Using Film and TV Adaptations: Mildred D Taylor and Parade; A Practical Use of Last Blog

In growing though the American education system, it becomes very important to teach literature that not only entertains but also educates us on our past. As a younger student, I remember on author strongly influenced me greater than most: Mildred D Taylor. As an African American writer, she created the "Logan" family who struggled through the hatred and discrimination of the post war South.

Now in searching one of the seminal books on YouTube (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), there are a ton of projects based on this book. Just check the link:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roll+of+thunder+hear+my+cry+book&aq=5

Perhaps, this is a good idea to gain further interaction with the text. However, without getting connection with this first, these restrings of the text is not much more than putting stage directions on book.

So to really connect this story to reader, I would try to have the students find other medias that relate to not only the struggle of the South but also the story itself. This would be an activity that serve best as a weekend project.

Lesson Plan:

- After assigning the class to read "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry", the class would discuss the issues at hand in the book (making sure that the racial tensions of the South, uneven education, family fabric of the time, and the state of trials and the media that surrounds it are all discussed themes)

- I would segue into saying to watch and listen the following clips and see what similarities can be divined from the clips and "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry". Before airing, I would say that this is from the story of jewish business owner Leo Frank from the musical Parade. The scene is from his trial of him being accused of murdering and raping a little girl:

"That's What He Said"


- Things that should be noticed: stereotypes of the black man, stereotypes of the jewish man, how the crowd acts. Try to connect "Parade" to "Roll of Thunder..." in these concepts thematically.

- Describe personal experience (i.e. connected Taylor's book with Brown's "Parade" when I saw the later); this connection makes not only personal experience but also establishes further meanings onto the piece

- I would then ask students to come up with their own connections to media pieces. Could be a song (i.e. Bob Dylan's "Hurricane"), TV Show, film, etc...

- These connections should be presented next class. Students should be prepared to say how the two pieces connect and to defend their comparison.

To me, ordaining the ability to make these connection and support them with concrete arguments based on thematic similarities is very important in becoming media savvy.