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Grades: 4th through 12th
Subject: Language Arts & Multi-Cultural Diversity
Topic: The Power of Words
Curriculum Alignment (Standards): Language Arts

Learning Objective: Students will be made aware (sensitized) of the power of words, not just the meaning but also the impact words have on others, through a review via a personal inventory of the words they use as part of their daily living.

Materials:
• The Peacock’s Stone, by Faith Richardson;
• Lined paper and pencils
• Chalk board/ White board

Approximate Time Needed: 2 to 4 one-hour sessions
(For lower grades a teacher’s/group read-aloud of The Peacock’s Stone should take approximately 2 weeks, one chapter per reading)
(For upper grades the reading of The Peacock’s Stone should take 2 to 4 days)

New Vocabulary: The instructor will introduce the classroom to the dictionary’s definitions of the word: Word. (You will probably be amazed yourself!)

Procedure:
• For lower grades: teacher/group read-aloud of The Peacock’s Stone;
• After reading the first chapter, the instructor should introduce the class to the dictionary definition of the word: Word (This can be a nice addition/compliment to, or part of a Language Arts lesson). Students should be made aware of the extent of the meaning of Word, as well as gaining an understanding that a word can have “layers” of meaning: words can mean different things to different people (and all real meanings!). Students should take little prompting to be engage in a classroom discussion about this powerful word;
• As words that are open to interpretation / personal opinion are encountered, through the reading of The Peacock’s Stone, they should be clarified, unfolded for meaning, and opened to personal interpretation and personal experiences from students;
• Some examples of words that can be used in a classroom discussion:
Ch. 1: pg. 1, YAWH; pg. 2, Others; pg. 2, Fire-Circle; pg. 3, Ba-pa; pg.3, Wha-Wha stem; pg. 3, Eleven-summers;
Ch. 2: pg. 15, Eight-summer child; pg. 15, Truth; pg. 18, Stone;
Ch. 4: pg. 60, YWEH;
• Just before engaging students in the lesson that follows
• Part A, students are asked to make a personal inventory (on one side of a sheet of paper) of words that they have been called by others- words that have hurt them; followed by:
• Part B, students are asked to make a personal inventory (just below the words from Part A) of words that they have used on others- words they have used to hurt others;
• Part C, on the right side of the words from Part A and Part B, and adjacent to the words, have students think of words that will neutralize / diffuse / make-right / heal the original exchange of words that were used, taking care to replace the words with gentler / kinder words that would lead to peace instead of conflict;
• Part D, students are asked to pick one of the set of words from Part A/B/C and write a paragraph explaining reason for making such a change of words, and how such a change can lead to peace or healing the conflict.

• For upper grades: (Be sure to read the procedure for the lower grades, it will motivate you to generate you own ideas to make this a richer lesson);
• Required reading: The Peacock’s Stone;
• As part of their reading assignment, students should be asked to write a one-page paper on the meaning of the word: Word. This will be a weighty topic of discussion during the next class meeting;
• A modified version of parts A/B/C/D from the lower grades lesson will produce a fruitful and beneficial assignment that will lead to rich discussions. Upper grades should be able to apply metaphors and popular phrases to their lists A/B/C;
• A more elaborate Part D should be expected.

Scaffolding and Multi-Cultural Connections: Throughout this lesson students should be asked to enrich the lesson by providing examples from their personal experiences and/or culture. The instructor should also provide examples from their personal inventory of experience and understanding of other cultures.

English Language Learners: This activity should enrich the lives of native speakers as well as all ELL’s because all students will be encouraged to replace Informal (street) language with Academic (educational) language.

Some Useful/Popular Student/Instructor Web Resources:
•http://www.museumoftolerance.com the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance;
•http://www.teaching9-11.org provides some interesting resources on tolerance;
• http://www.quinion.com/words new words and words in the news are regularly featured;
•http://www.arts.ouc.bc.ca/fiar/glossary/gloshome.html word resources from Okanagan University (Words of Art);
•http://www.allwords.com, a free guide and resource;
• http://www.dictionary.com a free dictionary resource;
•http://www.fun-with-words.com/ website dedicated to amusing quirks, peculiarities, and oddities of the English language.