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Summary and Objective
While reading "Sarah, Plain and Tall," by Patricia MacLachlan, students will understand that concrete objects can have symbolic, or abstract, meanings. Students will focus on Sarah's small chest of objects and describe their concrete appearance and symbolic meaning. Sarah brought a shell, a doll (from digital collection), and a comb. The shell symbolizes the her love of the Maine seacoast, the doll symbolized her love of her family, as it was given to her by her grandmother, and the comb symbolizes her love of herself and need to care for herself during this remarkable journey. Students will understand that concrete objects can have symbolic or abstract meanings.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Students will read Chapter 4 of "Sarah, Plain and Tall," paying close attention to the details of the objects that Sarah packed in her trunk. On the whiteboard, we will list the objects and draw them. Students will go to the computer lab and search the digital collection to find the shells and doll and print their descriptions to use in step 4 below. A third column on the white board, "Symbolism," will be left blank.
Step 2.
Instructor will activate students' prior knowledge of symbols by asking, "what are some symbols around us?" (Prior to class the teacher will have left out a valentine card with a heart on it, a peace sign, a stop sign, a smiley face, and other obvious symbols.) Students will "find" these symbols and make a chart of them similar to the chart for Sarah's objects. Instructor will introduce the language that a symbol is a concrete or tangible object with a meaning that is abstract or beyond the simple concrete representation.
Step 3.
Students will discuss the fact that Sarah left behind all she loved to move to the western plains and find a new family. Students will be asked to think about what they might bring in such circumstances and with limited space for packing. Students will then look at the chart on the whiteboard and brainstorm what symbolic meaning each of Sarah's artifacts may have had for her. (Allow many answers with no real "right" answer.)
Step 4.
Students will break into small groups, each selecting one of Sarah's objects. They will make a small poster with the name of the object, a verbal description, a drawing, and a list of possible symbolic meanings for the object.
Step 5.
Students will share their posters and the group will decide what to write in the third column on the whiteboard, entitled "symbolism."
Step 6.
Assessment: Students will be asked to make a list of possessions they might include in their trunk if they (today) were leaving and could only bring their most meaningful objects. Students will select one of those objects and write about what it symbolizes to them. The responses should clearly indicate that the student understands that a symbol is a concrete object with an abstract,greater meaning.
Step 7.
Students will share their personal symbols and discuss.
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