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Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith and E.B. Lewis, ill. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8050-202-0

 

Annotation: Weighed down by the hurt and anger of his father leaving, C.J. struggles to resolve his feelings while navigating the emotional minefield of school, friendship, and a budding girl crush.

 

Media: Pencil and watercolor.

 

Rating: 5Q/4P.

 

Curricular connections: Poetry, English/Language Arts.

 

School level: Middle school or junior high, High school.

 

Theme: Keeping the Night Watch explores the theme that forgiveness helps to heal emotional scars. C.J. held a lot of anger inside of him over his father walking out. As the eldest son, he took on a lot of responsibility caring and looking out for his younger siblings. An example of this is C.J.’s routine of reading his younger sister Zuri to sleep. But when his father returns and Zuri wants him to read to her, C.J. is hurt, “her words cut, each one a shard of glass” and he pulls away because of it.

 

C.J. is aware that his anger is destructive and his family allows for his anger, understands its origin, but does not let him wallow in it without telling him that he needs to move past it. “My momma says/she doesn’t recognize me…who knew mad could make/me/disappear.” His family, especially his father, continue to reach out to him. With this support, C.J. is able to evaluate and work through his feelings. “I want to stop hating my father./ That’s not true./I don’t hate him./I love him./But I don’t like him/much.” And things begin to turn around. C.J. realizes that the foundation to their family is still strong and that he needs to move on in order to love and be a family again. With this realization, C.J. forgives his father and joins his family in healing.

Lesson Plan:

Teacher's Name: Nicole Porter					School: SJSU LIBR 271A-01 Class
Grade Level of Lesson: 7th grade				Subject: English/Language Arts		Date: 07/25/09
Unit Theme/Topic: Poetry
Lesson Title/Topic:	Making Poetry Personal
Expected Student Learning Outcomes:	What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? (Be Specific) Students will be able to... Students will be able to recognize end rhyme, alliteration, simile, metaphor and other poetic elements in poems. Students will be able to write their own poems and read them out loud.
CA Academic Standards Addressed:	Which California Academic Content and Performance Standards will your lesson address? 7.1.1     Identify idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes in prose and poetry.
Materials Used:	What instructional materials and equipment/supplies will you use in this lesson? Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith and E.B. Lewis, pen/pencils, and paper.
Lesson Outline: (Opening, Major Activities, Transitions, Review; Closure)
Opening/Introduce Lesson Do Now Anticipatory Set: Focus Students State Objective Establish Purpose Hook /involve students! Activate prior knowledge Assess students		Time   25 min	Teacher/Student Actions Teacher begins discussion on poetry: reminds students of previous lesson with Prelutsky. Reviews terms on elements of poetry as a class. Administers a short quiz on terms
Main Activity: Instruction Explain Concept Refer to previous lessons Provide Examples Model Use a variety of instructional strategies		20 min	Break students into small groups of 4-5 and have take turns reading Keeping the Night Watch aloud to each other. Stress the emotional vulnerability of the narrator, the use of natural language that has multiple meanings; teacher models by reading aloud the first poem to the entire class. Have each group chose a reader that will then read a poem to the class as a group.
Main Activity: Check for Understanding: Ensure students are ready for activity Pose Key Questions Ask Students to Explain Concepts Use active participation strategies		20 min	Teacher will facilitate class discussion of each poem, pointing out and defining alliteration, end rhyme, metaphor and simile as they come up in poems. Advanced vocabulary will be defined from context of poem by students in discussion. Teacher will point out the progression of the narrator's emotions.
Main Activity: Guided Practice: Students do task with teacher direction or assistance Provide monitoring Check for understanding Modify/adapt for all!		10 min	Assign homework: each student will create own poem using a personal experience, making especially sure to use alliteration, metaphor, simile and end rhyme. Teacher reads example and shows picture collaged to illustrate. Stress that can be as personal or not as student determines, but to remember these will be shared as a class.
Closure: (Debrief) Find out what your students learned Share work and give positive feedback Summarize work and behavior Set next steps		50 min	Friday: Students present poems to class. Students fill out the Three Pluses and a Wish evaluation forms for each of their peers presenting to encourage feedback that might not otherwise be obtained from class discussion. Teacher comments and asks questions designed to aid students’ access of learning outcomes in relation to own poem.

Monitoring & Assessment:	How will you monitor student learning during the lesson? How will you assess student work? Student learning is monitored through direct assessment by quiz, class discussion and participation, teacher review of writing, and teacher and peer review of poem presentation.
Modifications to Address Individual Student Learning Needs	How will you modify your instruction as needed to ensure that all students meet learning outcomes? Students could partner up instead of working alone, like in the instance of an English language learner. Students also have the option of coming into class during a prep period, lunch or after school to work with teacher.
Follow-up Activities/ Homework	How will you follow up this lesson with homework or other extension activities? Students will journal about the process of creating their personal poem.

 

NP 07/04/09

 

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Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith, E.B. Lewis, ill. NY: Henry Holt Comp, 2008. ISBN 13:978-0-8050-7202-0. Q5/P5.

            This book is a story told in page-length poems accompanied by painted illustrations. C.J. is a young man who feels betrayed by his father’s absence and shares pieces of their day-to-day now that “Daddy” has come home. This text would serve as a great addition to an English class grades 6-12 as the poems are very relatable for young readers and are written in a realistic, free-verse style. This text would serve as a great prompt for students to write their poems about family-life.

 

Families for Real

Grade Level: 9-12

Subject Area: Psychology, English

Duration: 2 class periods

Objectives:

First class: After reading Keeping the Night Watch students will discuss what is happening to this family. Issues such as forgiveness will be prompted. Students will then reflect in their journals about a time when they chose to forgive.

Second class: Students will create a art project depicting their image of the modern American family.

Discussion 1: Who’s Your Daddy?

Put this image up on the projector

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hCpnTIyevnA/SP_YBe23zRI/AAAAAAAAAEY/6rpXmh6Jk-U/s320/Keeping+the+Night+Watch+spread)

Facilitate a discussion with the class about what is happening here.

Why does CJ feel angry towards his father?

What role did CJ fill when his father left?

What role does CJ have now? How about his Father?

 

 

Journal Entry:

Students will free-write for 15 mins about a time when they chose to forgive someone. It is for personal reflection and will only be shared if student volunteers.

Discussion 2: Keep it Real

 

 

What does the line, “they sugarcoat it/to cover up any flaws or imperfections” mean to you? Is this a metaphor for something? What?

 

 

 

 

Art Project:

Supplies: Students will be asked to bring old newspapers and magazines to create their collage. Pens, crayons and paints will also be used.

 

 

Students will be asked to think about what an American family looks like in the 21st century. Is it like we learned in grade school, with one mom, one dad, two kids and a dog? Is it something different?

 

 

Each student will be asked to create a collage or picture of what they think an American family looks like. It does not need to be there own family, but their image of family.

    -Christina Gendron

 

 

 

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith and E.B. Lewis, ill.  NY:  Henry Holt and Company, 2008.  ISBN 978-0-8050-7202-0

 

In this sequel to The Way a Door Closes (2003), told in free verse, a young boy and his family struggle with resentment and mistrust when the father returns home.  This emotionally powerful story will speak to many children.

2009 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Book

Watercolor and ink illustrations

Themes:  family life

Literary Devices:  Free verse poetry uses figurative language, personification, allusion, and metaphors.  For example in the poem, "Seven Ways of Looking at My Father" the son refers to his father as "He is the table with a wobbly leg, it looks reliable but I wouldn't trust it with the good china" and "He is a mirage in the desert.  A mighty tower you run toward for safety until you get to him and you realize he is just sand".

 

 5Q/5P

 

"TOP TEN"

 

ggolden 7/02/09

 

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith, E.B. Lewis, ill. NY: Henry Holt Comp, 2008. ISBN-13: 9780805072020

Written in free verse, this is a story of a young man struggling with his emotions as he deals with his father returning home after a long absence.

   - Media: Pen and Ink and Watercolors
   - Rating: 5Q/4P

   - Curricular Connections: Grades 5-9 Social Studies, Language Arts

CHA 8/1/09