Version élève → Anglais · Lycée général · 1re · Première

Séquence 12 · I contain multitudes: plural identities

How can a person, or a nation, have several identities at once?

Bonjour !

Dans cette séquence de anglais, tu vas chercher à répondre à la grande question écrite en haut de la page. Elle se fait en 3 séances. Pour chaque séance : lis la consigne, étudie les documents, réponds aux questions sur ta feuille ou sur l'ENT, puis recopie l'essentiel dans ton cahier. Tu peux imprimer cette page avec le bouton « Imprimer ».

À la fin, je serai capable de :

Les mots importants

hyphenated identities (Irish-American…)relative clausesfree verse, anaphoraidentity vocabulary

Ressources de la séquence

Les notions, les repères et les pistes pour aller plus loin, utiles pour toutes les séances.

Les notions à maîtriser

Hyphenated identity
Two belongings joined by a hyphen: Italian-American, Chinese-Canadian.
Relative clauses
who (people), which (things), whose (possession), where (places).
Free verse
Poetry without regular rhyme or metre; Whitman uses long lines and lists.

Repères

DateÉvénement
1819Birth of Walt Whitman on Long Island, New York.
1855First edition of Leaves of Grass.
1891-1892« Deathbed edition » of Leaves of Grass.
1892Death of Whitman.

Pour aller plus loin

Sources et bibliographie

Mon parcours : je choisis mon rythme

Séance 1 · Hyphenated identities

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

What does it mean to be Irish-American or Chinese-Canadian?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Relative clauses

Use relative clauses to define or add information: who (people), which (things), whose (possession), where (places). New York is a city where hundreds of languages are spoken. Whitman was a poet who celebrated diversity.

Document 1 · A nation of hyphens

Text written by the teacher.

In the United States and Canada, many people describe themselves with two words joined by a hyphen: Irish-American, Mexican-American, Chinese-Canadian. The first word refers to the origin of their family, the second to the country where they live. Some see it as a richness; others prefer to say simply « American ». Every year, on 17 March, cities such as New York and Chicago celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with parades: an Irish tradition which has become a part of American culture.

Source : teacher's synthesis.

Pour bien lire ce document :

hyphen: the sign « - » between two words; parade: a procession in the street.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read and answer.

  1. What does the first word of a hyphenated identity refer to?
  2. What do some people prefer?
  3. Give an example of a tradition which crossed borders.

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Complete with who, which, whose or where.

  1. Chicago is a city ___ the river is dyed green on 17 March.
  2. Whitman was a poet ___ celebrated America.
  3. It is a tradition ___ comes from Ireland.
  4. She is a writer ___ parents came from Mexico.

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (spoken)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Record 1 minute 30: present a tradition of the English-speaking world which comes from another country (Saint Patrick's Day, Chinese New Year in Vancouver, Diwali in Leicester…). Sentence starters: This tradition, which…, / It is celebrated in cities where… / It shows that identities….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

originwhere

A hyphenated identity joins an ______ and the country ______ people live.

Séance 2 · « I contain multitudes »

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

How does Whitman's « I » include everybody?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Free verse and anaphora

Whitman writes in free verse: long lines, no rhyme, lists. He speaks for himself and for the reader (what I assume you shall assume). He accepts contradiction: a big self contains many voices.

Document 1 · Walt Whitman, « Song of Myself » (extracts)

Poem, Leaves of Grass, 1891-1892 edition (public domain).

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

[…]

Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Source : Walt Whitman, « Song of Myself », Leaves of Grass (text on Wikisource).

Pour bien lire ce document :

to assume: to believe, to take as true; atom: the smallest part of something; to contradict oneself: to say opposite things; multitudes: a great number of people.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read and answer.

  1. What does the poet celebrate?
  2. What does he share with the reader?
  3. How does he answer the question « Do I contradict myself? »

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Find in the extracts.

  1. two verbs of celebration
  2. a rhetorical question
  3. a word meaning « a great number of people »
  4. a sign of free verse

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (written)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Write 120 to 150 words: explain why « I contain multitudes » is still quoted today. Sentence starters: Whitman suggests that… / This idea is still relevant because… / For instance,….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

multitudesverse

Whitman writes in free ______ and accepts contradiction: « I contain __________. »

Séance 3 · Our own Song of Myself

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

How can a poem express a plural identity?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Writing free verse

To write like Whitman: start lines with the same words (anaphora: I am… I am…), make lists, use the present simple, mix the small and the large. Write about a character or a city, not about yourself.

Document 1 · Model poem: a city speaks

Model text written by the teacher.

I am Toronto, and I sing myself. I am the morning streetcar and the night bakery, I am a hundred languages at the same bus stop, I am snow in April and dragon boats in June. Do I contradict myself? Very well: I am large, my streets contain multitudes.

Source : teacher's model text, inspired by Whitman.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read the model and answer.

  1. Who speaks?
  2. Find the anaphora.
  3. Which line echoes Whitman directly?

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Write lines with contrasts.

  1. I am snow / I am…
  2. I am quiet / I am…
  3. I am old / I am…
  4. I am one / I am…

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (written)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Write a poem in free verse (12 to 15 lines) in which a city or a fictional character « sings itself ». Sentence starters: I am…, and I sing myself. / I am… and… / I contain….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

anaphoracontrasts

To write like Whitman, I use ________, lists and _________.

Fiche à trous · je complète

Complète le texte avec les mots de la banque (sur papier ou dans le document de l'ENT).

1855hyphenatedmultitudesverse

Whitman first published *Leaves of Grass* in ______.

« I am large, I contain __________. »

Whitman writes in free ______: no rhyme, no fixed metre.

An Irish-American is an example of a __________ identity.

Ce que j'ai appris

Les 3 idées que je retiens :
Une phrase en anglais que je veux retenir :
Ce qui reste difficile pour moi / ma question pour le professeur :