Unreliable Narrator

Rationale: In today's society we are bombarded with information from many different sources, these include electronic media such as television and movies; print media, both online and hard copy and any other situations in which we are the receivers of information such as stories we are told or literature that we read. This information is most often conveyed to us through an intermediary source or narrator. Most of the media sources of information we draw from are reputable and are held to certain levels of accountability for the information that they make available to others. The problem is that many times we as readers or viewers believe that everything that is presented to us is factual, unbiased information. The reality is that as receivers of information we must be able to decipher what is being presented to us and separate the facts from the fiction. This lesson will help students come to the realization that not all information presented to them is necessarily factual and will also introduce the concept of an unreliable narrator.

Media/Materials: 30 Copies of Flash Fiction (or 30 photocopies of 232-9979 and A Public Denial)
Video Clips from TV/Movies providing examples of unreliable narrators:

Clip #1 - Monty Python - Red Riding Hood - And 30 copies of text of dialogue from clip

CLIP #2 - The Universe of Man

Students Reading Journals

Smartboard/computer with internet access and printing capabilities

Standards Connections:
NCTE: 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers and their understanding of textual features. 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions , media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
NYS: Standard 3. Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Unit Goal that this Lesson Supports: This lessons supports our overall unit on Point of View. By establishing the concept of an unreliable narrator students will understand that the point of view through which information is given is not always reliable.

Objectives: Students will be able to understand the concept of an unreliable narrator and identify this concept in different forms of media. Students will be able to recognize and write about examples of this concept in their own lives. Students will be able to analyze a text and evaluate the reliability of the source or narrator.

Assessment: Students will demonstrate an understanding of unreliable narrator in different media forms through the discussion and writing activities that follow the reading of the short story and the viewing of the film clips. Students will make a personal connection with the concept through the writing activity in which they provide and analyze an example of an unreliable narrator in their own lives. Students will demonstrate their ability to analyze a text and evaluate the reliability of the narrator through the writing assignment on the reliability of Melinda as a narrator.

Lesson Procedure
Entry: I will begin the lesson by having the students read A Public Denial on their own. Once everyone has finished I will begin discussion by asking the questions, "Who is the narrator of this story?" "Are the events in this story believable?". This will follow by having the students write in their journals about a story about themselves or their family that is unbelievable but true. Students can volunteer to share a few of these stories with the class. We will close discussion of this story with the question "Do you believe the narrator is telling the truth?" After discussion of this question I will read 232-9979 aloud to the class as they follow along with their own books. I will ask them to underline or highlight key phrases, words or passages that give clues to whether the narrator is telling the truth or not. We will share what students came up with and share selections that both support and call into question the reliability of the narrator. We will conclude this discussion by touching on the idea that the narrator provides us with only one point of view concerning the story and will work as a class to define an unreliable narrator. A student will be writing our working definition on the smart board as we develop it.
Development: The lesson will progress to examine unreliable narrators in media other than the short story. I will show two short video clips in which an unreliable narrator is present and discuss with the class whether or not the narrators can be seen as reliable and more importantly why or why not? We will then have the students produce an in-class writing assignment on an example of an unreliable narrator from their own lives. If the students cannot come up with an example from their own lives they can write about an example from the media. We will share these stories and discuss whether they are valid examples of unreliable narrators. At this point we will go back to our working definition on the smart board and make any changes that the class feels are necessary. Once we have finalized our definition of unreliable narrator we will print each students a copy from the smart board.
Closure: The closure to this lesson will be to take the definition of unreliable narrator we have constructed as a class and apply that concept to Melinda. We will close the lesson with a class discussion on the reliability of Melinda as a narrator and this will help form the basis of their home work assignment.

Assignments: Students will have the option of re-writing a section of Speak from a perspective other than Melinda's (this could be the scene in the closet from the earlier lesson or any other scene in which multiple perspectives can be examined), or re-writing either of the Flash Fiction Stories from the opposite point of view (The Grandfather in A Public Denial or the husband in 232-9979). These responses should be no more than two pages typed and double spaced and are due next class period.

Lesson Analysis: I want the students to feel connected and engaged with the idea of unreliable narrator and to be able to recognize this concept in the world around them. I want to know if the movies and stories are an interesting way to enter the subject or if they fall flat. I am very interested to see where the discussion of Melinda's reliability takes the class.

reading film

Rob and Nate:
I just wanted to say that I have bolded some stuff and written notes to you (in which we can just wait until our meeting if you want, or you can edit if you want as well) pieces in which I was unclear or not sure I was meeting the standards of what our lesson should be. Feel free to change, expand, or question whatever you feel necessary.

See you Sunday:)
General Lesson Plan Format

Teacher:_________________________________ Subject:_______________________
Topic: _____”Reading” film_____________________________

Rationale: As a society, we are always watching the world in which we live. Through the use and viewing of television and movies, we are introduced to the ways other people live and think. When a person watches a movie or a television show they typically pay most attention to the characters on the screen. They listen to what the actors have to see and get most of their ideas and understandings about the “point” through these aspects of film. This lesson will help students see that something as simple as camera angle (an aspect that I presume most pay little attention to) drastically can change the way we understand what we are viewing. If students are going to learn to create film and watch film critically they must be able to understand these “simple” aspects.

Media/Materials: Scenes from: Lost in which it is apparent as a viewer that those living on the Island are being watched, A Horror Flick (group, any ideas as to what would work here?) copies of Speak

Standards Connections: What national standards does this lesson support? Which NY or district standards does this lesson support?

Unit or course goal this lesson supports: This lesson is going to benefit students in many ways. For example, because the students are learning that they can create an image or an understanding with their viewers. By changing the camera angle or by purposefully changing the perspective they can create definite meaning. This will support the other aspects of the “Point of View” unit because they will see that an author, narrator, various characters, and reader affect the way one reads text. This creates meaning between text and reader, which as students will begin to see, changes from individual to individual.

Objectives:
-SWABT write from the perspective of another character from the first vignette in Speak
-SWABT analyze 2 (perhaps there should be more here?) different clips from movies and television shows looking for changes in camera angle or other subtle change that affects their understanding of the film.
-SWABT argue what differences changed their own perception
-SWABT categorize techniques employed


Assessment:
SW compose a piece of writing that reflects another character’s first period experience
SW discuss how the changes in camera angle (or other changes) changed how they felt or read the film
SW work in DV groups to determine which techniques affected their viewing most and
SW employ techniques discussed in above and decide how this will be applied to their work with DV later in the unit

Lesson Procedure:

Entry – Students will begin class with a short writing assignment. They will recreate the first vignette from another character that Melinda sees in the auditorium’s point of view. Students will have the option to write from the time the student woke in the morning (similar to Melinda) or they may choose to simply write from the moment when they are in the auditorium. Students will be prompted to write through another character’s eyes that Melinda remarks knowing, answering questions such as “why does your character not speak to Melinda, or do they?” The idea here is for the students to begin seeing that writing from another’s perspective gives a new look to a story. By placing themselves into the lives of another character they will hopefully be able to see the connection to the idea of camera angle changes and how it breathes new life into the film.
Development –
-A handout complete with different modes of camera stances will be handed out to students. As a class, we will discuss how different shots give different feelings to the viewers. The teacher will ask the students if they need clarification or if they can think of examples of how these angles are used. As a class we will discuss the differences between a character confessional (ex. The Real World) verses that of a game show or other collaborative visual act. (“Do you feel a connection to a person on a game show, why or why not?” “How is your connection changed with a character on the television (or movie) verses that of a game show type situation?” Group: I think these should be refined, any suggestions?)
-Students will then view clips (varying in length) of examples of television shows and movies documenting the difference in feeling between the genres. Students will be asked to take notes during these to mark their ideas of how shots affect their viewing and whether they feel that the director had a purpose in shooting a scene in a certain way. When watching Lost students will be asked how they felt while watching and if their interpretation of what was going on was changed in any ways because of the varying modes of shot.
-Students will break into groups to discuss whether genres affected the way they watch a show. In groups they will also discuss how they would create meaning through the use of camera angels.

Closure – Students will be asked whether or not they believe that the way a camera is held affects the way they view a show. Students will also brainstorm how they will use what they have learned in this class in their video in the coming weeks.


Assignments: The students will have the option of watching a television show or 5-7 commercials in which they document what angels are used and what message they received from the varying shots. Students will be asked to write in their journals to document their negotiation.

Lesson Analysis: I really like the idea of viewing an episode of a television show/movie through the varying use of scenes. I think that because the director cannot speak to their viewers quite the same way an author can that they must deliberately set up scenes in which their message is conveyed to their audience. This being said, I feel that this lesson is very important to the understanding of point of view and perception; however I find it distressing that perhaps it was not as good as I wanted it to be.

Lesson #1 (the buy in)

‘Buy in’ for Speak

Teacher: Ariel, Nate, & Robert Subject: English Language Arts
Topic: How does Hypertext Influence Point of View

Rationale: Citizens of our community require an understanding that many influences shape how we view things before us. They need to understand how media and experience influence our sensory responses. This lesson will allow students to enter Speak with a critical awareness towards characters and their own experiences in terms of the transactions that take place between the reader and the text. This lesson will increase each participant’s sense of belonging to our community and develop a safe space for differences to be explored within the classroom. The use of technology (hypertext) will connect directly with the students lived culture.

Media/Materials:
· Smartboard/computer with liberal access to internet
· 30 copies of Speak
· http://lai698617.blogspot.com/2008/09/closet.html
· 30 copies of the "The Closet" featured on BlogSpot.

Standards Connections:
NCTE: 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
NYS: Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Unit goal this lesson supports: This lesson supports the overarching inquiry unit on point of view.

Objectives: Students will be able to draw personal connections between themselves and the text. Students will be able to recognize and learn from the characters experience in the text. Students will be able to think critically in terms of who is telling the story and who is silenced in the story. Students will be able to develop a critical awareness of the dictated response that is elicited by media and hypertext.

Assessment: Students will demonstrate personal connections through their multimodal response projects. Students will demonstrate understanding of characters through their various written responses on the class blog. Students will demonstrate their level of exchange with the text through their interpretive project. Students will also respond to each other’s responses noting differences in understanding and insight gained through sharing.

Lesson Procedure:

Entry – The lesson will open with a hypertextual reading of an excerpt from speak. This reading is designed to mislead each reader’s interpretation of the text. The mode of hypertext is both vivid and engaging and invites the students to participate through respecting them as technology natives. I will then use a plain word document without the hypertext to demonstrate how hypertext may influence their perception. I will ask the students “How many of you thought of images from the previous hypertext reading while reading this excerpt?” “Which of you had new images that came to mind, and would you share them with the group?” This stage of questioning is modeling a critical thinking strategy that will be necessary for the students to engage in the continuation of this inquiry for virtual participation on the class blog.

Development – This lesson will be very involved an progress rather swiftly. We will take advantage of the arrangement of the classroom to facilitate discussion. Having two smartboards in the classroom will allow the teaching team to split into groups and allow the student to interact with the hypertext in a hands-on approach. Students will be asked to point out where the hypertext added information that was not described in the text. Students will also identify the missing dialogue of Andy Evans and the effect of that on the readers interpretation.

Closure – The lesson will close with a review and a lead in to the continuation work to
take place on the class blog. As a class we will walk through the process of adding
hyperlinks to text on a blog. The “Closet” post will be used to demonstrate that through
changing the given links to model how a different picture can take the reader on a
different train of interpretation.


Assignments: For tomorrow students will each be assigned a section from “The First Marking Period” in speak and asked to post a visual response to the class blog. They will be given choices to respond to the reading as follows: 1. Develop a hypertextual reading (at least one paragraph) 2. Draw/paint a picture 3. Make a digital collage of pictures. 4. Post a song and describe how it relates to your response.

Lesson Analysis: We would like to know if the students enjoyed entering a text in this fashion. Did the students enjoy seeing each other’s responses and the differences in interpretation? Were the students surprised by differences in regards to interpretation of written text? Were the students surprised by the way that hypertext can influence their perspective?

The Closet

I head for my closet after school. I want to take the poster of Maya Angelou home, and I’d like to keep some of my tree pictures and my turkey-bone sculpture. The rest of the stuff can stay, as long as it doesn’t have my name on it. Who knows, some other kids may need a safe place to run to next year.

Haven’t been able to get rid of the smell. I leave the door cracked open a bit so I can breathe. It’s hard to get the tree pictures off the wall without tearing them. The day is getting hotter and there’s no circulation in here. I open the door wider—who’s going to come by now? By this point in the year, teachers take off faster than students when the final bell rings. The only people left are the few teams scattered on the practice fields.

I don’t know what to do with the comforter. It’s really too ratty to take home. I should have gone to my locker first and gotten my backpack—I forgot about the books that are in here. I fold the comforter and set it on the floor, turn out the light, and head out the door for my locker. Somebody slams into my chest and knocks me back into the closet. The light flicks on and the door closes.

I am trapped with Andy Evans.

He stares at me without talking. He is not as tall as my memories, but is still loathsome. The lightbulb throws shadows under his eyes. He is made out of slabs of stone and gives off a smell that makes me afraid I’ll wet my pants. He cracks his knuckles. His hands are enourmous.