Download - Midnight's Children LPA #3
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Liana Alcantara
Professor Willis
CI 403LPA #3, Week 5
Title:
Character Study: What makes up Saleem?
Time:
This lesson was designed to take a full 50 minute class period.
Theory Into Practice Background:
This lesson is a good example of the Feed Up, Feed Back, Feed Forward as expressed
in our theoretical rationale. The exit slips are a way to get feed back from each individual student
in a no-pressure manner. There is no grade for correctness for the exit slips, this is a place for the
students to further engage with the material in a way that allows me as the teacher to assess
where they are in understanding the lesson as a whole. As Burke says in The English Teachers
Companion, Writing is the heart of the English classroomYou cant write and not think.
(151-2)
Furthermore, this lesson is an example of differentiated instruction. It would be easy to
have students write up actual character sketches of these characters, but instead, the drawing
aspect engages their minds in a different way and forces them to think more metaphorically
about the characters. The explanation paragraph ensures that students have the vocabulary to
discuss the ideas represented in their pictures in writing as well, but the drawing activity can be
helpful to students for whom writing is difficult, and even for those who enjoy writing, it serves
as a nice break.
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Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, students will:
Be able to identify specific aspects of the characters in the family other than Saleem:
Amina, Ahmed, Mary, Brass Monkey, Aadam Aziz, Reverend Mother, William
Methwold
Be able to identify character motivations of these same characters.
Be able to synthesize this information and see how it directly affects Saleems character.
Materials:
For this lesson, you will need:
Copies of Midnights Children for every student
Chart paper and markers for groups to make character sketches
Tape to put up the sketches around the room
The original Where Im From poem by George Ella Lyon and the template we used in
CI 403 on a handout, with copies for every student
Preparation:
Students will have read the next two chapters in Book 2 for this lesson, Love in
Bombay and My Tenth Birthday. To ensure that the lesson goes smoothly, have the chart
paper and markers in an easily accessible place before students come into the classroom, that
way once they break into groups they can get to work as quickly as possible. Also, make sure
that everything is copied before class starts.
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Procedure:
1) As students enter the class, have them turn in journals from Week 4 and sit in their seats.
Have the following character names written on the board before students enter the room:
Amina, Ahmed, Mary, Brass Monkey, Aadam Aziz, Reverend Mother, and William
Methwold. Once the bell rings, explain the character sketch activity to students. (5
minutes)
a. While most character sketches are short essays or bulleted lists about a character,
this activity is to make a literal sketch of a character. There is chart paper and
markers up in the front of the room. What I want each group to do is to create a
metaphorical character sketch. What this means is I want everything you draw to
have a specific meaning. If you put a character in a certain color, explain why. If a
character is caring or compassionate, draw a large heart. If they over-think things,
make their head disproportionately large. After you draw your character, write up
what each element means and how these elements help/hinder the characters
goals throughout the novel. You will be presenting these to the class.
2) Allow students to choose which character they want to work on, no more than four
students in a group. It is fine if there are repeats on characters, so long as all of them are
done. Allow students time to work in class and prepare to present. (20-25 minutes)
3) Have each group present their character sketches and explain why they drew each
character the way they did. Allow time for students to ask questions of the presenting
group. When the group is done, give the group tape to put their sketch and explanation on
the wall. Draw connections between character traits and character motivations, and what
each character has accomplished or not accomplished because of their traits. (10 minutes)
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4) Have students return to their seats and pass out the Where Im From poem. Have
students follow along as you read the poem aloud, then explain the assignment. Allow
students to wok on this for the rest of class, with the goal of having the poem done by the
end of class to share before they leave. (10-15 minutes)
a. A common theme throughout Midnights Children is how family history has a
direct impact on Saleem, even though he is not blood related. Write a Where Im
From poem from young Saleems point of view, using the aspects of the
characters we discussed in class today in the poem. Then, write a short paragraph
answering the following question: What aspects of young Saleem do we still see
in Saleem in the present? What seems to have changed? What aspects of Saleem
have influenced the history of India?
5) Exit slip: have students answer the following question and turn it in as they leave: What
does it mean that Saleem has internalized a family history that is not biologically his?
Does this matter? Why or why not? Might it matter in the future? What does family truly
mean in this story? (3-5 minutes)
Discussion Ideas:
While the bulk of this lesson revolves around the character sketches, the main discussion
point I want to emphasize comes at the end of the student presentations.
Take, for example, Amina. She tried to find a way to make herself love her new husband,
Ahmed, but by loving him in pieces, she was never able to love perhaps one of the most
important parts, being intimate with him. However, she wanted to be a mother, so she had
to force herself past this aversion, though this is a key factor in why their marriage was
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plagued with problems. What character traits of Amina led to this?
Or another example, look at Ahmed. What character traits led him to his alcoholism and
repeated failures with the tetrapods?
Bilingual/ESL and Englishes Accommodations:
The visual and artistic elements of this lesson would be very helpful to ESL students,
because the information is synthesized outside of a language barrier. If students need help with
the Where Im From poem, having the original poem in front of them could be helpful. If
students needed to have the poem ahead of time to go over it with the ESL teacher, that would be
simple enough to arrange.
Special Education Accommodations:
For the student with ADHD, the hands on activity of creating a metaphorical character
sketch would be a welcome difference to the large group discussion format that dominate many
other classrooms. These would also be visual representations around the room of information
weve gone over as a class, and could help inform later lessons by simply being available on the
walls.
Assessment:
The collaborative exercise of creating the character sketch and explanation of the sketch
will provide a good way to assess understanding in a group setting. For individual assessment,
there is another exit slip and an individual assignment that requires a synthesis of the information
presented in class. The assignment sheet for the Where Im From poem is at the end of this
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lesson plan.
Extension Ideas:
If students wanted to expand on this lesson, they could draw their own character sketches
for other characters, possibly those outside the family that still have an effect of Saleem. They
could also write Where Im From poems specifically about the character that they made a
sketch of, and see if any of these ties are similar to the poem they wrote about Saleem.
Source of Activity:
I took the idea of the Where Im From poem from all of my CI 400 level classes, as I
did different versions of them in 401, 402, and 403. The template for the poem comes
specifically from CI 403. The rest of the lesson I made up myself.
Resources and References:
Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion: a Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum,
and the Profession. 3rd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.
The Moodle site for CI 403 for the Where Im From poem and template
Illinois State English Language Arts Goals:
This lesson meets the following ISBE standards:
2.A.5b Evaluate relationships between and among characters, plot, setting, theme,
conflict and resolution and their influence on the effectiveness of a literary piece.
o This lesson centers on understanding the ties that bind these characters to each
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other, the defining character traits that are passed on to Saleem, and the impact
that those traits have on the history of India and the novel as a whole.
4.B.5b Use speaking skills to participate in and lead group discussions; analyze the
effectiveness of the spoken interactions based upon the ability of the group to achieve its
goals.
o The first part of this standard is met through the group presentation of the
character sketch.
Where Im From by George Ella Lyon
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I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down! I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.
Assignment: Write a Where Im From poem from young Saleems point of view, using
the aspects of the characters we discussed in class today in the poem. Then, write a
short paragraph answering the following question: What aspects of young Saleem do
we still see in Saleem in the present? What seems to have changed? What aspects of
Saleem have influenced the history of India?
**If you need help getting started with your poem, look on the back of this sheet
for a template.
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The Where Im From
Template
I am from ___________________________(specific, ordinary item), from
________________(product name) and _________________ (an item you really love).
I am from the ____________________ (home description. . . adjective, adjective,sensory detail).
I am from the __________(plant, flower, natural item), the _____________(plant,flower, natural detail)
I am from __________(family tradition) and _____(family trait), from__________(nameof family member) and __________(another family name) and _________(family
name).
I am from the _________(description of a family tendency) and______________(another family tendency).
From ___________(something you were told as a child) and ___________(another).
I am from _______________ (something you really believe in),from_______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________. (further description, if possible).
Im from ___________(place of birth and family ancestry), from ________ and__________(two food items representing your family).
From the ________________________________________(specific family story about aspecific person and detail), the _________________________(another detail), and the______________________(another detail about another family member).
I am from _______(description of family pictures, mementos, archives and severalmore lines indicating the worth of these).
Read or listen to the original poem by George Ella Lyon at:http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
This assignment is worth 10 points, 5 for addressing the characters we discussed in
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class and direct references to the text, 5 for creativity in speaking in Saleems voice.