis of the story.

3. Provide time for students to read over the five books and select one.

4. After students have selected their books, ask them to form groups with classmates who have selected the same book. These groups should then discuss their reasons for choosing their book and their perspectives on the culture or historical period portrayed in the book.

5. Tell students that as they are reading they will be discussing the book by e-mail with the members of their group.

6. Give students a date by which they must read the entire book. Ask each group to divide their book into four sections and establish a schedule for reading. Since students are not familiar with the texts, you may want to suggest an appropriate division of each book.

Unit Description

Session 1 Homework

Ask students to read the first section of the book before the next class session. As they are reading, they should select a paragraph or section that they find especially interesting and mark it with a posted note. When they have finished the first reading assignment, students should send an e-mail message to the members of their group giving their reaction to the book and listing three adjectives that describe the main character. Upon receiving a message, students should send a response, stating whether they agree and expressing additional thoughts on the text. Responses should be 50 to 100 words.

Unit Description

Session 2

1. Ask students to meet in their groups. Group members should discuss the interesting passages that they marked while reading, and the adjectives they selected to describe the main characters.

2. Explain to students that in all the books they are reading a female character strives to overcome obstacles. Tell them that as they continue their reading they should look for a paragraph or section that describes an obstacle the main character is facing.

Homework: Before the next class session, students should read the second section of their book. When they find a passage describing an obstacle faced by the main character, they should mark the passage with a posted note. Ask students to send an e-mail message to the members of their group answering the question, “How would I have reacted to these obstacles? Would I have reacted the same way as the character in this book?” Upon receiving an e-mail, students should send a response to express their thoughts on the sender’s message.

Unit Description

Session 3

1. Ask students to meet in their groups to discuss the ways in which the main character in the book reacted to obstacles. Tell the groups to consider how these situations might have changed if the book’s main character were male.

2. To prepare for reading the third section, tell students that they should look for ways in which the main character showed courage.

Homework: Ask students to read the third section and use a postage note to mark a passage that demonstrates that the main character was courageous. Also ask students to send e-mail messages to the members of their group answering the question, “How did the main character show courage?” Then students should include a personal connection by describing a time in their lives when they showed courage. Upon receiving an e-mail, students should send a response to express their thoughts on the sender’s message.

Unit Description

Session 4

1. Ask students to meet in their groups to discuss the ways in which the characters in the book displayed courage. Encourage students to make personal connections by discussing situations in their lives in which they showed courage.

2. Tell students that as they read the fourth and final section, they should think about what they have learned by reading this book.

Homework: Ask each student to find a passage in the final section in which the main character’s feelings or experiences could be connected or contrasted with her own. Before the next class session (or in class), students should send an e-mail message to the members of their group that answers the question, “What is an interesting idea or perspective I gained from reading this book?” Upon receiving an e-mail, students should send a response to express their thoughts on the sender’s message.

Unit Description

Session 5

Ask students to meet in their groups to discuss what they learned by reading this book. Did it change their perspectives on the culture or the historical era depicted in the book? Which characters did they find memorable and why? What ideas and information did the author convey? Can they relate this book to their own lives? Would they recommend this book to others? How would they rate this book?

Unit Description

Extensions

Encourage students to visit the Teenreads.com website to find titles of other books they might enjoy. This website has reviews written by teens, interviews with authors, and suggested reading lists to motivate students to explore new titles.

Ask students to prepare and present brief book talks about other books with female protagonists that they have enjoyed, to encourage their classmates to explore these titles as well.

Booklist for Unit

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza believed her life would be wonderful forever. She would always live on her family's ranch in Mexico. She would always have fancy dresses and a beautiful home filled with servants. Papa and Abuelita would always be with her. But a sudden tragedy shatters her world and Esperanza and Mama flee to California, where they settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, and lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick, and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life and her own depend on it.

Booklist for Unit

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

Hollis Woods was an infant when she was abandoned and for 12 years she has been transferred from one foster home to another. To the social agency, she is a “mountain of trouble” because she skips school and runs away, even from the Regans, a family willing to give her a real home. When she is placed with Josie, an elderly artist who is becoming very forgetful, Hollis begins to feel needed and doesn’t ever want to leave this eccentric old woman who knows a lot about friendship and love. Fearful that the social agency will take her from Josie, Hollis plans a winter escape. This time she takes Josie with her and returns to Branches, the summer home that belongs to the Regans. All along, Hollis longs for her life with the Regans, and records every special moment with them in a gallery of pictures.

Booklist for Unit

Double Dutch by Sharon M. Draper

Three eighth-grade friends, Delia, Randy and Yolanda are preparing for the International Double Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio. Can they keep the secrets they have been struggling to cope with? Randy's truck-driver father is missing; Delia cannot read; and Yo Yo seems compelled to tell outlandish stories about herself. This book is a convincing portrayal of how young people think, act, feel, and interact with one another.

Booklist for Unit

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This book is a work of historical fiction about the Holocaust of the Second World War. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen is the central character, who lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1943 and was caught up in the events surrounding the rescue of the Danish Jews. She and her family risked their lives to help Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, by pretending that Ellen is Annemarie's older sister; the sister had died earlier in the war during her work for the Resistance.

Booklist for Unit

The Secret School by Avi

In 1925 a young girl, living in a remote Colorado town, held very little hope of getting an education. Fourteen-year-old Ida Benson is only a few months away from earning the coveted diploma that will secure her entry into high school when her one-room school is abruptly closed. Afraid that her dream of becoming a teacher is slipping away, Ida convinces the seven other students in grades 1-8 to vote to secretly keep the school open with her as the teacher. The role of teacher that seemed so easy when Miss Fletcher managed the class becomes a test of Ida's confidence and courage. Keeping the students engaged, risking the loss of her friendship with classmate Tom, keeping up with her own studies and farm chores, and eluding the local school board are just some of Ida's problems. As the days progress, Ida learns it takes more than lesson plans to be a good teacher, and she proves that she is up to the challenge.

Supplies Needed

Enough copies of the five books needed for the literature circles. (No more than five copies of each book to keep the literature groups manageable.)

Sticky notes. Online Literature Circle Self-Assessment Sheet Online Literature Circles: Teacher’s Assessment Students must have Internet access for e-mail responses Make sure all students have school e-mail accounts. If you are

using school computers for the lesson, verify that students will be able to access their e-mail from school.

Room Set Up

The room will be set up to accommodate five literature circles. The five groups can choose where they would like to meet within the classroom.

Role of Facilitator

Teachers are responsible for the following during the course of Literature Circles :

Monitoring and guiding the literature circles posing questions for discussion organizing the room for group meetings reading the novels right along with the groups fielding follow-up questions to help guide deeper thinking and

understanding joining groups as an equal - participating in the discussion keeping anecdotal records to assess student growth Evaluating each student’s development of written skills by examining the

printouts of their e-mail exchanges. Add corrections and commentary. Evaluating each student’s contribution to the group discussions by

visiting each group and noting the frequency and content of each student’s participation.

Gains of Students Gain an understanding of the roles of women in diverse cultures by reading

realistic fiction, set in a variety of times and places, that features strong female protagonists.

Develop skills in written expression by sharing their reactions to literature with an e-mail partner or with members of an online literature circle.

Expand students’ perspectives through conversation and debate.

Develop understanding of the strengths of female characters, and appreciation for the character traits that help these protagonists solve problems.

Gain an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities

Evaluating Gains of Students

Student Assessment/Reflection

Distribute copies of the Online Literature Circles: Self Assessment sheet included with this lesson. Ask students to use this sheet to reflect upon their experiences in the literature circles. When students have completed their sheets, invite them to share their responses with the class.

Evaluate each student’s development of written skills by examining the printouts of their e-mail exchanges. Add corrections and commentary. (If monitoring the exchanges electronically, you can reply to individual students with corrections or commentary whenever appropriate.)

Evaluate each student’s contribution to the group discussions by visiting each group and noting the frequency and content of each student’s participation.

Use the Online Literature Circles: Teacher’s Assessment for the Lesson sheet included with this lesson to assess students’ growth and participation in the lesson

Online Literature Circles: Self Assessment**Students must respond: Always, Never, I Need

to Improve in this area.

I sent e-mail messages when they were due I gave my best effort when I was asked to

write a response The e-mail messages I sent were written

with correct spelling and punctuation I followed the reading schedule and read

the assigned sections I contributed to group discussions in class I told the members of my group why I chose

this book I told the members of my group what I

learned about the culture portrayed in this book

During a group discussion I explained the ways in which I was able to relate events in this book to events in my life (text-to-self connections)

I listened respectfully when others contributed to group discussions

My Comments:

I was asked to read and discuss a text both online and with a group in my classroom. I am pleased with my work because I___________________________________

I could improve my work by ______________________________________________________________________

Someday our class may do a similar project. The next time we read a text together, I suggest that we ______________________________________________________________________(Suggest changes such as sending e-mail responses to more people, lengthening the time allotted to read the sections, etc.)

Online Literature Circles: Teacher’s Assessment

**Teacher responds: Always, Sometimes, Needs Improvement

The groups followed the reading schedule The groups remained on task during the discussion periods All students contributed to group discussions Students were respectful during the group discussions

The groups discussed the role of women in diverse cultures Students responded to the reading assignments with e-mail messages of appropriate length Students’ e-mails demonstrated understanding of sentence structure and the mechanics

Reflections

The library media specialist and I were able to create lessons that will enable memorable learning experiences for our students. We chose this theme, strong female characters, to motivate students to overcome stereotypical gender and cultural biases. I feel that exposure to positive role models can offset some of the negative stereotypes that girls have about themselves. Bardstown is a small town with a high teen pregnancy rate. As stated earlier, 43.7% of the households headed by females in Bardstown are under the poverty level.

Conferencing Documentation