Rationale:
Students sometimes have difficulty recognizing how the writing skills acquired in ENG/A 101 transfer to ENG 102. They also might be intimidated by the practice of reading and writing about literature. To assist them with this transition, I introduce them to a short piece of literature and have them practice analyzing and writing about it. For this low-stakes assignment, we read a poem,“Made in India,” by Purvi Shah.
The lesson aims to:
- introduce students to the kind of reading and writing they will do in ENG 102;
- identify transferable skills between ENG/A 101 and ENG 102; and
- practice reading, analyzing, and writing about poetry.
I choose Purvi Shah’s poem for several reasons:
- The poem is short and can be taught in a class period without any prior knowledge, but faculty can also ask students to read it prior to attending the class meeting.
- Shah’s background as a CUNY graduate, New Yorker, an immigrant, and Woman of Color might relate to many students’ experiences.
- The poem depicts a New York City street scene which is familiar to most, if not all, students. The familiar NYC landscape allows students to draw on their prior experiences and knowledge to analyze the poem. At the same time, students are challenged to examine the layers of meaning and imagery that are specific to the cultural experience described in the poem.
Lesson Plan:
- Briefly discuss ENG 102 and transferable skills:
- share ENG 102 description from introduction sheet
- review writing process and Inquiry and Problem Solving and relate to ENG 102
- Go over key vocabulary related to poetry and literature:
- speaker,
- stanza,
- line,
- theme, and
- literary devices: metaphor , simile, symbolism and imagery
- Definitions can be found in this OER Poetry Unit developed by Columbia State Community College: https://www.oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/83813/overview?section=8
- Introduce author, Purvi Shah: http://www.fishousepoems.org/artist/shah-purvi/
- Read the poem aloud in class (students and faculty can take turns). Link to poem: http://www.fishousepoems.org/made-in-india-immigrant-song-3/
- As the poem is read, ask students to write down responses to the following questions and/ or annotate the poem:
- What images, sounds, and/or words stand out to you?
- Which are repeated?
- Identify themes and literary devices.
- Who do you think is the speaker of the poem? What clues do we get from the poem about the speaker?
- Why do you think the poem is called “Made In India”?
- Play audio of author reading the poem and have students continue to take notes based on guided questions: http://fishouse.wpengine.com/wp-content/themes/replay-new/archives/audio/Made-in-India.mp3
- Class Discussion of poem using guided questions: Students can respond on their own, and/or discuss in pairs or groups, and finally, the class can have a large group discussion.
- In the large group discussion, go over the poem a few lines at a time and discuss.Some topics to discuss include:
- Themes: fashion, immigrant experiences, working class/labor, invisible body of the worker/immigrant, identity
- Speaker and Context: observations and experiences of a New Yorker, an immigrant walking in the NYC and taking the subway
- Literary devices: word play and double meanings -homophones (lairs-layers, wear-ware), metaphors, recurring images
- Students can follow the discussion with a short written assignment or discussion board/blog post.
Written Assignment Prompt:
In a 250 word response, discuss the theme of immigrants and New York City in the poem, “Made in India” by Purvi Shah. Quote lines and provide specific examples from the poem to support your points. Analyze the literary devices and techniques used.
Since this might be their first time writing about literature in this way, I offer the following guide to structure the essay. This structure can also be developed in class through discussion with students. It might help students to better understand how the writing skills acquired in ENG/A 101 transfers to ENG 102.
Sample Organizational Structure (Optional)
Introduction should include:
- Title of poem
- Author (name and relevant biographical information)
- Published (if you have it)
- Thesis/Argument: What is the Shah conveying about immigrants and NYC?
Body (paragraphs might be structured this way)
- Topic sentence/Claim
- Evidence – lines from the poem that show imagery and examples that speak to the theme
- Analysis: refer to specific words, images in your quote and
- explain literal meaning
- explain the metaphorical meaning
Conclusion
- Summarize larger points
- Relate to a related current issue/event
- Relate to your own family’s migration history/experience
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