By Sharon M. Draper
Paula Hunt YA
Literature 7331
Summary of Copper Sun
3
Introduction to Sharon Draper
3
Introduction to Resources
4
African Art/Kente Cloth
African Art Projects
5
6
African Folktales
Anansi in the Classroom
7
8
The Road to Freedom - Ft. Meso
Your Road to Freedom
9
10
Road Trip
11
Sources
12
Sharon Draper is not only a five-time winner of the Coretta
Scott King Literary Award (one of which was awarded to
Copper Sun) and a New York Times bestselling author, she is a
teacher. Ms Draper taught English in Ohio for 30 years. She
was honored as the National Teacher of the Year in 1997 and
has won numerous other honors for her achievements in
education.
She calls herself “a creator, a visionary, a poet and a dreamer”.
In the first chapter of Copper Sun Amari mentions that she is proud that her
father is a weaver of the Ziavi tribe. She loved the bold stripe and animal
designs of the tribe’s cloth. Later in the book, we discover that Teenie’s prize
possession is a scrape of cloth from her ancestral tribe, the Ashanti. The first
resource deals with the art of weaving and the designs found on tribal clothes
of Africa.
When Teenie gives her pouch containing her cloth to her son Tidbit before
he runs away with Amari, she also begs him to remember his ansestors of the
Ashanti tribe and the spider and the monkey stories that had passed down
through African lore. The second resource is a folktale from Africa about
Anansi the spider.
Amari, Polly and Tidbit were not servants and slaves on a cotton plantation.
Derbyshire Farms was a rice plantation. When they run away, they do not take
the more familiar underground railroad. They head south to a lesser known
haven. The third activity allows the students to pretend they ran from the rice
plantation to Ft. Meso .
The trip to the First African Baptist church is to bring a touch of reality and let
them see first hand some of the symbols and uncomfortable spaces of
freedom.
The Ewe say Kente describes the
weaving process of the feet. The
toe of each foot goes up and
down during the weaving
process. Ken means to open in
Ewe and te means to press.. In
the Asante wars against the Ewe,
they captured weavers, it may
have been prisoners of war from
the Asante/Ewe wars that taught
the Asante how to weave. The
history was rewritten so that the
Asante say they learned weaving
from a spider.
“Amari had often imagined new patterns for the cloth and longed to
join the men at the looms, but women were forbidden to do so .”
Students may choose from one of three projects:
(Websites to help them get started are listed)
Research the history of weaving in Guyana:
http://kente.midwesttradegroup.com/history.html
http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/fiber-kente/kente.html
Design a pattern and explain your design:
http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/images/kente_weavingdemo14.JPG
http://www.africawithin.com/tour/ghana/kente_cloth.htm
Create a weaving using a cardboard loom
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2546/how-to-weave-on-a-cardboard-loom
“You remember all them stories
I tolt you ‘bout my mother and
Ashanti and the monkey and
spider stories.”
Anansi Stories are part of an
ancient mythology that is rooted
in West African folklore and deal
with semi-divine beings, humans,
animals, plants and seemingly
inanimate objects. In this
traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi
sets out on a long, difficult
journey. Threatened by Fish and
Falcon, he is saved from terrible
fates by his sons. But which of
his sons should Anansi reward?
Calling upon Nyame, the God of
All Things, Anansi solves his
predicament in a touching and
highly resourceful fashion.
The teacher will read the story of Anansi aloud.
Discussion: Is Anansi a wise creature or merely a
trickster? How does this folktale compare to other familiar
stories such as Uncle Remus, Aesop’s fables or Native
American tales?
Question: If you were one of Anansi’s son’s what would
your name/power be and what would you have done to rescue
Anansi.
Class Production: The class will present a skit based on
Anansi the Spider. 11 students will be chosen to portray the
characters in the story and 1 student will act as the Reader.
Remaining students will create simple sets and costumes.
The play will be presented as a read-aloud to the school or
younger classes while the characters act out the story.
When we think about slaves escaping to freedom, we
usually visualize them headed north on the underground
railroad, but in the first half of the 18th century there was a
second haven for runaways. This “city of freedom” could be
found about 2 miles north of St. Augustine in the Spanish
colony of Florida. It was known as Fort Mose.
For more information on Fort Mose go to:
Education Foundation Thinkquest Library
http:/ http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213580/
Imagine you are a runaway slave from a rice plantation. You have
heard of a city with streets “paved with gold” where everyone is
free and it is only a week’s journey south. Create a diary that tells
of your life, your journey, your arrival at Fort Mose and the early
days of your new life there. Include how you traveled and with
whom (if anyone), a simple map, your new home, your new job and
the people you met.
Tips for writing your journal:
•Write the date and your present location
at the top of the journal entry.
•Write about what happened during the
day.
•Write about what you're feeling.
•Write about what is going on around you.
•Don't censor yourself. If you're scared,
write why. If you are angry, explain what
happened.
•Write it from your point of view.
First African Baptist Church
Savannah, Georgia
Established in 1788, the first African
church in America was also a safe house
on the Underground Railroad.
This trip will allow students to
experience first hand the symbols used
by slaves and the cramped reality of the
Underground Railroad to freedom.
In preparation of the trip, students should
watch the following short videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJtTGJl8VB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-EvbddTja4
http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/fiber-kente/kente.html
http:/ http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213580/
http://kente.midwesttradegroup.com/history.html
http://sharondraper.com/home.asp
http://www.africawithin.com/tour/ghana/kente_cloth.htm
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2546/how-to-weave-on-a-cardboard-loom
http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/images/kente_weavingdemo14.JPG
http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ca-Ge/Draper-Sharon.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJtTGJl8VB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-EvbddTja4