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Lesson Plan

With Your Own Two Hands: Are you Changing the World or “Waiting for the World to Change”? by NNWP


Subject

English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Grade Levels

Commencement, 11th Grade, 12th Grade


Description

Using Ben Harper’s “With My Own Two Hands” (as well as John Mayer’s “Waiting On The World To Change”), students ponder their roles in changing the world. After analyzing how a variety of important people changed the world, students evaluate the tools they possess to change the world and how realistic it is for them to actually do it. The final product is an original poem, taken through the writing process, in which students express their feelings about this topic.

Website(s)

Northern Nevada Writing Project
The National Writing Project
Ben Harper’s “With My Own Two Hands”
Badly Drawn Boy’s “Year of the Rat”
John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”
Hugh Laurie’s Protest Song

Six-Trait Overview

The focus trait in this writing assignment is idea development; final poems will be driven by a message or thesis and they will use a balance unique showing and telling details to support the theme of their poem. The support trait for this lesson is voice; students will convey emotion and passion with their words as well as capture a mood or tone.

Author

Northern Nevada Writing Project Consultant Rob Stone

Duration

One 80-minute class period

Materials

Author's Note

It is important to emphasize early on that the focus trait of this assignment is idea development, which asks students to let a theme or thesis drive their writing. To do this, they must begin to ask themselves what it means to change the world and if they truly believe that individuals such as themselves can have that kind of impact. Do you have to end up on a list like the one we classified, or can you successfully change the world on a smaller scale? Ultimately, your students need to take a stance.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Anticipatory Set:

Distribute the Classification Worksheet. Have students follow the instructions on the worksheet, or say to them:

"As you get to your seat, take out a piece of paper and read the names of the sixteen people randomly scattered on the board. Take a minute or two and think about the images, thoughts and feelings each name invokes. Read through the list twice. Do any of the individuals have things in common with each other? How might you break them into groups with shared characteristics?

"When you are ready, get with a partner and think of a title for this list that represents the group as a whole. Choose the best title possible. Then, begin to classify the people into four groups of four giving each column a sub-title that states their commonalities. If a name can fit into more than one column, choose the one you feel best represents them. Once finished, repeat the process, creating new groups with different characteristics. Look closer! Your first attempt to classify was probably relatively obvious to you, but the second should be a more creative or deeper look into who these individuals are and how they impacted the world."

  1. Have students do a quick write in which they brainstorm as many changes the world needs as they can and then write a few sentences that explain how, if possible, they can impact change in any of those areas. What tools do they possess that could be used? Tell students: "Now that you have shared your categories and lists with others, and analyzed the tools each of these people used to change the world, begin to look inward. Do a quick write in which you answer some or all of these questions in your journal…What in the world needs to be changed? Big and small. Can you change the world? Why or why not? Do you have to someday be on a list like the one on the board to have changed the world? Be as honest and realistic as you can. What tools do you possess? Honesty? Sense of humor? A certain skill or personality trait? How might you use what tools you have to impact the world? If you honestly feel you can't or won't change the world, why not? Is it because of things you control or is it out of your hands?"
  2. Ask for student volunteers to share their brainstorming.
  3. Next, tell the class you will be showing them some songs and video clips that represent a variety of stances on the topic of changing the world . Put the lyrics to the Ben Harper song, “With My Own Two Hands,” on the board or the overhead and play the song on your computer or I-Pod. Lyrics available at: http://www.poemhunter.com/song/with-my-own-two-hands/
    Song available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9WB3KTX0rQ
  4. While listening, have students look for and list evidence that shows the singer really believes he can change the world with his hands, and what specific things he feels he can change.
  5. When the song is over, ask for feedback on whether students feel he is realistic or just a hopeful dreamer?
  6. Watch the video to the Badly Drawn Boy song, “Year of the Rat” (available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PScUdYTO0UM ) and ask students how this is an example of someone changing the world with their own two hands.
  7. Remind students that although both the Ben Harper song and the Badly Drawn Boy video represent the optimistic view of changing the world, a more pessimistic view is also valid. To showcase this, have students listen to the song, “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer (song available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxScJ5rlY). Have students listen for and list evidence that shows why he feels he is more helpless and must “wait” for the world to change rather than changing it himself. Is he realistic or just a pessimistic naysayer? Why?
  8. Finally, watch the video clip of Hugh Laurie's “protest song,” which was originally shown on Saturday Night Live . This is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SjBdVYG9ms. This is a humorous take on how folk songs of the 60's talked a lot about all the problems of the world and claimed to have easy answers if people would only listen to them, but in reality offered very little in the way of solutions.
  9. Ask students how this video is another example of John Mayer's stance that it is very difficult to change the world and often have to wait for it to change.
  10. Remind your students that they will be--based on the inspiration of the four songs and videos--writing a poem about their own stance on changing the world. Before planning to write, they will also look at several samples from students who have completed this assignment already.
  11. In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson.  The groups will certainly talk about the idea development , since it's the focus of the lesson, but you might prompt your students to talk about each model's voice as well.
  12. Now that students have seen many different perspectives on whether the world can be changed and how to go about doing it, they are ready to develop their own perspective. They will express their feelings in the form of a poem that they will take through the process.
  13. Have students take a minute or two to process what they've seen and heard today, and to think about how they honestly feel. Once again, remind them that the focus trait of this poem is idea development. Have them reflect on their earlier quick write, focusing on the most important changes needed in the world as well as the best tools they can draw from to affect change. Encourage them to add any new ideas that have come to mind since they wrote their original list. Distribute the With Your Own Two Hands Student Instructions worksheet.
  14. Since the support trait is voice, spend a few minutes talking about tone and have them point out the differences in tone in the four pieces of media they were exposed to. What sorts of things did the artists do and words did the artists use to convey tone? What will the tone of their poems be like?
  15. Allow time for students to begin writing.

Closure: Ask students to share what they have written so far with a partner; allow time for student volunteers to share with the class.

Extension of Lesson

To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach Revision & Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post Its.

When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their stories might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this story as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.

Content Provider

The Northern Nevada Writing Project: WritingFix


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