Major Art Modality Utilized: Artistic Language, Visual Art, Music

1. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Post-It Poem Language Arts / High School Page 1 of 3 • Standards Addressed in this Lesson: • AKS & GPS • LA10_A2010-1: participate in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, and group verbal interactions • LA10_A2010-2: formulate reasoned judgments and respond effectively to written and oral communication (text and media [e.g., television, radio, film productions, and electronic media]) • LA10_B2010-5: identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structures and elements of fiction from around the world and provide evidence from the text to support understanding Major Art Modality Utilized: Artistic Language, Visual Art, Music Multiple Intelligences Addressed: Linguistic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal Lesson Abstract: The students will develop an awareness of the tension building in Lord of the Flies. They will develop a visual representation of the tension, assess their classmates’ visualizations, and then draft a poem expressing the tension that they perceived. A discussion completes the activity. Materials Needed: Students: Pen or Pencil; one of the following: markers, colored pencils, crayons, pastel chalk Teacher: Post-Its, 8.5”x11” paper (one piece per student), a music player of some kind Procedures: Part I: Thoughtful Image Creation Instruct the students to bring the necessary materials on the given day. Ask them to reflect on what it would be like to be on the island in Lord of the Flies based upon their understanding of the events thus far. Next, have them fill an 8.5”x11” piece of paper with images using their pencils, crayons, or chalk while they continue to reflect. The “page of art” may be anything from a specific scene to an abstract piece of art, whatever the student feels inspired to do. While the students reflect and fill the page, play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata(6 minutes, 22 seconds) to set the mood.

2. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Post-It Poem Language Arts / High School Page 2 of 3 • Standards Addressed in this Lesson: • AKS & GPS • LA10_B2010-11: employ a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works by • composing essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents • LA10_D2010-18: set a context for writing and engage the reader • LA10_D2010-20: maintain an appropriate and consistent tone and coherent focus throughout • LA10_D2010-24: write texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story Procedures continued Inform them that they have to finish the piece of art by the time the music stops. (If the class must have more time, play the music twice.) The students will eventually need to be arranged in groups of about 12 to 15 depending upon the numbers in the class. You will also need a large, open space in which the groups will assemble in separate circles. Distribute the post-its to the students while they work. Each student needs one post-it for each member of his or her group including themselves. (They will only need to write one word on the post-it, so the smaller the better. Cut larger post-its into strips, making sure that each strip has adhesive on one end.) Part II: Peer Critique Once the page is filled, have the students put away the art supplies. Assign students to a group. Dismiss them to the hallway or wherever the large area is. Have them take their art page, the post-its, and a pen or pencil. Arrange the students in large circles of 12 to 15 with the students facing the middle. Have the students place their art work at their feet just inside their circle. Armed with pen or pencil and the post-its, have them rotate clockwise, around the circle of pictures, writing one word descriptors on their post-its, one post-it per picture, and adhering them to the edge of the works of art, forming a mane-like frame around the picture. Eventually, they will arrive at their own picture where they began. They should place a descriptor word post-it on their own work too. With all of the post-its place, have them retrieve their art work, being careful that they do not loose any post-its, and return quietly to the classroom. It is important that they do not share at all at this point.

3. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Post-It Poem Language Arts / High School Page 3 of 3 Area for Teacher Notes: The students analyze the mood of the novel and, through discussion, address Golding’s tone. They creatively arrange words into coherent, thematic poems. They also render indirect characterizations of Jack, Ralph, or Piggy through visual art based partially upon music. This lesson is easily adapted for numerous goals in any curriculum. By changing the music selection and asking the students to consider some other theme, topic, or expression, they will develop an appropriate poem and -- using this lesson’s experience as a bridge -- engage in a discussion on the desired topic. Procedures continued Part III: Poem Creation and Sharing Once the students are back at their desks, have them transfer the post-its to their desktop. Next, have them arrange the post-its on the back of their work of art to form a poem. They must use every word as often as it was written on a post-it. (If the word “fire” was on seven different post-its, “fire” needs to appear in the poem seven times.) They may not use any additional words. (There will typically not be any articles, conjunctions, or prepositions.) Set a limited amount of time for the poem generation. Encourage the students to volunteer their work, reading their poem while holding their work of art up for the class to see. Have the students comment on each others’ poems, relating how it reminds them of Lord of the Flies. Assessment: The poem itself is an informal assessment of each student’s knowledge of the mood and tone of the literature particularly when considered in conjunction with the class discussion. Participation in the activity should simply be a daily grade assessed according to the teacher’s classroom expectations for following direction. Resources/ Links: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies.Faber and Faber: London (1954). Moonlight Sonata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck