Fernando M. Reimers et al.

Activity 6.3.1

The Conch Bearer and The Light in the Forest

Half of the class reads The Conch Bearer, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,
and the other half reads The Light in the Farest, by Conrad Richter.
While they are reading the books, they should reflect on what the main
characters value, how they come to value those things, and how they
show that they value them. The teacher prompts the students to write
journal entries using language such as “It is important for [character]
to do [action] because [reason].” After each group has finished reading
its book (and also periodically throughout), the two groups come to—
gether to talk about the motivations of the characters, and what values
the books share. In the end, each student should write an essay about
what they value most and why and about the people or institutions who
shaped their values.

Activity 6.3.2

Cross-Cultural Analysis of Values

The students think not only about their personal values but also about the
values that shape their society. They begin by trying to extrapolate from
the two books they read the larger societal values of the Lenni—Lenape, the
American frontiersmen, and those in modern India. They then conduct
research to find out and compare the groups’ religious views, major phi—
losophies, and national mottoes as well as other value—based information.
The teacher may want to share some of the information from the World
Values Survey slides with the class to show the shift from away from religion
and toward secular—rationalism as a global trend. They can discuss how the
Lenni—Lenape Indians’ values are different from today’s values in India and
how the old man is portrayed in the story about India (and how religion/
spirituality can be portrayed as something from the past).
http://Www.worldvaluessurveyorg/wvs.jsp

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