Cultural Text Set
Gina Ruocco
INFO 237
Audience: Grade 8
Anchor Text: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Essential Question: In what ways can a person be caught between two worlds and how can this impact their identity?
Purpose: The purpose of this unit it to have students examine the Essential Question: In what ways can a person be caught between two worlds and how can this impact their identity? through a variety of texts. The anchor text, Brown Girl Dreaming, will be used as a vehicle for teaching students about the notion of the different “worlds” or contexts a person may be forced to straddle, and these contexts throughout the anchor text are diverse and encompass race, culture, religion, and location. The theme of two worlds creeps up repeatedly throughout the novel as various characters, including Mary Ann, Jackie, and Georgiana, feel torn between physical environments, cultural and religious differences, and social “rules” imposed by society. These struggles ultimately lead to awakenings regarding identity. Students will explore a variety of fiction and informational texts that span across time, place, gender, and race in order for them to gain a conceptual understanding of the importance of navigating different worlds and contexts effectively and how this helps a person establish their identity.
Culminating Experience: Students will create a blog where they will publish three entries (poems) that imitate the style of Jacqueline Woodson. The poems will tell the story of being caught between two worlds and will explore how this experience shaped their identity. They will infuse the two worlds theme by considering race, culture, religion, and location, like Woodson did. If they do not want to write about themselves, they can write about a character from a book or from a tv show. After publishing, they can read and comment on their classmates' poems.
Maryland's College and Career-Ready Standards:
L.8.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
W.8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
W.8.9 Draw evidence from literary and informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Gina Ruocco
INFO 237
Audience: Grade 8
Anchor Text: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Essential Question: In what ways can a person be caught between two worlds and how can this impact their identity?
Purpose: The purpose of this unit it to have students examine the Essential Question: In what ways can a person be caught between two worlds and how can this impact their identity? through a variety of texts. The anchor text, Brown Girl Dreaming, will be used as a vehicle for teaching students about the notion of the different “worlds” or contexts a person may be forced to straddle, and these contexts throughout the anchor text are diverse and encompass race, culture, religion, and location. The theme of two worlds creeps up repeatedly throughout the novel as various characters, including Mary Ann, Jackie, and Georgiana, feel torn between physical environments, cultural and religious differences, and social “rules” imposed by society. These struggles ultimately lead to awakenings regarding identity. Students will explore a variety of fiction and informational texts that span across time, place, gender, and race in order for them to gain a conceptual understanding of the importance of navigating different worlds and contexts effectively and how this helps a person establish their identity.
Culminating Experience: Students will create a blog where they will publish three entries (poems) that imitate the style of Jacqueline Woodson. The poems will tell the story of being caught between two worlds and will explore how this experience shaped their identity. They will infuse the two worlds theme by considering race, culture, religion, and location, like Woodson did. If they do not want to write about themselves, they can write about a character from a book or from a tv show. After publishing, they can read and comment on their classmates' poems.
Maryland's College and Career-Ready Standards:
L.8.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
W.8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
W.8.9 Draw evidence from literary and informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Brown Girl Dreaming (Memoir in verse)Readers can follow Woodson’s autobiographical narrative poems through the hardships and good times she and her family faced through Brown Girl Dreaming. Students will be able to understand, through Woodson’s word choice, character development, and figurative language, what it feels like to be caught between the different worlds of race, culture, religion, and location, and establish your identity at the same time.
2014 |
Interview with the Author (Interview)In this inspiring interview, Jacqueline Woodson explains her motivations for and the process of writing her memoir in verse. She makes a case for the idea that literature is a powerful tool that can be used to reach people across all lines, including race, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and religion. In this sense, we can better understand her family members who were featured in the memoir, the different worlds she emphasized throughout her story, and the key messages the text conveys. Students can use this clip to gain an understanding of the author’s purpose for writing and the process of turning memory into verse, which is what they will be doing at the end of the unit for their Culminating Experience.
2014 |
Ruby Bridges Movie (Film)This film tells the true story of six-year-old Ruby Bridges, who was selected to be the first African-American student to integrate into her school system in New Orleans in the 1960’s. This film can be used to convey the racially charged atmosphere of the 1960’s so students can better understand the historical context of the memoir. Additionally, this movie can be used in conjunction with Woodson’s poems second daughter's second day on earth (p.3) it’ll be scary sometimes (p. 13) as both poems explore desegregation and the experience that Jacqueline’s great-great-grandfather had as he was the only brown boy in an all white school.
1998 |
Little Things Are Big (YouTube Clip - Narrative) 1961
By Jesus Colon
Jesus Colon recounts an event on a train after midnight in the 1950’s when he faced an internal struggle and was torn between how he should act. The internal struggle was a result of his understandings of outsider perceptions of his race. He describes how a white lady got on the train with her three children and a heavy suitcase, and she was clearly in need of help. He mulled over the idea of helping her with her large bag and kids, but then changed his mind because, after analyzing the American world he was living in, he decided it was safer not to help the white lady. Students can use this clip in order to deconstruct and understand how someone might have to navigate delicate cultural and racial worlds and how this can create internal struggles. Students can then create their own scenarios regarding what could have happened had Colon offered to help the white lady. Additionally, students can use this clip in conjunction with Woodson’s what i believe poem on pages 317-318 in order to show that a person has the capacity to learn from incidents such as these. Students can compare what Colon learned from this situation to what Jacqueline learned over the course of the book.
By Jesus Colon
Jesus Colon recounts an event on a train after midnight in the 1950’s when he faced an internal struggle and was torn between how he should act. The internal struggle was a result of his understandings of outsider perceptions of his race. He describes how a white lady got on the train with her three children and a heavy suitcase, and she was clearly in need of help. He mulled over the idea of helping her with her large bag and kids, but then changed his mind because, after analyzing the American world he was living in, he decided it was safer not to help the white lady. Students can use this clip in order to deconstruct and understand how someone might have to navigate delicate cultural and racial worlds and how this can create internal struggles. Students can then create their own scenarios regarding what could have happened had Colon offered to help the white lady. Additionally, students can use this clip in conjunction with Woodson’s what i believe poem on pages 317-318 in order to show that a person has the capacity to learn from incidents such as these. Students can compare what Colon learned from this situation to what Jacqueline learned over the course of the book.
Torn Between Two Cultures (TEDTalk) 2012
By Caroline Chou
Caroline Chou, a student at Taipei American School, gave this talk in 2015. Caroline is Taiwanese and also lived for some time in the U.S., so she feels like she is part of both cultures. She explores the ideas of identity and culture and encourages people to think more carefully about the questions they ask others and to check the assumptions they have about other cultures. Toward the end of the talk, the speaker says she thinks that there should be an etiquette people should follow when asking people questions which could be sensitive to their identities and cultures. Students can develop their own question-asking-etiquette list in response to this TED Talk which reflects cultural competency.
By Caroline Chou
Caroline Chou, a student at Taipei American School, gave this talk in 2015. Caroline is Taiwanese and also lived for some time in the U.S., so she feels like she is part of both cultures. She explores the ideas of identity and culture and encourages people to think more carefully about the questions they ask others and to check the assumptions they have about other cultures. Toward the end of the talk, the speaker says she thinks that there should be an etiquette people should follow when asking people questions which could be sensitive to their identities and cultures. Students can develop their own question-asking-etiquette list in response to this TED Talk which reflects cultural competency.
We Wear The Mask (Poem) 1913
By Paul Laurence Dunbar
We Wear the Mask is a poem that can apply to many circumstances, including race and the notion of having to hide one's true feelings. It can also symbolize the time period after the Civil Rights Movement in the sense that things appeared to be somewhat better for African Americans, but in reality, blacks were still faced with racism and an social injustices. Students can use this poem to explore the historical context of the time period in order to understand that things between the black and white community did not change overnight. Additionally, students can read this poem in conjunction with greenville, south carolina, 1963 on pages 30-31 of the anchor text and analyze how Mary Ann felt she needed to act when she took her children on the bus to South Carolina. She had to “appear” one way, which did not accurately reflect how she felt. Why did she feel the need to do this in South Carolina and not Ohio? How did the different “worlds” or contexts require that she wear a mask, like the poem?
By Paul Laurence Dunbar
We Wear the Mask is a poem that can apply to many circumstances, including race and the notion of having to hide one's true feelings. It can also symbolize the time period after the Civil Rights Movement in the sense that things appeared to be somewhat better for African Americans, but in reality, blacks were still faced with racism and an social injustices. Students can use this poem to explore the historical context of the time period in order to understand that things between the black and white community did not change overnight. Additionally, students can read this poem in conjunction with greenville, south carolina, 1963 on pages 30-31 of the anchor text and analyze how Mary Ann felt she needed to act when she took her children on the bus to South Carolina. She had to “appear” one way, which did not accurately reflect how she felt. Why did she feel the need to do this in South Carolina and not Ohio? How did the different “worlds” or contexts require that she wear a mask, like the poem?
Caught Between Two Worlds (Essay) 2015
By Javier Benton
Javier Benton wrote this emotionally charged essay in which he recounts his own journey living in multiple locations as a young man who considers himself African American by race and Hispanic by ethnicity. He uses this essay to reflect on the social rules he believes have been created in America by both black people and white people, and how these “rules” have affected the development of his identity. As a young black male who studied at a predominately white high school and then moved on to study at a predominantly black university, he felt as if he was stuck between two worlds in both instances and did not fully belong in either. Students can use this text to deconstruct the idea of “social rules and expectations” that many Americans have. How might these rules impact a person’s identity development? Students can use this essay as inspiration to write their own personal essay about a time that they were caught between two worlds. Additionally, students can use this essay in conjunction with Woodson’s poem mrs. hughes’s house on pages 193-195 as this poem describes an incident when the Woodson kids are teased in South Carolina because they seem a bit different after having lived in New York. How might this experience compare to Benton’s?
By Javier Benton
Javier Benton wrote this emotionally charged essay in which he recounts his own journey living in multiple locations as a young man who considers himself African American by race and Hispanic by ethnicity. He uses this essay to reflect on the social rules he believes have been created in America by both black people and white people, and how these “rules” have affected the development of his identity. As a young black male who studied at a predominately white high school and then moved on to study at a predominantly black university, he felt as if he was stuck between two worlds in both instances and did not fully belong in either. Students can use this text to deconstruct the idea of “social rules and expectations” that many Americans have. How might these rules impact a person’s identity development? Students can use this essay as inspiration to write their own personal essay about a time that they were caught between two worlds. Additionally, students can use this essay in conjunction with Woodson’s poem mrs. hughes’s house on pages 193-195 as this poem describes an incident when the Woodson kids are teased in South Carolina because they seem a bit different after having lived in New York. How might this experience compare to Benton’s?
The Hate U Give (Novel excerpts) 2017
By Angie Thomas
The main character from this novel, Starr, lives two different worlds: her poor neighborhood and her wealthy high school in the suburbs. Thomas uses this novel to walk readers through the ways in which a modern teenage girl must navigate two different worlds, maintain important relationships across space, and stay true to who she is. Different extracts can be examined in conjunction with Brown Girl Dreaming in order for students to understand that this is a notion which transcends time. Specifically, students can examine Starr's acute awareness of the neighborhood where she lived and her school (pp 38-39), and how she must code-switch in order to effectively navigate both worlds (pp. 73-74) . This excerpt can be paired nicely with Woodson’s poem the right way to speak (pp. 68-69) where Mary Ann hits her children with a switch in order to warn them about the language they must never use.
By Angie Thomas
The main character from this novel, Starr, lives two different worlds: her poor neighborhood and her wealthy high school in the suburbs. Thomas uses this novel to walk readers through the ways in which a modern teenage girl must navigate two different worlds, maintain important relationships across space, and stay true to who she is. Different extracts can be examined in conjunction with Brown Girl Dreaming in order for students to understand that this is a notion which transcends time. Specifically, students can examine Starr's acute awareness of the neighborhood where she lived and her school (pp 38-39), and how she must code-switch in order to effectively navigate both worlds (pp. 73-74) . This excerpt can be paired nicely with Woodson’s poem the right way to speak (pp. 68-69) where Mary Ann hits her children with a switch in order to warn them about the language they must never use.
Desegregating Public Schools Stamp (Image)
The desegregation of schools was a pivotal event in history that was discussed throughout the beginning of the anchor text as the main character was born in 1963 - less than ten years after the Supreme Court's landmark decision to end segregation in schools. In order to honor the memory of such a decision, the U.S. Postal Service created a commemorative stamp. This image can be used to help students visualize the shift in the status quo and the weight of the decision. It can also be paired with poems february 12, 1963 (p. 1) and second daughter’s second day on earth (p. 3) in order to help students gain a conceptual understanding of how desegregation created new worlds that people of different races had to navigate. What happened when those different worlds finally collided? After reading the book, students can design their own commemorative stamp that communicates an important message they’ve taken away from the memoir.
The desegregation of schools was a pivotal event in history that was discussed throughout the beginning of the anchor text as the main character was born in 1963 - less than ten years after the Supreme Court's landmark decision to end segregation in schools. In order to honor the memory of such a decision, the U.S. Postal Service created a commemorative stamp. This image can be used to help students visualize the shift in the status quo and the weight of the decision. It can also be paired with poems february 12, 1963 (p. 1) and second daughter’s second day on earth (p. 3) in order to help students gain a conceptual understanding of how desegregation created new worlds that people of different races had to navigate. What happened when those different worlds finally collided? After reading the book, students can design their own commemorative stamp that communicates an important message they’ve taken away from the memoir.