phati’tude Language & Literary Arts Curriculum (phatLLAC) is a new initiative we plan to launch in 2010.
phatLLAC examines American literature by exploring its political, cultural and social traits, and how they affect the literary genres, writers and works of our time. Available for middle school, high school and college levels, phatLLAC’s unit fits seamlessly into the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum as an enriched study on poetry, memoir, fiction writing and author study. The unit can also be embedded into a visual arts or social studies curriculum that makes connections between art and American history.
phatLLAC’s goal is to enlarge students’ comprehension of literature and to promote awareness of the breadth and variety of American writing. phatLLAC emphasizes the uniqueness of literary language, the formal and generic conventions of writing, the position that literature occupies as a site for historical and ideological contributions, and the continuing human significance of the great works of the past and present that helps us in our understanding of the human spirit.
Upon completion of its pilot, phatLLAC will launch its full curriculum which consists of fourteen units with lesson plans that are implemented during one semester. The curriculum covers five genres of American literature: poetry, spoken word, fiction, drama and memoir, representing different styles and literary movements. The historical contexts of each work is presented so that students can understand how social, political and economic forces shape literature; as well as broaden students with a deeper understanding of how they can integrate visual arts as visual narratives on literature and history.
In addition, students will develop composition skills through regular in-depth literary analysis, daily journaling and research. By applying and developing critical and analytical skills, students closely examine how language, performance, themes, characters, symbols and other elements contribute to interpreting literature. phatLLAC consists of the following materials:
- Teacher’s Workbook;
- 10 DVDs of each episode and handouts; and
- 1 CD, which contains handouts and class assignments for use on the computer.
The Teacher’s Workbook contains lesson plans, features a short biography of each writer and visual artist; articles, handouts and supplemental resources that teachers can easily modify or expand to meet the needs of their students. Each DVD consists of the full version of each episode, which range from 36 minutes to 51 minutes, and are sectioned into chapters so that teachers can easily review and link lesson content with the program. The CD contains handouts, read-alouds and writing assignments, which can be read and printed from a PC and MAC-based computer.
Introducing Japanese Me
The IAAS seeks to launch a pilot, Japanese Me, of its larger curriculum, phatLLAC. The pilot, Japanese Me consists of a 10 week unit on World War II events both in the United States and Japan. Students will study key events, pertinent literature (American and Japanese-American i.e., Orson Wells’ “Animal Farm”), the cultural climates in both countries; key artists both American and Japanese of the WWII era, contemporary Japanese artists, explore three genres of writing {Expository, Prose, and Poetry}, and create visual narratives based on social issue of their choosing to accompany their written work. As a culminating event, an exhibition of writing and visual art will showcase the student work for the greater community in which they live.
For more information, contact Nikita Hunter, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, nhunter[at]theiaas.org.
