Week 4 Lessons
Day 16, Monday- The Silenced Subject
1. Critical Theory Hook (Journal Reflection), 10 minutes: Students will begin this class by starting with a journal reflection where they must respond to the following quote from "Women and Madness” by Shoshana Felman:
What does speaking for women imply? What in the general manner, does speech in the name of mean? Is it not a precise repetition of the oppressive gesture of representation, by means of which, throughout the history of logos, man has reduced the woman to the status of a silent and subordinate object, to something inherently spoken for? To ‘speak in the name of,’ to ‘speak for’ could thus mean, once again, to appropriate and to silence. (9)
After this reflection, the teacher should ask for students to voluntarily summarize what they wrote in their reflection.
2. Can the Subaltern Speak? (Critical Theory), 30 minutes: The teacher should then provide students with a copy of Spivak's article "Can the Subaltern Speak?" As a class, we will read through specific sections of this article. The teacher should move around the classroom so that each student has an opportunity to read aloud. Additionally, the teacher should pause when appropriate to explain sections of the article and engage in a discussion with the class. A copy of the article is attached below:
What does speaking for women imply? What in the general manner, does speech in the name of mean? Is it not a precise repetition of the oppressive gesture of representation, by means of which, throughout the history of logos, man has reduced the woman to the status of a silent and subordinate object, to something inherently spoken for? To ‘speak in the name of,’ to ‘speak for’ could thus mean, once again, to appropriate and to silence. (9)
After this reflection, the teacher should ask for students to voluntarily summarize what they wrote in their reflection.
2. Can the Subaltern Speak? (Critical Theory), 30 minutes: The teacher should then provide students with a copy of Spivak's article "Can the Subaltern Speak?" As a class, we will read through specific sections of this article. The teacher should move around the classroom so that each student has an opportunity to read aloud. Additionally, the teacher should pause when appropriate to explain sections of the article and engage in a discussion with the class. A copy of the article is attached below:
can_the_subaltern_speak.pdf | |
File Size: | 2642 kb |
File Type: |
3. Aziza's Nervous Punctuation (Close Reading), 35 minutes: The teacher should begin this section by having students put their heads down on their desks and listen to a few minutes of the audio recording of King George VI's speech, which may be found on the BBC News site below.
The teacher should ask students what they noticed while they were listening to the speech - what stood out to them? The teacher should also ask students if they recognize the speaker and speech, and, if so, what they know about the man and the history. The teacher should then facilitate a short discussion on how important it was that the King be able to control his stammer - control over his voice was a crucial detail with regard to whether the population perceived him as an authoritative and effective King. In other words, the teacher should highlight how voice and power are interconnected.
Following this activity, the teacher should then pass around reading questions, asking students to silently read pages 322 to 326 from chapter 42 of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Students will spend the remainder of the class answering questions that relate to this chapter, Spivak's article and the King's Speech. Some key questions are as follows:
Following this activity, the teacher should then pass around reading questions, asking students to silently read pages 322 to 326 from chapter 42 of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Students will spend the remainder of the class answering questions that relate to this chapter, Spivak's article and the King's Speech. Some key questions are as follows:
- Laila says that when she visits Aziza at the orphanage her daughter does not "allow for much silence" but fills "all the spaces with effusive speech, delivered in a high ringing voice" (324). What do you make of this change in Aziza? What other changes does Laila notice in Azizaa and what do these changes signify?
- King George VI overcame his stammer when he made his famous speech, but Aziza, on the other hand, has developed "nervous punctuations" since she has entered the orphanage. Thinking about how agency and power are related to voice explain what you think this "punctuation" shows? Does Aziza have control over her voice and if not then what does that imply?
- Spivak suggests that the subaltern as female is "even more deeply in shadow" (83). What do you think this statement means and how does it apply to the women and girls in A Thousand Splendid Suns?
- What do you think Spivak is arguing when she claims that “there is no space from which the sexed subaltern can speak” (103). How does this argument apply to Mariam and Aziza, within whom Laila is seeing "more than a little of Mariam"? Do you think the Taliban have eliminated spaces from which the sexed subaltern may speak? Explain. (Hint: Think about the spaces that Mariam and Aziza inhabit in your response).
Day 17, Tuesday- Justice and Authority
1. Battered Woman Defense (Hook), 10 minutes: The teacher should introduce this lesson by bringing up the link below, which briefly describes five cases where women used the battered woman defense. The teacher should explain what this defense is and briefly go over each case.
2. What is Justice? (Debate), 40 minutes: The class should then be divided in two groups (randomly selected) for a debate. One group must argue for the battered woman defense and the other group must argue against the defense. Each group will have 15 minutes to prep for the debate, with access to netbooks for research. Once students have finished prepping the teacher should facilitate a 20 minute debate, ensuring that the students first understand how to respond respectfully to their peers with counterpoints. The purpose of doing this activity in this manner is to teach students how to compose arguments and acquire evidence for positions that they may not necessarily agree with. Additionally, students are taught how to effectively and respectfully argue a position. The teacher should end the debate with a 5 minute conclusion, asking students to explain what they learned during the debate.
3. Rasheed and Mariam's Deaths (Audio Book), 25 minutes: The teacher should then facilitate discussion by playing the audio book, embedded below, and and pausing at specific moments to allow for discussion. The teacher should focus on Rasheed's death and the events leading up to, as well as, Mariam's death. Questions for discussion should focus on ideas of justice and authority.
For instance:
Who decides the laws in Afghanistan? Who decides what is just?
Is Rasheed's death just? Is the idea of justice and Rasheed's death complicated by the fact that Zalmai is now fatherless as a result of Mariam's actions?
Is Mariam's death just? How does she approach her death?
Who are the victims? Rasheed? Mariam? Laila and Aziza? Zalmai?
3. Rasheed and Mariam's Deaths (Audio Book), 25 minutes: The teacher should then facilitate discussion by playing the audio book, embedded below, and and pausing at specific moments to allow for discussion. The teacher should focus on Rasheed's death and the events leading up to, as well as, Mariam's death. Questions for discussion should focus on ideas of justice and authority.
For instance:
Who decides the laws in Afghanistan? Who decides what is just?
Is Rasheed's death just? Is the idea of justice and Rasheed's death complicated by the fact that Zalmai is now fatherless as a result of Mariam's actions?
Is Mariam's death just? How does she approach her death?
Who are the victims? Rasheed? Mariam? Laila and Aziza? Zalmai?
Day 18, Wednesday- Return Home
1. Letter Writing (Journal Reflection), 10 minutes: Students should begin this lesson by writing a letter in their journal to a loved one whom they may be separated from or by writing an apology to someone they feel they have wronged.
2. Jahil's Apology (Silent Reading), 25 minutes: The class should then read the letter that Jahil wrote to Mariam, which is opened by Laila in chapter 50. After students are finished reading the class should respond to the following questions:
Why does Jahlil leave a copy of Pinocchio for Mariam to watch?
Why does Jahlil leave a copy of Pinocchio for Mariam to watch?
- Do you think Jahil's letter is a sincere apology? Do you think he should be forgiven? Why or why not?
- Mariam never opens the letter or watches the video; she never knocked on Jalil's door. Why do you think Hosseini chose to have the letter revealed only after Mariam's death, and why do you think he chooses to have Laila open it?
- Additionally, it was also through Laila's eyes that we learned Jalil stopped his car outside Mariam's house all those years ago, but Mariam never directly brought that event up. How does perception affect our understanding of Mariam's response to her father's actions?
Note: Any students who do not finish the questions may complete the questions for homework.
3. Mariam's Ghost (Read Aloud & Listen), 5 minutes: The teacher should then read pages 398 to 402 aloud from chapter 50. While reading the teacher should ask students to put their head down on their desks and the teacher should play, quietly in the background, the song from the youtube video below.
4. Celebrating Mariam (Collage), 35 minutes: After reading and listening to the song the class should then be divided into groups of 4 and each group should be given some magazines, news articles and medium sized piece of cardboard. The teacher should ask each group to create a collage depicting Mariam's life. Students are also welcome to draw some images or find images online in case there are images they would like to add that they cannot find. After 20 -25 minutes each group will have two minutes to present their collages to the class and explain why they chose some of the images that they did. The collages may be hung in the classroom after this activity is completed.
Day 19, Thursday- Tying Together Lose Ends
1. Perspective Shift? (Reflection + Class Discussion) 20 minutes: Instruct students to form their desks and chairs into a circle formation before this lesson begins. To begin this lesson, have students respond to the following question in a brief response (maximum 3 sentences). "In what ways has the reading of this novel changed your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or perspectives of Afghan people?" This is a good opportunity for students to reflect, as well as voice their opinions, concerns, and ideas.
Students will then ball up the piece of paper that their response is on and throw it into the center of the room. The teacher mediates this process and ensures that all pieces of paper land in the center of the room. The teacher also includes a reflection in the pile. Next, the teacher begins the response process by selecting on piece of paper from the center of the room and reading it aloud for the class to hear. They then respond to what is written on the paper by providing some form of commentary - further support for the person's comment. A detail from the novel that relates etc. This process is then repeated by each student in the class, in turn, until all of the pieces of paper have been read.
3. The Final Chapter (Audio book +Journal Writing) 30 minutes: Using an audio book recording, play the final chapter of the novel for the entire class. Next, ask students to reflect on the ending of the novel. Do they find it a satisfying ending? Would they make any changes? If so, what changes would they make? If not, justify their response. Present students with the opportunity to write an alternate ending to the novel in a journal writing exercise.
4. UNHRC - What's that? (Research) 25 minutes: Next, read to the class the "Afterword" from the novel. In this afterword, Hosseini discusses his involvement with, and the work of, UNHCR. Using netbooks, or computers in the lab, assign students the task of researching the UNHCR. This is a good exercise for building researching skills and assessing the validity of sources (which will be furthered next class). Students are to write notes as they research the organization, and the notes are to be collected at the end of the period for participation marks.
Students will then ball up the piece of paper that their response is on and throw it into the center of the room. The teacher mediates this process and ensures that all pieces of paper land in the center of the room. The teacher also includes a reflection in the pile. Next, the teacher begins the response process by selecting on piece of paper from the center of the room and reading it aloud for the class to hear. They then respond to what is written on the paper by providing some form of commentary - further support for the person's comment. A detail from the novel that relates etc. This process is then repeated by each student in the class, in turn, until all of the pieces of paper have been read.
3. The Final Chapter (Audio book +Journal Writing) 30 minutes: Using an audio book recording, play the final chapter of the novel for the entire class. Next, ask students to reflect on the ending of the novel. Do they find it a satisfying ending? Would they make any changes? If so, what changes would they make? If not, justify their response. Present students with the opportunity to write an alternate ending to the novel in a journal writing exercise.
4. UNHRC - What's that? (Research) 25 minutes: Next, read to the class the "Afterword" from the novel. In this afterword, Hosseini discusses his involvement with, and the work of, UNHCR. Using netbooks, or computers in the lab, assign students the task of researching the UNHCR. This is a good exercise for building researching skills and assessing the validity of sources (which will be furthered next class). Students are to write notes as they research the organization, and the notes are to be collected at the end of the period for participation marks.
Day 20, Friday- Research and Writing: Essay
1. Don't be Fooled! (Independent Read + Reflection + Group Discussion) 20 Minutes: To begin this lesson, provide students with a newspaper article from The Current (a satirical online newspaper). Remove the title of the newspaper from the page and simply instruct students to read the article silently and reflect on what they have read. After students have read the article and had time to reflect on what they have read, ask for feedback from the class. Some students might immediately identify that it is a satirical piece (having already seen it etc.). Conversely, the entire class might be "fooled" by the article, in which case the teacher will need to inform students that it is a satirical piece. Once everyone knows that is a satirical piece, ask the class to assess what aspects of the article were persuasive? Why did they assume it was reliable? This provides a fun introduction to a discussion about source reliability.
Below is the link to a recent article from The Current that can be used for this lesson. This article spread through social media sites very quickly and many people, who did not investigate the source, did not realize it was a satirical piece.
Man Responsible for Olympic Ring Mishap Found Dead in Soci http://dailycurrant.com/2014/02/08/man-responsible-for-olympic-ring-mishap-found-dead-in-sochi/
Below is the link to a recent article from The Current that can be used for this lesson. This article spread through social media sites very quickly and many people, who did not investigate the source, did not realize it was a satirical piece.
Man Responsible for Olympic Ring Mishap Found Dead in Soci http://dailycurrant.com/2014/02/08/man-responsible-for-olympic-ring-mishap-found-dead-in-sochi/
2. CARRDSS (Handout) 5 minutes: Distribute to the class a handout that describes a handy acronym for students to use when evaluating research sources.
Handout information retrieved from: http://sdst.libguides.com/content.php?pid=184760&sid=1555556
Handout information retrieved from: http://sdst.libguides.com/content.php?pid=184760&sid=1555556
CARRDSS Evaluation Handout.pdf | |
File Size: | 106 kb |
File Type: |
3. Final Assignment (Handout, Discussion, Q &A) 20 minutes: Next, distribute copies of the essay assignment instructions and rubric. Thoroughly read through instructions and rubric with class so that all students are clear on the expectations for the assignment. Ensure to answer any questions that students might have.
Essay Instruction Handout.pdf | |
File Size: | 156 kb |
File Type: |
Essay Rubric.pdf | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: |
3. Fear Behind the Veil (Video Screening + Discussion) 30 Minutes: To end this lesson, and the unit, screen the documentary film Fear Behind the Veil. This 2007 documentary describes the position of women since the fall of the Taliban (the position of women post-novel since the setting of the end of the novel is 2003). Provide time for an option discussion once the screening is complete so that students can reflect on what they have watched.