The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Lesson Plan Ideas

Unit 3: A look into Christian popular culture

Is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a piece of Christian popular culture?

Grade level: Sixth grade

Classroom culture/setting: This class is comprised of students in a private Christian school. A majority of the students attend church at the school on Sundays and Wednesdays. This unit will be taking place in the fourth quarter of the school year. Therefore, students have already established an environment of respect, comfort, and a learning community amongst one another. Students are used to small and large group discussion as well as reading a text and then viewing a film and using those two forms as a basis of analysis and conversation. The classroom is made up of 15 students, 8 girls and 7 boys. Of these students there are 12 African Americans and three White students in the classroom. All students are from middle class backgrounds. Thirteen of the students were raised in Ohio, one in Michigan and one in the Bahamas, though through formal and informal discussion, all students are familiar and have access to multiple forms of popular culture. In this classroom six of the students have attended this school for two or more years. One student has transferred from another Christian school in Columbus and the remaining eight students attend this school for the first year from a nearby public school. This sometimes impacts class discussion as the students who have been in a Christian school setting for more than one year are sometimes more apt to begin a religious discussion or make counter arguments than those who are experiencing their first year in a Christian school. Though we have not held a formal popular culture lesson or discussion, we have held book talks, referenced artists, songs, movies and shows while learning material which will help students transition into a unit where those mediums are the primary focus of study.

Unit rationale: Students should be able to think critically and dissect the media they are exposed to in their lives. Students should be able to compare and contrast different genres of texts and make a claim using evidence to support their claim. Using a piece of popular culture allows students in a Christian environment to look at a piece of literature that is in popular culture, apply critical thinking skills to draw out themes, messages and other issues and then use those same skills in other areas in and out of school. Students will also begin to think about and analyze the ideas and messages that the media sends out about Christianity. This unit will allow students to see how religion can be portrayed outside the walls of their Christian school setting. They can also see the controversy and arguments that are presented in popular culture that involve religion. Students need to be able to write a paper which presents a claim that they support with evidence and clarity. They will also need to be able to present to a classroom findings and research using visuals and the conventions of presentations. Ultimately, students will learn about what popular culture is, can be, how it impacts their lives and how they can learn to analyze texts that are constantly surrounding them in order to make meaning of the messages they interact with and have the ability to learn from.

Learning goals/objectives:

Students will be able to know and identify examples of popular culture that they are surrounded with everyday Students will be able to come up with an argument on whether or not The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a Christian piece of literature and give reasons to back up their argument in discussions and short pieces of writing. Students will be able to pick out themes and issues from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that relate to our society and its views on Christianity both written and verbally Students will be able to draw differences between the author’s interpretation of the book The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the producer’s interpretation of the text in the movie through graphs, verbal discussion and small group work Students will discuss how this can be a secular piece of literature and a piece of Christian literature using examples from the book and movie in discussion and individual work. Students will be able to draw upon the discussions and lessons in class on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and apply what they have learned to their own choice of popular culture in a well written research paper. In the paper students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of popular culture as discussed through class. They will also be able to research how their chosen piece of popular culture is viewed in society and the messages of Christianity this is sending. They will be able to view song lyrics, television commercials, movies and more on a deeper level than just the surface has to offer. Students will be able to present their findings about a piece of popular culture to the class using visuals and evidence of their claim Students will become critical thinkers who are able to see things from different points of view while being able to support their own perspective with facts and examples. They will begin to view popular culture as more than the songs they listen to and shows they watch, they will see them as mediums that have intended messages and views that impact society in many ways.

Background information

This is the third unit in a larger unit on popular culture. In the first unit, students would have been introduced to popular culture through the study of newspapers, advertisements, commercials, books, movies, songs and other examples of popular culture that students are commonly exposed to. Students will read, listen, and/or practice writing through different mediums of popular culture as they are exposed to them. A working definition would have been created by the students that would help to guide discussions and readings as the unit progresses. As discussion of popular culture begins to narrow, we will discuss Christian popular culture in particular. A running list will be kept of examples of Christian popular culture and messages that are sent out by popular culture regarding Christianity. As a class, students will also come up with a working definition of what a piece of Christian popular culture is. Themes found within the Christian popular culture will be pulled out and discussed (Appendix one). This will be done by chart paper, graphs and diagrams comparing and contrasting the themes as we find them across different genres. We will also look at what the themes are saying and how it impacts them personally as students in a Christian school. Assessment throughout the first unit would take the form of journal responses on what popular culture is, reactions to readings or viewings in class, a brief presentation on popular culture, and an essay test (much like those expected to be answered on the OAT) surrounding the discussions and terms associated with popular culture.

Goals of unit one:

Students will be able to create and understand a working definition of what popular culture is Students will be able to identify the popular culture that surrounds them in their daily lives Students will be able to identify examples of Christian popular culture Students will give a brief presentation of what popular culture means to them Students will also turn in a series of journal responses and reactions to readings on popular culture which will also serve as an assessment method for this unit Students will be able to evaluate what popular culture is and how it impacts their life

This would lead into the second unit of study.

In the second unit of study, students will be reading The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This would have been discussed in the first unit as a possible example of a Christian piece of popular culture. Students will have chapters assigned to read independently, they will read in small groups and there will be times when they will have a chapter read aloud to them. They will be required to keep a reading notebook to take any notes and write down any thoughts as they are reading. They will be given guided reading questions (Appendix two) as they read in order to keep them focused on the reading with a popular culture lens. Throughout the reading of the book, discussions will be held about the plot, themes and patterns which will be pulled out and discussed. When the reading of the book is over, the class will be put in small groups (groups will be mixed ability) of two or three. There will be six main characters assigned to the groups (Aslan, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, Peter Pevensie, and The White Witch). Each group will receive one character that they will look at in depth. They will analyze this character and the role they played in the novel. This will be done by creating life size models of the character (Students will trace one another on bulletin board paper with coloring materials and detail the character how they see fit) that will allow the groups to visualize their character. They will then analyze how the character acted, felt, thought, and sensed throughout the story. Students will present their character to the rest of the class so that all main characters have been analyzed and each group became an expert on one of the characters. The unit will end on a discussion of all the characters and the themes and patterns the class pulled out from this piece of popular culture.

Goals of unit two:

Students will be able to read through a grade level novel, being able to summarize and identify main points of the novel Students will be able to pull out themes and patterns that emerge through their reading Students will be able to respond in short essay format to questions that relate to main points, themes, characters and plot that relate to the reading of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Students will be able to analyze one character from the novel in a small group in regards to the character’s role in the novel Students will be able to present information to the class in a small group

This leads into the current unit of study

Through these activities, students would have practiced talking about themes in the media and popular culture in relation to Christianity. They also would have practiced giving opinions and backing them up with facts from the text and then engaging in a discussion over those opinions with their classmates.

Unit Three

Day One

Each day (lesson) will last one hour and thirty minutes

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Television with a DVD player

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

*Venn Diagrams

* Bible

Students will be introduced to this unit by discussing main points from the first and second unit. It will be explained that the purpose of this unit is to determine through examination and analysis of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book and movie if it is a piece of Christian or secular popular culture. A preview of the unit will follow this discussion. An overview will be given such as: 1. We will view the movie, compare and contrast the book to the movie, hold small and large group discussions over what they view and believe 2. Present evidence to the class, individually and in small groups, to support your claim on what type of popular culture it is 3. Complete graphs, journals and reflections on the discussions 4. Pull out themes and patterns in the book and movie to classify and discuss 5. Connect the text to Bible verses, reviews, articles, advertisements, previews and other readings. 6. Listen to guest speakers and their opinions on the text 7. Write and present your own arguments using your own piece of popular culture as a culminating project To begin day one students will discuss themes that emerged from the reading of the book based off of previous discussions and readings of this book. (This took place in unit two). The lesson will begin with a review of what we discussed in terms of the novel with regards to themes, it being a piece of popular culture and restatement that we will be examining to see if we can determine if it is a piece of Christian popular culture or not. Individually students will have recorded in their reading notebook the themes of Christian and secular roots they noticed during the reading of the book (Most of these notes would have been written during the reading and discussion of the book from previous weeks in the second unit). As a class we will brainstorm a web of possible Christian themes, ideas and issues as well as possible non-Christian themes, ideas, and issues that come from the novel (Appendix three). This will come from students’ notes as well as open discussions. Students will take notes in their own notebooks and I will write the themes we came up with on chart paper in the front of the room. Bible references will also be made that can be found in this book/movie. Verses that may be referenced are:

-Bitter disputes and division stem from arrogance and

selfishness.
(Proverbs 20:3; Hebrews 12:14-15; James 1:19-20; 3:13- 18)

-If we realize we are sinning, we should listen to our conscience, repent, and draw near to God. Otherwise, we might become enslaved to evil.
(Romans 7:21-25; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; James 4:7-10)

-When we repent of our sins, Christ will forgive us, and we need not fear the condemnation we deserve.
(Matthew 20:25-28; 28:1-10; John 20:11-18; Romans 6:20-23; 8:1-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; 1 John 3:8)

These are verses that are said to be connected with the novel/movie. As a class we will talk about if these verses are truly represented in the book and how they are illustrated with the characters or events.

After students have discussed themes from the book, students will view the movie in class. While they are viewing the movie, they will create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the images, issues, and messages from the book and the movie (Appendix four) After students have watched a portion of the movie on day one, they will break into small groups to discuss the differences and commonalities they have noticed thus far. Notes will be taken in reading notebooks. Class will end with a review of the themes discussed at the beginning of the class, what

popular culture is, the ideas that the small groups discussed and an explanation of the journal response for homework.

Homework: Journal response: So far, what similarities or inconsistencies have you noticed between the book and the movie? How can you describe any inconsistencies? What themes do you see emerging as you watch the movie? Can you tie those themes to Christian or secular themes? How so? Give examples to support your responses.

Response needs to be at least one paragraph


Day Two

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

*Venn Diagrams – Already begun to be filled out

*Television with a DVD player

Discuss and review the themes that were created in class yesterday from reading notebooks and chart paper Refer back to our working definition of popular culture, Christian popular culture and the fact that we are setting out as a class to determine if The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a good example of Christian or secular popular culture. Talk about themes that started to emerge, talk about similarities and differences from the book to the movie. Continue to watch the movie while still comparing and contrasting on the Venn diagram that was started the day before. Class will end with a review of themes, goal that has been stated on classifying the text, and explanation of journal assignment. Explain that tomorrow will be spent looking at how the text is advertised and how it was received in the media.

Homework: 1. Ensure that the Venn diagram is completed to turn in on day three.

2. Come to class with a list of 3 questions or thoughts you want to present to the class on what you feel or think about the possibility of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe being a piece of Christian or secular popular culture text.

Day Three

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

*Venn Diagrams – Ready to turn in

* Laptop with critics, previews and websites that relate to the movie and

book

Share questions or thoughts that students wrote for homework the night before with the class. Continue discussion on the differences between the movie and the book by first discussing in small groups and presenting findings to one another in the small groups. Have small group present their findings to the class so as a class we can hold a discussion on the Christian versus secular themes in the movie as well as the differences and similarities noticed while watching the movie Discuss how seeing the movie versus reading the movie helped or hurt reinforce any themes. After discussion, we will view how the movie was advertised – what were the critiques, reviews and comments surrounding this movie? How does this impact the way the movie is perceived? Discuss How is this marketed on Amazon.com, Disney.com, and other sites promoting the movie and book? Was this book promoted as Christian or secular? Does that impact how people will perceive the book or movie if it was promoted one way or another? Look into C.S. Lewis’s background – was it Christian or non-Christian? How does this impact the way that he wrote this book? What did he say was behind the writing of this book? What were some of his beliefs? This will be done by reading excerpts from Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life and All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis 1922 – 27 both autobiographies as well as C.S. LEWIS: An Annotated Checklist of Writings about Him and his Works, a biography. These will share some insight on who C.S. Lewis was and what he believed in with possible motivation behind writing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Look into the background of the director/executive producer of the movie Andrew Adamson. What are his beliefs? Previous work? This will be done by reviewing other movies that Adamson has directed or produced such as Shrek and Shrek 2 as well as reviews of his work. What does this mean for the book translated into the movie? Discuss

Homework: Journal response: How has what we have discussed in class today made you think about what Christian popular culture can be? What are your thoughts on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its possibilities of being a piece of Christian or secular popular culture?

Response needs to be at least one paragraph


Day Four

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

* Laptop with critics, previews and websites that relate to the movie and

book

Continue with goals from day three:

With so much information from day three, I will continue to talk about how society reacted to the book and movie on day four as well. We will begin class with a review of the readings, reviews, critiques and discussions from day three so that there is a transition and continuation with researching these outside sources on day four. How is this marketed on Amazon.com, Disney.com, and other sites promoting the movie and book? Was this book promoted as Christian or secular? Does that impact how people will perceive the book or movie if it was promoted one way or another? Read Edward Guthmann’s review (attached) as well as Polly Toynbee’s (attached) critique and form opinions and start a discussion around these pieces. Look into C.S. Lewis’s background – was it Christian or non-Christian? How does this impact the way that he wrote this book? What did he say was behind the writing of this book? What were some of his beliefs? Look into the background of the director/executive producer of the movie Andrew Adamson. What are his beliefs? Previous work? What does this mean for the book translated into the movie? Discuss thoughts on how opinions in the class are forming on whether this is Christian or secular popular culture. Class will end with a review of the information we found through examining outside resources such as the reviews. They will be told about the guest speakers coming into class tomorrow.


Day Five

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

Class will begin with a review of the information from day three and day four where we reviewed readings on the text from different sources. The speakers will be introduced with background information such as career, how they are related to the topic and what their focus will be on. Guest speaker Pastor Parsley of World Harvest Church: What are his views and beliefs on if this piece of literature/movie is Christian? He will make references to the Bible in regards to the text, give specific examples and messages that the book or movie is sending out about Christian beliefs and those that are not sending out Christian beliefs. He will give his opinion on if the piece is Christian or secular popular culture and why. Allow time for question and answer session. Guest speaker: Local librarian. What is someone’s view who is not directly tied to the church on what this book and movie are saying to readers and viewers? Can it be read as just secular, just Christian or both? As someone involved with adolescent literature, how is it received in the library or school setting? She will give her opinion on if the piece is Christian or secular popular culture and why. Allow time for question and answer session. Thank speakers for coming in. Hold a discussion on what the speakers said and clarify any questions students may have. Explain that tomorrow we will discuss as a class the conclusions that students have come up with in regards on how to classify this text. They will also be introduced to their culminating project. Explain journal homework assignment.

Homework: Reflection: What are your thoughts, feelings, and/or reactions to what Pastor said today? What does this mean for your thoughts in relation to the text we are working with? What are your thoughts on the librarian’s feelings on the book as someone not affiliated with the church? What opinion are you forming on this particular text? Be sure to support your response with evidence.

Response needs to be at least one paragraph

Day Six

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

Conclusion: Is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe an example of Christian or non-Christian popular culture and why? Class discussion -share journal responses that were part of the homework assignment. List reasons and arguments in reading notebooks and chart paper Remind students of the importance of recognizing that all students will have a different view and opinion and all need to be recognized – Give individual students time to verbally express their thoughts with evidence to support their claim. All students write their thoughts in their notebooks to be handed in. Final conclusion from class. How can we classify this text? Can it be classified? How can what we have been discussing and practicing be applied to other texts or other subject matter? Introduce and talk about final assignment that will be due ( Explanation and rubric attached after this lesson)

Homework: Brainstorm a list of possible topics to focus on in reading notebooks to bring to class

Day Seven

Materials: * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book

* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie

* Chart paper

* Reading notebooks

Review requirements for the paper that will be due. Discuss possible topic options. Review the discussions and conclusions that we came up with in class in regards to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Students will break into small groups in order to begin brainstorming ideas and share their ideas from their notebooks.

The paper will be assigned on day six of the unit. There will be two weeks in class after the paper is assigned where students will have opportunities to research in the computer lab, hold conferences with me, turn in rough drafts, conference with one another, work in class and practice for presentations to the class.

After the two weeks have passed, students will then present their findings to the class which will take another two to three days.

Assessment measures

1). Students will be assessed throughout the third unit as they respond to different journal responses and reflections that will be assigned throughout the unit. These journals will ask students to reflect on discussions, readings, and opinions on the book and the movie. Students will be graded on thoughtfulness of their response, meeting a required paragraph length and addressing the questions. Such journals will be:

* So far, what similarities or inconsistencies have you noticed between the book and the movie? How can you describe any inconsistencies? What themes do you see emerging as you watch the movie?

* How has what we have discussed in class today made you think about what Christian popular culture can be?

* What are your thoughts, feelings, and/or reactions to what Pastor said today? What does this mean for your thoughts in relation to the text we are working with?

The journal responses will be recorded in their reading notebooks. I will check their responses the day after the journal was assigned. However, I will not collect the notebook until after the unit is complete.

2). Students will be assessed on their participation in small and whole group discussions. I will keep track of this by making tally marks when a student participates (at least one comment/question for every student per lesson) and by observations made while students are working in small groups. I will also collect evidence of participation in the unit such as the Venn diagram and reading notebooks.

3). Students will be assessed on their final paper and presentation on their personal choice and investigation into a piece of Christian popular culture.

Unit Three Final Project

You will choose a piece of popular culture that presents Christianity in any kind of light in the media (positive or negative). It can be a piece that is Christian in nature, anti-Christian in nature or one that many cannot decide, such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Such examples may be (but are not limited to):

Movies:

The Golden Compass The Da Vinci Code The Lord of the Rings Saved The Passion of the Christ

Books:

90 Minutes in Heaven The Five People you Meet in Heaven One More Day 23 Minutes in Hell: One Man’s Story About What He Saw, Heard, and Felt in That Place of Torment

Music/Artists:

Carrie Underwood – Jesus Take the Wheel MercyMe

Magazines, websites, television shows, poetry and other forms of popular culture are all available to choose as well.

You will take one example (a movie, a book, a song, an artist, etc) and examine what they are or are not saying about Christianity. You will research how the media and how society has reacted to this particular piece of popular culture. You will make an argument on if your piece is a piece of Christian popular culture or not and why. You will draw upon class discussion, notes, and viewings of and discussions about popular culture as displayed in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

You will present your findings in a 2-3 page paper as well as a presentation to the class utilizing your popular culture in your presentation (If it is a song, you will play a portion of the song, if it is a movie you will play a clip, if it is a magazine you will display and discuss articles).

You must:

Describe what your piece is and how it relates to Christianity (or anti-Christianity) and popular culture You will present an argument on how this piece is or is not considered a piece of Christian popular culture through examining reviews, critiques, advertisements, and any other pieces of evidence that support your claim. You will use at least two sources in your paper and cite those sources in a works cited page Present your findings to the class while incorporating your popular culture into the presentation (playing the song, movie, reading from the text).


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