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[CCBC-Net] Black and White
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From: Christine McDonnell <christine.mcdonnell>
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:15:04 -0500
Recently I explored Macaulay's amazing Black and White with groups of sixth graders. I intended it as a vehicle to talk about multiple plots in a work of fiction (why have multiple plots; what do different plots add to other stories and how do they inform our view of characters; what techniques do authors use in braiding multiple plots together...) but our exploration became much more. We gave each pair of students a copy of the book and asked them if they could figure out some of the ways in which the four stories are connected. The instructions were to read each story from start to finish first before exploring the interplay. This proved to be impossible. Like popcorn exploding in all corners of the room came the sound of discoveries-- kids would exclaim when they noticed things: the burglar's here too; the dog looks like the cow; when the conductor is on the platform he isn't on the train; the station in the story is the one from the boy's train set; the train is stopped in one story when the cows are on the track in another.... The discoveries and the sharing went on for an hour without exhausting the possibilities.
During our next time together, we examined the four stories as four separate strips (made cutting up two books). It was immediately clear to us how much we lost by separating them. We talked about the differences in the way time worked in the four stories-- which took place over the longest time and so on... Are they at all sequential? Could you fit them together into one narrrative? A student named one story the spine and another the connector. We talked about the different art styles and how they fit with the content of the stories. So much to see and share.
And now we have this foundation, shared language and experience to build on when we talk about works of literature with multiple plots. Word travelled in my school and the seventh and eighth grades are lining up for a turn with Black and White. The real action in Black and White doesn't happen within the stories. It's in the collision of each page in your mind, visuals and actions both, what you notice, the connections, echos, and parallels. What wit and imagination Macauley shows here.. We came away still feeling as if there was more to discover. How did he do it?
Received on Fri 17 Nov 2006 10:15:04 AM CST
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:15:04 -0500
Recently I explored Macaulay's amazing Black and White with groups of sixth graders. I intended it as a vehicle to talk about multiple plots in a work of fiction (why have multiple plots; what do different plots add to other stories and how do they inform our view of characters; what techniques do authors use in braiding multiple plots together...) but our exploration became much more. We gave each pair of students a copy of the book and asked them if they could figure out some of the ways in which the four stories are connected. The instructions were to read each story from start to finish first before exploring the interplay. This proved to be impossible. Like popcorn exploding in all corners of the room came the sound of discoveries-- kids would exclaim when they noticed things: the burglar's here too; the dog looks like the cow; when the conductor is on the platform he isn't on the train; the station in the story is the one from the boy's train set; the train is stopped in one story when the cows are on the track in another.... The discoveries and the sharing went on for an hour without exhausting the possibilities.
During our next time together, we examined the four stories as four separate strips (made cutting up two books). It was immediately clear to us how much we lost by separating them. We talked about the differences in the way time worked in the four stories-- which took place over the longest time and so on... Are they at all sequential? Could you fit them together into one narrrative? A student named one story the spine and another the connector. We talked about the different art styles and how they fit with the content of the stories. So much to see and share.
And now we have this foundation, shared language and experience to build on when we talk about works of literature with multiple plots. Word travelled in my school and the seventh and eighth grades are lining up for a turn with Black and White. The real action in Black and White doesn't happen within the stories. It's in the collision of each page in your mind, visuals and actions both, what you notice, the connections, echos, and parallels. What wit and imagination Macauley shows here.. We came away still feeling as if there was more to discover. How did he do it?
Received on Fri 17 Nov 2006 10:15:04 AM CST
