Summary
In this lesson, students explore emotional resilience and mental health through writing, media, group analysis, and literature. The lesson begins with a Quick Write on coping with uncertain times, followed by discussions and videos introducing mental health counseling and social work. Students analyze emotional tone using the “It’s OPTIC-al” strategy with impactful images, then apply those insights while reading "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, focusing on the emotional journey of the main character, Brother. Through text analysis and connections to a self-care video and article, students deepen their understanding of mental wellness and character emotions. The lesson culminates in a creative “Two-Voice Poem” assignment where students script a supportive conversation with Brother, reinforcing themes of empathy, emotional growth, and mental health support.
Essential Question(s)
How does a character’s state of mind affect their development and the development of the theme in a text?
Snapshot
Engage
Students complete a Quick Write in response to their ideas regarding uncertain times.
Explore
Students analyze famous paintings to interpret the overall impression or mood created by the image.
Explain
Students read “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and analyze key scenes for word choice and mood in order to understand the character’s feelings and emotions.
Extend
Students analyze a video and an article in order to make connections between self-care concepts and “The Scarlet Ibis” by analyzing what is said and what is meant.
Evaluate
Students create a Two-Voice Poem to establish a conversation that provides helpful and supportive advice.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
It’s OPTIC-al Images (attached; one per group)
Text Analysis Chart (attached; one per student)
What it Says, Why it Matters Chart (attached; one per student)
11 Self-Care Tips for Teens and Young Adults (attached; one per student)
Conversation with Brother (attached; one per pair)
Conversation with Brother Rubric (attached; optional; one per pair)
“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst (link provided)
Engage
30 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to facilitate this lesson. Begin by showing slides 2-4 to introduce the title of the lesson, the essential question, and the learning objective.
Move to slide 5 and explain the Quick Write strategy. Ask students to write for 3 full minutes in response to the following prompt: How do you deal with uncertain times? When time is up, lead a discussion regarding the notes students made.
Move to slide 6 and play the video on mental health counseling.
Show slide 7 and watch the career talk on social work with Natalie Gallo.
After watching the videos, discuss with students how mental health counseling and therapists can help people deal with uncertain times.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Move to slide 8 and explain the It’s OPTIC-al strategy. Place students in groups and assign each group one page of the It’s OPTIC-al Images handout (attached). In groups, provide each student a copy of the It’s OPTIC-al handout (attached) and ask students to work collaboratively to analyze their assigned image to determine the overall impression or mood created by the image.
After the groups have analyzed their assigned images, use the Numbered Heads Together strategy to identify a spokesperson from each group. Move through slides 9-13 with each of the images. Ask the randomly selected student from each group to share the overall impression/mood their image creates and explain how they came to their conclusion.
Explain
50 Minute(s)
Move to slide 14. Provide each student a copy of “The Scarlet Ibis” text. Ask students to focus on the emotional state of Brother, the main character, as they read the story. Present the following questions for students to think about as they read:
How do you know what he is feeling throughout the story?
How do his emotions change throughout the story?
What do his emotions tell us about the theme(s) in the story?
After reading, provide a copy of the Text Analysis Chart handout (attached) to each student. Use slide 15 to explain to students how to complete the handout, looking for key scenes that show Brother’s emotions. After students have had time to identify what the text says, identify the character’s mood or state of mind, and identify their reactions to it, use slide 16 to lead a discussion.
Extend
30 Minute(s)
Move to slide 17. Provide each student a copy of the What it Says, Why it Matters Chart handout (attached). Explain that they will watch the “Self-Care in High School” video on slide 17 and read the “11 Self-Care Tips for Teens and Young Adults” article (attached) in order to make connections between self-care concepts and “The Scarlet Ibis.” Instruct your students to add anything they find that connects the video and the article to the story to their chart.
After watching the video and reading the article, have students use the Most Valuable Point strategy. Ask students to pair up or place them into small groups to share their charts and discuss the connections they made between the article and the short story.
Evaluate
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 18. Pair students up and explain the Two-Voice Poem strategy. Explain that pairs will be creating a poster where Brother has a conversation with someone else who provides him with some insight into or ways to process his sadness. Provide each pair with the Conversation with Brother handout (attached) and have students assign their roles. One student will speak as Brother. The other student can choose to speak as Mom, Dad, Aunt Nicey, a friend, or a counselor.
Move to slide 19 and share the Conversation with Brother Rubric (attached) to inform students of how this assignment will be evaluated prior to beginning the assignment.
Once students have had enough time to create their conversation posters, ask some pairs to act out their conversation to the class. After each presentation, lead a class discussion identifying the advice that was given and discussing its relevance and effectiveness to “The Scarlet Ibis.”
Resources
Bereson, G. (2019, May 5). 11 self-care tips for teens and young adults. The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds.
Dalí, S. (1931). The persistence of memory [Painting]. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Forrester, C. (2015). Uganda [Painting]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Hopper, E. (1942). Nighthawks [Painting]. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Hurst, J. (July 1960). “The Scarlet Ibis.” The Atlantic Monthly. Actively Learn.
K20 Center. (n.d.). It’s OPTIC-al. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/99
K20 Center. (n.d.). Most valuable point. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/3034
K20 Center. (n.d.). Numbered heads together. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/2476
K20 Center. (n.d.). Quick write. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1127
K20 Center. (n.d.). Two-voice poem. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/133
K20 Center. (2021, March 12). K20 ICAP - Natalie Gallo. Licensed Professional Counselor - Are We Okay? [Video]. YouTube.
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 3-minute timer. [Video]. YouTube.
MGHClayCenter. (2019, May 5). Self-care in high school. [Video]. YouTube.
NYU Steinhardt (2014, Oct 2). What is mental health counseling? [Video]. YouTube.
Picasso, P. (1903–1904). The old guitarist [Painting]. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Van Gogh, V. (1890). The church at Auvers [Painting]. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.