August 24th, 2005
Ralph Ellison
Procedures for Teachers

Activity One

1. Read & discuss

Provide students with a copy of The Invisible Man, by Ralph
classroom discussion after each section. Students could also be asked

Start the first discussion with the following quote from the novel:

"I am an invisible man.
nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms.
I might even be said to possess a mind.
I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see
Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it
When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves,
or figments of their imagination — indeed, everything and anything
except me." (Ralph Ellison)

these situations? How does his "invisibility" affect this

journals to refresh their memories.

2. Essay project

situation. (See Student
Organizer 1

in autobiographical space.

3. Group project

The final component of this lesson is a group project where students
as "invisible". Start by leading a discussion on how, in
Ralph Ellison’s novel, the personal experiences of a fictional character
ripple outward, describing greater social conditions in a very vivid

Next, have them break up into groups of 3-4 students. Each group
will select a group that they see as socially "invisible".
Circulate among the groups to help them make an appropriate selection.
group that lives in the community.

Once the topic is selected, the project group will create a multimedia
essay "revealing the invisible." This might be done as a
posterboard project, incorporating photos, magazine cut-outs, short
own "Revealing the Invisible" Web page. See Student
Organizer 2
for more information on the assignment.


Students will be assessed on the quality of their participation
invisibility as an element of societal structure.

Extension Activities

  1. Connect this lesson plan to other American Masters lessons to
    develop the theme of "what makes an American Master."

  2. This could be part of a larger study of African-American literature.

  3. Students could write and perform a play on the subject of invisibility
    in their own community.

  4. This topic could be the foundation for a literary project, such
    as a themed collection of poetry and short fiction.

  5. This lesson could be extended to include taking action to address
    could bring in community leaders to talk about the social actions
    an action plan of their own.

  • Tanji

    As I read over these procedures, I am left wondering what exactly students will be doing besides reading and writing. How much time is to be allotted for the reading of this book? I know you have it for 11th and 12th, but teacher assistance is needed for students to really understand the material.

Inside This Lesson

