Identifying Connections Across Texts: Creating a Concept Map
Although I tried to be clear about why the students were reading this selection of poems and short stories, as we approached “The Revolt of the Evil Fairies,” I noticed that very few students seemed to understand why each of the stories was selected and why they were significant in the context of the novel. Yes, it was easy to see the similarities in racial and class tensions but it was difficult to get many of the students to think beyond the outward characteristics of the texts. In the few days before reading “Evil Fairies,” which was the last short story before beginning Invisible Man, I thought about activities that might help the students better understand the relationships between the texts. One activity I thought might be helpful was to have the students create a concept map showing the different texts we had read and how they connected to one another either by themes, characters, settings, motifs etc. Before proposing the idea to the students, I sketched the beginnings of a map with each of the titles we had read and a description of how one connected to another.
Based on our class discussions of the stories, I knew that it might be difficult for the students to think about the similarities without having been given any time to think beforehand, so as the students read “The Revolt of the Evil Fairies,” for homework, I also asked them to write a paragraph identifying a connection between this story and one of the others we had read so far. I intended for this assignment to get them thinking a little more deeply about how the themes and big ideas we had been talking about related.
Samples of Student Writing Discussing Connections with "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies":
Samples of Student Writing Discussing Connections with "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies":
The next day I asked a few students to share what they had written and made a list on the front board so that everyone could begin to see the connections between “Evil Fairies” and other stories. I posed the idea of making a concept map and framed the activity as something that could help them see the relationships between the texts.
Because the class periods were shortened that day, there was only enough time for three or four people in each class to add something to the map, but I was happy with the initial product. I wrote the first title we read, “We Wear the Mask,” and then invited students to come up and write out their own connections. One aspect of this activity that was important to me was actually having the students write their ideas down themselves and then explain to the class what they were thinking.
While we only had time to begin the concept map that day, I noticed students who were usually quiet in class raising their hands and volunteering to write down their ideas. Transparent teaching is largely about clarity and open communication so that students understand how each activity, reading, and assessment connect to one another and contribute to the overall focus of a unit, but I do not think it is about giving students the answers. I want to be clear about themes of texts and character development, and then give my students to tools or prompting they need to make the connections on their own. With this activity, I knew we had talked about each stories theme, symbols, characters, and settings, and it was up to the students to see the relationships.
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