Lesson Plan

PATERRE LESSON PLAN STEPS: PART 2

Grade Level:
High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
Subject:
Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
Lesson Duration:
90 Minutes
Common Core Standards:
8.W.2, 9-10.W.2, 11-12.W.2
Additional Standards:
National Council for the Social Studies
1a, 1b, 1c
Thinking Skills:
Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations.

Essential Question

In what way do rituals help people to find and hold on to meaning in their lives?
What rituals help you to find meaning in your life?
In what ways can ritual form community and bind community more closely together?
In what ways can ritual honor the past?
Can ritual heal the past? If so, how?

Objective

Understand the role of altars in the preservation of memory and honoring the past.
Understand that altars can shape and shift the meanings of the items they use.
Better understand their own beliefs.

Background

In this lesson students will be creating altars.

This is part 2 of a lesson of two class periods of 1 hour each. Some outside class time will be needed by students for gathering items for use in altar creation. STEPS 1,2,3 must be done on a previous day.

MATERIALS REQUIRED: 

  • Each student will need a box, such as a shoebox or larger, for altar creation. 
  • Instruction sheet. 
  • Altar grading rubric. 
  • Students will need to bring items for constructing their altars: pictures, glue, drawings, other items of their choice. 
  • Text Le Ker Kréyol. 

Preparation

Part 1 of Lesson 7 should have been completed before doing this lesson.

Materials

These are instructions for the students on creation of their altars/dioramas. The instructions include a grading rubric.

Download ALTAR/DIORAMA CREATION INSTRUCTIONS

Grading rubric for altars. This should be shared with the students.

Download Diorama Rubric

Lesson Hook/Preview

REACTIVATION OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 

TIME REQUIRED: 5 to 10 MINUTES 

Ask students what they remember about altars. 

  • Role in belief. 
  • Role in community.
  • Role in bringing divergent things together to create something knew. 
  • Role in healing the past. 
  • Role in honoring the past. 

Students could turn to the pictures in the text of the SAN MALÓ altar to aid in discussion. 

Procedure

1. BRAINSTORMING ALTAR CREATION 

TIME REQUIRED: 10 MINUTES.

If students have competed Part 1 of Lesson 7, they should have no trouble in answering these questions. 

  • Ask students if they were going to create their own altars, what their altars might look like. 
  • What items would they use? 
  • What messages would they hope their altars would send? 

2. DIORAMA INSTRUCTIONS 

TIME REQUIRED: 10 MINUTES 
  • Explain to students that they are going to design their own altars. 
  • Remind them that altars do not have to be religious in nature, but that theirs can be if they wish. 
  • Distribute instruction sheet with rubric on the back. 
  • Walk through the instructions. Answer any questions. 

3. CONSTRUCTION

TIME REQUIRED: FROM 30 - 60 MINUTES

  • This step will be done on a subsequent day. 
  • Before using class time for altar creation, require students to bring in their materials, including boxes, glue, items, etc. 
  • Depending on the discipline of your students, you could have them work together on their altars. 

4. PRESENTATION 

TIME REQUIRED: 3 TO 5 MINUTES PER ALTAR 
  • You may decide to allow students to share their altars with the class by showing and discussing. 
  • You can also do as a GALLERY WALK with altars placed around the class. Students would view the altars and fill in a response sheet. 
  • GALLERY WALK INSTRUCTIONS. 
    • Place student created altars around the room. Do not require that students place their names on their altars for other students to see (though they should at least be on the bottom for your knowledge). 
    • Place a number on each altar. 
    • Provide a response sheet to enable students to critique each altar. 
    • Response sheets can be graded for completeness and clarity. 

5. DISCUSSION. 

TIME REQUIRED: DEPENDS UPON CLASS SIZE 
  • Depending upon the maturity and character of the class, it can be best to restrict comments from students to positive remarks. 
  • After students have completed the gallery walk, exhibit each altar. If you have shy students, hold the altars up yourself to avoid identification of particular altars with the creator. 
  • Take responses based on the sheets completed by the students. 
  • After critique, allow the creator to identify him-herself. 

6. CLOSURE/STUDENT QUICK WRITE.

This can also be an assessment.
TIME REQUIRED: 5 - 10 MINUTES 
  • Students respond to this prompt. 

In seven or more sentences, explain how the role of altars aided people, particularly people held in bondage, to find hope and meaning in their situation, and hold onto ancestral memories?

Vocabulary

  • All Saints Night: The night of All Saints Day, which is dedicated to the remembrance and honoring of those who have died, especially those who might be considered saints. 
  • Code Noir (Louisiana): A system of laws that governed actions and relations of people of color, especially enslaved persons, including their relations with whites.
  • Cosmograms: Sacred symbols.
  • Fon: An ethnic/tribal/language group of Western Africa, especially in the area of Benin.
  • Melange: A mix of different elements often not expected to go together.
  • Mimetic: To imitate or represent.
  • Paterres: Altar
  • Reconciliation: To bring things back together that had been separated.
  • Ritual: In religion, a series of actions meant to bring about some religious or spiritual result.
  • Saint Marron: A Voodoo saint based upon the real life figure of San Malo, a leader of a free society of escaped slaves.
  • Veves: Symbols sacred in the Voodoo religious tradition.
  • Voodoo: A belief system in many parts of America made up of a combination of traditional African, European, and Native American religious and spiritual elements.

Assessment Materials

ASSESSMENT TITLE

ALTAR CREATION INSTRUCTIONS and DIORAMA RUBRIC

ASSESSMENT TITLE

CLOSURE/STUDENT QUICK WRITE

SUMMARY
This is a basic quick write. Base the grade on writing the proper number of sentences, clarity, and completeness.
ASSESSMENT TEXT
In seven or more sentences, explain how the role of altars aided people, particularly people held in bondage, to find hope and meaning in their situation, and hold onto ancestral memories.

Supports for Struggling Learners

The best method of assisting struggling learners in this lesson is to allow them to work with others.
You can also make alterations in the grading rubric in relation to the specific learning difficulty.

Contact Information

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Tags: creole creoles of color multiculturalism diversity creolite creolization culture escape french kréyol louisiana french maroons religion san malo slavery voodoo

Last updated: August 2, 2019