Vietnam and Cambodia Project

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VIETNAM: Voices and Perspectives on the War with America

English 11: Lesson Two: Literature of and About Vietnam-Introduction to Literature Circles (literature circles will last five class days after intro day)

Goals:

Students will review, discuss, and turn in their task three essays

Students will discuss the purpose of point of view, voice, and perspective in literature

Students will be assigned a specific piece of literature from or about VIETNAM

Students will learn what Literature circles are and be given their first "Literature circle assignment" for tomorrow's class

Copies of assigned readings…each group reads one of the following works
GROUP ONE: The Things they Carried by Tim O'brien
GROUP TWO: Catfish and Mandela by Andrew X. Phan
GROUP THREE: When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip
GROUP FOUR: Paradise…by…

Literature Circles Explanation and assignment sheets

Group assignments for circles (groups of five)

Board:
Unit: Exploring Narrative Perspective through literature from and about Vietnam
Essential Question:
1. How can different narrative voices give us different perspectives on Vietnam and the American War with Vietnam?
1. What is a literature Circle and how do I prepare to participate in one?

*STARTING POINT: From reading the excerpts in task three, what do you already know about the traditional role of women in Vietnam? Whose perspective was each description told from and how did the narrator's point of view affect the depiction of his/her mother?

Word of the Day:
Acclimate: To adjust, get used to, become a part of a culture or situation.

Homework:
Every night: Read the marked passage from the work you've been assigned and prepare for your specific role in the literature circle.

Activities:
1. Starting Point:
We will discuss the traditional role of women in Vietnam and review each other's task three essays in pairs.

2. Connect to "Perspective/Point of View:
As a class, we will discuss the role of voice, perspective, and point-of view in literature. I will explain to students the project we are about to begin today

3. Project Description:

There will be four groups in class.

Each group is assigned to read a different book from or about Vietnam

Each day, you will meet with your group to discuss the passages you read the previous evening.

You will each have a specific role each night in preparing for tomorrow's literature circle discussion. Your role will be one of the following each night and, by the end of the project, each student will have competed each role at least once. Roles include

Discussion Director (prepares questions to guide the day's discussion)

Quote Finder (finds juicy and relevant quotes to include in the discussion)

Vocabulary Enricher (Chooses words from the reading to teach to the group)

Illustrator (creates some kind of visual representation of a scene from the reading)

Historical Researcher (Finds outside information that is historically relevant to the reading)

After a Week of "Literature Circle" discussions, your group will work together to prepare a ten minute presentation on the work that you read. Your presentation will focus on the particular perspective of the narrator. Keep the following questions in mind when you prepare for the presentation

What is the narrator's relationship to Vietnam (the land and the people)

How does the narrator seem to feel about the American war with Vietnam

What passages in the book particularly reveal the perspective and experience of the narrator?

4. Explanation: What is a Literature Circle and Rubric for Vietnam Literature Circles:
I will go over the worksheet directions with students and give them all their reading assignments and roles for the following day.