Edna Capehart
Overview
Main Ideas
The preceding selection and the activities should provide teachers and students
with the framework for doing a more
detailed study of literary works by African-American authors in Illinois. The article
delves deeply into a single work by
Gwendolyn Brooks and one by Ronald Fair
to provide concrete experiences of what life
was like for a young African-American
female growing up from the 1920s to the
post-Depression era and young African-American males growing up in the period of
the 1960s. In each case the quest for individual identity and dignity is an overriding
theme. The selection should be used as a
resource to aid the teacher in preparing the
lesson and the students in understanding
the similarities and differences in this struggle for identity across gender and historical
time periods.
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Connection with the Curriculum
Though the materials in the selection
draw upon literature, the lesson should
involve some study of the history of African-Americans during the periods mentioned.
This offers opportunities to include social
studies in the lesson. Some knowledge of
the two periods involved will provide students with an historical perspective from
which to examine the details of the characters' lives. Therefore, some background
material on the periods and the areas that
provide settings for the novels would be
helpful.
Teaching Level
Grades 9-12, with students who have
had some experience with both reading
novels and examining them through criticism and character analysis
Materials for Each Student
• Maud Martha (entire book or
selected chapters)
• Hog Butcher (or another work by Fair)
• Writing materials for each student
• A copy of the narrative portion of
this article
• A list of questions to guide group
discussions
Objectives for Each Student
• Examine how language, characterization, and actions aid in development
of theme
• Analyze how various universal and
cultural themes are developed in works
by African-Americans in Illinois
• Relate the experiences of African-Americans as depicted in literature
to the experiences of oneself and
other cultures
• Develop one's own opinion and
tastes in reading for understanding
and pleasure
• Compare and contrast themes and
experiences of African-Americans
during various historical periods in
Chicago
• Use literary criticism as a tool for
understanding works of fiction
SUGGESTIONS FOR
TEACHING THE LESSON
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Opening the Lesson
A K-W-L format could be used as an
approach to the lesson. In this strategy, the
lesson follows a pattern of questioning to
determine first what the students already
know (K) about the subject at hand. The
second inquiry determines what the students want to know (W) or find out about
the subject. This might be broadened to
having the students predict from prior
knowledge what things the article might say
about the subject. Finally, assess the material. What did students learn (L), after reading the material. Also encourage students to
add an additional query: What would you
like to know about the novels and characters that you did not learn from the article?
This will offer an excellent opportunity to
allow students to present ideas for extending the lesson and to encourage them to
read the entire novel.
First, read the narrative and select
words and literary references that your students may find difficult to understand. These
terms should be discussed, and the students should be asked to keep a list of the
terms for future reference. Then discuss the
themes of the search for identity in literature, and coming of age (bildungsroman).
Questions should be directed toward the
students regarding other works they have
read with these same themes. Information
should be provided on the historical periods
that surrounds the novels, especially as
they might relate to African-Americans living
in Illinois, especially in Chicago.
Before students begin to read the narrative portion of this article, have them make a
list of questions that they would like
answered in the selection. During the
course of the reading, those questions that
are answered should be checked off the list.
You might want to provide a list of questions
that you want the students to answer after
they have finished reading the material.
Only a small percentage of these questions
should be aimed at determining facts. With
this material the focus should be on making
sure that the students understand the
themes and that they can provide practical
application of what they have learned to
their lives and to other works that they may
have read in the past.
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Developing the Lesson
After students have read the narrative portion of this article, discuss with them the list
of questions that they did not have
answered in the selection. The entire class
should discuss these to make sure that students have not missed some information
during the reading. Finally, you may want to
provide additional resources that address
the remaining questions. Some helpful
source material can be found in the bibliography at the end of this volume.
Students could then be placed into small
groups. The following list of questions
should be given to each group to guide their
discussion of the selection and the themes
represented. Assign students selected
chapters of one of the novels to examine
the development of the theme. For example,
Maud Martha in chapter 1 indicates that her
fondest hope is to be cherished. Students
could be asked to read the novel to determine if this wish, which is tied to Maud's
own idea of identity, was ever significantly
fulfilled. Groups could then make presentations based on the reading to show how the
events of Maud's life either brought her
closer to or farther away from realization of
her ideal. The same could be done in the
case of one of Ronald Fair's novels.
In each case, the students would be
asked to approach the work from the standpoint of the theme mentioned in the selection and determine through further reading
how this theme is developed and if the character's quest is successful.
Questions To Guide the Discussion
- In most works of fiction that deal with
the theme of bildungsroman, or
coming of age, there is usually a
single incident or a series of events
that mark the passage from childhood
to adulthood. Make a list of works that
you have read, and in condensed
form write down these incidents and
discuss them with classmates. Be
careful to note similarities in the
various incidents that you list.
- What are some of the themes that
are used by African-American
authors?
- What are some of the similarities
between themes in the works of Fair
and Brooks as mentioned in the
selection?
- After reading Maud Martha, make a
list of themes that the author develops in the story. Compare your list of
themes to those given in the
selection. Decide whether these
themes relate to Maud's African-American culture, or if these are
themes that could be considered
universal. If you decide that the
theme is universal, discuss how it
could relate to other ethnic groups as
well. (You may want to use examples
from other works that you have read.)
a. Describe what lesson or insight
Maud has gained by the end of the
story. If you decide that no lesson
or insight was gained, show how
her goals changed from those
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expressed as a young girl to those
expressed as an adult.
b. Make a list of five to ten adjectives
that describe Maud or one of the
other main characters at the beginning of the story. At the end of the
story show how these attributes
changed or remained the same by
making a second list. Be sure that
you can give incidents from the
text to support your lists.
c. Discuss whether Maud seems to
be controlling the things that are
happening in her life, whether she
is basically being controlled by
outside events, or by those close
to her.
- From what you know or have heard
about life in a large city in Illinois,
such as Chicago, what are some of
the ways that life has changed for
African-Americans since the 1930s
and the 1960s? Discuss the ways in
which life has not changed to a great
extent. You may want to check various sources to confirm your ideas.
The Chicago Historical Society and
the DuSable Museum in Chicago can
provide a wealth of information on
Brooks's "Bronzeville."
- After reading Fair's Hog Butcher,
compare the view of life presented
of a young African-American male in
the 1960s with the life of a young
African American female of the
Depression and post-Depression era
in Chicago. Also compare the historical times.
Concluding the Lesson
Have students return to the narrative
portion of this article and examine the idea
of what it means to grow up as an African-American in Illinois, especially in Chicago.
The idea to be examined at this point would
be whether young people, especially
African-Americans, growing up in Chicago
today face similar problems in their quest
for identity. In an essay, students might
focus on a particular problem that was
faced by Maud or the characters presented
by Fair and determine if this is a problem or
concern for young African-Americans coming of age in Chicago today. In addition,
they could show how the themes mentioned
extend across ethnic and racial boundaries.
Extending the Lesson
• Students could be asked to make a
visual presentation of what Chicago,
as a backdrop for the literature,
looked like during the era of the 1920s
and the Great Depression. They could
then discuss environment and racial
and social climate as a factor in the
novels.
• Students could put together discussions of the differences in African-American society as depicted in Maud
Martha and Hog Butcher. For example, family life could be compared.
• Students may have ideas developed
from their list of unanswered questions put together earlier in the lesson.
Assessing the Lesson
In lieu of a standard exam to assess student understanding at the end of the unit,
other methods for assessment could be
developed with the help of students. For
example, a rubric could be developed by
students and teacher to determine how student participation in discussions, written
papers, and classroom discussions will be
graded. In addition, students should be
given opportunities to demonstrate their
knowledge by applying it in other areas. For
example, students may write papers that
apply the themes discussed to books they
have read about African-Americans in
Illinois, or they might want to demonstrate
their understanding of Maud Martha and
Hog Butcher and the themes by rewriting
them as plays for exhibition emphasizing
the themes discussed previously.
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