I. Methods Used:
    i. Whole-class (brief) lecture
    ii. (five) small group (3-5 students) task
    iii. (five) class performances
    iv. whole-class close

II. Materials needed:
    i. Direction worksheets (one per group)
    ii. Resource Cards (background information on Black Arts Movement and Nikki Giovanni) (one per student)
    iii. Copies of poem Choices and Nikki-Rosa
    iv. Copies of sections of poem Ego Trippin’, (one per student, versions will differ from group to group)
    v. Pens or pencils
    vi. Copies of whole poem Ego Trippin’ (one per student)

III. Student performance objectives:
    Student will be better able to…
        1. Use their understanding the characteristics, specifically angst and vernacular, of the writing from  Black       Arts Movement and it’s effects on literature, especially poetry, to make predictions about the poem Ego Trippin’.
        2. Work together in a small group to make decisions about word choice in a poem using background information about the poet and time period
        3. (more willing to) Make predictions on poetry using background information about the poet and time period
        4. Perform a small section of the poem Ego Trippin’ in small groups

IV. Procedures:
 
    i. Introduction
    I will begin the class by asking the students if they have heard of the Black Arts Movement?
 
    ii. Body
    I will pass out the resource card to each student. I will ask them to underline any words they do not understand    or don’t know what they mean. I will give them time to read it asking that they look up when they are through reading (1-3 min.). I will then ask them to raise their hands and tell me some of the words they underlined. I will first ask if any other student knows the meaning. I will then, for times sake, give my definitions of the words (1-3 min.). I will then ask the questions at the end of the resource card:

I will then ask the students to number of by fives and transition them into groups. Then I will pass out one direction card per group and ask them to read the questions care fully:

I will then ask the groups to perform their sections of the poem. I will instruct which group goes in what order to ensure the students are exposed to each section of the poem in order (9-11 min.)
 
    i. Conclusion
I will read the poem Ego Trippin’ with the poet’s words included. I will close the class by asking if this changes what they thought about the poem. I will provide each student with a completed copy of Ego Trippin’. (3-5 min.)

Nikki Giovanni (1943-)
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, but raised in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. Giovanni. She was one of the first Black Arts Movement poets to achieve stardom. Her advocacy of militancy as a proper black response to white oppression brought her instant fame. She appeared on talk shows, received honorary degrees, and ignored questions about the incompatibility between her fame as a poet and her avowedly revolutionary intentions to “destroy white America.”
Giovanni attended the all-black Fisk University, where she became involved in both the Writers' Workshop and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The connections between literature and politics would continue to absorb her attention for decades to come. In 1967, she became actively involved in the Black Arts movement. The movement was then radicalized by the assassination of Malcolm X and by the rise of the militant Black Panthers. Her poetry in the 1960s and 1970s became colorful and combative.
 In her first three collections of poems, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968), Black Judgement (1968), and Re: Creation (1970), her content was revolutionary.
Giovanni's experiences as a single mother then began to influence her poetry. Spin a Soft Black Song (1971), Ego-Tripping (1973), and Vacation Time (1980) were collections of poems for children. During the 1970s, loneliness, lost hopes and the theme of family affection became increasingly important in her poetry. She returned to political concerns in Those Who Ride the Night Winds (1983), with dedications to black American heroes and heroines. From the late 1960s, Giovanni was a popular reader of her own poetry, with performances issued on several recordings and a respected speaker as well.
Nikki Giovanni is now (1998) a professor at Virginia Tech, where she teaches English. Recently, she underwent a successful operation for lung cancer.

Step1 Listen to poem Choices
Step2 Individually, silently to yourself, read your section of Ego –Trippin’
Step3  Individually, write down the words that you feel should fill in the blanks. Have
three choices for each blank.
Step4 As a group, decide what words to use in each blank
Step5 As a group, decide how to perform your section of the poem
Step6 Perform your section of the poem for the class

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)
I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad

I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and sent an ice age to europe
to cool my thirst
My oldest daughter is nefertiti
the tears from my birth pains
created the nile
I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned
out the sahara desert
with a packet of goat's meat
and a change of clothes
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
so swift you can't catch me

For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal an elephant
He gave me rome for mother's day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
jesus
men intone my loving name
All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My bowels deliver uranium
the filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels
On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the arab world
I am so hip even my errors are correct
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went
The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean...I...can fly
like a bird in the sky...

  Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

I was born in the    (noun; place)
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
        (noun; thing)
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am    (adjective)

I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and    (verb)    (noun)
to cool my thirst

Goup 2
 Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

My oldest daughter is nefertiti
the tears from my birth pains
created the nile
I am a    (adjective)   (noun)

I gazed on the forest and burned
out the sahara desert
with a     (noun; thing)
and a    (noun; thing)
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
so swift (that)

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal        (noun)
He gave me rome for mother's day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built         (noun) and
I          (verb)
as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
        (noun, person or adjective)
 men intone my loving name
All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My    (body part) deliver uranium
the filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels
On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the     (noun; place)
I am so      (adjective) even my errors are correct

 Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went
The   (noun) from my        (body part) thinned and gold was laid
across three continents
I am so perfect so divine so      (adjective) so surreal
I cannot be     (abstract noun; idea) except by my permission
I mean...I...can fly like a     (simile)

Lesson Plan
I. Objectives

•  The students will be familiarized to Shakespearean English through working with excerpts of scenes
•  The students will interpret the scenes using a play and scene summary and a description of the characters
•  The students will relate Shakespearean English to Modern English

II. Method

•  Large group discussion
•  (four) Small group discussion and task
•  Sharing/Performance of a short scene by each group
•  Large group discussion

III. Materials

•  Overhead Projector
•  Direction sheets (4)
•  Resource Cards (4)
•  Scenes (16 copies)

IV. Outline

I will tell the students that we will be listening and seeing the language of Shakespeare to better understand it when reading. All high school students must eventually work with Shakespearean text, so we will familiarize ourselves with the language. Since these text were originally plays it is easier to understand them when seeing them performed. For example, I will read from Romeo and Juliet Act 2.2 lines 33-49 and put an overhead of the text on the board. Then I will recite the monologue and use dramatic interpretation. I will then ask if there is a difference in their understanding of the lines. I will them mention that sometimes, different techniques in the play are lost when reading it alone. For example, a character addressing the audience is much more poignant when it is performed than when it is read. I will put A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 5.1 lines 415-430 on the overhead to allow the students to read it. Then I will act it out using dramatic interpretation. I will then ask which one “spoke” to them more. I will explain the task to the students and put them into groups.
  Time 5-7 minutes

•  The students will be told to read their direction cards and begin step one of their task. I will answer any questions or clarify any directions of individual groups.

Directions Read all directions and understand them before beginning the task. Ask the teacher   any questions you may have about the task.
1 .Read your Resource cards and discuss the scene before reading it. Wait for me to tell you when to begin on step two.  Time 7-8 minutes I will tell students to move on to step two:
2. Read the scene by yourself then aloud with each other. Notice your lines and relate      them to the personality of your character. Discuss with your group members anything you notice. Wait for me to tell you when to begin step three.  Time 4-5 minuets I will tell the students to move to step three and continue following the directions card:
3. Do the scene in modern English. (Refer to the footnotes and the dictionary for unfamiliar words or confusing lines) Remember your motivation when doing the scene-Why is your character saying what he/she is saying? What do they want?
4. Practice doing the scene in Shakespearean English. Remembering what understanding, you may have gained from reading the scene in Modern English. Have fun with the Shakespeare.  Time 13-14 minuets  I will begin the class by telling the students to reconvene in their groups. Now we will watch the performances: Time 5 minutes per group- total 20 minutes

 I will ask the students the following questions to observe what they have learned:
Was there a time today when this task became easier or harder? When? Why or Why not?
Did seeing another groups performance make the scenes easier to understand? How so?

1. Read your Resource card and discuss the scene before reading it. Wait for me to tell you when to begin on step two.

2. Read the scene by yourself then aloud with each other. Notice your lines and relate them to the personality of your character. Discuss with your group members anything you notice. Wait for me to tell you when to begin step three.

3. Do the scene in modern English. (Refer to the footnotes and the dictionary for unfamiliar words or confusing lines) Remember your motivation when doing the scene-Why is your character saying what he/she is saying? What do they want?

4. Practice doing the scene in Shakespearean English, remembering what understanding you may have gained from reading the scene in Modern English. Have fun with the Shakespeare.

5. Class performances

• Summary: Two Princes, Don Pedro and Don John, return to a familiar town, Messina, on their way back from war. Accompanying Don Pedro are his companions Claudio, who is in love with the Lord of Messina’s Daughter, and Benedick, who is a very happy bachelor. When they arrive at Messina the are greeted by Leonato, Hero, his daughter, and Beatrice, his quick-witted nice. Hero and Claudio become engaged; this is when the comedy begins. Leonato and Don Pedro create a trap for Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love. These two people despise each other and are only “friendly” because they share friends. The antics of the play continue as the two reluctant characters begin to fall in love. The play takes a shift for the worse when Don John plots to destroy the love between Claudio and Hero. He succeeds in driving apart not only them, but Beatrice and Benedick also….

• Questions for the group: Do you think Benedick and Beatrice and/or Hero and Claudio will get back together

• In this scene: The Price and his companions have just arrived and are being greeted by Leonato and Beatrice. Benedick and Beatrice immediately begin by throwing insults at each other.

• Cast of Characters:

•  Summary: Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare most famous tragedies. It chronicles the lives of two young lovers from families that hate each other. Romeo meets Juliet at a party and they fall in love. They are married. Then Romeo is forced to kill Juliet’s cousin and is bashed into exile. Juliet takes sleeping pills and everyone, except the nurse, thinks she is dead. Romeo returns to Verona and goes to her tomb. There he kills himself just as she awakes…
•         Questions for the group:

• In this scene:  Juliet’s mother, Lady Caplet, is trying to convince her daughter to marry Paris, a young man of her liking. However, her mother can not talk to her because Juliet’s nurse keeps interrupting and babbling on.

• Cast of Characters

• Summary:  This is one of Shakespeare most light-hearted comedies. This play is about the engagement of two lovers who are both in love with someone else. Hermia is to be married to Demetrius, but loves Lysander. Helena is in love with Demetrius. This love web becomes more tangled when Lysander and Hermia elope and are followed closely by Hermia and Demetrius; all are spotted by fairies who want to cause mischief. The fairies put a spell on the lovers that confuse things further. In the mean time, the fairies also cast a spell on Bottom, a member of the acting troupe that has come for the wedding of Hermia and Demetrius. Bottom is turned into a donkey. Now it is up to the fairies to clear everything up.
• Questions for the group:

•  In this scene:  The six actors have come together to assign roles for their play. Bottom is trying to play all the parts.

• Cast of Characters

Quince  A carpenter. He is the Author of “Pyramus and Thisby.’ (the play) He is very patent and deals with Bottom better than most people.
Bottom A weaver. He is humorous and good-natured. He is an impromptu master of wit, but he is also a ham. He loves to show off and make a fool out of himself.
Snug A jointer. He is afraid he will not remember his lines. He is given the part of the “Lion.”
Flute  A bellows-maker. He is to play “Thisby” the leading lady of the play. He does not want to play a woman. He admires Bottom for his acting capabilities
Snout A Tinker. He plays the “Wall.” He is the most visually funny character in the play.
Snarvling A tailor. He is very shy.

•  Summary: This play is very serious. Shakespeare intended for the audience to think about the characters in terms of them being actual people, not just actors on stage. This story is about King Henry VIII of England. It  shows what happens when nobles do un-noble things to each other. In the beginning of the play, Henry is worried, unsure, and skeptical of those around him. He is anxious about his divorce and uncertain  of his country’s future. By the end of the play that changes as he christens his new baby, Elizabeth, who will be Queen of England.
• Questions for the group:

•  In this scene: The chorus is speaking directly to the audience. They explain that this is not a comedy and it is not a play of “entertainment.” This is a serious piece of history. This prologue is used to shape the audience’s emotional frame of mind before the drama begins.