De Crecy, N. (2005) Glacial Period: A Graphic Novel. New York: NBM.

ISBN:  1561634832

In a future world where Europe has been covered in ice, a group of explorers stumble across the Louvre and try to unlock it's mysteries.

Rating:      5Q/3P

Format:     Graphic Novel

Lesson Plan #2 For Creative Writing Class: High School

Objective:      The purpose of today’s lesson is to discuss and explore the concept of reader’s response and how art is subjective to the viewers.  Each person will interpret a piece of literature according to their own understanding and experience

Materials Needed:  Copies of Glacial Period.

Pre-Assignment: Student’s should have already read Glacial Period.

Introduction:   The class is to open with any questions or comments that the students have about Glacial Period.  This should be an evaluation to see if students understood the basic plot of the story which will be vital to understanding the lesson.

Information:    Once it is clear that student’s have a basic understanding of the plot, continue the discussion with the following questions:

1.      What did the explorers find in the snow? (answer should include the Louvre, a museum, art work, etc.)

2.      What did the explorers think they found? (a ruler’s mansion.  A residence of sorts).

3.      What did the explorers think of the different pieces of art? Of the different rooms? (this should be the most thorough part of the discussion and should cover the various hypotheses that the explorers had.  Ex. Art as language, the society was uncultured and obsessed with sexual images, no written language, etc.)

4.      Why do you think the explorers interpreted what they saw the way they did? What do we know about their society from their hypotheses?  (this should be used to show that someone’s interpretation of art/writing is subjective to their own understanding and experience.  The explorers where unable to accurately interpret the Louver for the obvious reason that such museums and art do not exist in  the same way for them)

Guided Practice/Evaluation:            As a class discuss either past objects, cultures, artwork etc. that have been misinterpreted (there are lots of examples of explorers meeting new cultures and misnaming them such as the Native Americans and Christopher Columbus’s crew.  The TV show Futurama also has excellent examples of how our present day may be interpreted in the future) or items in our own society that may be misinterpreted in the future.  This should also be the time in the class where the teacher evaluates through the discussion to make sure that student’s are understanding the concept so that they can write their paper on their own.

Independent Practice:          The assignment is to write a short story, set in the future, where a group of people are trying to interpret an everyday object from our society.  This is to be a story where we are given a full understanding of these peoples’ world and society without being told point blank about it.  The goal is to show the reader’s more about these characters through their own words and perceptions rather then to tell our reader’s every detail about them.  The due date of the assignment should be based on how in depth the teacher wants the story to be.

Submitted by Amanda Melilli 4/18/08