Dry erase
board/chalk board with appropriate pens or chalkArea of Discipline: Literature/English
Topic: The Roles of Women in Poetry
Grade Level: High School, 9-12
Duration: Three Weeks
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Rationale
The study of literature is a diverse and complicated discipline with various opinions, theories and types of criticisms pertaining to works of short stories, novels, poetry, etc. Different criticisms include New Historicism, Eco-criticism, Deconstructionism and, of course, Feminism. When attempting to analyze any kind of literary work, one must begin by deciding which of these theories they wish to employ in their analysis. Throughout this unit, I plan to have students focus on Feminism in five selections of poetry. An ever-present idea in Feminist studies is the study of different roles of women or the construction of the female form in literature. Authors tend to portray women in various and sundry roles like the witch, the virgin, the adulteress, the monster or as an angel. By studying these roles and their backgrounds, my students will have a better and broader perspective when approaching literary works; they will have yet another tool of analysis which will better equip them for college and, eventually, the world.
Overall, I have two relatively simple goals for this unit that satisfies my beliefs and the future needs of my students: to give a different perspective in the study of literature and to learn the constructed roles of women so that they may choose to uphold or break through them. Enhancing old conceptions and introducing diverse perceptions about the roles of women allows students to safely explore and question their own beliefs while opening their minds to new ideas (NJCCS, standard 3.4, section A). Without an open mind or an enlightened notion that there are many ways to approach a text, students will be lost when they reach college and are forced to look at works of literature with different points of view. Additionally, by learning various roles of women, the students will choose to accept or reject these conceptions. Either way, the beliefs of the student will be strengthened by being able to question his or her personal values. Hopefully, after teaching this unit, my students will decide that, as a society, we still need to break through some of these old roles, but that will be left for them to decide.
Since my unit deals with a great deal of reading and analysis, some fragments of the New Jersey curriculum standard 3.1 are a good summary for its theme: “Analyzing works of literature, showing how they reflect the heritage, traditions, attitudes and beliefs of its authors,” “Understanding the study of literature and theories of criticism,” and “Apply information gained from several sources…to foster an argument, draw conclusions or advance a position.” Students will also be responsible for developing their own ideas and comparing and contrasting poems, making them read and respond critically which satisfies NJCCS standards in section G. By allowing students to take the initiative to make a personal choice about whether or not they agree with an author’s conception of women is an important motivational idea. When teachers ask students to blindly accept concepts, there is little motivation to learn because the student’s ability to critically think is being hindered. According to some educational psychologists, students need to feel intrinsically motivated in order to truly absorb the information they learn. Therefore, I have included a final project for my students where they may personally chose a work of poetry that interests them, analyze the author’s conception of women and decide if they agree with his or her suggestions (NJCCS, standard 3.1, section H after grade 12). Also, in class every student will be responsible for building on the ideas of their peers and creating new opinions (NJCCS, standard 3.3 and 3.4, all sections). By allowing students to develop their own ideas and conceptions, critical thinking will spring from their intrinsic motivation.
Applying the theme of Feminism to poetry is just one way to motivate students to be interested in literature. Realistically, not all students will enjoy or even accept this form of criticism. However, it is my hope that after this unit is complete that the students will begin applying feminist criticism to other aspects of their lives and to other subjects they study. For the students that do not enjoy critically studying the roles of women, I will urge them to find another mode of criticism they believe they can accept and make use of. By attempting to research a different theory, students will eventually open their minds to diverse opinions and judgments, making them a well-rounded human being. Realistically, there is a critical literary theory for everyone, from every walk of life; the key is finding the one that best fits your beliefs and ideas and then actively applying it.
Content Outline
Learning Targets
Knowledge:
1. Students will be able to distinguish between the basic ideas and themes of the poems, the different representations of women and their implications as constructed by various authors through multiple choice and fill-in tests and worksheets done outside of class. (i.e. the roles of the witch, the housewife, the young maiden) They will be assessed on accuracy of their knowledge through selected response tests.
2. Students will be able to speak about the important features of feminist literary criticism within the context of informal class discussion of the texts and by presentations on an author they choose. They will be assessed through teacher observation and a structured class debate within a performance based task.
Reasoning
1. Students will be able to compare and contrast the differing views of authors and their opinions on the roles of women through short answer tests given in class and throughout class discussion. They will be assessed on creativity of their ability to find interesting parallels between the opinions of the authors through constructed response tests.
2. Students will be able to actively discuss works of literature in class with a “gender-aware” literary perspective, reflecting on the position of women in the time period pertaining to the poem, commenting on how that role may have affected her every day life and remembering that being open to other societies and ways of life is necessary for thorough examination of a text.
Skill
1. Students will be able to actively participate in class discussion and debate about various gender roles in the context of a role model lesson. Choosing a position, the class will participate in a lesson on a topic pertaining to the role of women in a specific poem. Answers will contain examples from the work and follow a specific format.
2. Students will be able to actively listen to classmates during the role model lesson. They will be assessed through their ability to build responses and reflections on their classmates’ ideas by formulating their rebuttal in the performance based debate.
Product
1. Students will be able to develop an in class 5-pragraph essay, comparing the opinions on the roles of women of two out of the five authors studied. Essays will be graded on specificity of examples used to prove their thesis, difficulty of the chosen works, organization of the paper and validity of their argument.
2. Students will be able to find and research a poem and an author, reflecting on a role of women and present it to the class, informing the class of the background of the poem and stating the author’s position pertaining to the role of women. They will be assessed on their ability to oral present (proper eye contact, vocal projection and content delivery). The will also be assessed on the essay they have prepared in reference to their author (see P1 for essay criteria).
Affect
1. Students will be able to express their own opinions on various roles of women based on their experiences in everyday life throughout class discussion. I will assess the student on creatively of their arguments and if they bring up different and unique points through my observation in class.
2. Students will be able to reflect on the poem they chose, stating their ideas on why the author portrayed the women in his/her poetry in a specific way and discussing why they agree or disagree with this particular idea or role of women in an essay. The essay will be assessed on creativity of their choices and expression, as well as validity and proper essay construction.
Instructional Procedures
Lesson Title: Inquiry Lesson: Helen of Troy…
A puzzling question on a matter of gender concerning Margaret Atwood’s poem “Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing.” This lesson will serve as the introduction to my unit as well as an introduction to Margaret Atwood’s poem. By setting up common misconceptions and stereotypes, I hope to force the students to think outside their own experience to become prepared for the unit and lesson.
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Grade Level: High school, 9-12
Goal(s): My goal for this lesson is to force students to think outside the boundaries of gender, preparing them for future lessons.
Learning Objectives: After completing this lesson, the student will be able to critique literature without a gender-biased stance, listen actively and respond to the ideas of their classmates, critically think about and analyze puzzling situations.
NJ Core Content Standards: This lesson will satisfy standard 3.3 in Speaking and 3.4 in Listening, especially, “Question critically,” “Demonstrate active listening by analyzing information, ideas and opinions” and “Explore and reflect on ideas while hearing and focusing attentively.”
Materials/Resources:
Dry erase
board/chalk board with appropriate pens or chalk
Scrap paper and
pencils if the students desire them
Procedures for Teaching:
Presentation of the problem: I will begin with this story, “A father and son are rock climbing when the son falls and has to be rushed to the hospital. After taking one look at the son, the old doctor says, ‘I can’t operate on this boy: he is my son.’ How could this be?”
Introduction of the process: After posing the question, I will inform the students that they may ask me only yes or no questions in order to discover the answer. I will make “yes” and “no” columns on the board so I may record their answers. They will be given the choice to record their thoughts and questions on scrap paper and I will strongly encourage this. Before beginning, I will remind the students that this is a group process, meaning that it is important to listen to everyone’s answers.
Gathering data: As the students ask various questions, I will attempt to highlight the important details that will lead them to the answer. My goal is merely to help them to the answer by being a guide.
Summarizing: When the students have successfully solved the question, I will ask the students to summarize the story. The answer is that the old doctor is a woman, his mother. However, most students will assume that the doctor is male, which will introduce my lesson on roles and conceptions of women.
Formation of generalizations: Here, I will pose the question: What made this problem so tricky to solve? They will probably answer that they assumed that the doctor was a man. I will ask why they thought that and explain that many people automatically assume that doctors are male.
Student Product: If the students choose to use the scrap paper to organize their ideas, this can prove to be a useful tool and product in assessing their thought processes.
Assessment: My assessment will be in the form of random verbal questioning to see if the students understand what material they are about to study.
Checking for understanding: Here I will pose the question, “What would you think about someone who has so much power that they caused an entire war to be fought?” If they understand my point, the students will not gender classify this person. I will then describe Helen of Troy, the Greek women who caused the Trojan War and we will read Atwood’s poem, keeping in mind that stereotypes are not always true.
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Lesson Title: Webquest: Introduction of the Authors
This will serve as my overall introduction to the authors, researching background material on the five authors we will study.
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Grade Level: High school, 9-12
Goal(s): My goals for this lesson are to get the students to cooperatively complete this project while finding for themselves the introductory material about the authors.
Learning Objective(s): After completing this lesson, the students will be able to successfully navigate around and find information on the internet, understand basic information on the different backgrounds of the authors in the unit, choose a desired poem based on their understanding of the author’s ideas and style of writing, produce a short biography of the authors and cooperatively work in groups to accomplish the given tasks.
NJ Core Content Standards: This lesson satisfies almost all standards, but especially 3.5 in Viewing and Media Literacy.
Materials/Resources:
Computer lab or
stations
Access to the
internet
Pen and paper
See “Resources”
under Procedure for Teaching
Procedure for Teaching:
Introduction: In this task you will work in groups of three to find the histories and background material on the authors we are about to study. You need to accomplish this task in order to better understand their poetry.
Task: You are to write a brief summary of the history of each author, noting the dates in which they lived, where he/they lived, the literary time period that may have influenced their writing and any personal beliefs they held. You are to find a work of each author that you enjoy and express why you enjoy it. (Remember: we are studying their poetry.)
Process: In groups, navigate around the web. One member is the recorder, who takes down all the random facts. One member is the navigator, who controls the computer. One member is the task organizer, who makes sure everyone is staying on task while assisting in locating the information.
Resources: Use these resources to help accomplish your task. See the “Materials Needed” section for website descriptions.
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/angel.html
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/rich/rich.htm
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/sexton/sexton.htm
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/atwood/index.htm
Evaluation: Groups will be assessed on cooperative learning (i.e. working together, being respectful of each other opinions, listening to each other), accuracy of the biographies and creativity in expressing reasons of choosing work.
Conclusion: Congratulations! You have learned about the backgrounds of the authors we are about to study. You are now ready to experience this unit!
Student Product: The students will produce an accurate written summary of the poet’s lives and beliefs. They will also be responsible for producing a personal essay on their favorite works of the various authors and explain why they enjoy the works.
Assessment: See “Evaluation” under Procedure for Teaching.
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Lesson Title: Role Playing Lesson: Goblin Market
Role playing the sisters in Christina Rossetti’s poem, “Goblin market.” How would you convince your sister to not taste the forbidden fruit?
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Grade Level: High school, 9-12
Goal(s): My goals for this lesson are merely to get the students actively involved and participating in this lesson. By structuring the lesson that forces active participation, hopefully the students will become excited and interested in the material.
Learning Objective(s): After completing this lesson, the student will be able to actively listen and build on their classmate’s ideas, understand their personal construction of women through their portrayal of them and produce a valid oral argument, support that argument using details from the poem.
NJ Core Content Standards: This lesson will satisfy standard 3.4 in Active Listening and 3.3 in Speaking, especially, “Present ideas and opinions spontaneously in response to a topic” and “Incorporate peer feedback and teacher suggestions for revisions in content and delivery.”
Materials/Resources:
The students and
their active imagination!
Procedure for Teaching:
Selection of Roles: I will ask for volunteers to play to roles of the two sisters in the poem. If no one volunteers I will choose two of most vocal students.
Train audience: I will ask the audience to listen for examples from the poem and analyze whether the actors used those examples validly. They should also listen for misconceptions about women that could be corrected and any changes they would make in the presentation.
Present role play: We will enact the situation by having the students act out a different scene between Lizzie and Laura, the sisters. In the poem, Lizzie is tempted by the Goblin fruits. How will Laura convince Lizzie not to eat the fruit and how will Lizzie react?
Analysis: Would you change anything
Reenactment: Enact the same scene with different actors who try and take their own ideas and their classmate’s advice to change the scene.
Evaluate implications: How did Laura attempt to convince her sister? Was it through begging or persuasive argument? Did the actors act childish or treat their characters with respect? We can learn how we construct various roles of women through the way we portray them personally. So, if a student depicts Laura as a whining and weak character with no hope of saving her sister, we can get a glimpse of that student’s ideas of women. By doing this, hopefully we can be more aware of our misconceptions.
Student Product: No product.
Assessment: The students will be assessed on their participation. Active listening with helpful feedback and insightful comments and persuasive arguments with valid examples from the poem with be the criteria for assessment.
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Lesson Title: Reading for Meaning: Analyzing “Planetarium”
A critical reading in order to answer questions and analyze Adrienne Rich’s poem, “Planetarium.”
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Grade Level: High school, 9-12
Goal(s): My goals for this lesson are to ensure that the students understand the ideas of Rich’s poem and to force them to think on various levels.
Learning Objective(s): After completing this lesson, the student will be able to recall simple facts of the poem, comprehend deeper ideas of the feminist role of the monster, critically analyze Rich’s ideas, and answer questions on numerous levels of knowledge.
NJ Core Content Standards: This lesson will satisfy standard 3.1 in Reading, especially, “Read increasingly difficult texts with comprehension and fluency” and “Monitor reading for understanding by asking essential questions.”
Materials/Resources:
The poem
“Planetarium”
Blank piece of
paper and a pen/pencil
Procedure for Teaching:
Introduction: This poem is an especially difficult piece, involving numerous references to historical figures and convoluted metaphorical language. This lesson will serve as an introduction to the poem and the questions will assist me in assessing the student’s understanding of Rich’s work.
Mastery:
Understanding:
Synthesis:
Student Product: The students will produce the answer to the above questions on a blank piece of paper, which they will turn into me.
Assessment: Students will be evaluated on numerous levels of knowledge: simple understanding, comprehensive reasoning and higher-order thinking skills. They will be assessed on accuracy of their answers in the mastery section, reasoning abilities in the understanding section and affective and creative abilities in the synthesis section.
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Lesson Title: Comparison Contrast Lesson- The Angel and the Monster
Comparing and contrasting Coventry Patmore’s poem, “The Angel in the House” with Anne Sexton’s Poem, “Her Kind.”
By: Jocelyn Dumaresq
Grade Level: 9-12
Goal(s): My goals for this lesson are to make the students understand the differences between the two roles of women based on the author’s opinions and conceptions. However, I want them to also realize that while there are major differences, these two poems do have similarities. This will force the students to look at every side of a situation before merely accepting the first idea they hear.
Learning Objectives: After completing this lesson, the student will be able to critically analyze the difference between the feminine constructions of the angel and the monster, recognize the similarities between the two roles, understand the differing opinions and backgrounds of the authors and note the structures of the poems.
NJ Core Content Standards: This lesson will satisfy standards 3.1 in Reading, “Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the beliefs of its authors,” “Read and compare two works related to the same genre” and “Read critically and analyze poetic forms.”
Materials/Resources:
The poems “Angel
in the House” and “Her Kind”
Visual organizer
Procedure for Teaching:
Concepts- The two poems we will be comparing demonstrate two distinct roles of women: the angel and the monster. Patmore portrays women as saintly servants of their husbands and, essentially, angels in a domestic setting. In contrast, Sexton depicts women as being witch-like and somewhat mad. See the visual organizer for complete details.
Criteria: The two poems are to be compared on:
The style of the
poem
The rhyme scheme
of the poem
The descriptions
of the women in the poem
The actions of the
women on the poem
The
construction/role (what kind of woman is she?) of the women in the poem
Student Product: The student will complete in the visual organizer and hand it in to be graded.
Assessment: The students will be assessed on accuracy in completion of the visual organizer. Detailed responses, supportive and valid examples from the poem and correct identification of the two roles will be the criteria for assessment.
|
“Angel in the House” |
Similarities |
“Her Kind”
|
|
Style: Free verse |
Rhyming poems |
Style: Three stanzas |
|
Rhyme scheme: ababcdcdefef… |
Address common misconceptions of women |
Rhyme scheme: ababcbc |
|
Descriptions: Gentle, devoted, kind, pitying |
Give negative conceptions of women |
Descriptions: “Possessed witch” crazy, misunderstood |
|
Actions: Lives only to please men Never raises voice Loves unconditionally |
|
Actions: “Haunting the black air” feeds worms and elves waves nude arms |
|
Role: Angel |
|
Role: Witch, madwoman |
Materials Needed
ó Websites: these are needed for the Author Webquest lesson.
http://www.victorianweb.org: A website dedicated to the Victorian time period. It includes everything from authors (their works and biographical information) to major political views of the time to important historical background. Information on Christina Rossetti, author of “Goblin Market” is listed here.
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/angel.html: Information on Coventry Patmore and a copy of his poem, “The Angel in the House” can be found on this site. The short article on the page also expresses the ideals of a perfect Victorian wife, which is also embodied in Patmore’s poem.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/rich/rich.htm: This site is a direct link to Adrienne Rich’s section on the Modern American Poetry page. The site branches off to Rich’s biography, additional works and external links.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/sexton/sexton.htm: This site is a direct link to Anne Sexton’s section in the Modern American Poetry page. It branches off to include a biography, critiques of her work and more external links.
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/atwood/index.htm: This site links to Margaret Atwood’s section of the Canadian Poetry page, set up by the University of Toronto Library. It includes her poems, a biography, her writing philosophy, published works and other information.
ó Equipment
o Overhead
o Multimedia room (for presentations)
o Dry Erase Board/Chalk Board
o Computer lab or computer stations
ó Software
o Power Point
o Word
Assessment List
|
Targets
|
Assessments |
|
K1
|
Selected-response tests |
|
K2, S1, S2, P2
|
Performance-based test |
|
R1
|
Constructed-response tests |
|
R2, A1, K2
|
Unstructured and structured observation |
|
P1, P2, A2
|
Essay assessment |