Jason Peterson 2/15/12 Modes of Connection: A Lesson in Literature Time: One 50-minute period class Setting: Senior elective:

Literature from Around the World. 25 students: 10 White, 8 African American, 6 Latino/a, 1 Asian. Gender: 10 male, 15 female. Five of the Latino/a students speak Spanish but they are bilingual and are not classified as English Language Learners. One student has ADHD. All students are of varied ability, but as this is an elective, students are in this class because they want to be and are genuinely interested in the content. It is a class designed for a college track student. Theory Into Practice Background: I feel the scope of our unitthe impact of literature on our perception of historical eventsis supported by Jim Burke, as he argues for teachers to confront morality in the classroom (410-411). However, even though he offers specific ways to approach moral questions, the goal of this lesson is primarily to prepare our students with the necessary knowledge to begin asking how literature can impact social change. For this lesson, the structure was roughly inspired by Judith Langers approach to literary instructioncombining separated and integrated learning (Fisher and Frey 202). My students will need some brief out-of-context instruction to understand the concepts. But to really process and internalize them, they need to practice using the concepts in context. For my students to succeed in this lesson they will have to have a basic understanding of how perspective shapes writing. Our Amazon review lesson laid the foundation for this understanding. However, we also discussed this idea periodically throughout our readings. Students would also have to have kept up with the readings to this point to make connections between the concepts and the text. Most of our readings our done in class, so this should not be a problem. Lastly, students would have to be able to perform proper Internet research to engage in the activity effectively, which was covered in a previous unit. The lesson connects to the rest of the unit by providing a frameworkRushdies modes of connection that will help our students understand the various ways Rushdie connects Saleem and India and how he uses them to shape our views of Indias post-colonial history. Objectives: -Students will demonstrate an understanding of how Rushdie uses modes of connection to allegorically connect Saleem to India-post-Independence. -Students will articulate logical and creative opinions on the effect of allegory in Midnights Children through their written explanations of their specific mode of connection and its effect. Materials: -Midnights Children

-Indian History texts -Computers (in the computer lab) -Notebooks (For students to write their responses) Preparations: The most important preparation is reserving the computer lab for this class period. Because I split up the week with reading days and activity days, it is important that the activity days are engaging for our students. Students were taught how to effectively research and cite from online sources during a previous unit. I also need to have the quote from page 242 earmarked and a marker on page 273. Lastly, I need to remind students during the previous days class to bring their book and notebook to class, which they should do every day anyway. Procedures: -Class meets in computer lab. Remind the class of the opening weeks activity in which they analyzed the difference of opinions expressed in various Amazon reviews of the same historical text. Remind them of how perspective complicates lines between fiction and non-fiction. (5 minutes) -Remind the class of the passage from the chapter At the Pioneer Caf, which you write on the board: Memorys truth, because memory has its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies also; but in the end it creates its own reality, its heterogeneous but usually coherent version of the events; and no sane human being ever trusts someone elses version more than his own (242). Discuss with the class how this quote pertains not to Saleems narration but to Rushdies novel as a whole? Does Rushdie do this in telling the history of India post-independence in Midnights Children? Is it equally valid as history? What can Rushdie accomplish with his novel that a history cannot? (10 minutes) -Tell the class were going to examine how Rushdie uses allegory to characterize and give body to the history of India in Midnights Children and direct them in their books to page 273. Discuss briefly Saleems four modes of connection: active-literal, passivemetaphorical, passive-literal, and active-metaphorical and explain how they fall under the category of allegory. Using the examples from the book and, if necessary, a dictionary, make sure that the class has a basic understanding of each mode of connection. Include an explanation of how Saleem is a loosely allegorical representation of India. (5-10 minutes) -Split the class up into jigsaw groups (five per group) and assign each group one of the modes of connection (two groups will have to cover the same mode). Have them follow these steps: Briefly research online and in your historical texts the event connected to Saleems life from the example Rushdie offers for your mode of connection. Then revisit Rushdies account of the event in Midnights Children and of Saleems connection to it. Discuss with your group whether or your mode of connection and Saleems

allegorical representation of Indias within that event shapes your perspective of it more than the straightforward accounts offered online and in your historical texts. If so, how? If not, why not? (20-25 minutes) -After discussing it in groups, have each student briefly free write on their own opinions to these questions and turn their free write in at the end of class. Dismiss class. (5 minutes) Discussion Ideas: - How does Saleems quote about memory pertain not to his own narration but to Rushdies novel as a whole? -Is Midnights Children an equally valid account of Indian history as A Brief History of India or any of the other historical texts we have read? -What can Rushdie accomplish with Midnights Children that a straight-forward history cannot? Bilingual/ESL Accommodations: Even though our bilingual students are not classified as ELL students, they are still at a disadvantage to their classmates who speak English as a native tongue. By having the students do the activity in groups, I allowed the bilingual students in the class to actively participate and learn in a socially integrated environmentboth recommended for immigrants and ELL students by Faltis and Coulter (37-38). Active participation allows these students to practice their English in a real context and socially integrated environments allow them to observe the scaffolded language use of their classmates (37). Also, understanding the terms in this lessonallegory, active-metaphorical, passive-literal, passive-metaphorical, and active-literalwould be more difficult for a student with less experience with the English language than it is for the native speakers in the class. However, by putting the terms in context, through the group research, the material will be more accessible to our bilingual students (44). Lastly, I will not be grading my students free writes. Instead, my assessment will be instructionbased (just comments), which is the best form of assessment for fostering growth in English learners (148). If our bilingual students want miscue analysis and other language instructive comments on their free writes, I will do that for them. Special Education Accommodations: I have two systems in place to help our student with ADHD stay on task and minimize disruptions. The first is positive reinforcementencouraging desired behaviors rather than discouraging negative behaviors (punishments). Aided by a gamut of research, John Maag argues that this behavioral management technique has been empirically validated for years (2). While at a certain point punishments are necessarypreferably brief, direct commands (Rosenberg, Westling, and McLeskey (245)my first step is positive reinforcement. My small reinforcers are paying more attention to his good behaviors than his bad behaviors, making eye contact, smiling, kind words, and social interaction (Maag 10). However, if he exemplifies positive behaviors during class, I let him help me with odd jobs at the end of class, which he enjoys. The other system I have in place is self-regulation strategies, which has been proven effective for students with ADHD (Rosenberg, Westling, and McLEskey246). I

made a list for him with his target behaviors on it. At the end of each class he has to rate himself on a scale of 1-5 on how well he exhibited that behavior. I meet with him after school at the end of the week to discuss his self-evaluations as well as my own evaluations. As for this lesson, the computer lab presents a new setting that should be exciting for him. Furthermore, using computers is engaging for him and keeps him much more focused than classroom instruction. As for the group work, I will place him in a group with students who I know will be patient with him. This is because research shows that students with ADHD interact with students more negatively than other students do (239). Assessment: My primary assessment for both learning objectives will be the students written responses. In them, the students will show their understanding of Rushdies modes of connection through their application of the terms to other events from the book and will show understanding of the effect of allegory by describing the how Saleems allegorical representation of India shapes their perception of India and the historical event in question. I want to differentiate my assessment for my students; however, this is a very important lesson, so I wanted a clear way of assessing each students understanding of Rushdies modes of connection. Since writing is a proven method for facilitating learning (Fisher and Frey 171), I also wanted the students to free write in order for them to better process their thoughts. As such, I decided to use free writes to assess their achievement of learning objectives in this lesson. I will make sure that I use different forms of assessments throughout my other lessons. I will also be able to assess the classs general understanding of the concepts through our discussion. Extension Ideas: This lesson is critical in our study of Midnights Children. We will largely use Rushdies modes of connection framework to analyze the novel throughout the rest of the unit. Thus, it is very important they grasp the concepts. I will utilize these concepts in more depth and in a more authentic context throughout next week. We will evaluate Rushdies use of literary techniques to offer opinions on events and issues in later lessons. Source of Activity: I consulted a number of sources to shape this lesson (see: resources and references). However, The activity idea was my own. Resources and References: Burke, Jim. The English Teachers Companion. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Faltis, Christian and Coulter, Cathy. Teaching English Learners and Immigrant Students in Secondary Schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. Fisher, Douglas and Frey, Nancy. Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. Maag, John. Rewarded By Punishment: Reflections on the Disuse of Positive Reinforcement in Schools. Exceptional Children 67.2 (2001): 173-186 Rosenberg, Westling, and Mcleskey. Special Education For Teachers: An Introduction. Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. Rushdie, Salmon. Midnights Children. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006. Content Standards: -2.A.4a Analyze and evaluate the effective use of literary techniques (e.g., figurative language, allusion, dialogue, description, symbolism, word choice, dialect) in classic and contemporary literature representing a variety of forms and media -2.A.5c: Analyze the development of form (e.g., short stories, essays, speeches, poetry, plays, novels) and purpose in American literature and literature of other countries. -2.B.5b: Apply knowledge gained from literature as a means of understanding contemporary and historical economic, social and political issues and perspectives.