2. Next, the teacher will present a lesson on the literary concepts of setting, and conflict/ resolution. A short biography entitled Christopher Columbus , by David Goodnough will be used to model these concepts.
setting - remind students that the setting of a book comprises both the time and place in which the action occurs. Point out that at the start of a biography a biographer (the name of the person who writes a biography) often sets the scene in which the subject grows up and lives. The biographer does this to demonstrate how time and place affect an individual's life, career, and interests. (Point out that the novelist does the same with the main characters in a novel.) Write the headings < b> "TIME" and "PLACE" on the board. Tell the students to listen for "time/place" details as the first several pages of the Goodnough book are read. At the conclusion of the reading, these details will be written under the appropriate headings on the board.
conflict/resolution - explain that a conflict is a part of a book's action that involves a problem or struggle. In real life, people face many kinds of conflicts on a day-to-day basis: conflicts with other people, conflicts with nat ure, conflicts with themselves. To illustrate this concept, read selected passages from the Goodnough book that deal with conflicts Columbus had with himself, with others, and with nature.
conflict with self:
"The only thing that kept Columbus from becoming a master mariner and captain of his own ship was that he did not know how to read and write."
conflict with others:
"The royal advisors made their report. . . . It would not be wise to invest in [Columbus's] voyage."
conflict with nature:
"The 'Santa Maria' quietly ran onto a coral reef, which pierced holes in her bottom. Columbus knew he could not save his ship."
As students begin to understand conflict, they may want to volunteer their own examples from literature they have read in the past. Another effective way to illustrate this concept is to have students look at conflicts in their own lives, and how those conflicts were resolved. For example:
4. After the teacher is satisfied that students understand the concepts of setting and conflict/resolution, students will use research skills to locate where biographies are located in the library. Students should understand that biographies are shelved in alphabetical order according to the subject's last name. The librarian may want to select and display several biographies during discussion of this genre to familiarize students with explorers they may not know about. After students have sele cted a biography, the teacher and/or a librarian should review the books with each student to make sure they are an appropriate reading level. Decide when and where students will read the biographies (e.g., silent reading time, at-home reading, etc.). Students will be asked to maintain a "Conflict/Resolution Chart" as they read their biographies. (See resource section of this lesson for sample.) This chart should list different situations the explorer found himself in during his life, what kind of conflict that situation represented, and how the situation was resolved. When students have completed reading and filling in the chart, they may introduce their explorer to the rest of the class in an informal oral presentation, using the information from their chart to describe the explorer's strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, etc. These charts could be added to the bulletin board suggested earlier in the lessons.
It is important to ask students why they think there were no female explorers in the l5th century.