lani garver identity unity plan

8/6/2019 Lani Garver Identity Unity Plan

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Lesson plan: Week 1 Day 1, Introduction to Lani Garver

Objectives:By the end of class today, students will:

have a greater understanding of the themes and issues we will be discussing throughoutthe course of the unit

develop prediction skills with the Prologue read-along activity

begin to explore the differences between stereotypes and gender identity and itsimplications in the real world

Materials needed:

class set of What Happened to Lani Garver? by Carol Plum-Ucci

Prologue read-along activity and Claires identity worksheets

White board and marker to write themes during large group discussion

Activities

Attention getter (5 minutes)

Show class a 30 second Animoto animation containing major themes of the text: identity,stereotypes, gender roles/identity

Quick write about what they saw, what do you think the text were about to read may be

about?

Large group discussion, what did you see in the attention getter?

Collect quick write

Pass out books/worksheets (3 minutes)

Get three student helpers to assist me in passing out books

I will pass out the Prologue read-along activity worksheet

Direct all attention to worksheet

Prologue read-along activity (20 minutes)

Go through worksheet with students, ask if there are questions

Have students following along as they read and adding to the while youre reading

section of the worksheet

Read the prologue aloud with appropriate dramatic emphasis

Allow students to finish the after youve read section of the worksheet

Class discussion about what they think might happen next (What is the effect of knowing

what will happen before the story begins? What do we know? What dont we know?What do you think might happen in the novel?)

Pass out Claires identity worksheet


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Claires identity worksheet (10 minutes)

Emphasize that this is a recurring worksheet that we will work on after every section of

new reading

Have students fill out the where she starts portion of worksheet

Place identity worksheet in class folder with their name on itBegin reading chapters 1-5 (remainder of class)

Allow students to read silently until the bell, let them get into the book so theyre more

inclined to read for homework

Homework for Monday: read chapters 1-5

Assessment of lesson plan goals Assess understanding of larger themes by collecting quick writes from attention getter

and making sure there are no questions about the themes before moving on from the large

group discussion.

Assess development of prediction skills by circulating while students complete

worksheet, asking scaffolding questions during large group discussion, and ensuring that

everyone has a chance to participate in large group prediction. Emphasize that predictionis a great reading strategy to help keep you actively engaged in what youre reading and it

minimizes the time spent re-reading passages.

Assessment of understanding of difference between gender stereotypes and gender

identity is a recurring theme throughout the unit and will be checked with multipleassignments and activities. Informal assessment through class circulation and discussion

is enough at this time.

Standards

NCTE #5

ISBE #1 C 3d


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Lesson Plan: Week 1 Day 3, Gender expectations, Character

map, and popularity


have a greater understanding of gender as a social construct

be able to create and use a character map showing relationships between

characters

have a greater understanding of the difference between popularity and beingsecure in ones identity

Materials: Slideshow of photos of androgynous/cross dressing men and women mixed with

mainstream images of men as masculine and women as feminine Chart paper and markers to create a character map and chart popularity vs.

security

Activities:

Gender Expectations Slideshow (20 minutes)

Brainstorm on the board what characteristics are stereotypically masculine and

feminine; how do you know someone is male or female?

Read aloud Claires first encounter with Lani: why cant she decide if hes male

or female? Discuss how male does not equal masculine, nor does female equal

feminine

Have students take out paper and something to write with and number the sheet 1-

10. Tell them they will have five seconds to look at each picture and then write

down whether the person is male or female

Go through the slideshow again revealing the answers about the models

Which men are feminine? Which women are masculine? Why did you think these

things? Discuss

Character Map (15 minutes)

Draw a line dividing the page in half vertically. Label the top of the left side

Hackett and the other side Outside world Call on students to add characters to the map and connect them to other characters

with their relationships

How many relationships cross the line of Hackett/Outside world? Is thisdangerous? Predict what might happen to those with lines outside of Hackett.


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Popularity vs. self identity (10 minutes)

Break class into two groups, one group make list of characters that are popular,

one make list of characters that are secure in their self identities

Come back to large group, make Venn Diagram on chart paper of results. Doesanyone overlap? What can we expect to see change throughout the novel? Are

there any popular people who are sure of themselves? Who? Which of these

characters would you most like to be? Discuss until bell

Assessment of lesson plan goals Assess understanding of gender as a social construct in discussion after the

slideshow, and the next day with the box activity.

Assess knowledge of use of character map by large group discussion andchecking for comprehension before moving on

Assess understanding of popularity vs. security in identity by circulating during

small group work time and in large group effort to make Venn diagram, whichwill be used and changed in later lessons.

Standards

NCTE #1

ISBE #1 C 3c

ISBE #1 B 3a


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Lesson plan: Lani Garver Week 1 Day 4, Box Activity


have a greater understanding of stereotypes and the dangers that come with them

have a greater understanding of gender as a social construct

be able to recognize the difference between describing someone and labeling

them

Materials:

Student copies of Lani Garver

Cards with descriptions of characters from the novel Boxes with different labels on them

When I was a Boy by Dar Williams w/ lyrics sheets

Stereo

Activities

Song activity (20 minutes)

Pass out lyrics sheet as students walk into class

Tell students to listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics as it plays

Have students free write ideas about the song, how they felt about it, if they canidentify, etc. in large group discussion

Box Activity (20 mintues)

Have students turn to page 45 and read aloud until I supposed he was trying totell me that I was using boxes again. I kept quiet. (46)

Large group discussion: what does Lani mean by boxes?

Pull out boxes labeled boy, girl, young, old, genius, popular, dork, gay, andstraight

Read aloud from character cards the top section, dont let students see the second

half of the cards and have students decide which box each person belongs in

After all are sorted, have students pull out cards and read the rest of it. What partsof people are ignored if we put them in only one box?

Discuss difference between description and stereotypes, i.e. You are anintelligent person vs. You must be a genius or You are attracted to members

of the same sex vs. Youre just some gay kid.

Reflection (5 minutes)


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Have students choose a box and write a paragraph about what happens to the

people placed in it. Brainstorm ideas on how to change these stereotypes.Paragraph will be due the next day.

Assessment of Lesson Plan Goals

Assess understanding of stereotypes informally through large group discussionand comprehension checks; assess personal understanding through paragraph due

the next day

Assess idea of gender as a social construct informally through discussion and latergender bias paragraph that is due, which has a research component.

Assess idea of description vs. labeling in large group discussion and personal

paragraph due the next day.

Standards

NCTE #1

NCTE #2


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Lesson plan: Week 2 Day 4, Teaching confessional poetry

with Lani Garver


have a greater understanding of the term catharsis and its literary history

have a greater understanding of confessional poetry and how it has impacted

writing today

be able to creatively apply knowledge of catharsis and confessional poetry to a

character in the novel or their own life

Materials: Catharsis/confessional poetry PowerPoint

Handout of Sylvia Plaths poem Mad Girls Love Song

Song The Night by Disturbed

Handout of lyrics to The Night

Speakers

Activities

Song activity (10 minutes)

Pass out lyrics worksheet, have students listen to the song while they read along Take two minutes to brainstorm ideas of theme, similarities to Claire, what

purpose could it serve, etc.

Discuss song, transition to ideas of catharsis and confessional poetry

Catharsis and confessional poetry slideshow (10 minutes)

Go over history of catharsis from Greek theatre, Oedipus plot overview, ask for

examples of other texts that use catharsis to check for comprehension

Go over history of confessional poetry in America in 1950-60s, discuss how it

changed poetry forever, discuss legacy of this in both contemporary poetry and

prose

Brief bio of Sylvia Plath to transition into poem

Plaths Mad Girls Love Song compare and contrast (15 minutes)

Break students into small groups of five

Read poem in small groups, compare and contrast to Claire and her basement

lyrics

What of Plaths life is in her poetry? What of Claires life is in her lyrics? What

elements are cathartic?


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Come back to large group and discuss, check for comprehension

Cathartic/confessional poetry assignment (10 minutes)

Introduce assignment, tell students they can write from a characters point of viewor their own and write a confessional poem

Allow students to work on poem for remainder of class, due in class the next day

Assessment of Lesson Plan Goals Assess understanding of catharsis and its literary history informally in class

discussion and also through circulation during small group exploration of Plath

Assess understanding of confessional poetry and its impact on modern poetry and

prose informally in class discussion and through circulation during small group

exploration of Plath

Assess ability to creatively express catharsis and confessional poetry in personal

poem that is due the next class

Standards

NCTE #1


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Lesson plan: Week 4 Day 4, Teaching close reading with

Lani Garver debate

Objectives:By the end of class today, students will

have a greater understanding of close reading skills through the debate assignment

be able to form their own opinion about the end of the novel/what happens to Lanis

character

develop paper outlining skills using the thesis Lani Garver is/is not a floating angel as

evidenced by ________, ________, and ________.

Materials needed:

copies of Lani Garver debate worksheets

student copies of text

Activities

Define close reading (10 minutes)

Ask students if anyone can define close reading

Elaborate on student answer/explain to students the definition of close reading

Choose a passage and close read it as a large group, check for comprehension

Explain debate assignment (15 minutes)

Go over formal outline format on the board, check for comprehension

Introduce debate: students will be placed in a group, one arguing that Lani is afloating angel, one arguing that Lani is not a floating angel. Students will have to

come up with a formal outline for their debate as though it were a paper with at

least three pieces of evidence. Students in each group can then decide amongstthemselves which students will close read and find examples for which piece of

evidence.

Break students into groups

Work on outline/debate (rest of class)

Circulate around the classroom and offer help to both sides if necessary

Look for outline completion before students begin close reading work

Assessment of Lesson Plan Goals Assess student understanding of close reading skills in large group discussion and


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in circulating around the class after they have developed their formal outlines.

Assess formation of personal ideas in part through circulation in the classroom,but also later on when students turn in their personal reflection of their work in

the debate.

Assess development of paper writing skills/outlining by ensuring that no student

moves on to close reading and finding evidence until the outline has beenapproved by me.

Standards

NCTE # 3


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Claires Identity Worksheet

We will use this sheet as we go through Lani Garver to track Claires growth anddevelopment as a character.

Where she starts:

Write two sentences about what we know about Claires past to this point.

Write three adjectives that you think describe Claire at this point.

How do you think Claire will change throughout the novel? What are you basing this on?Reference at least two specific plot points from this section that you think will have animpact on Claire as a character.


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Chapters 6-11





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Chapters 12-18:





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Chapters 19-26:





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Chapters 27-33:

Looking back on what youve written, how has Claire developed as a character? Did youlike her better then or now? How has she changed? Who do you think she will associatewith now? Write a paragraph to summarize the changes Claire has undergone in thisnovel, and what you think about them.


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Lani Garver Final Project

Creative Assessment

We have discussed many different topics throughout this unit, many of themcontroversial, and this is your time to make your personal voice heard and tell us whereyou stand on one of these issues. Choose a gender/identity stereotype from LaniGarver and come up with a creative interpretation at least two minutes long, likeClaire and her song lyrics, to break down the stereotype or raise awareness of it. Youmay also choose to make your creative interpretation more like the confessional poetrywe read and relate it to your life and your identity.

A list of topics weve discussed:

Masculinity

Femininity

Sexual orientation

Gender identity

Age

Popularity

Depression

Eating disorders

Hazing/bullying

You may also choose your own topic from the text so long as you clear it with me first.

Your creative interpretation should be in the form of a song, poem, rap, dramaticmonologue, or other artistic representation. You may also choose another medium solong as you clear it with me first.

ReflectionAlong with your creative assessment, you will write a 3-4 page reflection where youdiscuss your thoughts on the issue youve chosen and how your creative assessmentrelates to the action in the novel. This is not a formal paper, you are allowed to use thefirst person, but you should still be quoting from the text. The reflection is due on theday you present.


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Grading

Creative assessment: 50 points

Relevance to novel: 20 points

Creativity: 10 points

Clear presentation: 10 points

Time requirement: 10 points

Reflection: 50 points

Relevance to novel/quotations: 20 points

Understanding of issue: 10 points

Organization: 10 points

Reflection of self: 10 points

Total: 100 points


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Lani Garver Debate

Is Lani really dead? Is he a fallen angel? Is it all just a convenient recollection? Theseare some questions that are raised by the end of Lani Garver, and we will be debatingthe ending in class in lieu of a formal paper. You will use your close reading skills tobuild an argument centered around the following thesis Lani Garver is/is not a fallenangel as evidenced by __________, ____________, and ___________. You will bebroken up into two groups, and in those groups you must make a formal outline, as youwould for a paper, and then support each point with the text.

You may not move on to close reading and preparation until I have approved youroutline. You must have at least three strong points to argue or I will consider youroutline incomplete.

Grading

Participation in group: 5 points

Completed and approved outline: 5 points

Personal reflection: 10 points

Performance/contribution in debate: 10 points

Total: 30 points


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Mad Girls Love Songby Sylvia Plath

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;

I lift my lids and all is born again.

(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,And arbitrary blackness gallops in:

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed

And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.


God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:

Exit seraphim and Satan's men:I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,

But I grow old and I forget your name.


I should have loved a thunderbird instead;

At least when spring comes they roar back again.

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.



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Confessional Poetry Info

Confessional poetry is the poetry of the personal or "I." This style of writing emerged in the

late 1950s and early 1960s and is associated with poets such as Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath,Anne Sexton, and W.D. Snodgrass. Lowell's book Life Studies was a highly personal account

of his life and familial ties, and had a significant impact on American poetry. Plath andSexton were both students of Lowell and noted that his work influenced their own writing.

The confessional poetry of the mid-twentieth century dealt with subject matter thatpreviously had not been openly discussed in American poetry. Private experiences with and

feelings about death, trauma, depression and relationships were addressed in this type ofpoetry, often in an autobiographical manner. Sexton in particular was interested in the

psychological aspect of poetry, having started writing at the suggestion of her therapist.

The confessional poets were not merely recording their emotions on paper; craft and

construction were extremely important to their work. While their treatment of the poetic selfmay have been groundbreaking and shocking to some readers, these poets maintained a

high level of craftsmanship through their careful attention to and use of prosody.

One of the most well-known poems by a confessional poet is "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath.

Addressed to her father, the poem contains references to the Holocaust but uses a sing-

song rhythm that echoes the nursery rhymes of childhood:

Daddy, I have had to kill you.

You died before I had time--

Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,Ghastly statue with one gray toe

Big as a Frisco sealAnother confessional poet of this generation was John Berryman. His major work was The

Dream Songs, which consists of 385 poems about a character named Henry and his friendMr. Bones. Many of the poems contain elements of Berryman's own life and traumas, such

as his father's suicide. Below is an excerpt from "Dream Song 1":

All the world like a woolen lover

once did seem on Henry's side.Then came a departure.

Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought.I don't see how Henry, pried

open for all the world to see, survived.The confessional poets of the 1950s and 1960s pioneered a type of writing that forever

changed the landscape of American poetry. The tradition of confessional poetry has been amajor influence on generations of writers and continues to this day; Marie Howe and Sharon

Olds are two contemporary poets whose writing largely draws upon their personal


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experience.

Assessment of Lani Garver Unit

Reading quizzes: 10 points each, 50 total

Box paragraph: 20 points

Understanding of concepts in box activity: 10 points

Original ideas: 10 points

Gender bias paragraph: 25 points

Research: 10 points

Original ideas: 10 points

Works cited: 5 points

Confessional poems: 20 points


Understanding of concepts in confessional poetry: 10 points

First person narrative scene: 30 points


Mimic style of author: 5 points


Voice of character: 10 points

Use of first person narrative: 10 points

Awareness poster: 25 points


Message: 10 points


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Debate: 30 points

Participation in group: 5 points

Completed and approved outline: 5 points

Personal reflection: 10 points

Performance/contribution in debate: 10 points

Final project: 100 points

Creative performance: 50 points

Reflection: 50 points

Total for unit: 300 points

Liana AlcantaraHilarie Welsh

CI 402

21 April 2011

Unit Plan Rationale

My unit is based around the theme of identity, more specifically how to deal with

identities outside the socially accepted norm. The specific identities we will discuss center

around sexual orientation, gender identification, and popular vs. unpopular. I have chosen Carol

Plum Uccis What Happened to Lani Garver? as the main text for this unit, though I will be

supplementing it with an excerpt from Jeanette Wintersons Sexing the Cherry, a song by Dar

Williams called When I Was a Boy, and other identity poems/spoken word pieces we find as a

class throughout the unit.

I could have used many texts for a unit about identity, but I chose Lani Garver because of

its universality of theme. While it deals with potentially volatile topics such as sexual orientation


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and gender identity, it does so in a way that makes students really examine whether these things

matter or not. A brief plot summary may help explain. The novel starts with us being told that

Lani was killed by a group of his fellow students because they thought he was gay, and his friend

Claire is the narrator of the story. She is in remission for leukemia, but shes afraid she may have

relapsed. Lani comes to town and no one is quite sure whether hes a boy or a girl, but he

befriends Claire and takes her to get tested for a relapse at a city hospital, and from there their

friendship strengthens as Lani helps Claire through her issues. Meanwhile, a bunch of boys from

the small town start harassing Lani because they think hes gay, although this is never explicitly

said in the novel. In fact, its never said whether Lani is gay, straight, male, female, or even

human, as Claire starts to think that he might be what a nurse of hers called a floating angel, one

that doesnt fight but floats from person to person that needs them, and leaves when theyre not

needed anymore.

With all of this going on, its pretty clear why I chose Lani Garver. Lani has a very telling

moment in the novel where Claire doesnt know what or who he is and is trying to categorize

him, and he accuses her of trying to put her in a box. He points out that gay, straight, genius, and

many other labels are boxes to put people in, and they can be harmful. This is what I want my

students to understand: the harm in labeling everyone we meet. Boxing people up can perpetuate

prejudice and create awful situations like what happens to Lani in the text, but if we look at

people as individual people, we are much less likely to categorize and more likely to understand

a person as they truly are.

As for why I chose this unit for this classroom and these students, its precisely because

these issues are universal. I could teach this unit with any class because the topics are important

for every student to learn. More specifically to my students, the novel is not a difficult reading


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level, and it goes very quickly. Ive broken up the novel into five chunks that each leave off at a

bit of a cliffhanger, hopefully to entice students into reading the whole book and not just relying

on classroom discussion. Also, Ive spread this unit out over five weeks so that there isnt more

than 70-100 pages due per week, which is perfectly manageable on top of assignments with what

has already been read and students other classes.

I think what this unit shows most about my educational philosophy is my great desire to

teach students more than English skills, but life skills in conjunction with them. The topics in this

novel are culturally relevant to our moment, though the novel itself is about ten years old now,

and I truly believe that the discussions we will have based on this novel are discussions that my

students will be having for the rest of their lives. Some of the issues in the novel are highly

controversial, and I also feel that it is important to expose students to these issues in a place

where we can learn and debate simultaneously, so when they have these debates later in life, they

have knowledge to back it up.

Goals for the unit:

1) Students will have a better understanding of identity, both mainstream and otherwise.

2) Students will be more knowledgeable about issues of bullying and hazing based on

difference in sexual orientation or gender identity.

3) Students will brainstorm personal ideas about how to end discrimination based on issues

of identity and will be able to present these ideas in a creative way.

4) Students will have a better understanding of close reading through the debate assignment.

5) Students will have a better understanding of first person narrative, point of view, and

confessional poetry through writing assignments throughout the unit.


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lani garver identity unity plan

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