Curriculum Project - Seeking Feedback

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Below is my curriculum project - I would love to hear feedback and/or suggestions. Thanks!

“Everything That I Have Seen and Felt”
Using the Pillow Book as Inspiration for Autobiographical Writing
A Mini-Unit Created by Stephanie Howe

East Asia and New Media in My Classroom
Fall 2008 SF Valley Seminar
Curriculum Project

Rationale

The following series of lessons is designed for a ninth grade English class (world literature focus) and would fit at any time during the year, perhaps between larger units or novel study. The purpose of this mini-unit is to help students develop their autobiographical writing by reading and studying excerpts from Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book. Before beginning these lessons, students should have a basic understanding of autobiography. By the end of the lessons, students will have read, discussed, and analyzed several selections from the Pillow Book. They will be able to identify and evaluate various strategies and aesthetic qualities found in these literary selections as well as analyze the historical context of the piece. Finally, they will use the literary selections as inspiration as they write their own abbreviated Pillow Book.

Skill and Content Objectives

After completing these lessons, students will be able to answer the following essential questions, as well as demonstrate mastery of the following standards, adopted from the CA ELA Content Standards, which are available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/.

Essential Questions:
• How can I best represent my own experience in writing?
• Why do people write autobiographies?
• Why is it important to share our stories?
• How can I use other pieces of literature to inspire my own writing?

Literary Criticism
3.11 Evaluate the aesthetic qualities of style, including the impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and theme, using the terminology of literary criticism. (Aesthetic approach)
3.12 Analyze the way in which a work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical period. (Historical approach)

Writing Applications
2.1 Write biographical or autobiographical narratives or short stories:
a. Relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the audience.
b. Locate scenes and incidents in specific places.
c. Describe with concrete sensory details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; use interior monologue to depict the characters' feelings.
d. Pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood.
e. Make effective use of descriptions of appearance, images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details.

Lesson Plans

Day 1 – 50 Minutes

Objective Students will begin brainstorming for their autobiographies and conduct a web-quest focused on the Pillow Book.
Activities • Opening Discussion Question - Do you keep a diary or journal? Why or why not? Why do you think that people often keep journals? (think, pair share)
• Transition – Over the next few days, we will be reading selections from a diary written hundreds of years ago. Today you will conduct a web-quest to learn more about this text. Then, we will use this text as inspiration for our own autobiographical writing.
• In groups of 3-4, students will conduct a web-quest to learn more about the Pillow Book.
o They will focus on these websites:
 http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/shonagon.html
 http://www.kyotojournal.org/kjselections/kjshonagon.html
 http://www.askasia.org/
 http://wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/HEIAN.HTM
 http://www.international.ucla.edu/eas/japan/lessons/pillowbook-lesson.htm
o Students will seek to answer the following questions:
 What is the Pillow Book?
 Who wrote it?
 During what time period?
 Briefly describe the Heian Period.
 What purpose did this book serve?
• Wrap up – Exit Slip: Write down 3 things that you learned today about the Pillow Book and/or the Heian Period.
• Homework – Complete Web Quest handout.
Materials In order to complete the web-quest, students will need internet access, either in a computer lab or with a mobile laptop cart. They will also use the Web Quest handout to record their information.

Day 2 – 50 Minutes

Objective Analyze the way in which the Pillow Book is related to the themes and issues of its historical period and begin writing an autobiographical incident.
Activities • Opening Discussion Question – What kind of information can we learn about history from reading diaries and journals? (think, pair, share)
• Transition – Today we are going to read an excerpt from the Pillow Book and discuss what we can learn about its historical context. Then we will begin writing our own autobiographical incidents.
• Whole class read-aloud – Students will read an excerpt from the Pillow Book entitled “Stray Notes” (photocopied from the Anthology of Japanese Literature compiled and edited by Donald Keene, 1955, pp.137-139)
• Class Discussion – What can we learn about Heian culture from this passage? What was the woman’s role? How was dating in this period similar to and different from dating today?
• Independent Writing Assignment – Students will then write their own diary entry about how they think a young man should act on a date, modeling their response after the excerpt they read in class.
• Wrap up – Volunteers can share their diary entries.
• Homework – Complete first autobiographical entry.
Materials Photocopies of the text to be read in class - from “The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon” in Anthology of Japanese Literature, edited by Donald Keene, Grove Press, New York, 1955, pp.137-139.

Day 3 – 50 Minutes

Objective Analyze another passage from the Pillow Book and write another autobiographical incident, focusing on imagery and other literary devices that enhance the aesthetic quality of a work.
Activities • Opening Discussion Question – What are some strategies that authors use to make their writing more appealing to readers? (think, pair, share)
• Reading – The class will read aloud “Nature Descriptions from Lists” (section 1) and “Things that are at odds with nature” (section 22) as translated by Kenneth L. Richard.
• Active Reading Assignment – As they read, students will highlight any words and phrases that evoke imagery (sights, sounds, smells, etc.)
• Artistic Response – Students will sketch a picture of one of the images that the reading passage evokes.
• Writing Application – Write an autobiographical incident in which you describe your favorite and least favorite aspects of the natural world around you. Be sure to use imagery to paint a picture of your experiences and preferences.
• Wrap up – “Whip Around” – Before leaving, each student will say aloud one word or phrase of imagery.
• Homework – Complete the imagery autobiographical entry.
Materials 1. Photocopies of “Nature Descriptions” and “Things that are at odds with nature” from (http://www.genji54.com/cpoetry/makura_no_soshi.htm), translated by Ken Richard, 2003.
2. Paper and art supplies for artistic response.

Day 4 – 50 Minutes

Objective Compare and contrast two sections from the Pillow Book and compile a brief autobiographical portfolio.
Activities • Opening Discussion Question – Why is it important for us to tell our stories? Does writing have to be shared to be meaningful? (think, pair, share)
• Reading – Students will read aloud “Hateful Things” and “Adorable Things” from the Pillow Book.
• Discussion – How does the author use imagery to convey her message? What is the mood and tone of each passage? Pick out several words and phrases that illustrate the tone of each passage. What can we learn about life in the Heian Period from these lists?
• Writing Application – Write your own lists of “hateful things” and “adorable things.” Be sure to draw on specific experiences and images in your lists.
• Wrap up – Exit Slip: What was your favorite passage from the Pillow Book and why?
• Homework – Complete the assignment listed below. Students may need a few days to compile their portfolios.
Materials Photocopies of “Hateful Things” and “Adorable Things” from Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, Vol. 1, Ivan Morris, trans., New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.

Assessment

As a culminating assessment, students will put together an autobiographical portfolio. For the portfolio, students will include both an original and revised copy of each autobiographical piece that they completed in response to the Pillow Book, as well as a brief reflection on the piece. Each reflective response will address their thoughts on the reading passage, the literary devices used, and their overall impressions of the text subject and format choices.

Extension

To extend this unit, students might have the option of publishing their work on a class-wide “wiki” where they might comment on one another’s autobiographical incidents and revise their own work as well. The similarities between the original Pillow Book and modern “blogs” make this a natural choice for extension of the project.

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