There are so many opportunities to connect English with other classes and Copper Sun is one of those opportunities. I believe I learned about the slave trade sophomore year of high school which is about the age I would recommend for this novel because Amari and Polly are about 15 years old. It would be really interesting to teach this novel while the students learn about the slave trade in History because it gives more detail to the hardships of the slave trade than a textbook ever could.
The hardships discussed in this novel were more detailed than anything I have ever read about the slave trade. It is hard to imagine what Africans went through on the ships and in America but Draper paints a picture of disease, starvation, and of course the beating like how Mr. Derby beats Amari. Even though these are difficult to read about, it is good for students to see more than a textbook description of slavery.
With all of these adolescent novels we tend to discuss who the students will be able to relate to. There are elements about these characters that students will be able to relate to like how Polly has a crush on Nathan, but I think there is a deeper element that students can learn from in this novel. Most of us will teach in classrooms that have some sort of diversity, and I think African-American students would especially appreciate learning about their ancestors in this novel (even though it is fiction). Like I said before this novel gives more detail than a history book ever could which is what makes it interesting.
I love parallel teaching and this would make a great book to do so! Like you said, a story is easier for students to connect to than any textbook.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that this novel would be an excellent book to intertwine with another class. I say that for a few different books that we have had this semester and I am trying to remember if any of my teachers in high school did that and I really do not think they did. I wonder how my understanding of certain concepts and topics would be different if we would have had more opportunities to colaborate between classes. This book was an amazing read and does an excellent job of painting a picture as you said.
ReplyDeleteI agree that is would be a great novel to tie into a History lesson or unit. I think that you could also tie this into a Music or Art class, but having students learn and listen to traditional African music, or study traditional African art, along with creating their own African art. I agree with you about the age level for teaching this novel to students- I would probably introduce this book to students their sophomore or junior year. I think that students any younger than this might not be able to handle how graphic this novel is. I think that this book depicts slavery in a way that I have never read before- the whole story seems very real, and I think that it really pulls at the heartstrings. I was amazed at the range of feelings that I felt when reading this novel, it is not something that I experience often when reading a novel, and it takes a special kind of story to elicit that reaction from me.
ReplyDeleteConnecting this unit with a history teacher or class would be a great idea. It would give the students some necessary information about the time period, and would enhance their reading experience.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that the characters are so relatable, even though most students couldn't directly relate to many of the experiences they had. I particularly liked the part you mentioned about Polly's crush on Nathan!
-Allison