Geographic Alliance of Iowa
Geographic Alliance of Iowa
Homeless Bird
by Kelly Davidson
and Natasha Cooper
Grade Level
Middle School
Inquiry Question
How does fiction describe India’s
geography and culture?
Objectives
Students will
Use Homeless Bird to identify Indian geography and culture.
Define vocabulary from the text.
Locate important geographical places.
Standards
Standard 1: How to use maps and
other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process,
and report information from a spatial perspective.
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standard 6: How culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of
places and regions.
Themes
Location, Place, Movement
Multiple Intelligences
Verbal-Linguistic, Visual-Spatial
Materials
Outline maps of India
Homeless Bird Journal
Homeless Bird Graphic Organizer
Compare and Contrast Handouts
Wall maps and/or laminated desk maps of India
Set of World Atlases
Set of Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelen or one copy for teacher to read aloud
Squares of white paper to serve as quilt blocks
Colored pencils, markers, and/or crayons
Vocabulary and
Discussion Questions
Time
3-4 weeks
Procedures
Using an outline map of India, have the students locate and label the places mentioned in the story, Homeless Bird, set in India, these include: Delhi, Ganges River, Varanasi, Yamuna River, Vrindavan
Instruct the students to also check that their maps contain the important features of a map, such as the title, key, symbols, color, compass, and scale.
Pass out copies of Homeless Bird to students or read to the class from one copy. This is the story of Koly, a young girl in India whose parents arrange for her to marry a boy who is sick with tuberculosis. His family actually wants the dowry money so that they can take him to the holy waters of the Ganges River in hopes of curing him. Unfortunately, he dies and Koly is a widow. The story tells how she overcomes poverty and unhappiness.
Give the students copies of the graphic organizer and Homeless Bird Journal on which to record geographical, cultural, and vocabulary information presented in the story.
Have the students form reading/discussion groups, ideally of four students each. As each chapter is read, students should record appropriate vocabulary definitions and answers discussion questions. In addition, after each chapter in Homeless Bird, each person in the group chooses one of the four perspectives (economic, geographic, historical or political) to incorporate when discussing the information that they have read. Using the graphic organizer, students write notes about the chapter from that particular perspective in social studies. If the students have not had prior experiences with reading for content perspectives, the teacher may want to discuss the process prior to beginning the reading/discussion groups. As they discuss the information, students continue to make notes on their own graphic organizer.
One theme throughout Homeless Bird is the embroidery work that Koly does. After each chapter, have each group turn in one quilt block portraying their favorite scene form the chapter. Quilt blocks should be neat and colored.
Give students time to examine maps of India. Koly lived in three unnamed villages throughout the story. Once before she was married, once she had married, and a third at the end. Using their imaginations and clues from the text (how long Koly traveled, the terrain, farming practices, etc.) students should locate and label the three villages. Remember, a number of different answers will be correct. Students should then map out the path of Koly on their India maps.
Allow students to use their journal, graphic organizer, and map to compare and contrast rural regions and urban regions in the story. Have them think about Koly’s opinions, the opinions of others, weather, activities, along with items from the resources mentioned above. Each student will need to turn in one compare and contrast handout.
Upon completing the book, all journals will be due. Also, have students combine and refine their graphic organizers. Provide students with a new copy of the graphic organizer, one per group, and instruct the group to write the main ideas on it. This copy is to be turned in for evaluation. Have each group present their ideas in a class discussion.
Assessment
Each student will develop a project
to show what he/she has learned about India from Homeless Bird.
Several opinions are:
Multimedia Presentation
Internet Field Trip
Diorama
Illustrated Book
Pop Up Book
Obviously, the possibilities are endless. Use projects that you and your students can get excited about.
Topics for individual projects could be: trains, music, quilts, fabrics, widows, cinema, arranged marriages, dowry system, caste system, weddings, funerals, Hinduism, regional food, child labor, Ganges, Krishna, etc.
Other considerations:
Homeless Bird Journal, Graphic
Organizer, Compare and Contrast Handout, Homeless Bird Map
Science: -Examine
the animals mentioned in the story.
-Research the ecosystems and biomes of
northern India.
Math: -Population pyramids for
various regions in India. Is there an absence of females?
-Compare pyramids to those from other countries or regions.
-Explore the value of the rupee.
Music: -When comparing contrasting
urban and rural areas, imagine the sounds Koly could hear in each
-Research Indian music and
instruments.
Life Skills: -Look up and create an
Indian meal.
-Can they find recipes for specific items mentioned in the story?
Beyond the Classroom
Have each students create a quilt block about his/her life. Display the
blocks like a quilt for a class quilt decoration.
Web Resource
Michigan Schools: SCoPE
http://www.michigan.gov/scope/0%2C1607%2C7-155-13497_13503_13507-44026--%2C00.html
Graphic Organizer for Homeless Bird
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Chapter |
Economic |
Geographic |
Political |
Historical |
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Compare and Contrast
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Attributes |
Urban |
Rural |
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