Roll of Thunder
Student Activity
#10
Investigating the Theme
Prejudice is one of the main themes in
Roll of Thunder, Hear My
Cry. The novel is set in the
American South during the 1930's, but working to overcome prejudice
is as important today as it was during the period of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
People experience discrimination when
they are denied their rights as a result of prejudice. In
Roll of Thunder, racial prejudice is the basis for the
discrimination that the Logan family experience. Prejudice and
discrimination can be based on ethnic, religious, social, economic,
age, gender, or other differences.
In this activity, you will:
* Use the Web to define the
terms: prejudice and discrimination
* Identify examples of prejudice and
discrimination in Roll of Thunder,
Hear My Cry
* Interview others on examples of
prejudice and discrimination in their lives
* Reflect on the issues of prejudice and
discrimination within your own culture
Defining Your Terms Activity
Instructions:
1) Click here to access
Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary to help you
define the terms: prejudice & discrimination
2) After you have studied the
definitions of the terms, use a separate sheet of paper to create
your own definitions to share in class.
Prejudice in Roll of
Thunder Activity
Instructions:
Working with a partner, record at least
two
specific examples of prejudice from the novel. Rather than citing a
general term like "racial prejudice,"give a specific incident. After
you have completed your record, share the results with the class. For
each item in your record, include the following pieces of
information:
1) The specific example of
prejudice.
2) The characters involved.
3) At what point in the novel's plot the
example occurs.
4) The effect of the incident on the
characters & plot.
Challenge Step:
Make a class chart displaying the
collected examples of prejudice in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Discrimination in Roll of
Thunder Activity
Instructions:
Working with a partner, record at least
two
specific examples of discrimination from the novel. Again, be sure to
cite a specific incident. After you have completed your record, share
the results with the class. For each item in your record, include the
following pieces of information:
1) The specific example of
discrimination.
2) The characters involved.
3) At what point in the novel's plot the
example occurs.
4) The effect of the incident on the
characters & plot.
Challenge Step:
Make a class chart displaying the
collected examples of discrimination in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Interviewing Others about Prejudice &
Discrimination Activity
Even if you haven't experienced
prejudice or discrimination yourself, you may know others who have.
People may also recognize prejudice and discrimination practiced
against others.
Instructions:
Interview older family members or
friends to gain insight into the way others may have experienced or
observed prejudice and discrimination in their lifetimes. Try to
record at least two specific examples of discrimination or prejudice
that your interviewees share with you. After you have completed your
record, share the results with the class. For each item in your
record, include the following pieces of information:
1) Identify your
interviewee:
Who is he/she?
What is his/her age?
2) Identify the example of prejudice or
discrimination experienced or observed by the interviewee:
What type of prejudice or
discrimination was involved (racial, ethnic, economic, religious,
age, gender, or other cause)?
When did the incident take place?
Where did the incident take place?
Who was involved?
What were the effects of the
incident?
Challenge Step:
Make a class chart displaying the
collected examples of prejudice and discrimination from the
interviews. Color code the types of examples collected (i.e., racial,
ethnic, religious, etc.) to determine which are the most common
examples among the interviewees' experiences or
observations.
Discrimination and Body Image Activity
Do you have a favorite movie or TV star
that you'd like to look like? Do you think life would be better if
you looked like this favorite personality? Do you think your favorite
celebrity receives better treatment than others because of his or her
looks?
People sometimes experience prejudice
and discrimination based on outward appearance. In a team of 4, you
will investigate Web sites that explore the issue of weight
discrimination to understand the effects within our society of this
type of prejudice about appearance.
Instructions:
1) In your team, review the
information at the following Web site to find out how a person's size
can make him or her the object of discrimination.
2) Next, choose one of the following Web
sites to examine individually (make sure each member of your team is
responsible for a different Web site). The team member responsible
for the site should be prepared to report information from the site
to the team and to answer the question for each site.
3) Share the information within the
group.
4) Prepare a 6-10 slide multimedia
presentation (using PowerPoint, HyperStudio, or other program) to
share with the class the information collected by your team. Also,
suggest ways to help lessen weight prejudice and discrimination among
your peers. Your presentation should include the following
information:
A description or definition
of weight prejudice & discrimination
An example of weight prejudice &
discrimination
An brief explanation of why it's
important to fight weight discrimination
At least one example of how people can
overcome weight discrimination
At least one example of how weight
prejudice affects body image
At least one example of how the media
influence weight prejudices
At least 1 suggestion to lessen weight
prejudice and discrimination among your peers
Back to the Roll of the Thunder
Student Page