Lesson Title: Communication: the Power to Free – Frederick Douglass

 

By: Dee Anne Squire, Teacher Consultant, Wasatch Range Writing Project

 

Burning Questions:

·        What forms of communication do we use to share our ideas?

·         How do we choose which form to use?

·         How can communication help us navigate various situations in our lives?

 

Objectives:

·        Students will explore various methods of communication used by Douglass and others.

·        Students will relate prior knowledge to make connections to text (e.g., text to text, text to self, text to world).

·        Students will evaluate forms of communication and how they are used in particular situations.

 

Context: Grades 4-6

 

Materials:

·        Adler, David A.  A Picture Book of Frederick Douglas. New York: Holiday House, 1993.

·        Paper for individual student responses

 

Time Span: 45min. - 1 hour

(It may be broken up a variety of ways based on the needs of your students.)

 

Procedures:

1.      Refer back to the book Following the Drinking Gourd and the discussion about communication.

2.      Define the word communication as: “The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior.” Discuss this as a group to ensure that everyone understands it. 

3.      Organize students into groups of four. Direct them to take 3 minutes and come up with specific examples of communication that support this definition and record them on a piece of paper.

4.      Begin with one group and list all of their ideas on the board. Each group should listen carefully and cross out similar answers on their own paper.  Continue sharing group ideas until each group has had an opportunity to list their unique ideas on the board. 

5.      Give a brief introduction of Frederick Douglass.  Hand each group a few photocopied pages from the book, A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass.  (Break the pages down so that each group has a few pages so the entire book will be covered by presentations.)  Instruct the groups to read the passage out loud together.  They should organize a brief class presentation that contains the following:

·         Important information about Douglass from their section

·         Examples of varying forms of communication exhibited by the individuals within their text.  (They can look at the list on the board for ideas.)

6.      When all the groups have completed the preparation, begin with the group that had the first pages of the book and have each group present their ideas in sequence.  List the examples of communication each group finds on the board, and have all students make the same list on their own paper.

7.       After all presentations are complete, discuss, as a group, why each form of communication was chosen. (For example, Douglass used public speeches to share his ideas with white audiences because it was a respected form of communication in that population.)  Discuss how communication helped Douglass handle various difficult situations in his life.

8.      Have each individual student chose a challenging situation in their life.  Complete the following writing assignments based on that situation:

·        A short paragraph describing that situation

·        A description of a form of communication that can help to rectify the situation

·        A short role-play of how the situation will play out

·        A defense of your choice of communication for that situation.  (Role-play a situation of your own for the students and discuss how you would follow this writing pattern for your situation.)  Challenge students to use their purposed solution to rectify the situation they have described. Do not force students to share this writing as some may chose to write about sensitive subjects. 

     Extensions:

·        Follow-up Journal:  In class a few days later ask students to write about the results of their communication plan.  What happened? Was it similar to, or different from your role-play?  Did you choose the right form of communication, or would something else have worked better?

 

Rationale:

By making a careful analysis of the life of Frederick Douglass and his use of communication, students will begin to understand the power of communication in their own lives.  This lesson will help them to understand that while we all have problems, we each have the ability to improve the situation in which we live.  Well-chosen communication plays a big role in changing that situation.

 

Resources:

·        Adler, Davis A.  A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass. New York: Holiday House, 1993.