Cross Curriculum Lesson Plan:
Language Arts
Student Resource: From My
Friend's Got This Problem, Mr. Candler, by Mel Glenn
Media Type: Drama/Poetry
Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Describe effective coping strategies for dealing with personal loss.
- Explain how a strong system of values can help you cope with problems that
occur during the teen years and later in life.
- Identify resources within the school and community that teens can turn to
when they need help with a problem.
Introducing the Lesson
On the board, write the words "A friend of mine has this problem."
Ask students if they have ever seen or heard these words. Challenge students to
paraphrase the hidden message behind the words (e.g., I need help with a problem,
but I'm too embarrassed to admit I have the problem). Note that problems of this
kind are common during the teen years.
Ask students to identify a variety of topics teens may be faced with. Discuss
resources within the school or community that they could turn to for help with
these types of problems, and note several on the board. (Possibilities might include
a parent, another close adult relative or friend, a teacher, a pastoral counselor,
a guidance counselor, telephone help lines.) Explain that students are about to
experience excerpts from a collection of dramatic poems that deal with these kinds
of problems and their solutions.
Teaching Strategies
This unique selection, which is a cross between poetry and drama, can be read
silently, though it is best performed aloud. If there are students in the class
with dramatic aptitude, ask for four volunteers. Assign one character each to
three of these students, and have the fourth read the stage directions, which
appear in italics at various intervals within the excerpt. Allow performers time
to read through their parts and prepare to deliver their lines. Then have the
entire class read the short introduction, followed by an oral recitation of the
three learned parts as the rest of the class follows along silently.
After students have completed the reading, you may either use the following
as class discussion questions or assign them as individual or group work.
Follow Up
- Analyzing. In the short introduction to the poems, you learned that
many of the students call Mr. Candler "Mr. C." What does this reveal
about their relationship with him? What does it tell you about his communication
skills?
- Synthesizing. Each of the three teens has suffered a loss. Identify
the specific loss in each case.
- Evaluating. What does Anthony Ricci's final statement reveal about
his relationship with his father? What do these lines reveal about Anthony as
a person and about his system of values?
- Extending. What coping strategy does Ramona Castillo learn to deal
with her loss?
- Evaluating. Decide which of the three dramatic poems had the most profound
effect on you. Write three or four sentences summarizing why the particular selection
had this impact.
Integrating Literature and Health
In this excerpt from a collection of dramatic poems, we hear three of Mr. Candler's
students pour their hearts out. Yet we never hear from Mr. Candler himself. Imagine
that you are Mr. Candler. Choose one of the three poems, and write a response
from the point of view of who you would consider to be a good guidance counselor.
