Stephanie Lytle
Dr. M. Warner
ENGL 112B
29 November 2006
Becoming a Figure of Capable Imagination:
Embracing Challenges as a Way to Make Sense of the
World
Who was it that
passed her there on a horse all will,
What figure of
capable imagination?
Whose horse
clattered on the road on which she rose,
As it descended,
blind to her velvet and
The
moonlight?
Students facing graduation are plagued with uncertainties. The world of routine that they have become accustomed to in which bells ring to signal to them that it is time to get up and move is about to end. They must now learn how to ring their own bell and where they will go once it sounds. For many, this is a daunting prospect. The world is suddenly much larger, and they are faced with new responsibilities and possibilities. This unit will encourage students not to shy away from this new world, but to embrace the challenges it offers in order to appreciate all that life has to offer them, and all they have to offer others.
Wallace Stevens was a modern poet who felt that �The greatest poverty of our world is not to live in it.� Engagement in the world is a necessary first step to making sense of the world. Engagement must not be merely through routine interaction. It requires one to also reflect upon the experience and how it has given him a new understanding of his own life. By repeating this process, one becomes the successful �figure of capable imagination� that is celebrated in Stevens�s poem �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay.�
The poem juxtaposes the figure of capable imagination (FCI) with Mrs. Alfred Uruguay, who is so fearful of getting dirty and plunging into the real world that she resigns to stay in the same place. She watches the �figure of capable imagination� stream forward into the world of experience, re-evaluate his new experience, and plunge in once again with a new understanding. Mrs. Alfred Uruguay does not seem completely content with her decision to remain in her world, but cannot bring herself to plunge into the world herself.
Using this poem as the basis for the unit, students will examine characters that begin their journey discontent with their current station in life, but are fearful of change. Change is ultimately instigated by an outside force, but it is up to the protagonist to pursue it. Throughout the course, we will study works in which the protagonist comes to recognize that they feel more alive as a result of undertaking the change (although they face many challenges) and ultimately comes to have confidence in themselves as a result of their experience because they have a better understanding of the world they live in and how they can contribute to it.
While studying these characters, students will be charting their own evolution as figures of capable imagination. Stevens felt that it was the artist�s responsibility to make the real world accessible to people by helping them make sense of the world. After examining the journals of Dan Eldon in The Journey is the Destination, and Sabrina Harrison in Spilling Open, students will begin their own journals to be maintained throughout the unit. In these, they will include their observations of the works studied as well as activities and the assessment of activities to be performed inside and outside of class. In doing so, they will be undertaking the process of becoming FCIs by examining their own experiences and challenges that allow them a greater understanding of the world they live in.
Once students are introduced to their own journeys as FCIs, they will read the stories of various characters who are invited to embrace challenges as a means of gaining understanding of the world. Some will be reluctant to face the challenge, as Mrs. Alfred Uruguay. Others will embrace it, as the figure of capable imagination.
We will spend a great deal of time on another modern writer, Zora Neale Hurston, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. The protagonist, Janie, is faced with a series of people who want to impose their own idea of life on her. Her eyes watch a series of different �gods� throughout the novel, which opposes the way of the FCI. However, with each new experience, dissatisfaction spurs her to escape the experience in order to re-evaluate it and move on to another. It is not until all of her idols fall that she is truly an independent FCI, appreciating her experiences as a means of giving her new insight, and then returning to her hometown of Eatonville to share her experience and to encourage others to become FCIs themselves.
We will also explore the young adult novels I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak and The Crazy Horse Electric Game by Chris Crutcher[1]. Both novels highlight protagonists who embrace challenges and become FCIs as a result. We will also perform a reader�s theater with selections from David Leviathan�s The Realm of Possibility as a complimentary piece to the final section of I Am the Messenger, in which the protagonist is exposed to the unknown challenges his friends face and how his newfound experience and insight is used to help them. The unit will wrap up with the examination of the poem �Ex Basketball Player� by John Updike, which reminds students of what is lost when challenges are not embraced and one remains dissatisfied as Mrs. Alfred Uruguay.
Launching the Unit
Before introducing reading and discussing �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay,� consider using one or more of the following activities.
1. Discuss the poems �What is it that I Search 4� and ��The Eternal Lament,�[2] from The Rose that Grew from Concrete. These are poems written by rapper Tupac Shakur before he became famous. Students often respond well to the rich and raw feelings detailed in Shakur�s songs. He could be compared to this generation�s John Lennon for the passionate followers he continues to build more than a decade after his death. Inform students that his poetry was largely influenced by the vast amount of literature he read, along with his challenging experiences. A former street kid and gang member while growing up in Los Angeles, Shakur�s poetry is rich with angst about his past and the change he seeks. (Hare)
�What is it that I Search 4�
I know not what I search 4
But I know I have yet 2 find
it,
Because it is invisible 2 the
eye
My heart must search 4 it
blinded.
And if by chance I find it,
Will I know my mission is
achieved?
Can one come 2 conclusions,
Before the question is
conceived?
Just as no one knows
what lies beyond the shore,
I never will find the answer 2
what it is that I search 4.
a. Have students respond to the following questions orally:
1. Who is the poem about?
2. What does he want?
a. Which line or lines make you think that?
3. What does this character do?
a. Which line or lines make you think that?
4. How does this character feel?
a. Which line or line make you think that?
5. Which line is your favorite? Why?
6. Can you relate to this poem? Why?
�The Eternal Lament�
From my mind
2 the depths of my soul
I yearn 2
achieve all of my goals
And all of my
free time will be spent
On the 1�s I
miss I will lament
I am not a
perfectionist
But I seek
perfection
I am not a great
romantic
But I yearn
for affection
Eternally my
mind will produce
aays 2 put my
talents 2 use
and when I�m
done no matter where I�ve been
I�ll yearn 2
do it all again.
a. Have students respond orally to the same questions as the previous poem.
2. Read the children�s book (or show the animated DVD) The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. A recipient of The Christopher Award and Chapman Awards for Best Classroom Read-Alouds, the book tells the story of young Vashti, who believes she cannot draw. Her teacher encourages her to start with a dot. She envisions herself making better dots, and works to do so. She learns how to make her own mark. This parallels her transformation from a character similar to Mrs. Alfred Uruguay, to one who resembles the �figure of capable imagination� in �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay.�
a. Pre-reading/viewing: Talk
to students about whether there is something in their lives that they really
don�t like or think they are good at.
Have students share how they feel during those times. Brainstorm ways that students can work
through these challenges. Tell
students that the book (or DVD) tells the story of one girl�s challenge and how
she worked through it. Ask
students to look at similarities between themselves and Vashti. [Responses can also be
recorded as journal entries.]
b. Post-reading/viewing: Ask
students to reflect upon someone or something that has given them encouragement
in their lives. Alternatively, or
in addition, have students reflect upon a time when they have helped to encourage
someone else. Ask them how this
made them feel. [Responses
can also be recorded as journal entries.][3]
3*. Introduce the poem �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay� by Wallace Stevens.
1. Give background information on Stevens and the modern time period.
2. Read the poem aloud.
3. Pass out the handout �What Are You Talking About?� and fill out one side for the Mrs. Alfred Uruguay character and one for the �figure of capable imagination.� Use and overhead to record answers and have students do the same on their handout. This will act as a model for future activities.
a. Take time to clarify by asking students to respond orally to the questions:
i. (1) Who is Mrs. Alfred Uruguay? (2) Who is the figure of capable imagination?
b. Ask students which one they feel most similar to and why.
c. Ask student which one they wish to be and why.
4*.
Divide students into small groups of four and give each group a copy of either The
Journey is the Destination or Spilling
Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself.
1. Have students take time to look through these books and simply explore. Tell them to take note of how these differ from their preconceptions of what a journal is.
2.
Have them fill out a �What Are You Talking About?� handout for
each book. (Groups should switch
with one another after they have reviewed one.)
3.
Ask students which journal they liked better and why.
a.
Which characteristics or details made it more interesting?
4. Do you consider these journalists to be more similar to the Mrs. Alfred
Uruguay character
or the figure of capable imagination?
Why?
5. Pass out journals and tell students that they will be keeping their own journals throughout the unit.
b. Instruct students to open to the first page and answer the question: �What do you want your journal to look like?�
i. Ask students to consider what they liked or disliked about the journals they explored in their small groups.
The Text[4]
Janie�s journey from a character similar to Mrs. Alfred Uruguay to one who can be compared to the figure of capable imagination can easily be charted throughout the Their Eyes Were Watching God. As students can now recognize the characteristics of Mrs. Alfred Uruguay and of the figure of capable imagination, they will use their journals to spend the next two to three weeks following this journey. I suggest the following format:
Day 1 (Before
You Read):
i. Would you consider Hurston a �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay� or a �figure of capable imagination?�
ii. What do you think the book will be about, based upon what you know about Hurston and what she said about the book?
i. What caused you to stop believing in them?
ii. How did you feel when your belief system changed?
i. What caused people to believe in them?
i. What do you think would happen if somebody told them their idols were false or �wrong?�
Days 2-14: As You Read (pre-supposing students read approximately 20 pages
per day)
Preparation:
1. *Divide the book into five �sections�:
(1) Janie as a discontent �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay� figure
(2) Experience with Mr. Killicks
(3) Experience with Mayor Starks
(4) Experience with Tea Cake
(5) Janie as a more enriched �figure of capable imagination�
2. Allow for a large amount of class time to read aloud selections from the novel, as the dialect is strong. Additionally, allow class time for students to complete the following for each book section in small groups or pairs:
Day 13-18 (After You Read):
Day 19-20 (Conclusion and Wrap-up):
i. Have you reconsidered an old idea?
ii. How did you feel about it before? How do you feel about it now?
iii. What do you think caused this change?
Extending the Unit
A simple way to extend the unit would be to include more Young Adult texts in which the protagonist begins as a discontent, resolved to routine to one who lusts after experience to understand life. If time allows, Chris Crutcher�s The Crazy Horse Electric Game would be an excellent addition to the unit. It would introduce students to a new set of challenges, as the protagonist must overcome physical disability and rethink his perspective and goals. Other texts I would recommend include Paul Coelho�s The Alchemist and Herman Hesse�s Siddhartha. The Motorcycle Diaries is an excellent film that would a great addition to the unit. It would also allow students the opportunity to experience watching a film in another language (with subtitles), or possibly, in their first language.
Another recommendation would be to include more non-fiction examples of people who have changed their lives. This could include bringing in brief biographies of people of various ages and initial stations in life who demonstrate gratefulness for the change they experienced. These can be in the form of personal letters, book excerpts, brief documentary clips, or (my personal favorite) guest speakers.
If there is extra time within classes, consider having personality or career tests in the classroom for students to complete upon completing the day�s tasks. The goal of the unit is for students to evaluate themselves and how they might contribute to society. These activities will enable students to practice their literacy and analytical skills and help them to evaluate how they might best put their skills and interests to work after graduation.
Young Adult Literature Selections Include
The following annotations are taken from the popular website, teenreads.com. [with the exception of the summary of I am the Messenger.] The full citation for this website appears in the Works Cited section below.
The Crazy Horse Electric Game by Chris Crutcher. Willie Weaver is a
teenage legend in his Montana hometown --- the baseball genius who
single-handedly secures his team's victory against the batting boys sponsored
by Crazy Horse Electric. He is a hero, an all-star, a wonder boy...until a
boating accident leaves him bloodstained, crippled, and robbed of his dreams.
How does a teenage boy whose whole world revolves around athletic excellence
rebuild his life when sports are no longer an option? Willie makes the only
choice he sees as viable. He packs his bags, climbs on a bus and leaves the memories
of his old life behind.
"...A choking fear creeps in, almost paralyzing Willie, telling him to
turn back before he's in so deep there's no way out," Crutcher writes.
"But each time he looks at what he'd be turning back to, he strengthens
his resolve. He'd rather be dead than be the person he is in his parents' and
his friends' lives."
Weaver lands on the mean streets of Oakland, California and finds his
challenges have only just begun. After enrolling in classes at an inner-city
alternative school, Weaver begins to see himself through new eyes, thanks to
the cavalcade of magnificent characters Crutcher writes around him.
The stories of his fellow students help him realize how narrow his perspective
on "weakness" has always been. His teachers help him see how the
truth will broaden his reach and eventually offer him hope.
As in all Crutcher books, Willie Weaver discovers we can never go back to the
way things were after fate makes its random strike. Weaver discovers his only
practical choice is to move forward, with courage and honesty and hard-won
strength. (teenreads.com)
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan. David Levithan's THE REALM OF
POSSIBILITY is a collection of interrelated monologues
written in free verse. Each poem is a glimpse into the private world of one of
twenty different characters, all attending the same high school. While each
person may be separated in school by the usual social boundaries, they
privately share many of the same desires, fears and longings.
The poems range from the humorous, "My girlfriend is in love with Holden
Caulfield" or the darkly hilarious, "Suburban myths," to more
serious subjects such as "The Patron Saint of Stoners," about an
honor society student buying marijuana for her terminally ill mother. One of
the book's highlights is a poem called "Gospel," about what happens
when Gail, a deeply Christian choir singer, shares her music with Anton, the
school's resident outcast.
As one gets further into the book, the interconnectedness between the poems and
the characters becomes apparent. The book begins and ends with poems about the
same relationship, from two different points of view. While many of the
characters feel isolated and alone, they are in fact part of a vibrant,
interrelated community.
THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY is about love, identity and our interconnectedness as humans. Each poem is about discovering oneself through love, and speaks to the idea that as long as our hearts are open, we are never truly alone. As Levithan writes in the title poem, "As hard as it is for us to see sometimes, we all exist/ within the realm of possibility. Most of the limits/ are of our own world's devising. And yet,/ every day we each do so many things that were once impossible to us." (teenreads.com)
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Ed Kennedy is a nineteen year old cabdriver with no destination in mind. He is frustrated that his list of achievements is meager at best, but without any idea of how to improve, he passes the time playing cards with his three friends, Marv, Ritchie, and his beloved Audrey, who refuses to see him as anything more than a friend. He lives alone with his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman, and drives his customers through the streets of an unnamed city in Australia. His routine life ends when he stops a bank robbery, �for some reason (he�ll) never understand.� Shortly after, he receives the first of four aces in the mail. Each card holds three names, clues, or destinations in which Ed finds he is sent simply �to care.� Some messages are easier and bring him joy, as when he befriends an elderly woman. Others are much more trying and require him to challenge the likes of an alcoholic who rapes his wife each night. Anytime he veers off track of delivering the message, someone will show up who has been sent by the card dealer himself and push him back on course (often violently). Who this is remains a mystery until the very end of the novel.
The change Ed discovers in within himself as he delivers the messages becomes more important than finding out who is instructing him to do so. As he comes to believe he has been chosen to deliver each message, he transforms from a hapless nothing to a genuine hero.
Other FCI Books and Media Include
The following annotations are taken from the popular online bookstore, Amazon.com. The full citation for this website appears in the Works Cited section below.
The Alchemist by Paul
Coehlo. Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel
has inspired a devoted following around the world, and this tenth anniversary
edition, with a new introduction from the author, will only increase that
following. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring
wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his
homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the
Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king,
and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No
one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the
obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods
turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and
deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the
transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
(amazon.com)
The Journey is the Destination by Dan Eldon. Dan
Eldon, who was only 22 when he was chased down and killed by an angry mob in
Somalia, was one of the youngest photographic stringers in Africa. But his
journalistic work, which had appeared in Time and Newsweek,
showed only a small part of his talent. Eldon excelled as an artist in his
collages, which combined his photographs of Africa with paint, pastiche, pop
culture images, advertising, and official documents. The Journey Is the
Destination collects pages from the 17
scrapbooks that held his art. Chronicling his work from age 14 through his
death at 22, this volume is startling not only in the intensity and
thoughtfulness of the pages, but also in the fact that someone so young could
have this kind of artistic depth and insight. (amazon.com)
Spilling Open: The Art of
Becoming Yourself by Sabrina
Ward Harrison. "We are
all facing choices that define us. No choice, however messy, is without
importance in the overall picture of our lives. We all at our own age have to
claim something, even if it is only our own confusion. I am in the middle of
growing up and into myself. This book is my life in progress."
Spilling Open: The Art of
Becoming Yourself is the creative
expression of one young woman's attempt to understand herself as she grows into
adulthood. Sabrina Ward Harrison shares her private journal and art, offering
us lessons in life and empowerment that resonate with fresh, youthful wisdom.
Written when Harrison was
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, Spilling Open captures the
artist's journey of self-discovery with a powerful and courageous voice. This
book is an intimate and moving picture of what it means to enter a contemporary
adult world that is filled with contradictions about womanhood. Harrison
reveals with tender honesty that, in spite of the women's movement, she has
found more questions than answers about growing up female.
Harrison's writing and
multimedia art explore questions about love, faith, growing pains, being true,
peer groups, and identity. A truly unique experience, Spilling Open will help open your heart and your mind. (amazon.com)
Siddhartha by
Herman Hesse. In the shade of a banyan
tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He
was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he
followed Gotama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man,
Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a
Brahmin, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In
order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life
of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of
pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was
just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his
desires. Like Hermann Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn
individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu
ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither
meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world,
resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear
answers from the river. (amazon.com)
Their Eyes Were Watching God, dir. Darnell Martin.
A drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for
happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the morals
of her small town. Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston. (amazon.com)
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. The Dot is the first of three books -- a trilogy of books dedicated to creativity. I call it the "creatrilogy." In this first book, we meet a girl named Vashti who has convinced herself she can not draw. Her teacher dares her to make a mark. Vashti makes one little dot on her sheet of paper... which turns out to be the beginning of her creative journey! But The Dot is more than a book about art. It is a book that encourages us to be brave about expressing ourselves. It gently reminds us to start small and explore the IDEA. It is also a tribute to great teachers who know how to use humor, "off-the-path" approaches, and who have the vision to see the possibilities in EVERY student. The book ends off with Vashti sharing this gift with others, beginning a ripple of inspiration. (peterhreynolds.com)
The Motorcycle Diaries, directed by Walter Salles.. The beauty
of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education)
gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma
that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later
to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social
commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of
Brazilian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend
Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from
Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle.
They end up traveling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience
of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No movie could affect an
audience the same way, but The Motorcycle Diaries gives a soulful glimpse of an awakening social conscience,
and that's worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer (amazon.com)
Concluding Activities
As the unit comes to a close, it is time for the students to evaluate themselves and how their engagement with the literature and accompanying activities during this unit has changed their perspective of life. Throughout the unit, they have been observing various characters� response to challenges. They have observed protagonists evolve from those who formerly followed the example of the title character in �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay� into figures of capable imagination. Simultaneously, they have been recording their observations regarding the unit and personal reflections of their own changes within their journals. At the end of the unit, students should open their journals to the first page and spend some time evaluating how they have changed since the beginning of the unit. Do they feel as Mrs. Alfred Uruguay, still uncertain about plunging into their futures? Or, have they discovered a new bravery to embrace challenges and new experiences as a means of personal evolution, as the figure of capable imagination? Students may be invited to respond to these questions in the form of a final journal entry that will be graded. Students should identify which of the two archetypes they identified with at the beginning of the unit, and which they identify with at the end of the unit.
I propose including an additional poem and accompanying activity to wrap up the unit. John Updike�s poem �Ex-Basketball Player� is much less difficult to understand than �Mrs. Alfred Uruguay.� It tells the story of a high school basketball star who could not bring himself to embrace new challenges after graduation. Instead, he remains in his hometown and works in a job he does not care about. He sustains himself through visions and daydreams of his former glory. Students should find a clear parallel between him and Mrs. Alfred Uruguay. Now that they have completed the unit, they are aware of what is lost when one refuses to become a figure of capable imagination, but lives dissatisfied as Flick Webb and Mrs. Alfred Uruguay. In this final assignment, students are to write a letter to themselves in the form of a poem. This poem is their vision of themselves five years from now. This will not be recorded in their journal, but will be written separately in order to be mailed by the teacher to them in five years.[5]
As the theme of the unit encourages students to embrace their future and consider it full of possibility, the final assignment should involve students looking toward their own future and considering it as the figure of capable imagination would � full of challenges, but also the fruit that comes from tackling these challenges.[6]
Works Cited
1. <http://www.amazon.com>.
2. Coelho, Paul. The Alchemist. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.
3. Crutcher, Chris. The Crazy Horse Electric Game. Harper Collins Publishers: New
York, NY. 1987.
4. Eldon, Dan The Journey is the Destination, Chronicle Books: New York, NY. 1997.
5. Hare, Deborah. �Poems, Prayers, and Possibilities.� <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/3/01.03.08.x.html>
6. Harrison, Sabrina Ward, The Art of Becoming Yourself, Random House: New York,
2000.
7. Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. New Directions Publishing: New York, NY, 1951.
8. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Collins Publishers:
New York, NY, 1937.
9. Levithan, David. The Realm of Possibility. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
10. The Motorcycle Diaries. Dir. Walter Salles. Perfs. Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la
Serna. DVD. Focus Features, 2004.
11. Poetry Foundation.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=172264>
This site offers the poem �Ex-Basketball Player� from Collected Poems 1953-1993 by John Updike (Alfred A. Knopf, 1993).
12. Reynolds, Peter. The Dot. Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003.
13. Rubenstein, Susanne. �A Poem of Possibilities: Thinking about the Future.�
ReadWriteThink.org: International Reading Association and The National Council for Teachers of English. <http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=943>
14. Shakur, Tupac The Rose That Grew from Concrete. Pocket Books, a division of
Simon and Schuster, Inc.: New York, New York, 1999.
15. Stevens, Holly.
The Palm at the End of the Mind: Selected Poems and a Play by
Wallace Stevens. New
York, NY: Vintage Books, 1967.
16. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/dot.pdf>
17. <http://www.teenreads.com>.
18. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Dir. Darnell Martin. Perfs. Halle Berry, Ruben
Santiago-Hudson, Michael Ealy. Film. Harpo Films, 2005.
19. Zusak, Markus. I am the Messenger. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
[1] Time may not allow for the reading of both novels. The Crazy Horse Electric Game is optional.
[2] Other poems to consider include: �When Ure Heart Turns Cold,� �Life Through My Eyes,� �If I Fail,� �In the Depths of Solitude,� and �The Fear in the Heart of Man.� These poems are short and could easily be peppered throughout the unit, as well.
[3] Both pre-reading and post-reading activities come from scholastic.com. The full citation for this website appears in the Works Cited section below.
* This is a required opening activity to set up the unit.
* This is a required opening activity to set up the unit.
[4] I recommend using a similar format for I am the Messenger and The Crazy Horse Electric Game.
[5] Teachers may also consider asking for an email address, as students are likely to move and forget to forward their mail to a new address. Another alternative would be to bring copies to their first high school reunion, which is likely to be five or ten years following graduation.
[6] This idea was adapted from Susanne Rubenstein�s unit
entitiled �A Poem of Possibilities: Thinking about the Future.� The full citation for this website
appears in the Works Cited section below.