Here you may find lessons that make connections with other themes in the text as well as connections with secondary sources.


Jeffrey Proctor Lesson plan: “Eu sou favela” by Seu Jorge, an introduction towards viewing the film “City of God”

Materials: Recording of “Eu sou favela,” means to play song, copies of lyrics (http://lusolife.blogspot.com/2006/09/eu-so-favela-seu-jorge-from-cru-i-am.html)

This lesson will fulfill Michigan English Language Arts Content Standards 2.1, 3.1, 3.3, and 3.4

Objectives: Students will be able to name social problems that confront everyone.

Introduction: Brazil is an ex-colony, just like India. Rio de Janeiro is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of six million, and one of the few places I know of where your commute across town is by helicopter.

With a population of six million, there’s bound to be problems. This song is called “Eu sou favela,” which means, “I am shantytown.” Let’s listen to it and check out the lyrics. (5 minutes)

Procedures/Activities

1. What is the song about? (Voice for the marginalized? The ghetto is a social problem? Social justice issues? Individual rights? A call to rise up?) (10 minutes)

2. Kenny in the book often berates the Indians because they never ask for help. What are our thoughts? Is silent suffering a matter of pride, or something else? (15-20 minutes)

3. We’ve experienced the problems that Rukmani have, we hear about how all the poor in the favelas of Rio get is a “salary of hunger.” Are these problems that we have in our own country? Does the song offer any answers? Is there anything we can do about it? (Now’s a nice time to introduce some organizations to help people out.) (15-20 minutes)

Closure: (Verbal assessment to make list of social problems.) In the next few days, we’re going to watch a movie that takes place in the favelas of Rio that we’ve heard about in the song. It’s got some powerful images, though we’ll only experience two hours of it, the people there live it every day. That’s something to think on for awhile.

Katie Beagle, Gandhi, Grades 8-11, 60 Minutes
Objectives: When reading a novel, students should have a thorough understanding of the issues that affect the characters. Students will be able to look at the film Gandhi and draw a connection with Nectar in a Sieve. Both works are concerned with work in India and students will be able to critically compare the two works.

Michigan Standards: 3.4, 3.5

Goals: The goal of this unit is for students to get a look at what work in Third World India looks like. Students will also be able to draw connections between the film and the novel Nectar in a Sieve.

Assessment: Collect notes from film for participation points.

Procedures: 5 Minutes: Introduction to the film Gandhi. Ask students to take notes about commonalities that they see between Nectar in a Sieve and Gandhi. Then explain where in the film class is going to start. The part of the film that we are going to watch is where it shows the Indian workers. What they have to go through and the kinds of jobs that they take.
55 Minutes: Watch the film.
5 Minutes: Ask students if they have any questions and collect the notes from the movie.


Literature and the Third World Mandi Becktel Time: 50 minutes Rationale and objectives: Students will gain valuable background knowledge that will enhance their reading of the common text, Nectar in a Sieve. They will also gain a solid understanding of the “third world,” (i.e. what countries are still developing, characteristics of developing countries, etc.) allowing them to make more informed decisions about the third world (and America’s interaction there with) and participate in dialog (both political and conversational) about developing countries. MI ELA Content Expectations: 2.1.10: Listen to and view multimedia works and identify and respond to key ideas Materials: Computers with internet access, clothing worksheet, powerpoint presentation on the characteristics of developing countries

Time	Activity
10 min.	Freewrite: What do you know about third world countries? What does it mean to be a third world country? What is life like there?
5 min.	Discuss the freewrite activity as a large group
10 min.	Powerpoint presentation: Characteristics of Third World countries. This will address what classifies a country as “developing” as well as common themes that occur in developing countries (poverty, industrialization, etc).
20 min.	Clothing activity: We learned in the powerpoint how companies can exploit workers in third world countries to make goods at lower prices. Students look at the labels on the clothes they are wearing. In many cases, they will have been made in a third world country. Students will get on the computers and research the country that their shirt / other article was made in. They will have a worksheet to fill out with both factual questions (GDP, etc) and higher order thinking questions (does this country fit the third world profile? How so? How do you think life there would be different than life in the United States?)
5 min.	Exit slip freewrite: What did you learn? What, if anything, surprised you? What would you like to learn more about?

Assessment: Formative assessment will be recorded as the instructor monitors the large group discussion and the internet activity. Summative assessment will be given in the form of 15 points for the internet activity worksheet and 5 points of credit for the exit slip at the end of class. Emma Farr