The+Assignment


 * Themes, Symbols, Literature, History, Science (of Bees), Religion, and Culture in** Sue Monk Kidd’s **The Secret Life of Bees: a collaborative project on Literature**

//The Secret Life of Bees// by Sue Monk Kidd is a coming of age story set in South Carolina during the 1960’s. Lily grows up in times of change. As Lily faces an abusive father, searches for answers about a lost mother, and reaches out for forgiveness and love, America faces its own troubled past and seeks to rectify social injustice, establish civil rights, and promote racial tolerance. With the guidance of three Black bee-keeping sisters, Lily discovers divine love and finds solace and a promising future.
 * //Introduction://**

To create a class wiki that helps us, and anyone outside our class, understand the novel. The goal is to research, analyze and apply findings to the novel, ask authentic questions, share ideas and opinions through discussion, connect and draw conclusions, and finally reflect.
 * //The Task://**

1. Copy/paste the URL of the cite from which they obtain their information and record the proper bibliographic information for citation purposes (MLA). v MLA Citation Information: [|The OWL] and [|EasyBib.com] 2. //Include photographs, images, videos, or links to other sites// related to your topic. v Include the source of each one. 3. Fully contribute to the wiki at all stages by looking up and sharing information, contributing to the discussions, and drawing and clarifying conclusions. 4. Write an INDIVIDUAL final reflection
 * //The Process://**
 * 1) CREATE and learn to USE a Wiki
 * 2) RESEARCH the historical, scientific, religious, cultural, and literary elements of the novel
 * 3) APPLY findings to understand how the time period of the Civil Rights Era, literature and writing, the science of bees and bee-keeping, the worship of the Black Madonna and religion and spirituality in general, and the culture of the South and the 1960’s help clarify the themes in the novel
 * 4) IDENTIFY and ANALYZE the epigrams, themes, and symbols used in the novel
 * 5) POST and RESPOND to authentic questions and insights or observations about the novel
 * 6) CONNECT to your own life, modern events, or other sources (websites, books, movies, etc.)
 * 7) REFLECT on the project and your growth as a learner
 * //Students Must://**

Rubric: Formative assessment and feedback will be provided throughout. Final assessment at end of unit.
 * //Grading://**


 * //Suggested areas of Focus://**

1. Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka and/or James Meredith’s tempt at enrollment in the University of Mississippi 2. Violence against civil right activists 3. Malcolm X and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 4. Civil Rights Act of 1964 5. Voting Rights Act of 1965 6. Race Riots in New Jersey 7. Afro-American Unity group and the Ku Klux Klan
 * __History__**

1. Types of bees in a hive and their roles 2. Swarms and Stings 3. Honey making and Bee-keepers/Beekeeping 4. Excessive heat and bees 5. What happens to a bee colony when it loses its queen? 6. Health benefits 7. Food and non-food products that contain honey
 * __Bees and the Science of Bee Keeping__**

1. Black Madonna 2. Differences between Baptists and Catholics? 3. “Salvation glove”? 4. Worship of Mary 5. The Feast of the Assumption 6. Power of faith/belief
 * __Religion__**

1. Grits 2. Charm school, Southern Bells 3. Walter Cronkite 4. Kennedy and the Ranger 7: Rocket to the Moon, space race (Consider political climate) 5. Perry Mason 6. What happened in the Gulf of Tonkin? 7. “American Bandstand”
 * __Culture__**

1. Writers notebook/journal, writing as therapy 2. Shakespeare 3. Thoreau, //Walden Pond// 4. Millifred Marchant 5. //Jane Eyre// 6. Pulitzer Prizes 7. Oral storytelling
 * __Literature/Writing__**

Adapted from Karen Moynihan, Chair, English Departmentand Kristina Keleher, Director of Library Media Services []

For **Step#2-Analysis/Interpretation** you will use the provided discussion questions and original topics that arise in your group discussion to analyze and interpret the novel. You will discuss each chapter as a group and each member of the group will be responsible for answering one of that chapter's questions and posting the response to the Wiki. You must support all writing with textual evidence (quotes). Respond to two other students' or groups' posting per week. This will help in developing your own and others understanding of the material.

For **Step#3-Reflection** you will reflect on your process, learning, and group work: consider that is working well, what is not, what are you learning (think content, analysis, technological skills, interpersonal skills, etc), and where you may need more support or assistance. Reflect throughout step#2 and at the end of the Wiki on the experience as a whole.