Students from the other team are "clueless" about the area of Appalachia. They need a team of experts to summarize the culture, attractions, and traditions of this unique setting to help them understand the novel they will study, Belle Prater's Boy. Your team will have the rare opportunity to follow the directions of well-known experts of Appalachia to become specialists yourselves. As student experts of Appalachia, you will create a brochure or use PowerPoint to make a Top Ten list describing Appalachia for the rest of the soon-to-be fans of Appalachia.
The seven clever Appalachian experts below have divided up the responsibilities by their areas of expertise for you. Your task is to become a specialist in one area and create a brochure or a PowerPoint presentation about that Appalachian topic. You will each create a two-sided brochure, three sections per side with one title section. Your other choice is to create five PowerPoint slides about your special area. The brochure or slides will be presented to the other specialists. The final brochure or PowerPoint presentation will be a composite of each specialist's information. It will include information from all the specialists. The PowerPoint slide show will include eleven slides, one title slide and one slide for each of the top ten list.
Ira Eaton – food critic and cook
Page Turner – literary critic
Artie Twang – local arts and crafts critic
Bob Katz – nature expert
Maka Pathman – professional hiker
Lynn Quist – language and dialect expert
Barr Graff – economist and math expert
Questioning
Make a list of as many questions as you can that will help you research this topic.
Use the K-W-L Chart to answer the following questions.
to begin your investigation?
in order to suggest some items for a brochure or PowerPoint presentation to create your Top Ten list on your specific area of expertise?
to inform your classmates about the people and the regional characteristics of Appalachia?
What did you learn?
to prepare you to read Belle Prater’s Boy?
to give you background knowledge about the culture of Appalachia?
to make you want to go to Appalachia?
Enduring Understanding
What efforts or characteristics go into being triumphant?
Essential Questions:
What characteristics enable an individual or a group to triumph or succeed?
How does Appalachian culture influence the theme of triumph in literary text?
How would an individual or a group respond in a situation if he/she or they did not triumph?
Definitions
Triumph --
Intr.v. – 1. To be victorious or successful; win 2. To rejoice over a success or victory; exult
Noun – 1. The fact of being victorious; success. 2. A noteworthy or spectacular success. 3. Exultation or rejoicing over success or victory. 4. Joy because of victory
Success --
Noun – 1. A favorable result. 2. The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted. 3. The gaining of fame, prosperity, wealth, position, etc. 4. A person or thing that is successful.
Brainstorm questions about the Appalachian country like the following:
· Who and what is the history/origin of my Appalachian topic?
· Why is my topic important to Appalachia?
· How does my topic describe the lifestyle and culture of the people of Appalachia?
· Are there historical reasons for this topic to be included in my study of Appalachia?
Evaluate how well you researched your task by completing the Self-Evaluation Table.
Have you gathered sufficient information about Appalachia to become a knowledgeable spokesperson about it?
Is your information organized to make sense to your audience?
Which facts are the most forceful and would have the greatest impact on your audience to convince them to visit?
Click here to go to the rubric.
You have become a specialist in one area of Appalachia as well as assimilated other cultural areas with peer sharing and presenting. You have prepared a brochure or blended a Top Ten List on Appalachia with the other specialists in your group. Have you convinced the class to want to visit Appalachia, particularly to experience what you shared?
Now you are ready to read Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White, a story about personal triumph. As you delve into the book you will begin to see other cultural and historic references. Consider why the name of the town in the book is Coal Station. What was the role Coal Mining played in that area of Appalachia?
Created by Bobbie Chase, Media Specialist
Cabin John Middle School
Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
| with help from |
| Carole Tauber, Staff Development, English Teacher and Creative Genius |
| and Paula Kasper, Media Specialist, Herbert Hoover Middle School, for Editing |
Updated March 5, 2002
