Once More With Feeling: The final Teaching Discussion Board: Lion & Little

TORDA'S SUMMER 2021 TEACHING

Once More With Feeling: The final Teaching Discussion Board: Lion & Little

4/29/2020

Welcome to the last Teaching Discussion Board of our semester. Our final text of the semester is Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert.

Our Test Class for the Week: I'm returning to Brockton High, the single largest high school east of the Mississippi that is not in New York or New Jersey. You can use the information about Brockton High School included for the week we read The Poet X. You can check out the information about the high school in general from that post.

Instead of IB class, which, as I said that week, has a very specific curriculum, I would love to see this novel taught in a College Prep 12th grade class. Their are certain elements of this novel about young adults that I think will resonate with seniors in college (the main characters are that age or a little older) and, also, the subject matter needs a class of more mature students to manage.

I want to point out, as this is our last novel, that we have managed to go the entire semester with one white cis-gender male writer--nothing against white cis-gender males, though I know how a statement like that can feel that way. What I mean is, as we've discussed all semester, representation matters. And the novels, poems, and nonfiction we've encountered in this semester has, I hope, made clear how that is possible and even welcome. One way I see this? In the discussion of Dread Nation, nobody once even mentioned that our main character was a black woman, nobody said "it might be difficult for a fill-in-the-blank reader to identify with the story." That, to my mind, is progress on all fronts.

Your Prompt: For our last prompt, I have a very specific question for you, a two parter. Question 1: what would you do in a classroom, what assignments, structures, class activities, assessments, etc would you design to help your students be better readers of other texts they might encounter in school and beyond? Question 2: What would you do, assignments, structures, etc. to help students develop a meaningful thematic relationship with this specific text, the story of Little & Lion and its characters.

You can privilege answering one or the other of the two parts, but I would appreciate it if you at least in passing address both parts of the prompt.

A NOTE ABOUT THIS PROMPT: If you are teaching the lesson plan option, for the Final Project, you might consider how you would answer this two-part question as you design your lesson for whatever text you intend to teach.

37 Comments

Gabby Sleeper

5/1/2020 09:53:28 am

If I were to teach Little and Lion, I would do it in a unit focused around character analysis. Students would focus in on Suzette and really dig into why she makes the decisions that she does and how she grows throughout the novel. Suzette makes a lot of questionable decisions and I think teens can relate to and learn from those choices. Students would be expected to make a character map that explores those decisions, as well as important aspects of her identity and her relationships with major characters (particularly, I would want to focus on Lionel, Emil, and Iris). In focusing in on Suzette, I would really want students to learn the same lesson that she learns at the end of the story: sometimes, doing the right thing for yourself can hurt others. Suzette learns that she cannot keep all of Lionel’s secrets, and students should know that if their friends are putting those same expectations on them, it’s not fair. Further, Suzette makes a choice at the end of the novel that is particularly relevant to students: deciding to go back to school in Massachusetts. This is especially important to discuss in a senior class, as all of those students are in the process of deciding what they want to do with their lives. Suzette goes back, even knowing that her friends and family will miss her. Similarly, I would want to discuss with students that they need to make their choices based off of what is best for them, not their friends or even their family. In further connecting to Suzette, I would likely have students write journal entries that talk about times when they hid (or wanted to hide) a part of their own identity or about times that they felt pressured to do something they weren’t sure about. I want students to really emphasize with Suzette and understand why she does what she does, despite knowing these were bad decisions from the start.
The focus on character analysis is something that I feel would be useful to students beyond this novel and beyond the classroom. We live in a very divided country where people are quick to get angry at, well, everything. One mistake or lapse in judgement, and a person is deemed “cancelled.” With this mindset, it’s easy to look at Suzette and call her a bad person because of her feelings toward Rafaela, her decision to enable Lionel, or the way she handles her relationship with Iris. But context matters, and with context we can see that Suzette is a confused teenager who is just trying her best. I hope my students give a little empathy in their own lives and try understanding a person’s motivations as well before judging them.

Colby Nilsen

5/3/2020 07:47:01 am

Hey Gabby, I am really interested in the aspect of a character map. I have not had all that much exposure to educational theory and I would love to learn more about how that would be beneficial. The idea of having students use journal entries and speak about a vulnerable time (when they felt like hiding). Character analysis that correlates to the self is a great idea, for it humanizes the characters and shows how important literature is in terms of teaching us lessons about the human experience that we can use in our everyday lives. Although the journal entry could be something that brings up bad memories for students, I believe that it could be healthy to revisit some not so great moments, for then students get to see how they have grown since this moment of "wishing they could hide". I like how you seem to be focused on what the characters represent in terms of what students can extrapolate from them to understand decision making, and not looking at situations as "black and white" but always in a contextual sense.

Caroline Keenan

5/3/2020 11:05:24 am

Hi Gabby!

I really like how you mentioned about a unit focused on character analysis. I feel like by having students really focus in on Suzette decisions they can understand her a lot better and understand why she makes the decisions that she makes and how it benefits hers and others. I feel like Suzette is a very great character for students to understand especially with them going off into the real World and having to make their own decisions.

Colby Nilsen

5/1/2020 11:27:45 am

To help students be better readers of future texts, I plan to help them learn the skill of always contextualizing the plot of the book. It is important to know where the characters are, when the book is set, and what their identity means in the context of their world. Furthermore, I would make students aware of always asking themselves what is at stake in the text, or “what is the problem/conflict”. For Brandy Colbert’s Little and Lion specifically, the first assignment I would design in order to help students develop a meaningful thematic relationship to the novel is give a brief preemptive presentation on what Bipolar disorder is. I believe it is crucial for students to understand this disorder, for it is a primary conflict that the main characters all deal with either directly or indirectly. I would then show a VICE video about someone living with the condition to humanize the conflict for students, and to give visual learners a chance to understand. Next class, I would develop a writing prompt that encourages students to write about themselves (arguably the best way to get them to write). The first prompt I would have them respond to would be: Did you keep the secret? Why/why not? What would happen if you did/did not? Do you regret keeping it/not?”. This shows students the thematic element of trust and “doing the right thing”. However, it further elucidates the point that doing the right thing is not always so black and white, and forces us to really dig deep within ourselves to understand the right thing to do as shown through Suzette keeping Lionel’s secret of not taking meds. The next prompt would about a week later deeper into the story: “Has anyone ever judged you for something you cannot help? How did it make you feel?” This would correlate to both people talking about Lionel’s mental illness and essentially making him feel isolated, as well as Suzette’s peer’s reaction to her Bisexuality and the effect on her/Iris. The challenges of discussing a mental illness would be the fact that a student may have Biploar Disorder, and would therefore feel embarrassed or isolated by the discussion. However, educating students on the facts will help alleviate further stigmas and stereotypes. The challenges of discussing bisexuality would be the same embarrassment or isolation as aforementioned. However, the notion that not all parents agree with homosexuality means this book could be met with contention in regards to teaching it. Furthermore, many students may have opposing views of bisexuality that are voiced, even further isolating Bisexual students and causing the adverse of the desired effect of acceptance. The fact that this would be taught in a 12th grade classroom to a demographic that is for the most part not very sheltered, means there is hope that they will most likely relate to much of the content and could take valuable thematic lessons from the story.

Jailyn Tavares

5/1/2020 01:24:36 pm

Hi Colby!

I really enjoyed reading you plan to have students contextualize the plot of the novel. It’s extremely important students are able to keep track of what is going on in the novel as well as not conflicts as well as their end resolutions. This can easily be done with handouts of a plot map that the students can keep referring to as they move through the text. As I wrote in my response, students understand bipolar disorder is very important. It’s one of the mains conflicts in the novel the effects not only Lionel, but nearly every other character as well. Having students write prompts would get them to think about the thematic relationships in the novel such as trust and doing the right thing, as you mentioned. Your prompts are spot on and I thing would really help engage discussion. Talking about bisexuality can be hard in classrooms because as you mentioned, there are opposing views. It may be uncomfortable to some students which may cause conflict but at the same time, students need to understand it even if they don’t agree with it since it’s a major point in the novel.

Shauna Ridley

5/2/2020 05:07:44 pm

Hi Colby!
One of the major tropes in young adult literature is making decisions as we've seen in most, of not all of the novels we've read this semester. Having students put themselves directly into the situation of the character and having them decide what is best to do makes the text relatable to them. Part of growing up is making decisions even if they aren't decisions that directly affect the student. There is always a conflict in the text wether students can relate or not so contextualizing the plot will add to the thematic relationship with all other texts. Great post!

Lauren Melchionda

5/2/2020 05:55:46 pm

Hi Colby,
I really enjoyed your in classroom plan for teaching this novel to a class. I had some similar ideas as well, as I also believe that it is important for students to try and understand what each characters is dealing with or what they may be going through, such as Bipolar disease. I think that having students write prompts is also another great way to engage them more on the plot and theme of the novel. By doing so, it will hopefully become a force of habit over time as they read more, and eventually be able to pick out themes and main ideas like its nothing.

Jailyn Tavares

5/1/2020 01:11:37 pm

Teaching Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert requires a type of assignment that will not only help better understand reading this specific text, but others texts as well. When reading a novel, it’s not only important to understand the moments in the novel and how the plot is moving along, but it is also important to understand concepts outside of the novel. For example, it’s important to know about the author, time periods or events when the novel was written, or simply just a better understanding or background information on something. During one of my past English classes, someone had to give a presentation in specific topics or behaviors or ideas that would show up in the novel. For example, we read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and I had to present on the topic of the theory of human nature, as human nature played a significant role in the behaviors of the creature. This gave me and incredible amounts of help when reading all of the novel throughout the course which is why find this would be and important assignment to do in order to help students become better readers of any text the are assigned. I think this assignment would be perfect for a college prep class in Brockton High School. This will give them an advantage if they take the time to do some research before they read a novel. This could specifically work for Little and Lion through the topics of bipolar and depression disorders as well as different sexualities. Lionel faces a lot of challenges and episodes when learning to cope with his mental health and I would find it important that students inform themselves and other students on their findings if the symptoms and treatments of those mental health disorders. As for Suzette, she is struggling with understanding her sexuality. She seems to be leaning towards identifying as bisexual but still struggles when it comes to her relationships that she has with Iris, Rafaela, and Emil. Understanding these topics with help the reader get a better understanding of those situations while they are reading. High school students particularly may also struggle with these things and it’s important they understand them and how to receive help as well as guidance or advice. these 12th graders may very well be struggling with these same issues and this novel can help them cope with that as well as teach them how to deal with it. This is the most rewarding thing about young adult novels. They offer help as guidance to young adults who may be scared to embarrassed to seek help or guidance from friends and families. Overall, doing research about specific topics that will be discussed in the novel will help a reader better understand any text they are given.

Olivia Leonard

5/3/2020 02:56:18 pm

Hey Jailyn! I really liked how you included understanding background information. I immediately thought of that same assignment and what a difference it made in understanding the different novels we read. I think when provided with that background information students are able to more clearly grasp what is happening or why a character did/reacted a certain way.

Savannah Resendes

5/1/2020 01:57:44 pm

If I were to teach Little and Lion in a CP level senior class, I would want to split it up thematically. There are a lot of different topics and issues that are covered in this novel and to talk about them all together would be confusion. I would want to spend a couple of classes on this book, each class relating to a different topic that presents in the book. Some of these topics would include mental illness, sexuality, race, family, religion, bullying, etc. With each topic I would give the students some background information, to make sure they have a full understanding of the topic. For example, I would give a brief presentation on bipolar disorder II, as this is the one that Lionel deals with, so the students can better understand the character. Then I would have the students break the topic down into simpler means in order to understand what is happening in accordance with that topic. I would ask what type of conflict is being invoked within that specific topic? Who is involved with this conflict? Who is it effecting? Does this topic intersect with any other issues? I would really want to hone in on what is specifically happening. I hope that these exercises would help student to break down the novel into parts that are easier to understand. When I read complicated texts, I feel that I also have to break them down and see how they intersect and communicate with one another. I hope that this skill will be transferred to the students and taken beyond the classroom. I would also want to stress that Suzette is doing the best that she can. She is still a kids, just like the students in the classroom and she is bound to make mistakes. I feel that the students would relate to her characters as they are probably doing through similar issues with family, race, relationships, sexuality and school. They can look towards Suzette’s complicated summer back home and realize that they can work through it. I would also want the students to walk away from this novel with a better understand of people with mental illness. They are more than just their diagnosis, and they are people with feeling and lives outside of their mental illness. There is a moment in the novel where Suzette and Lionel have a discussion about people being accepting of a physical disability, such as Emil’s hearing aide, but not having the same understanding for mental disabilities, and I think that is a very important moment in the novel and something that students should definitely take away and have more empathy for those who struggle with mental illness.

Olivia Sweeney

5/1/2020 02:25:48 pm

Hi Savannah,

I think it would be extremely helpful and beneficial to students to break up the topics in the novel that pertain to real life into seperate discussions rather than all just at once. Each issue prevalent in this novel as well as real life are all equally just as important and should all be throughly discussed. It is important for students to learn and be aware of these difficulties many people face, even if they do not struggle with them themselves, there are many people struggling with these issues. Breaking down the key themes in this text would definitely ensure students would have a better understanding of the novel as well as insight to the difficulties each character faces.

Olivia Sweeney

5/1/2020 02:21:04 pm

I think as a teacher, for our students to become better readers of other texts they might read in school or outside of school, there must be mentor texts available to them. Mentor texts are extremely helpful to students whether they focus on writing or reading, but especially reading mentor texts. For example, Little and Lion could serve as a mentor text for students on topics such as sexuality, bipolar, and depression disorders. Reading this novel may help students to better understand what it is like for people to experience those topics, and for those who already struggle with those topics, a mentor text like this will help them to better understand how to go about it. I also think it is important to have a reading journal in which students can express their emotions, feelings, and thoughts down on paper. There are so many prompts for any given assignment/text, but the notion of a reading journal will be a physical mentor text of their own that students can go back to and read when experiencing a same emotion, feeling, or thought during another text. Essentially, the reading journals are something students can keep and refer back to and read what they put while reading a certain text and refer to it during another. This helps students to be reminded of some thoughts they had during a certain text that directly correlates to the one they are currently reading. I think reading journals are important for students, so they write down their thoughts and can always refer back to their journals. This is a great assignment for a 12th grade class as it involves a low-stakes assignment that students are merely graded on effort and completion, but also are expressing their thoughts, feelings, and reactions down on physical paper.

If I were to teach Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert to a 12th grade college prep class, I would tackle this novel a few different ways. Since this novel touches upon the topics of finding one’s sexuality, bipolar, and even depression, I would definitely have a conversation with my class. It is important to inform your students that even though they may not personally be going through one of these issues, one of their peers and many people struggle with these topics. It is important for students to know that there is always someone to talk to and that no one has to go through these difficulties alone. It is important students are respectful to one another and are aware of how relevant and common these topics are in today’s society. Many students do not like to vocalize or share their difficulties which is an extremely understandable thing. However, it is important that students address these issues whether it is with a friend, parent/guardian, counselor or anyone else, or even just writing about it in a journal. For this novel, I would require my students to answer prompts as entries in their reading journals. Since this book tackles many personal issues that some students may not want to share, they have the option that if they do not want their entry read while the teacher is grading them, they can simply fold their entry in half to indicate they do not want it read. They will be graded for completing the assignment and receive full credit, but their privacy will be respected, and their entries will not be read. I think it is important for students that even if it is hard for them to talk to someone or they are too scared too that they still get their emotions and feelings out of their systems even if it is through a journal entry. This may even be encouraging to some students as they can always refer back to their entries and look back on how much they improved or how they have improved in the entry they initially wrote. I think it is important to incorporate an assignment like this during a novel such as Little and Lion, so students are tackling theme major themes in the novel, and also drawing a connection to their personal experiences similar to difficulties Suzette faces, and still participate in class assignments even if they choose to fold their entry in half so it will be unread. It is always important to remind students that they are not alone and us teachers will always be there for them and to even help guide them to the right person to talk to if needed. Reading journals in class may even encourage students to keep their own journal/diary of their own at home to express some of the things they want to discuss but do not want to physically tell anyone. Therefore, they can get those things out by writing in their journal and simultaneously not having to tell anyone. This might have been helpful for someone like Suzette who has such a hard time keeping all of Lionel’s secrets to herself.

Gabrielle Boutin

5/2/2020 01:02:51 pm

Hi Olivia!
I have never heard of a mentor text. I like that idea of presenting a text that the students can read easily, but deals with some heavy themes like sexuality or mental health. I think that Little & Lion was an easy read, but the conversations and discussions about the novel could go anywhere! I also agree that a novel like this would require low-stakes assignments mostly graded on effort (like a journal), to allow the readers to focus on expressing their feelings/thoughts independently without any prompt from the teacher or other students. I also agree that students could learn about empathy through this novel. They may not be going through the same scenario as Suzette or Lionel, but it is important to note that most of the struggles they went through were internal and no one saw them struggling. Suzette even pointed out that her family didn’t know Lionel was having an episode until he was halfway through it. I think every student (or every person) needs to remember that we never truly know what someone is going through!

Becky Tynan

5/1/2020 04:58:46 pm

Little & Lion is one of my favorite books this semester- I literally finished this in one day. It tackled so many things- like sexuality, mental health, physical health limitations, blending families, race, religion, women's rights, and moving away, and it represented all these things in multiple facets. Because of this I think it becomes a really hard book to teach. I think it would be hard to want students to be so open about a lot of the issues in the book. I think scaffolding before the book would be vital in making sure the class is ready to do more specific assignments that directly involve the text. For this scaffolding I think I may want to tap into prior knowledge and ask students in a writing journal prompt their experiences with prejudice- whether it be prejudice about thier sexualy, their race,their religion, ect. This journal would be to get students to start thinking about the ways their realities are reflected in what they are learning. Then maybe partner students up and show them other people's real world experiences with prejudice. I think a creative way to do this is through memes. There’s a lot of memes on the internet with a concerning sense of humor. Like Emil says “not all jokes are funny” And so some memes that aren't so wholesome that maybe make unfunny jokes about some of the topics in the novel like race, religion, sexuality, feminism/women's rights would be made into a powerpoint and with each meme the partners could talk about how they see stereotypes and prejudices reflected in them. This type of scaffolding still is tapping into prior knowledge, but is sensitive to the fact that students may not want to necessarily directly put themselves in the conversation as an example. I could also include news article excerpt about this
I think after assignments like this I first would let students know the reason we have been spending class time talking about things like this because the text we will be reading is going to deal with a variety of issues. I would move to actually assigning readings with 3,2,1 homework assignments. And daily writing journal prompts, I think in this case most of the prompts would be less personal and ask readers to write about the topics of the story in ways like what They think as the reader a certain character in the story must feel or what they think the character in the book should have done. This way there is still some boundary between the book and their personal experience, because as a teacher I would want to build up trust through the reading process.
Class activities during reading could differ and become creative mini projects- like maybe students could do for homework- towards the end of reading the book- make a meme about one of the character's prejudices they face, bring it back to the meme discussion we had earlier. In class we could have a philosophical chairs debate, some call it a this or that- where I would pose the character’s choices that the have previously journaled on, let's say for example we’re talking about Suzzette’s choice to take Lionel’s pills- so we could say stand on the left side of the class if you understand her choice or stand of the right side if you don't and students can share why they picked either side and talk about the issue in almost a debate kind of way- this discussion strategy practices arguing skills, practices speaking skills in a casual way, and helps students to think about the choices in the book- so they can start to link them thematically.
Which is why when it comes to teaching the themes of the text I think students need to find a topic or experience of character they identify with. Since so far most of the assignments are character based they could work on a character map of a character who struggles speak to them, and through those struggles try and answer in a short essay how the author is using that charcer to connect to a theme. I think this novel would be hard to teach because there are so many topics that would get confused with themes. But this novel is great to teach because students would be better at reading the difference. Topics like sexuality, race, religion etc. are all talked about but themes are prejudice and choice.

Savannah Resendes

5/2/2020 05:39:31 pm

Hi Becky! I also think that this novel tackled a lot of different issues which would make it hard to talk about the book as a whole without breaking it down into smaller, more digestible parts. I absolutely love your idea with memes. What better way to have students fully understand the messages being conveyed in these “funny” pictures? I think it would open a lot of students’ eyes to the hidden prejudices that are present in memes, yet ignorantly shared across different social media platforms. I also like how aware you are of the student’s feelings. This novel tackles a lot of sensitive issues that can be triggering so it is nice to know that you are keeping that in mind. I also like the idea of philosophical chairs, just to see how the students stand with the choices made by Suzette in the novel and see whether they would do the same and if not what they would do different. This activity can build respect for other people’s opinions and views in a healthy way. Loved your ideas!

Ethan Child

5/2/2020 05:51:52 pm

Becky,
I share in your admiration of Colbert's presentation of multi-faceted characters. As you can see in my post below, I also think it would be important to emphasize these different aspects of the characters' identities when teaching the novel, especially focusing on the intersection between these different traits. I wonder if memes are the best way to introduce this discussion. I can appreciate that they are particularly relevant and familiar to students, as they are a type of media that many students likely engage with outside the classroom. That being said, they would also be a light-hearted means of conveying important information that might be sensitive to some students. It is great that you would encourage students to be critical of memes that depict stereotypes! This would encourage students to be critical of real-world oppressors. Now, I wonder how you might bring the voices of the oppressed into the conversation. In other words, instead of only showing media that depicts harmful stereotypes, what marginalized voices might you share with students? You will also find that, in my post below, I challenge one of your statements here. You say that, in order to teach this text, students will need to find "a topic or experience of a character they identify with." I believe that poses a limitation that we do not need to place on literature. One of the best things about reading is that it gives us an opportunity to empathize with someone who we do NOT identify with! As future-teachers, let's think about how we can help students empathize with the "other" that they cannot so easily relate to. I think Little & Lion would be a great opportunity to practice this.

Gabrielle Boutin

5/2/2020 12:48:53 pm

When designing my classroom, I would always take into account what I want my students to take with them beyond the classroom. How can their experience with me help them beyond the class and how can my lessons be applicable in other classes or even the real world? I think my class structure would be very discussion based. One of my favorite classes that I’ve taken while at BSU was an English class where we had large group discussions everyday (with an exception of maybe 2 or 3 classes). My professor led us in discussions where we would focus on one scene, character, theme, or anything that struck us with the novel we were reading. Having an open discussion like that allowed me to become more open-minded when reading because I heard other people’s opinions about certain scenes that I never would’ve even thought about. If we were discussing a particular scene, hearing what everyone thought about it allowed me to look at it from every angle and dissect what it meant and how it played into the bigger picture of that novel. Having that skill has helped me in so many other classes by allowing me to interpret novels in so many different ways. And I think with the age group that we are targeting in this class discussion, teaching them that skill would be crucial; especially when they are challenged with a hard text that requires different layers of interpretation. I think another strategy I would implement in my class would be open-ended reading journals. What I mean by this is presenting an assignment that had simple guidelines (3-4 pages focused on one novel, theme, character, etc.) and allowing the student to write about whatever they wanted. This gives the students the freedom they need to connect to the novel on their own instead of forcing them to write about a topic they cannot stand. I think the biggest lesson that I have gotten from the transition from high school to college is that no one is going to hold your hand. You need to form your own thoughts and your own opinions and apply that to your reading/writing. I feel like in high school I was also guided with strict prompts that had no wiggle room and when I got to college, there was so much freedom that I found myself struggling because no one was telling me what to write. So I would definitely try to prep my students with more free-writing and open discussion to help open their minds as much as I can.

Jess' Reply to Jailyn

5/2/2020 01:12:04 pm

Jailyn,
It's always awesome when we can impliment an effective teaching strategy that we saw modeled for us in a class. I can see how researching the important topics in Little and Lion could support students as readers and as young adults navigating these issues themselves. One way you might be able to set this up in your lesson plan design your essential questions around these themes, like How can mental illness affect a family, or How do we when keeping a secret is harmful, or What are misconceptions about sexuality? Then, instead. of just offering students topics to research, invite them to use their research to consider an answer to these questions. It would connect their research to the real world, and adds some complexity to the assignment.

Jess Rinker

5/2/2020 01:32:01 pm

As many of you have already mentioned in your posts, it’s pivotal to guide students through connecting the themes in Little and Lion to their world, and this novel seems to lend itself to studies of character development and plot progression. I would build this unit around the central essential question of, “How do we know who we are and who we will become?” This question centers around the idea of identity and decision-making. Suzette is trying to discover her sexuality while navigating her future and carrying the weight of past experiences. Lionel, too, struggles with his identity and sees a stark contrast between his old self and new self, with his diagnosis being his defining moment. The idea of being caught in between the past and future is a struggle for all young adults, but especially for 12th graders who are facing the finality of graduating and the openness of “adulthood,” whether that means college, the workforce, military, etc.

While reading the novel, I would have students keep a “Defining Moments/Defining Decisions” log for both Suzette and Lionel. This worksheet is essentially a combination of a character map and reading journal, but by focusing it on decisions the characters make, students can see how the plot (rising action, climax, falling action) relates to characterization. Students would also be able to explore how the characters face the crossroads they come to, why they made the decisions they made, and the results of those decisions. At the end of the unit, I would ask students to complete a plot overview for Suzette and Lion based on their log entries, to get a big-picture view. The summative assessment for the unit would be to have students create their own “plot overview’ for their life so far. In a 2-4 page paper they would explain what they have considered to be defining moments in their life and conclude with what they are thinking of doing after graduation. Although I would include other assignments and lessons within the unit, focusing on the important topics in the novel, the focus on decision making leaves the unit open for students to relate to the story based on the stage of life they are in. It also encourages students to practice self-reflection and their own decision making skills which can be difficult, but important, especially as students enter a new, uncertain chapter of their life.

Gabby Sleeper

5/2/2020 02:17:55 pm

Hi Jess,
I really enjoy your summative assessment! I think it’s great that you didn’t fall back on just another literary analysis, especially since a lot of students (especially high school seniors) are going to leave your class and never write another paper like that again. Encouraging students to really connect to a text on a more personal level and emphasize with the characters is a much more meaningful project and will hopefully help students become more emotionally invested in the reading. I think this is an especially good time for this project, as students are about to graduate, which is a pretty darn important time in one’s life. I would also like to note that there really is some nice symmetry with students reading Little and Lion when they are on the cusp of a new chapter in their lives and the fact that Suzette, at the end of the novel, is really about to start her own new chapter, where she is more open with her sexuality and her religion. It could be a good lesson for students, as they move on to whatever they choose to do after high school; if they want to change who they are or become better people, now is a great time to do it.

Molly Drain

5/2/2020 07:31:53 pm

Jess,
Struggling with identity is a huge theme within this text as well as in the lives of high school students. I think that 12th graders specifically can feel a sense of loss of identity when they prepare to leave high school and go onto their future endeavors so a unit built around your question of "how do we know who we are and what we will become?" is a great start. I think logs assist readers in keeping facts, plots, and character development in order and can be very helpful. I like your idea of keeping a "defining moments/defining decisions" log, and even more so that it is for separate characters. I really enjoyed your summative assessment as it ties the students into the text.

Maddie Butkus

5/2/2020 01:50:49 pm

I believe that as a teacher, this text of Little and Lion holds some powerful yet necessary knowledge that would be great to teach to a 12th grade college prep class. While there are many serious topics touched upon within this work that I would all like to speak about to my class, the main two that I would want to really focus on would be mental disorders and sexuality. I truly believe that these two topics, while gaining more respect and knowledge in our day and age, need to be continuously taught to our youth so that they can continue on the ongoing progress made thus far. It is through this text that I believe many, if not all of my students, would be able to better understand what life is like for people dealing with mental disorders and the struggles that come along with trying to figure out ones sexuality. Also in Little and Lion specifically, my students would be able to see how these two topics tie into family hardships/relationships like through Suzette and Lionel.

Before even starting this book, I would want to have an open discussion with my students about the topics they are about to read about. As I have stated within previous teaching discussion boards, it is so important for me to let my students know that my classroom is a safe learning environment in which we shall all be respectful of one another and they can always come talk to me if they need to. I would want to give them a heads up of the intense topics they will be reading about so they can try to mentally prepare themselves for what is coming. In order to help with this, instead of just doing a regular reading journal which I will require with most works read within my class, with Little and Lion I will want my students to keep a feelings journal while reading the entirety of this work. I will explain to my students that this journal is meant for them to write down what strikes them, record the different feelings they have while reading, and even though I will be checking to see if they wrote in them, I will not be reading any details so this is their own personal feelings journal. As a quick side note for my students, I will let them know that as seniors in high school who are soon to be freshman in college, at least some of the people they will meet will have gone through or are still going through similar situations as Suzette did. It is extremely important to be mindful of all people they meet for they never know what exactly someone is going through.

Furthermore, two assignments that I would have my students complete not only for Little and Lion but also for other works, are character and theme development worksheets. This will definitely help my students become better readers of texts they encounter in school and beyond for it will have them focus on how characters and themes develop over the course of a text. For example, when looking at these two aspects in a big picture, it is utterly amazing to see how a character or theme can be at the beginning of a work compared to at the very end. It is through these worksheets that overtime, students will be able to point out different moments in which a character or theme continues to progress towards its end result and sooner or later, they won’t even need the worksheet to do so. When looking specifically on Suzette’s character, I want my students to really focus on her struggles, how she tries to overcome them, how she wrestles with her emotions/thoughts/ideas and how she interacts with fellow characters. These worksheets will also allow students to mark page numbers and quotes where they see a character develop in some way.

As one of the bigger assignments within teaching Little and Lion, I would want my students to do additional research on sexuality and the LGBTQ+ community as well as mental disorders. I want them to compare the characters’ struggles with the statistics they find during their research. To really get their ideas flowing, I would have my students work on this assignment in groups where they would have discussion starter questions that I would provide. It is here that I really want my students to learn more about these serious topics and have a rich conversation about them with the new knowledge they learned compared with the characters within this work. This group work would ultimately lead to a lively class discussion where we would all share our findings as well as a small writing assignment attached at the end. This writing assignment would have students write not only about their new found knowledge on these two topics combined with the characters within Little and Lion but also how they felt learning these new things and while reading this work. The overall goal for my students by reading Little and Lion and by completing the assignments held throughout is to both make them better readers as well as become more knowledgeable and mindful of the people they meet and of course themselves if they are struggling.

Maddie Butkus Response to Jess Rinker

5/2/2020 02:06:17 pm

Hey Jess! I absolutely love your essential question that you would base your unit off of. Not only would students be able to answer this question through Suzette and Lionel but also relate an answer to their own lives. It is definitely a hard question that will require a lot of personal thinking and reflection but students can learn a lot about themselves while doing so. Furthermore, I think your final 2-4 page paper at the end this reading is such a great idea. Having the students complete a self-reflection on themselves and their lives to help them try to figure out what they will do in the future is utterly inspiring. These types of assignments are almost therapeutic for people for they are able to think about the good aspects in life, what they have accomplished and thus set up goals for their future without stressing out about the unknown. Great ideas here!

Shauna Ridley

5/2/2020 04:54:34 pm

This is a tough question. I feel it really depends on the text that we are reading as a class so as a teacher I would assign books that have different elements from each other like we did in this class. For each book we would go over what is important to notice in a text and how the characters fit into this structure. As a class we would identify the elements and put each in a category box on an assignment sheet. This sheet would be filled out for every novel we read. Students would then have to write how the element appears in the text and why it is important to notice. For example “A Long Way Down” has a time frame set in an elevator which ties the character into how quickly everything is going on around him.
For students to develop a thematic relationship with Little and Lion could be challenging. Brockton high's student population is rather diverse so having a story like Little and Lion who feel like the minority (in different ways) should be relatable to most if not all of the students. Race, sexuality, and mental illness are issues addressed in this novel and I think it would be interesting to have students write about a time when they felt like the minority, as Suzette and Lionel often do. Before reading or doing this exercise an explanation on these topics would be helpful for student understanding. In any situation whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally etc there is always a situation where a student has felt like they do not belong. The students' example may not be identical to Suzette or Lionels situation but it will still help them to relate to the uncomfortable feeling that comes with feeling so out of place.
An assignment that could help students develop a thematic relationship would be where students read up to a certain point (for example when Lion destroys his room) and write about how they would feel and what they would do. Knowing that Lionel isn’t taking his medication forces Suzette to make decisions based on what is happening but cannot tell what is the best decision to make. Students in an AP 12 grade class will soon be going off to start a new chapter in their lives whether that be work, college, traveling, etc. They are going to need the skills to rationally decide what is best for them or the people around them. Having students write out what they would do if they were little will not only help them to understand her but to obtain skills to help themselves if they are ever in a sticky situation.

Ethan Child

5/2/2020 05:35:43 pm

Brandy Colbert’s Little & Lion provides a great opportunity to help students become better readers of other texts in the future. Colbert presents intersectionality within the novel’s protagonist. Suzette is Black, bisexual, and Jewish, and her family is what some would call “non-traditional,” as her parents are not married and they both have children from previous partners. It is likely that some of the students in our test class would share in some of these identities, but it is very unlikely that any of the students would completely share in Suzette’s specific intersectionality. Little & Lion, therefore, tasks readers with engaging with a character who is not entirely “relatable.” In other words, students will need to explore other ways of engaging with literature than simply putting themselves in the protagonist’s shoes. Investing in the character of Suzette requires empathy. To foster such empathy, I, as a teacher, would use the text to introduce discussions about intersectionality. To facilitate these discussions, I would put students in small groups, and each group would create a presentation on some aspect of Suzette’s identity. Their presentations should connect research about one of Suzette’s identities to the text. For example, students could create a presentation on bisexual erasure and cite examples from the text when Suzette does not feel validated in her sexuality. Alternatively, students could present the struggles of multiracial families, connecting to the points in the text when Suzette feels that she is a spectacle when she goes out in public with Saul. These presentations would make students better readers because they would demonstrate how literature holds relevance to reality. Additionally, discussing the intersection between these different aspects of identity would allow students to better comprehend and appreciate the character of Suzette. Finally, these presentations would encourage students to become more empathetic readers and to view reading as an opportunity to learn about experiences that might be very “other” from their own.

Hannah Brodeur

5/3/2020 09:34:36 am

Hi Ethan! I really like your idea that this novel will force readers to connect with characters in other ways. As you discussed Suzette is not the quote on quote typical High Schooler. However, she does go through situations that many individuals can relate to in their own way. Students could understand her perspective or point of view even if they have not experienced it themselves. I really like your activity about having students research different aspect of Suzette as a character. However, I also think it would be effective to have students do the same with other characters in the novel. Therefore, individuals such as Lionel and discuss the topics that he experiences. But I do think it is very effective that you would have students examining specific passages in the text. This would further help students practice their close reading skills. I think your overall idea of how this novel would force individuals to become empathic readers is so important. This skill would further help students throughout their entire lives. It is a difficult skill, especially for High Schoolers to learn if they are not exposed to different things. However, because of all the concepts discussed in the novel, readers have to produce these feelings in order to connect with the characters. I had not thought about how important empathy is in this text. But it truly plays an important role for the reader to really understand the novel.

Lauren Melchionda

5/2/2020 05:52:04 pm

Knowing a little bit about what you are about to read always help readers out, especially when the teacher introduces the setting and plot to their class. It is always a key factor to help better understand student’s reading of texts. If I were to teach a 12th grade CP class Little and Lion I would first go over identity and see what it means to them. I would then assign readings for specific nights and at a certain point in the novel, I would have a classroom discussion of why the students believe is the theme or main idea of the novel. Secondly, there is so much in this book some students may not be able to fully understand or grasp, such as Bipolar disease, which is what the main character suffered from. When I was in high school I was not too sure what Bipolar was or meant, so I believe it is important for students to truly understand the struggles the main character had gone through with this disease. This would be a great psychology lesson for one day in the class room where ewe can do some research or watch some videos of people who struggle with this disease. Understanding the main character of an important novel is how you start to form a bond with the character. Readers can start to imagine themselves as a close friend or bystander to the main character as they see and know everything he is going through so they begin to feel for him. There are so many other similar topics covered in this novel that would be great to research such as this. There are many of these mini activities that we could do as a classroom too to get better understandings of what these characters are living with and going through.

Becky Tynan

5/2/2020 07:16:03 pm

Hi Ethan,
You're right about teaching students to empathize with the other, maybe my assignments were too focused on finding similarities rather than appreciating differences, it would be interesting to challenge student to maybe do that opposite of what I said in my post and make a character map about a character who's struggling they didn't necessarily identity with, one that they learned about from reading, that may be better at taking students to see and understand the "other"
I do want to say when writing about my meme idea I did thin it may make light of something so serious but I couldn't think of another really common and "everyday" kind of experience students may encounter that shows oppression like some of those "funny" memes out there. I would be interested to know what you may replace memes with? I do think giving a voice to the oppressed would be good to add to the assignment as well since my original post lacked that- though I dont really know how I would do that. I would be interested in suggestions though. Thank you for your thoughtful response!

Also your own post made a great interdisciplinary point about a "psychology lesson for a day" and I like that because part of the reason teaching literature is so great is because different novels present us with different opportunities to teach other things - like for example in Dread Nation lots of opportunity is there to teach history, or in this text psychology.

Molly Drain

5/2/2020 07:25:46 pm

In order to help students become better readers of future texts there are a few things I would do in preparation. Most texts require some sort of background knowledge in order to understand the text further. For instance, in Brandy Colbert’s Little & Lion, it would be helpful to have background on mental illness and more specifically bipolar disorder. This can be done in a plethora of ways; however, I find that the most productive way to conduct an activity dealing with mental illness is to invite a guidance counselor in to do a talk or to assist in the presentation on mental illness. This provides access for children to seek assistance if needed, while at the same time keeping them comfortable around the guidance counselor. This would also be a great time to do a presentation on gender and sexuality, if permitted by the school. This would be a great introduction before meeting the character Suzette in Little & Lion. As for more activities to do in order for the students to gain background information, I would have students do presentations. For instance, when working with a book that has historical references, as we did last week, it can be helpful for the students to have a better understanding of the real-life events that help to shape the literature they are reading. I would also implement an assignment where students would be required to do a log of some sort analyzing a passage within the text. This can be a great opportunity for close reading as well as a great opportunity to make connections within the text or make connections to the text with outside knowledge. Students will better understand the text they are reading if the character’s plot lines are clear, this brings up another opportunity for an assignment or group lesson. Within this lesson students can help to fill in character development charts that are handed out, this can be done individually as an assignment or in a group setting.

Justin Carpender

5/2/2020 08:48:07 pm

Hello Molly!

I definitely love the idea of bringing a guidance counselor into the room to talk about bipolar disorder. I discuss at length in my post about how there are probably students, like myself, who have a family member at home struggling with bipolar or potentially another mental illness. Gaining resources would be incredibly useful for a student who may feel that they have no power in the situation, and it would be great to connect students to resources that they may need. Additionally it would be great to have a presentation about sexuality and gender. The more we talk about sexuality, the less of a stigma there is, and as Suzanne’s mother says in the text, straight shouldn’t be considered the default. As for the presentation about character, do you think it would be a good idea to let students work in groups? I think I would want to let students pick their own character to study, but we know that will end up with students who are friends joining the same group, and all the characters should have the same members. I think an interesting addition to that group would be having a spokesperson from each group reach out to another group and discuss the relation between the two characters. For example, one student in the Suzanne group goes to the spokesperson for the Lionel group and talks about character dynamics, another student in the Suzanne group talks to the spokesperson for the Saul group, etc. It might be challenging to organize and keep functional, but I think it would be an interesting idea to get all students involved and thinking about character relations.

Thank you,
Justin Carpender

Megan Shaughnessy

5/3/2020 07:58:14 am

Molly,

I think it is a great idea to bring a guidance counselor into the classroom and grasp an understanding of the historical context and background on mental illness. I think it is important you talk about implementing all of these things before reading the text than after because the emotions and thoughts this books can bring to the forefront are emotions and thoughts that need to be reflected on in the light of information a guidance counselor can give. Some texts can be more insightful to give background information at the end, a way to reflect and challenge your critical thinking. However, with a text like this, I think it is crucial to allow students to reflect on this heavy information before diving into the novel. Giving students access to the understanding of mental illness will allow all students to read this book in a new lense.

Justin Carpender

5/2/2020 08:36:32 pm

Hello Everyone!

This may have been my favorite text of the semester, fitting considering that it is the last one. I truly appreciated the tastefulness that Brandy Colbert had when handling the different issues that this book tackles. It is so easy to misrepresent bipolar disorder, and in fact, I think that is why this text is incredibly important to teach in high school. I’m sure there are students who struggle with having a family member with bipolar disorder, and it's one of those things that goes unnoticed. Not get too personal on the last discussion board post, but my dad struggles with, and still does, and it has been challenging. It’s one of those things as a student I remember not wanting anyone to come over to my house in fear they might see him, I felt embarrassed having him at school events, and I remember writing very angsty poetry in the poetry club about him. It’s incredibly challenging, and that is why this book is important to teach. I am with Saul that if a treatment can help, then it should be tried, but my dad never bothered with medication or therapy and it negatively affected my household. It’s really sad, but you move on from those experiences. This is not a happy book, but it felt really nice seeing Suzanna and Lionel’s relationship be tested and repaired and strengthened in this book, it felt nice seeing Lionel at the end of the novel willing to take the medication and be there for his family, but mostly it felt incredible to see that family be so loving and supporting of each other. That is something not all students can have, but it gives them a great model for what a family can be for the future. It’s so sad, but this book does everything to make me want to be a great dad in the future and to have that honesty and open connections that their family had. This is getting a bit too long now as it is, but I could continue to gush over this and how eloquent Colbert showed Suzanne’s sexuality and how it is ok to be confused and figure things out. I wish I had that lesson shown to me when I was younger. The combination of a tasteful discussion on bipolar disorder and sexuality is what makes this book essential for young people to read.

In handling the teaching of this text, I think it would be best for students to handle and identify the thematic elements on their own. This text is sure to hit close to home for some students whether it be about mental illness or sexuality, or something else. I think it would be wise for us to use this text to work on identifying topics versus themes versus thesis statements. Letting the students pick their own topic, as they will likely pick what they identified most with, help them make a meaningful theme, and then have them develop it into a thesis and eventually an essay. I want this text to speak for itself for the most part, it is incredibly personal for me and I do not want to alter the reading the students have from it. So I would use this text as an opportunity to work on reading/ analyzing skills and clarifying common misconceptions about topic and theme.

Thank you,
Justin Carpender

Megan Shaughnessy

5/3/2020 08:46:10 am

In a classroom like this, I would have my students teach each other as much as I could. A diverse classroom and higher level teaching allows a teacher to utilize their students and honestly prep them for college. Making them better readers is giving students access to information that can further develop their critical thinking before reading the novel. Before reading the novel, each student would have a topic, a mental illness, stressors, information on talking to someone (their school rules for when a teacher has to tell someone), and many others this book gives us access to. The students will then be the ones to teach and present to their peers the importance of these topics and how to go about them. Having the students give presentations/ teach the class before diving into the book gives the students the skills and practice they would need in college but also a peer of their own giving advice and severe information to their peers will be more absorbent. I think students will be more open-minded, more willing to listen, and understand if it comes from their peers. Instead of a teacher giving direct formal context, this breaks up the classroom culture to allow students to grasp the importance and severity of these topics fully. Mental illness is something we all need to continue to educate each other about. In a classroom setting like this, I think students relaying this information can be hugely beneficial. However, these presentations and projects will be monitored by the teacher to make sure everything gets covered entirely. Students putting in the time and research will also allow them to fully understand their topic and their students that will be essential lenses to having when going into college and the real world.
In order for students to develop a thematic relationship with this text, I would have students reflect on there understanding of the novel. 12-grade college prep students will write an analysis of the role point of view has on the novel and the role it has for the character of Suzette. Not only will students argue the importance of point of view while tracing the actions of Suzette but write in the view of the other characters. While each student will have to respond meaningfully to the first prompt, each student will be given a different character to write in their point of view during a specific scene when we did not have it. This, too, will provide students a thematic relationship with the text but also give students another opportunity to discuss sexuality and bring awareness to being open and honest with yourself and others.

Hannah Brodeur

5/3/2020 09:12:09 am

Through the novel “Little and Lion” many important and serious topics are discussed. Due to this it would require an extensive amount of assistance and worksheets that would help aid the students’ progress. Before beginning the novel, I would first open up with a discussion question that many students could relate to. For instance, it may discuss sexuality, mental health or interracial families. Whichever the question is students would have to be open and honest about their thoughts. I would explain to them if they want to discuss something personally to them, they can simply fold the page in their journal and I would not read it. I want my students to feel safe and secure while reading a novel such as this one. I think it would also be important to have students gain some perspective on mental health. Some individuals may have only seen someone who is bipolar through a tv program. Therefore, I would include an activity in which students would research and produce different important ideas about bipolar disorder. So, students could have some knowledge on the issue before being introduced to Lionel. I believe the structure of most classes will be small literature circles. This text explores an extensive number of themes and ideas that are very sensitivity. So, it would be more effective for students to discuss their ideas in small groups. This would also allow some students who are shy and do not want to comment in front of the entire class to contribute. It is also very important to help students build and develop thematic relationships with the text. One of the main techniques I would use throughout my lesson would be to connect the text to real world issues. Therefore, I would find instances where individuals have experienced similar struggles in their lives. So, students who might still be struggling to see the importance, could than find the connections. However, a way in which I would have students develop these relationships to characters would be to have students practice analyzing characters. For instance, point of view is very important in this novel as we read the text through Suzanne’s eyes. Therefore, students could participate in activities in which they have to identify different elements that make her the character in which she is. However, other activities I could have students do would be to read an open response through another character’s eyes discussing an experience that occurred through the text. Therefore, students would also be practicing their characterization skills, while also connecting to other characters. They would have to think critically about the character they choose and how they would think and act in that situation. This novel explores many themes and issues that students might not have discussed previously. Therefore, it is important for students to feel open in the classroom and depend on their classmates and myself for guidance.

Hannah Brodeur

5/3/2020 09:36:22 am

Suzette*** (Not Suzanne)

Caroline Keenan

5/3/2020 10:52:41 am

Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert was an excellent novel that touched upon many aspects of teens lives and what they may be facing. Colbert takes us readers on an amazing yet emotional journey through the main character Suzette. Suzette is at a point of her life of trying to figure out what she wants to do and where she fits in with the World. To first introduce this novel I would do an open discussion with my class about troubles students face. Between disorders, disabilities, family and life problems there is a list we could come up with. I think that this would help to open up that the book may be challenging at some points but at some point in life everyone faces something that they must overcome. Before reading I would have my students write a sentence about a time that they felt like they didn't fit in with the World. I would have them think about this time they faced throughout the novel while holding onto that piece of paper until the end. Throughout reading I would do discussion questions with my students and also read a louds. This helps to keep everyone involved and also helps to make sure that everyone is understanding how Suzette is feeling with what she is going through. At the end of the novel I would have students take out their one sentence that they wrote at the beginning of the book and now turn it into as essay. In this essay students would go back to the time when they felt like they didn't fit in with the World and they would discuss the emotions they felt and how they felt with them. I would ask them to compare their experiences with Suzettes experience by using quotes from the book and saying if the felt or did similar things. This would really help to close the novel and allow them to reflect on these hard experiences. These experiences that the students faced could be as personal or as non personal as they wanted. I would even suggest that if they feel uncomfortable when hanging in their essay they don't need to write their names on them because as long as they were handed in everyone would get the best grade.

Olivia Leonard

5/3/2020 02:53:46 pm

While I really enjoyed Little and Lion, because of the many things it tackles, I feel like it would be one of the more difficult novels to teach. I think prior to reading the novel it would be important to gage the students understanding of what a preconception is. We could discuss the word and what it implies then students could give an example of a preconception someone may have made about them or that they may have made about something else. I think this is important when understanding how Lionel feels throughout a large part of the novel. Many people were quick to judge and assume that he was ‘weird’ because he was diagnosed with a mental illness when in reality they knew nothing about the disorder. Going off of his disorder, I think it would also be important to have students understand what bipolar disorder actually is. By providing these pieces of background information students will be able to better understand the material which then allows them to make more inferences/connections. If students feel unsure about what they are reading they may not be as likely to share what they think or struggle to envision what the author is trying to suggest. I think stopping and talking often is also a way to help students become better readers. From personal experience, sometimes I would read too far and overlook an important aspect. When the novel is broken up into sections and given time to be discussed students may not be as likely to rush through it. I may challenge the students to write a journal entry from either Suzette or Lionel’s perspective to try to get them to think/see things from someone else’s perspective.

Once More With Feeling: The final Teaching Discussion Board: Lion & Little

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