Lesson Overview:
This lesson examines the mystique of rivers as inspiration for creative expression. It also provides students with a glimpse of the powerful influence the Mississippi River and its environs had on Mark Twain’s writings. It sets some groundwork for students to consider, as their experience with Twain sources broadens, that even in the themes of his narratives and essays that appear to be far removed from his beloved “great Mississippi, the majestic, the magnificent Mississippi,” there often seems to be a consistent undercurrent in which Twain measures life against the memories of his youthful days spent on the river and its shores.
Length of Lesson:
Five 45-minute periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- exercise reading, research, collaborative, and writing skills.
- explore specific ways a writer mirrors and shapes the culture of a given time period.
- gain insight into and appreciation for the ways autobiographical material can be the inspirational center for creative expression.
- gather background information on one of America’s most valued and celebrated literary artists.
- recognize that geographical and cultural environment can provide inspiration for creative expression.
- respond creatively to a variety of assignments.
Supplies:
- Selected texts of Mark Twain’s work (see Sources section for specific suggestions)
- Tapes or CDs of musical selections related to rivers (See Instructional Plan for specific suggestions.)
- CD or tape player
Instructional Plan:
Activity A
Display a map of the United States. Locate the Mississippi River. Initiate a discussion about any experiences students might have had either in living near or on the banks of the river, or visiting the environs of the river. Note the geographical positioning of the river as a divider of the mainland of the nation; also, call attention to the geographical positioning of some of the river’s tributaries. Ask students to explain what they think might be the historical connotations of the two terms "east of the Mississippi" and "west of the Mississippi" in the last few decades of the 19th century. Ask them to consider the connotations of the phrases in the outlook of contemporary America.
Distribute a blank map of the United States to each student. (Blank maps can be downloaded from the National Geographic's Xpeditions site.) Ask students to work in pairs to fill in the names and locations of key towns and cities along the Mississippi River from the Canadian border to Lake Pontchartrain.
Initiate a class discussion, using the displayed map, in which students assess different geographical and cultural implications of the segments of America one would pass through if traveling down the Mississippi from the Canadian border to New Orleans.
Ask each student to select a town on the Mississippi River to be the subject of a hypothetical visit. Possible towns include: Iowa City, Iowa; Hannibal, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and New Orleans, Louisiana. (The PBS Web site River of Song offers a good starting point for this activity.)
Assign a writing exercise in which each student first gathers data about the town selected, then records the details of a hypothetical visit, including people they might meet or adventures they might have in sightseeing in the town. Encourage students to seek out information in their data gathering on such aspects as: any special history related to the town (battles, heroes, treaties signed, home(s) of famous people); any public sculptures or statues and, if so, why were they erected; the nature of the port where the riverboats dock and the type of boat people they might encounter; and the colloquial flavor of the people of the town (language, dress, prevailing occupations, etc).
Share the manuscripts. Encourage students to turn a vignette of their "visit" into a dramatic script. If time allows, have students perform their scripts for the class.
Activity B
This activity focuses mainly on the steamboat as a phenomenon in American history and as a source of creative inspiration. Ask students to gather data about the steamboat, encouraging them to find information on such aspects as:
- when and by whom it was invented
- the basic design
- the labels of the hierarchy of crew members (i.e., captain, pilot, etc.)
- any colloquial language references dedicated to the handling of the steamboat
- the various uses of the steamboat
- social, political, and cultural implications
- a few samples of the steamboat as inspiration for creative endeavor in the arts
Consult The History of Steamboats for background information.
The second part of this activity explores other types of river transportation. Ask students to find background information on keelboats, ferry boats, paddleboats, and river rafts. Encourage students to expand their search to find out what they can about navigational capabilities and challenges of the Mississippi River.
Ask a few students to volunteer to find legends related to riverboats (i.e., lore about Davy Crockett and Mike Fink). Students should share their findings with the class.
Suggest that students interested in learning more about steamboat life in America might be interested in reading Edna Ferber’s novel, Show Boat, or viewing a video of the musical Show Boat bu Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II.
Activity C
Initiate this activity by suggesting that, throughout time, rivers have been celebrated as metaphors of human experience. Ask students for clarification of the phrase “metaphors of human experience.” Advance the idea by asking students if they know of any songs that are centered on a particular river, then put students in an assignment to find as many song titles as they can that are dedicated to a particular river. Encourage them to ask family members and friends to contribute to the list. Develop a master list of titles. Some suggestions include:
- "Way Down Upon the Swanee River"
- "Swanee"
- "Red River Valley"
- "On the Rio Grande"
- "Banks of the Wye"
- "Where the Hudson River Flows"
- "Something is Always Happening on the River"
- "The Blue Danube Waltz"
- "Blue Danube Blues"
- "The Song of the Danube"
- "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton"
- "Where the Wabash River Flows” (Banks of the Wabash)
- "Wabash Blues"
- "Ol’ Man River"
Consider having students explicate and interpret the lyrics of one or more of the songs, noting the use of personification and any metaphorical references. Call attention particularly to how the song “Ol' Man River” transfigures the image of the Mississippi River.
Activity D
As a creative writing exercise, ask students to identify a river they are familiar with, or as an alternative, select and research a river from a map. Advise students to write the name of the river at the top of a blank piece of paper, then record freely all of the words that come to mind in thinking about the river. Urge them to let their thoughts range in many directions in thinking about the river and its environs, and to include not only physical descriptions, but also imaginative adventures they could relate to the river.
Share some of the brainstorming lists, then ask students to develop a poem, vignette of prose, or song lyrics, drawing from their recorded list for inspiration and specific detail. Encourage students who have a background in music to compose a music score for a song lyric dedicated to a river. Encourage students interested in drawing to sketch river scenes. Encourage students interested in drama to turn their vignette of prose into a dramatic script. Consider developing the collection of assignment responses into a "River Journal." Also, consider having a performance of material generated by the assignment.
Activity E
Assign students to read excerpts from Twain’s Life on the Mississippi (Chapters 4–9). When the reading has been completed, divide the class into groups of two or three students each to negotiate conclusions about the questions related to various aspects of the text, included in the handout Questions about Life on the Mississippi.
Ask each group to share its conclusions on one of the first five questions of analysis. Consider opening up the last question for full class discussion.
Activity F
Upon completion of class work on Twain’s Life on the Mississippi, ask students to develop a detailed written autobiographical account of experiences they have had on a journey. Encourage students to work at achieving the sense of integrity that Twain projects in the close detail of his observations and responses to places and people encountered on his journey on the Mississippi.
Assessment:
Assess students on the following criteria:
- level of serious and cooperative participation in research and collaborative assignments
- level of discernment in contributions from research and to collaborative work
- substantive contributions to class discussion and special projects
- range and depth in analysis
- organization, meaningful substance, rhetorical skill, and poise in formal oral presentation
- seriousness of purpose in following through on creative writing assignments
- alignment of written performance with writing process rubric
- willingness to volunteer for special activities
- general level of engagement in all activities and assignments
Sources:
Print:
- Blair, Walter, ed. Selected Shorter Writings of Mark Twain. Boston: Riverside Editions, 1962.
- Foerster, Norman et al., ed. American Poetry and Prose, Fifth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970.
- Howells, William Dean. My Mark Twain, Reminiscences and Criticisms. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1967.
- Teacher, Lawrence, ed. The Unabridged Mark Twain. Philadelphia: Running Press, 1976.
- Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Media:
- Bogart, Paul, dir. An Evening with Mark Twain. Kultur Video, 1967. Videocassette or DVD.
- Burns, Ken, dir. Mark Twain. PBS Home Video, 2002. Videocassette or DVD.
Web:
Authors:
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Jayne Karsten, English, Grades 9-12
The Key School
Annapolis, MD US
