Overview

These beginning activities introduce student to symbolism through texts from their everyday worlds. We refer to these as cultural data sets (Lee, 2007) because students can easily recognize and interpret symbols in texts from their everyday worlds. The activities are used to make student thinking visible and their everyday interpretive strategies explicit in order for them to apply the same strategies later to more complex and unfamiliar texts.

Guiding Questions

• What do you think is a symbol?
• How do you know it was a symbol?
• What do you think the symbol means?

Texts/Materials

• Images of celebrities who changed their names (e.g., Carmen Electra, Charlie Sheen, Jamie Foxx) and images of different styles of shoes
• Flag Symbol Sheet
• Language for Analyzing Author’s Technique
• MR BICEPS
• Lyrics to Titanium
• Symbols activity for song lyrics

Activities

1. Present students with images of celebrities who changed their names (e.g., Carmen Electra, Charlie Sheen, Jamie Foxx) and images of different styles of shoes. As each image is presented, ask students what those images bring to mind? What do they connote? Why might someone change their name? What do you think when you see someone wearing that syle of shoe? Have a whole class discussion around these images.

2. Pass out the Flag Symbol Sheet. Tell students to think about whether the images are positive or negative and why. Then pass out the Language for Analyzing Author’s Technique sheet. Ask students to discuss their ideas around the images in small groups and compose a sentence in response to #3 on the Flag Symbol Sheet. Discuss ideas and responses as a whole class. 

3. Give students the MR BICEPS handout and go over the meanings of each letter of the acronym.  Then, pass out the lyrics to Titaniumn and tell students to read the lyrics silently, annotating them for MR BICEPS. Once they are done, tell them to get into groups of three and pass out the sheet symbols activity for song lyrics. Give the students time to fill out the sheets in their groups. Then lead a whole class discussion around the following questions: 

• What do you think is a symbol in the song?
• How do you know it was a symbol?
• What do you think the symbol means?

Assessment

The following are means of assessing students during activities so instruction can be adjusted and differentiated according to students’ needs.

• Flag symbol sheet
• Whole class discussions
• Annotation of song lyrics
• Symbols activity for song lyrics sheet