Where the Lilies Bloom
A Group Discovery Reading Unit
Mitchell Sprague
Mendocino Middle School
California State Framework Area : Language Arts
Grade Level: 5th to 8th
Length of Project:
4 to 6 weeks
Produced in conjunction with the NASA K-12 NREN Partner School
Program and the California Telemation Project
I. INTRODUCTION
Where the Lilies Bloom, a novel set in rural North Carolina, is an
ideal
book for middle school students. Its themes of responsibility, family
relationships, self-reliance, and the concept of the fair land, or the
idea of the land being and giving equal access to all, address many
issues facing middle school students in the 1990's.
Through the use of telecommunications, students can explore
and compare the world of modern day North Carolina with their own
perceptions based on the book, and both send and receive feedback
on the mechanics and the content of their writing. They can also
share with other students their own reflections on the theme of the
book, and through the use of Inter-active Relay Chat (IRC), they can
participate in real-time problem solving activities based on the
themes of the book. Study groups of students from our class and
North Carolina will be formed to write open-ended essays.
Purpose: To explore the themes of responsibility, family
relationships, self reliance, and the concept of the fair land--a land
that is fair and equal to all through reading, writing and drama
activities.
Framework Connections: The framework states that literature should
reflect the culture and times of many different people and allow
students a chance to explore real-life dilemmas faced by all human
beings. In support of the study of these ideas, students need
frequent opportunities to write short papers to express their
thoughts. They also need continual chances to participate in and lead
small group discussions
II. STUDENT OUTCOMES
Students will:
1. learn about life and times in rural North Carolina during the
depression.
2. examine the issue of self reliance and gain understanding
about what they should realistically expect of themselves in their
daily life.
3. will work cooperatively to present to their peers a major
topic or theme from the book
4. gain an understanding of the differences between children in
a family based on when they are born.
5. be exposed to and use basic cinema terminology
6. make a personal evaluation of a
character.
7. use electronic mail to communicate, cooperate, and write
with students in North Carolina
8. use the Internet for reference material regarding the setting
and themes of the book.
III. ACTIVITIES
Beginning
California teacher makes connection on e-mail with teachers in
North Carolina.
Students join book clubs of their choice. The clubs meet three
times a week for the duration of the unit.
Cooperative groups of two to four students are formed.
Students may choose to work in the teacher's group to complete the
assignments. Groups also study with partner groups in North Carolina
for the essays.
Reading
Each group receives a calendar. The group will need to create a
reading and discussion calendar as well as schedule an in-class
discussion after reading chapters 1-4, 5-8, and 9-14.
Discussion
During one book club session each week, students will discuss
with their group the main issues, events, conflicts, and themes of the
selected reading for that week. A different member of the group will
"chair" each discussion
Book Club Meetings
- Week 1: Introduction to the book, major themes and issues,
characters, project assignments. Group calendars, including dates for
completing necessary reading, writing assignments, and
presentations are designed. Reading commences.
- Weeks 2,3,4: Time to work as a group to complete assignments
as dictated by the group calendar.
- Weeks 3 and 4: Telecommunication activities with schools in
North Carolina; students also search on the network for materials
related to the setting of the book, and the themes studied in the
book.
- Week 5: Watch "Where the Lilies Bloom" movie and complete
film critique activities; Inter-active chat session with students in
North Carolina who have also read the book and seen the movie to
complete problem solving activities based on issues and themes in
the book. Ideally these should be student designed and open ended.
Some examples might be:
1. Under what circumstances should middle school students be
self reliant?
2. Which of the promises Mary Call is asked to keep is the most
difficult?
3. Name three other alternatives Mary Call might have pursued
to keep her family together.
The student will also need to develop a criteria sheet to
evaluate the answers that are received.
Writing Activities:
Students complete drafts of five writing assignments and final
copies of three writing assignments of approximately one page each.
Every student completes the interviews. Students work in groups on
peer revising and editing Each group decides which assignments the
individuals in each group will do and in what order to do them.
Each group is responsible for peer revising and peer editing.
Character Journal.
Pick one of
these characters: Mary Call, Romey, Devola, or
Kiser. After every two chapters, write down how the character
would feel about the events that happened.
Personal Responsibilities
Each student
will write an assessment of
his/her own personal responsibilities. They
participate in a prewriting activity in which they
list responsibilities they have, who holds them
responsible for completing the tasks, and why they
have to be done
Interviews
Complete
the interviews of two students who
are oldest, youngest, etc. in birth order in their
families. Each student needs to complete the
interviews, even if they choose not to write it up as
a final assignment.
Character Evaluation
Student
writes a personal evaluation of one of
the major characters in the story. Included must be
an explanation of personal likes or dislikes about
the character and his/her actions.
Self-reliance Essay
Write an essay about self reliance--one of the
major themes of the book. The essay should
contain the student¹s personal experiences with
taking on responsibility. In another paragraph they
should compare what they are responsible for as
compared to what the children in the book are held
responsible for. These essays will be co-written
with partner students in North Carolina.
E-mail
Write an introductory paragraph to be e-
mailed to students in North Carolina to introduce
themselves to their North Carolina partners.
Presentation
: Groups create a presentation based on what
they have learned about themselves, North Carolina, and
others. Class determines the criteria for the presentation
which may include oral presentations, writing, drama,
video, and/or art. It is built around a theme or issue from
the book.
Cinema Studies:
Students will be given a list of eight
cinema terms and their definitions.
1. shot: a certain length of film shot at a specific angle
2. pan: moving the camera from left to right or right
to left
3. lighting: The amount of light which shows on an
object.
4. establishment shot: A shot which shows a complete
image of something
5. medium shot: A shot which shows roughly half of
something
6. close-up shot: A shot which shows a detail on an
object.
7. fade: To have the screen go slowly to black
8. zoom: To move the camera toward an object to
show more detail.
They will also be given a list of ten scenes from the
book and are then asked to take notes as they view the
ten scenes. In the notes they should notice which cinema
terms are used and how they impact the telling of the
story.
Telecommunications Journal
Students will be asked to visit the following gopher
and web servers and take materials from them related to
North Carolina. They record their findings in a
telecommunications journal to be placed in their portfolio.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Services
(Demographic Data for North Carolina)
The News and Observer Publishing Company
(On-line newspaper company)
State Library of North Carolina
(government and statistical data)
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
(weather information)
The American South Internet Resource Center, a
multimedia collection of resources for research and
information about the south
State Library of North Carolina WWW Server
University of North Carolina Institute for Transportation Research
and Education, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
IV. ASSESSMENT
Final assessment for the class is the completion of a portfolio of
materials and work connected with the book. The following items
- Four writing assignments which have been edited and revised
by both the cooperative learning group and North Carolina partners.
- Evidence of interactive problem solving with the North
Carolina
partners.
- Essay co-written by California students and North Carolina
- students.
Definitions of cinema terminology and notes on the scenes
- Students' evaluation of their cooperative learning group's
progress.
- Their telecommunications journal listing when they were on-
line, which servers they visited, and what they took from those
sources.
In addition, student presentations will show evidence of using
themes from the book and accurate information.