Perspectives of Power

ELA Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 6-8

Emily Mofield, Tamra Stambaugh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000495164
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Languages

Winner of the 2015 NAGC Curriculum Studies Award

Perspectives of Power explores the nature of power in literature, historical documents, poetry, and art. Lessons include a major focus on rigorous evidence-based discourse through the study of common themes and content-rich, challenging nonfiction and fictional texts. This unit, developed by Vanderbilt University's Programs for Talented Youth and aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), guides students to explore the power of oppression; the power of the past, present, and future; and the power of personal response by engaging in simulations, skits, creative projects, literary analyses, Socratic seminars, and debates.

Texts illuminate content extensions that interest many high-ability students including bystander effect, social class structure, game theory, the use and abuse of technology, cultural conflict, the butterfly effect, women's suffrage, and surrealism as each relates to power. Lessons include close readings with text-dependent questions, choice-based differentiated products, rubrics, formative assessments, and ELA writing tasks that require students to analyze texts for rhetorical features, literary elements, and themes through argument, explanatory, and/or prose-constructed writing.

Ideal for pre-AP and honors courses, the unit features texts from Emily Dickinson, William B. Yeats, and Charles Perrault; art from Moyo Okediji and Salvador Dali; and speeches by Elie Wiesel, Susan B. Anthony, and John F. Kennedy. As a result from the learning in the unit, students will be able to examine powerful influences in their own lives and identify their own power in personal responsibility.

Grades 6-8

POWER OF OPPRESSION

Lesson 2
“The Dutchman”

The Power of Cultural Heritage

by Moyo Okediji

DOI: 10.4324/9781003237143-5

Goals/Objectives

Content: To analyze and interpret texts and art, students will be able to:

• explain with evidence how literary or visual elements contribute to the overall meaning of a work,
• respond to interpretations of texts through a variety of contexts by justifying ideas and providing new information, and
• compare and contrast the impact of various texts, art, experiences, and real-world events on themes and generalizations.

Process: To develop thinking, writing, and communication skills, students will be able to:

• use evidence to develop appropriate inferences, and
• analyze societal or individual conflicts resulting from the struggle for power.

Concept: To understand the theme of power and related generalizations, students will be able to:

• defend “power may be used or abused” with evidence from text, media, or experience;
• explain how the generalizations “power is the ability to influence” and “power is connected to a source” are manifest within various fictional, historical, and personal contexts;
• explain how the omnipresence of power is shown through various art and literary forms within multiple contexts; and
• explain the relationship of power to other universal themes.

Accelerated CCSS ELA Standards

SL.8.2 SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.1c SL.9-10.1d

SL.9-10.4 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 RI.9-10.7

Materials

• Copy of Moyo Okediji’s “The Dutchman” retrieved online
• Handout 2.1: Blank Visual Analysis Wheel
• Rubric 1: Product Rubric (Appendix C)

Introductory Activities

1. Show a picture of Moyo Okediji’s print, “The Dutchman.” Do not share the title with the students yet or disclose any background information. Ask every student to respond in round robin (no discussion yet) to the following statements. This round-robin response will allow students to see various aspects of the painting before analyzing it.
   • Say: I see something you don’t see. Ask students to say one thing they see in the painting that they think others have difficulty seeing (e.g., I see a ship that says, “Dutch” on it; I see a man holding a baton).
   • Ask: What is one word you associate with this painting?
2. Lead a discussion about the art.
   • What event is represented in this painting? (Sample response: Trans-Atlantic slave trade.) What evidence supports this?
   • How many slaves do you see? (Sample response: This is debatable; Eight—mostly at the top.)
   • How many slave traders do you see? What are they holding? (Sample response: Two—baton and gun.)
   • What title would you give this painting? Why? (Students may share with partner and then with whole group.)
3. Provide context and background of the painting: Moyo Okediji is from Nigeria. He received his college degree in Nigeria, his master’s in Benin, and a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in art history. He lectures, paints, and writes about art history through the lens of colonialism’s destruction of ancient African art and the rediscovery of ancient art forms. Okediji painted “The Dutchman” in 1995 after spending time in the United States and seeing the daily realities of African American life in the U.S. He noticed that many African Americans were distant from their heritage and culture. This influenced him to paint this picture.

Visual Analysis

Using Handout 2.1: Blank Visual Analysis Wheel, guide students in taking notes on the painting during class discussion. Students may take notes on the wheel and draw arrows to illustrate connections between elements. See Appendix A for detailed instructions. Sample questions and responses to lead the analysis are included. Ideas in this analysis are adapted from Smith (1999).

• Context/Purpose:
  • What is the context? It was painted in 1995. Refer to background knowledge previously discussed.
  • What is the purpose? It shows the shattering of a culture as a result of conflict.
• Main Idea:
  • What is the main idea? Power can be abused; people suffer when power is abused; African culture is stripped and robbed. Main themes include conflict, oppression, and reflecting on cultural heritage.
• Point of View/Assumptions:
  • What assumptions does the artist have regarding his work? He assumes an African American perspective of history; power was imposed upon them and shattered their culture.
• Images/Technique/Structure:
  • Images: What important images or symbols do you see? Are any of them repeated? What do you think these could symbolize?
    • Blue: Atlantic Ocean, African American blues, blue associated with sadness.
    • Shattering effect: African American culture was shattered by the slave trade.
    • Wavy lines: Water; something was shattered and water was poured over the painting, just as African culture was shattered and other cultures spilled upon it. There is a half black/white individual in the bottom right corner, representing dual identity.
  • Technique: What techniques does the artist use to enhance visual effects? What makes this an interesting painting? Tints of blue and orange—opposites on the color wheel—symbolize the conflict of slaves versus traders; the collage organization portrays a shattering effect.
  • Structure: What is interesting about Okediji’s placement of objects and people within the painting? Most works of art are created with a triangular structuring of visual elements—the bottom of the triangle at the bottom and top vertex at the top; however, the visual placement of elements in this painting give it an upside-down triangle effect. This creates a chaotic upside-down feel. The slave trade turned the Africans’ lives upside down.
• Emotions/Technique/Structure:
  • What emotions does this evoke in you? What emotions are portrayed? What techniques were used to evoke or portray emotion? Deep sadness; tears of slaves.
  • How did the artist organize his art to portray or evoke emotion? The shattering effect and upside-down triangle organization portray chaos.
• Artist Background/Technique/Structure:
  • How does the artist’s background influence his techniques and structure? His background and views on African culture influence his use of shattering effects and collage-like structure in his art.
• Implications:
  • What are the implications/consequences of viewing this art? It evokes emotional reactions to the history of the slave trade. It helps viewers gain more personal historical perspective to the topic.
• Evaluation:
  • Do you like this art? Why? Does it make you think? Was the artist successful in presenting his ideas? Justify your answers with evidence.

In-Class Activities to Deepen Learning

Engage students in a quick debate. Discuss the following questions. Students may stand on opposite sides of the room to defend their points of view.

• Do you think Okediji intended his audience to think more about the past or the present when viewing his painting? Why or why not?
• Do you think Okediji’s work has more positive or negative effects on its viewers? Explain.
• Does this art tell more about the oppressor or the victim? Why?

Concept Connections

Discuss connections to power by asking the following questions. Students may reflect on concept connections using Handout 1.4: Concept Organizer, continued from Lesson 1. Figure 2.1 provides some sample responses.

Figure 2.1. Sample student responses to power generalizations.

• How does Okediji show abuse of power through artistic techniques?
• What does this art reveal about the power of cultural heritage?

Choice-Based Differentiated Products

Students may choose one of the following independent products to complete (Note: Use Rubric 1: Product Rubric in Appendix C to assess student products.):

• Learn more about Okediji’s life and works through online research. Use the Blank Visual Analysis Wheel (Appendix B) to analyze another work such as “The New Seed” terrachroma or “Fela in Mamiwataland.” In a couple of paragraphs, explain how Oke...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Pretest
• Pretest Rubric
• Introduction
• Power of Oppression
• Power of Past, Present, and Future
• Power of Personal Response
• Conclusion
• Posttest
• Posttest Rubric
• References
• Appendix A: Instructions for Using the Models
• Appendix B: Blank Models and Guides
• Appendix C: Rubrics
• About the Authors
• Common Core State Standards Alignment