Embedded Files
"I will take off from Mercy and fly away on my own wings. Please forgive me. I loved you all."
Overture: Song of Solomon - Opening Discussion (thru page 15) : For all effects and purposes, this is our last Opening Discussion of a novel in the World Literature Class. The year flies by and it's impossible to see where the time goes - but there you have it. There is a kind of "meta" nature to this lesson. I will go over the idea of this chapter (specifically the first 15 pages of this chapter) as a kind of "overture". As in a Musical Overture, these pages will introduce us to the characters, ideas, and themes that will be present throughout the novel. I mentioned in the intro to this book that I wanted to give my students a "second" reading though this is only their first. There are so many wonderful things that Toni Morrison puts before the reader that we can't really appreciate - until that second reading - and by highlighting this "overturistic" aspect of the beginning - it allows the students to see and appreciate those characters and themes when they run into them on their own. See my page on Class Discussions.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Overview
Overview
This last Opening Discussion of the year will be in the Ring Master Teacher style. Though I sometimes assign the entire chapter to be read - we will only cover up through the opening Hospital Scene (page 15 in my book). Before we begin our discussion in earnest - I introduce the students to the idea of an "overture" at a musical and we talk about what purpose that opening collage of songs plays in the rest of the performance. Then we apply that right away (though the students don't know it) and go over that scene - and I ask the students what happens to Robert Smith (does he try to fly or is he commiting suicide). Next I ask them to prove their assertion with text - and I give them time to find evidence for one or the other interpretations - then we discuss what they came up with - and anything else that is important in those first pages (the overture).
As I've said before - I want to give the students a "second" reading of this book on their first time. It's not easy to do without giving anything away - but I do think that it got easier every year as I spotted more and more beautiful echoes (pre-echoes?) that Toni Morrison puts in front of the reader. As always, for more detailed instructions, please see my Lesson Notes (found below), as long as you can read my handwriting.
Overtures
Overtures
I begin the class by playing the Overture to the musical Oklahoma. In fact, I start playing it while they are taking their quiz (see below). After their quiz and after a good portion of the song - I ask the students "What is the purpose of an Overture? What does it do?" See my lesson notes for more. After I get some answers from the students, I play the song "People Will Say We're in Love" (also from Oklahoma). Then I ask students - "Does it sound familiar?" YES - they will answer. "Why?" Because it was incorporated into the Overture. Then I tell them that these first 15 pages are an Overture to the Novel. Since they've read the first chapter - many of them will already realize that the characters that they meet in this incident at the hospital - show up later in the book. And in fact, though I do not point this out (it's so important they get these things on their own). Many of the most important themes and ideas of the novel are also present in these first 15 pages (I actually have a Group Work at the end of this novel that has the students come back to these first pages AFTER they've finished the book).
Initial Discussion
Initial Discussion
See my Lesson Notes (a PDF found below) for more - but some of the things I go over include:
The Dedication
The book's title
The epigraph - wow! This is so important for the rest of the book and the idea of "flying"
The North Carolina Insurance company and Robert Smith - which leads us to...
Did Robert Smith try to fly or did he commit suicide
Did Robert Smith try to fly or did he commit suicide
As always when talking about this subject the teacher will need to be sensitive to their students.
So the question is, "Did Robert Smith try to actuallyl fly (as he says he will) in his letter - or is he giving up and killing himself when he leaps from the roof of Mercy Hospital (the name itself is crucial)?
Ask the students to choose a side (Fly or Jump) and give them 5 minutes to find specific textual evidence from these first few pages to back up their interpretation. Make sure they know they will need to mark their book and write down the page number so they can easily reference it.
When the time is up - start getting ideas from the students and their textual evidence to back it up. As the teacher, it's important to make sure that both sides, both possibilities are explored. That means you may have to be the Devil's Advocate here - or even better, when a student makes their case, ask the other students if someone can directly refute their evidence. For instance, Student A may say that "Robert Smith definitely killed himself - he even left a suicide note."
The epigraph - comparing it to the epigraph from The Things They Carried - how does it fit with the idea of "deromanticizing" war?
Beginning In Medea Res
How can it be a good day? They just lost 1/2 their company? What does that have to do with the Ice Cube song?
Who are the men we meet? Go through them
Why do they like the lieutenant? How is he different?
True Wars stories from Things They Carried - how does it apply to this chapter, this opening?
What is and what isn't embarrassing to the men? (this can be a very scatalogical discussion - judge the maturity of your class)
Why would people back home be shocked?
Who is Kantoreck? Why do the men hate him so much? Are their teachers like this? People like this?
First death shattered their beliefs - elaborate
What has happened to Franz? What does Mueller want from him (the boots). Does that make Mueller bad?
Like that to the ideas of the Home and Front set of rules. As we read - we have to be careful which set we judge the men by...
The soldiers feel like old men - what does this have to do with Mary (from SH5)'s fear about them being just children?
As I said, the lesson notes have these (along with page numbers) and many, many more ideas and things to talk about (if you can read my writing)...
My Lesson Notes & a sample reading page
My Lesson Notes & a sample reading page
See above for some of what we go over in this Teacher Led discussion.
Maybe I covered less material when I first started - or more likely, I needed less notes to fill in the gaps of the lesson.
my second year of teaching (and perhaps the oldest lesson notes I've come across)
See above for instructions - the text with my notes served as a guide for the questions, comments and ideas that I ask - though I was always ready for and often elicited the students ideas, questions, etc. Over the years - as I wrote notes in this text - the previous years' notes and questions become incorporated into the lesson. Again - you will find that these instructions are flexible - and I had to be - they kept changing the amount of time that we had in the classroom.
Handouts & Quizzes
Handouts & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Though Chapters 1 & 2 are usually assigned - sometimes, I will only quiz them on the first chapter - getting them to spread their reading out.
Reading Quiz Chapters 1-4 (1990) PDF - really just here for fun - the oldest quiz I've found
Audio Content
Audio Content
Make sure you screen this version for appropriate language. On Spotify - there is an explicit and a nonExplicit version.
Group Work (as an alternative)
Group Work (as an alternative)
I cannot ever remember opening the novel with a Group Work - it is not something that I like to do. You want to capture (and share your own) that enthusiasm for the book - to get it off to start - to set the pace. I may have been absent. But in any case, here it is and it covers much of what is said in the opening discussion above.
AQWF4_OpeningDisc_20161129.mp3Class Recording
Class Recording
We begin our discussion and talk about the things that matter to the men (after playing a song by Ice Cube). We also talk about the two worlds that the men inhabit and how these two worlds are so different - and who is to blame (including school teachers) for how they got there.
As always, this group work covers a lot. The power relationships, the surprising "good side" to the abuse they receive as recruits, connections to The Things They Carried, Candide, and more. We also play a very modern song by Suzanne Vega about the loss of limbs - (metaphorical and literal). See my page on Group Work. I also include some Lesson Notes that I used for having a Discussion for Chapter 2 in place of the Group Work.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
So we finally get to the Opening Discussion. There are two wonderful points of recognition during this lesson - at least for the students that I taught. The first was when I played Ice Cube's "It was a Good Day". The second was when we got to what the men feel is important and the discussion of the Front having its own set of rules. The students quickly realize that they too, of course, live in a world that has its own set of rules.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse