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| Overview |
 The first thing that Mama does when she enters the scene in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (Signet, 1966) is an important, symbolic act: “She crosses the room, goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the wind sill. She feels the dirt and puts it back out” (p. 27).
As English teachers, we’re likely to realize immediately that such an object is an important symbol and that this act is important to the theme of the play. But do our students understand? This lesson plan invites students to explore the things relevant to a character from Hansberry’s play, such as Mama’s plant, to unlock the drama’s underlying symbolism and themes.
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| From Theory to Practice |
In “Dialogue with a Text,” Robert Probst explains, “If we accept
the
idea
that
literature
ought
to be significant, that readers
have
to assimilate it and work with it, that transforming it into knowledge is more
significant than memorizing the
definitions of technical terms, then we need to find some ways of bringing readers
and text together, and of
forcing upon readers the responsibility for making meaning of text.” The
best activities, then, encourage students to make their own meaning out of what
they
read and to discover for themselves the beauty of great literature. But
achieving this goal consistently is easier said than done, especially when it
comes to abstract ideas such as symbolism and theme.
Probst continues, “First
efforts
are very likely doomed to fail for
obvious reasons: the students aren’t used to it and don’t trust it;
we aren’t used
to it and haven’t figured out all of its complications; it places tremendous
responsibility on everyone involved, not the teacher alone; it requires that
we deal with thirty evolving poems at a time rather than just one stable text;
it requires
that students accept a new and frightening notion of what knowledge is; and it
demands a tolerance for ambiguity
and digression. But if meaning is a human act rather than a footlocker full of
dusty facts, then
we must focus attention on the act of making meaning rather than simply on the
accumulation of data.” One of the ways to move from Probst’s “footlocker
full of dusty facts” to active meaning making is to allow students to unlock
the mysteries of a text on their own and at their own pace. In practice, this
lesson allows students to choose objects and ideas on their own. Without
fail, given this chance, students choose the significant symbols and themes in
the play and are able to explore their meaning with little prompting or direction.
Further Reading
Robert E. Probst. “Dialogue with a Text.” English Journal 77.1 (1988):
32–38.
This lesson plan adapted from Mary Ann Steutermann’s “Sneaking Students into
Symbolism and Theme,” from Ideas Plus Book 14 (NCTE, 1996), pp. 30-31.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- explore the traits of a character in detail.
- identify symbolism and themes in a play.
- participate in active learning, taking the responsibility for making
meaning of text.
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
Preparation
- Before this session, students will have read the first scene of the play.
They can do the reading in class or at home prior to the session.
- Test the Drama
Map Student
Interactive on your computers to familiarize
yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed.
You can download the plug-in from the technical
support page.
Instruction and Activities
Session One
- Ask students to choose a character from the play whom they will focus on
for this activity. Explain that they will choose one character from the play,
explore that character, and then write a character-idea poem about an object
associated with that character.
- Once students have chosen a character, introduce the Drama
Map Student Interactive. While you may return to the interactive as you
continue to read the play, for this session students will complete only the
Character Map and the Conflict Map.
- Ask students to complete and print these two maps to gather their preliminary
ideas about the character.
- Once students have all completed their maps, explain the character-item poem
in more detail. Ask students to think of some item that could be associated
with the characters they’ve chosen, based on what is known about him or her from the first scene. The item that students focus on can be a prop, explicitly named in the play, or it can be an unnamed
item or an abstract idea. Any item is appropriate as long as it is something
that the student relates to the chosen character.
- Introduce the following formula for the character-item poems:
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Line 1
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State the item’s name
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Line 2 |
Give a literal description of it |
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Line 3 |
Give a figurative description of it |
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Line 4 |
Give one adjective for it |
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Line 5 |
Give another adjective for it |
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Line 6 |
State what the thing does for the person |
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Line 7 |
Give a final description (adjective then noun) |
- (Optional) Share the sample poems “Mama’s Flower” and “Dream.” Sharing
the poems may influence the choices that students make as they write their
own poems. Decide whether to share the samples according to student need.
- Answer any questions that students have about the poems. Ask them to complete
their poems for homework and to come to class ready to share what they’ve written.
Session Two
- Invite students to share some of their poems.
- As students share, note the names of the items that they have written about
on the board. When an item is repeated, add a tally mark beside the item
name.
- After all the students who want to share their poems have done so, ask
the remaining students to share the names of the items that they have written
about so that you have a tally of all the items on the board.
- Ask students what they can conclude from the information on the board.
It’s likely that you’ll see predictable patterns on the board (for instance,
perhaps one-fourth of the class has written about Mama’s Flower). Resist
the temptation to point them out. Allow students to notice and comment. The
questions below can be starters for the discussion, but encourage the conversation
to roam where it will.
- Why do you think more of us wrote about _____________? (Fill in the blank
with the item that was most repeated)
- How are these items related? Do any of them have things in common?
- Are any of these items symbolic?
- Do any of these items tell you anything about the themes that will unfold
in the play?
- With basic ideas of the symbolism and themes from the first scene of the
play outlined, ask students to pay particular attention to these ideas as
they read the rest of the play.
Alternative Focus
While this lesson plan uses
Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun as its focus, the lesson plan can easily
be adapted to another play. Additionally, the lesson plan can be modified slightly
to be used with a novel or short story. Simply use the Literary
Elements Map rather than the Drama
Map Student Interactive.
Extensions
- Once students have read the full play, return to the character-item poems.
Ask students how they would change their poems based on the events that happen
in the remainder of the play.
- Complete the remaining maps in the Drama
Map Student Interactive after you’ve finished the play.
Web Resources
- Quest
for the American Dream in “A Raisin in the Sun”
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=449
- This 9-12 EDSITEment lesson plan focuses on the guiding question, “How
does the play A Raisin in the Sun mirror the social, educational, political,
and economical climate of the 1950’s and how does the play illustrate
the impact this climate had on African Americans’ quest for ‘The American
Dream’?”
The lesson would provides excellent materials for continuing study of Hansberry’s
play.
- A Raisin in the Sun, Present at the Creation
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/raisin/
- This segment from the NPR series Present at the Creation explores the roots
between Hansberry’s award-winning play and her own life as well as the play’s
first production on Broadway.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
| As students discuss their poems and the play, listen
for comments that indicate students are identifying symbols and themes in the
play as well as discussions where students test out ideas about the play.
The goal of this lesson plan is to encourage students to make their own meaning
as
they
read
a
text.
Nothing
can squash their participation in that act more
quickly than an assessment system that suggests that there are “right” and “wrong” answers.
Feedback on this activity, then, will be most successful when it takes the form
of providing provocative questions that urge students to think more deeply and
scaffolding comments that enable students to try out their ideas. |
1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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