Community Inclusion: Bringing a Novel to Life

So many great works of literature connect to universal themes experienced by our students. Students in high school with functional reading levels significantly below their peers need assistance in accessing the literature their peers study in general education high school English classes. Finding time to collaborate with Stacy Gill was challenging, but we made the attempt, using email and very few in person meetings. Mrs. Gill shared with me that her students usually read assigned novels on their own. My students read at a 2nd grade to 6th grade functional level. When I read to them and stop for clarifications and ask them how a section might relate to something in their life, or a new vocabulary word that sounds like one they might already know, my students can grasp the main themes in literature their grade level peers read independently. I began by sharing the Shmoop video summary and reviewing who the main characters are in the novel. http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/summary.html

I also found a summary in iBooks that presented the novel in a simplified version. A few of my students could read that version, Coach G’s Gatsby, independently.

We also watched most of the movie version, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. I chose to fast forward through the lengthier party scenes and bedroom scenes, as my students’ maturity causes them to be distracted by such material. Instead I asked them to consider Nick’s role as chaperone and conscience. We also discussed the affect wealth had on Daisy and Gatsby’s sense of right and wrong. We had been talking about how we all develop our own set of values earlier in our Community Based Education class. Choice making and conflict resolution also feature prominently in direct instruction in that class. Many opportunities for discussion present themselves in the novel, such as the lunch and trip to New York where Daisy had planned on asking Tom for a divorce. How do Daisy and Tom and Gatsby face up to their responsibility in Myrtle’s death? Why do they feel they can walk away from the “mess” they create?
http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/wealth-theme.html

Once we read through nearly all of the book, I asked the students if they wanted to be surprised by the end of the story while at the play, or finish the movie and book before attending the play. They agreed to wait to know the ending as it unfolded on stage. We had time upon returning to school to read the end of the book and compare the differences. The play made a choice in staging that emphasized the carnage, Daisy’s choices left behind. Nick had to walk around the dead bodies during his closing monologue.

Mrs. Gill summarized her unit plan:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Unit Plans
English Language and Composition/Grade 11

Student Objectives:

•       Study a classic novel
•       Brief study of the author
•       Character analyses
•       Study of the author’s plot elements
•       Compare to scenes of the recent film version
•       Compare to Richmond Civic Theatre production of the play
•       Work with another class with different learning styles on comparisons

Assessments:

•       Pop quizzes over chapters
•       Short essay responses
•       Final test
•       Informal class discussion
•       Group work with assignments on comparisons

Students in the AP classes will have their own copies of the novel; most of the reading will be done outside of class. Our trip to Richmond Civic Theatre will be after the final test over the book. After our field trip students from Mrs. Avery’s class will meet with Mrs. Gill’s students to compare the characters, setting, and plot differences between the book and the play.

Challenges or Obstacles:

• By far the biggest challenge came in planning together.
• The biggest disappointment was in not making time for our students to meet and develop a relationship before attending the play together.
• One of Mrs. Gill’s students recognized one of my students as we boarded the buses, but for the most part, my students segregated themselves.
• Mrs. Gill’s students did not reach out to my students, but neither were they rude.
• I would make more of an effort to integrate the classes prior to the actual field trip when we do this again.
• One thing that surprised me was that a couple of my students expressed a fear of heights as we climbed the very steep balcony steps.

Benefits and Successes:

• During the post theatre discussion the following day, we assigned one of my students to a small group of Mrs. Gill’s students. My students mostly listened, some were a little awkward, but the biggest benefit for two of my students came after we left Mrs. Gill’s class and seeing their confidence bolstered. They realized they could contribute and participate in a general education class with their peers.
• As a result, they will change their schedule to take a general education World History class next year. I am very proud of them for coming to that conclusion.
• It sounds simple, but is a courageous feat for students who have been isolated academically from their peers for the last two years.
• I am confident Mrs. Gill and I will look at further development of future inclusion projects that will enrich and build bridges to literature for our students.

Additional Information:

Click here to see how this project correlates with the Indiana Academic Standards

Click here to see an example of the book/play analysis

 

Submitted by: Mary Ann Avery and Stacey Gill, Muncie Central High School