I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Prejudice

Essential Question:

How does stereotyping lead to prejudices being formed?

Bridge:

Image Interpretation

Content:

"Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To create an experience of categorizing groups.

Activity: Divide into four groups. Name each group one of the following: Snakes, The Underworlds, The Hills, and The Kings. Each group will role play the behavior, dialogue, and describe the dress or other distinguishing features that they think members of a group with this name would display.

Assessment: Involvement of the students in the experience.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To analyze the experience.

Activity: Teacher leads class discussion with a focus on how each group acted according to its name. Two names give us a good connotation. Two names give a bad connotation. Students share what they judged the other groups would act like just by knowing the name of the groups. Which group would they like to be a member of and why.

Assessment: Quality of student contributions.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To clarify and deepen the meaning of being judged according to what group you are in.

Activity: While listening to song, "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry," students are shown pictures from 1930's depicting segregation, poverty, etc.

Assessment: Students' contributions to discussion.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To understand concepts of prejudice and discrimination and read and analyze the book Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.

Activity: Teacher lecture on prejudice. (Stereotyping leads us to pre-judge a person before we really know him or her. When we act on prejudice, it is discrimination.) Students read the book Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, noting examples of prejudice against the Logan family.

Assessment: Student note taking and involvement in discussion.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To deepen students' understanding of the content and concepts in the book.

Activity: Students pick a character and journal from that character's point of view. Students develop the character, describing his/her outside and inside characteristics and reactions to events in the novel. Students create similes such as the following: T.J. is like an alley cat. Each student writes an extended metaphor about the character of his/her choice.

Assessment: Quality of students writing and contributions to the class discussion.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Refocus on concept of prejudice.

Activity: 1) Journal at least six entries of personal experiences with being pre-judged. Start with the leading, "I pre-judged someone when . . . or I was pre-judged when . . .". 2) Research individuals who fought prejudice and write an essay describing this individual and how he/she fought discrimination. 3) Create a scrapbook of news articles that contain examples of prejudice or articles that describe situations in which discrimination is being fought. The student must write what the article is about and who or what is being discriminated against. 4) Create a bulletin board or poster depicting prejudice or write song lyrics from the points of view of one of the characters in the book.

Assessment: Quality of student work.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To extend what has been learned.

Activity: Students work with a partner and critique the project of their choice. Partners then select a living example of an adult who has been pre-judged or discriminated against. This person must be interviewed, analyzing how, when, where, and why he/she was pre-judged or discriminated against.

Assessment: Student contribution in peer critiquing and depth of interview.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To share what has been learned.

Activity: Students show posters or bulletin boards, scrapbooks or read essays or journal entries to the rest of the class. Students also share what they found the most interesting about the individual whom they interviewed.

Assessment: Quality of student efforts, written and/or oral presentations.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: