Curricular Text Set
by Andrea Phillips
INFO 237 - School Library Media Materials
San Jose State University
Fall 2017
by Andrea Phillips
INFO 237 - School Library Media Materials
San Jose State University
Fall 2017
Purpose
Students will explicate the theme of justice by examining texts that explore the topic while also depicting how people respond and react when faced with injustice. Essential questions will guide student’s reading of the texts in this collection.
Students will explicate the theme of justice by examining texts that explore the topic while also depicting how people respond and react when faced with injustice. Essential questions will guide student’s reading of the texts in this collection.
Audience
11th grade Students
11th grade Students
Essential Question
What is justice? How do people respond to injustice?
What is justice? How do people respond to injustice?
ANCHOR TEXT - Drama
The Crucible - Arthur Miller Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible depicts a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials. Fear, power, and hysteria motive a group of young girls to accuse individuals in the town of witchcraft. As a theocracy, it was against Puritan law to practice witchcraft. Those accused could confess to meeting with the devil, a lie that would spare their lives but damn their eternal soul, as lying was also a mortal sin. One man, John Proctor, attempts to stand up to the accusers and the court, who have based their convictions on spectral evidence and the assumption that the accusers have no reason to lie. Proctor is accused of witchcraft and thrown into jail. He is given the opportunity to write down the names of other witches in order to save himself. Proctor chooses to die rather than falsely accuse others to save himself. Miller wrote this play during the McCarthy era, so there are many similarities to the Communist trials of the 1950s. Many characters are faced with questions of what is right and what is easy. How they respond to the situation reveals their definition and understanding of justice. Readers are left to question if justice is served in the end. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - U.S. Supreme Court Decision
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District - Supreme Court of the United States In 1965, a group of students in Des Moines wore black armbands in protest against the Vietnam War. The school created a policy stating that it was against school rules to wear black armbands and students violating the policy would be suspended. The students decided to wear the armbands anyway, resulting in their suspension. The U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the school board. The students took their appeal to the Supreme Court in 1969, which ruled in favor of the students 7-2. The ruling validated students’ rights to freedom of speech in public schools, asserting that “students don't shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates.” Through this text, students have the opportunity to explore their own First Amendment rights as argued in the opinions and dissents presented by the US Supreme Court decision. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - Poem
Still I Rise - Maya Angelou Maya Angelou’s poem depicts the struggle to overcome oppression and injustice. The speaker presents and inner strength that pushes her to rise above prejudice and stand strong in the face of fear and adversity. Students are asked to contemplate the injustices the speaker faces and how the speaker’s determination to rise above them speaks to a universal ability to overcome adversity and pain. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - Art Exhibit
Ralph Fasanella: Lest We Forget - Smithsonian American Art Museum Ralph Fasanella was a New York artist whose work celebrates the common man with socially-minded themes. Fasanella worked in the garment industry, as a truck driver, ice delivery man, union organizer, and gas station owner before committing himself to painting full-time. His experiences colored his approach to art, which he viewed as an extension of his union activity, often bringing themes of social justice, struggle, and community. The exhibition is named for the phrase Fasanella often inscribed on his finished works: “Lest we forget.” He felt strongly about honoring the sacrifices of previous generations. The collection can be viewed as a whole, with students exploring the theme of social justice in the entire exhibition. Teachers can also choose one painting for deeper study, such as The Great Strike: Lawrence 1912, American Tragedy, or McCarthy Era Garden Party, which all depict specific social movements in history. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - Podcast
Null and Void - Radiolab Radiolab explores jury nullification, which is when members of a trial jury find a defendant not guilty regardless of the law or facts of the case. A juror may choose to do this if he or she does not support the law or does not agree with the potential punishment for breaking the law. Jurors have the right to vote “not guilty” and there is no legal punishment for a juror voting his or her conscious. This podcast discusses historical instances of jury nullification, questioning whether or not such instances are in the service of justice. Whether or not citizens should take the law into their own hands in this way is also questioned. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - Letter
Letter from Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr. After King’s arrest for coordinating a nonviolent campaign in Birmingham, eight white Alabama clergymen wrote an open letter titled “A Call for Unity” arguing against King’s methods for addressing the social injustices of racial segregation. While in jail, King wrote this letter in response to the “A Call for Unity” clergymen. In the letter, King challenges the country’s oppression of African-Americans making arguments based on legal, historical, and political grounds. He refutes each point made by the clergymen, asserting that civil disobedience was necessary in the face of unjust laws. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - TEDTalk
We Need to Talk about an Injustice - Bryan Stevenson A human rights lawyer, Bryan Stevenson discusses some difficult truths about the nation’s justice system, particularly the imbalance of black male incarceration compared to other racial groups. Stevenson describes how he came to his personal understanding of justice and moral responsibility. He asserts that the character of society should be judged by how society treats the poor, the condemned, and the underrepresented. Ultimately, Stevenson claims that society’s survival is tied to the survival of everyone and he calls for humanity, compassion, and justice for all groups in order to ensure this survival. |
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT - Short Story
Barn Burning - William Faulkner The story opens on with a Justice of the Peace hearing, where Sarty Snopes’s father, Abner, is accused of burning down another farmer’s barn. Sarty is called to testify and almost admits that his father’s guilt until the judge dismisses him. Sarty is torn between loyalty to his family and being honest. Abner burns barns in order to enact his own justice against those who he feels have wronged him; however, he is primarily motivated by resentment, which causes him to act out against anyone who opposes him. Sarty on the other hand, feels torn between loyalty to his father and truth. Ultimately, he chooses truth, opting to warn his father’s next arson victim of Abner’s plan to burn down the barn. The landowner shoots and presumably kills Abner, leaving Sarty alone but in possessing of his integrity and strong sense of justice. Students will question whether Sarty made the right choice and the fairness of the lonely final image. |
Image credits
Beatrice Jin. (2015). Retrieved from https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/behavior-juries
Jingyao Guo. (2013). Barn Burning. Retrieved from http://www.guojingyao.com/Barn-Burning
The Kavinoky Theatre at D'Youville College. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.kavinokytheatre.com/events/the-crucible/
Ralph Fasanella, (1958). Iceman Crucified #4. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved from https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/fasanella
Beatrice Jin. (2015). Retrieved from https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/behavior-juries
Jingyao Guo. (2013). Barn Burning. Retrieved from http://www.guojingyao.com/Barn-Burning
The Kavinoky Theatre at D'Youville College. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.kavinokytheatre.com/events/the-crucible/
Ralph Fasanella, (1958). Iceman Crucified #4. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved from https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/fasanella