Teacher:
Evelyn Herschler, Rosa
Parks Middle School (contact
Evelyn)
Arts Discipline: Theater
Grade Level: Middle School
Team: E
Topic: Considering the Postmodern
Click
here to view the lesson plans
of other Team E members.
Click
here to view the power point presentation
created by Team E.
Materials:
-
Large
sheets of paper with the word "Conflict" written
at the top or in the middle
-
Post-it
notes, one for each student
-
CD
of Take the A Train by Duke Ellington
-
CD
of a rap-style beat without any words
-
2
CD/Tape players
-
2
copies of the book, Harlem, by Walter Dean Myers
(one for cutting up)
-
Large
post/mural created by taking some black and white photos
of the Harlem neighborhood and some colored pictures from
Walter Dean Myers's Harlem.
-
Tape
of the story poem Harlem as read by Puffy Combs (or
anyone with a good speaking voice)
-
Typed
copy of the story poem Harlem for each student
-
Paper
and crayons
Objectives:
-
Students
will share their ideas of what the word "conflict"
means to them.
-
Students
will experience the feelings of conflict by listening to
various kinds of music and viewing differing styles of art
on the same topic.
-
Students
will express their feelings about the multidisciplinary
experience by creating their own artwork.
-
Students
will learn about the history of Harlem and important figures
in Black History while examining the story poem.
Procedure:
-
As
students enter the room, hand each one a blank post-it note.
-
When
everyone is seated, point out the "Conflict" poster
and ask students to write down a word or idea that this
poster triggers. Students place their notes on the poster.
-
Discuss
what they have written.
-
Then
invite students to come to your art gallery for a multi-sensory
experience. You may need to explain what an art gallery
is, and proper behavior in one.
-
Ask
students to line up outside the room. Reveal the poster
and start the two different kinds of music. Play the "A
Train" as they come in, and have the other tape playing
at the other end of your room so they hear it as they leave
the exhibit.
-
After
students leave the exhibit, discuss their impressions. What
they saw, what they heard, what made the biggest impression
on them, the juxtaposition of the different styles of pictures,
etc.
-
Play
the tape of the story poem as you show students the complete
book.
-
Hand
out the printed version to each student. Go over the poem
as if you were teaching it for literary purposes. There
are many important names mentioned, many of whom students
cannot identify. The poem tells a story of how the Harlem
community came to be and how different its inhabitants are.
There is a great use of color words as depicted in the pictures.
-
You
may wish to go back to the theme of conflict here and ask
students if they can identify any forms of conflict they
experienced in the art, poem, or music.
-
Hand
out paper and crayons. Play the music again (one or both
pieces), and have students draw some impressions of their
experience of "Harlem."
-
Let
students share their pictures. Ask first what others see
in the drawing, then let the artists share.
Note:
I used this last week with my 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, all
of whom are in my remedial reading classes, and it was a revelation.
Best of all, the kids loved it.
Harlem:
Warm-up
Look at the
list of words. Write any information you know next to as many
of the words
as you can.
Georgia:_____________________________________________________
Trinidad:_____________________________________________________
Ghana:_______________________________________________________
Mali:________________________________________________________
Senegal:______________________________________________________
Jack Johnson:_________________________________________________
Joe Louis:_____________________________________________________
Sugar Ray:____________________________________________________