Introducing Persepolis and Marjane Satrapi
This document will give both the teacher and the students the necessary vocabulary and mind set for reading and analyzing a graphic novel. Connors article on the graphic novel goes into great detail about the importance of the graphic novel as valid form of literature.
Toward a Shared Vocabulary by Sean P Connors
This document gives a brief synopsis of the book and discusses Marjane Satrapi's control of language and visuals to create a fantastic memoir. This article can serve as an introduction to Marjane Satrapi either for other teachers or for the teachers and students.
Growing Up Graphic by Debbie Notkin
This document can be used as a means to open up discussion about race, gender, terrorism, and war. It focuses on the stereotypes Americans have of Islam and works to break down those stereotypes so the students can read Persepolis in a more meaningful and less filtered way.
Homeland In/ Security: A Discussion and Workshop on Teaching Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis by Lisa Botshon and Melinda Plastas
Building Background Historical Knowledge
This link will take you to an article by The Guardian about how the Guardian covered the Islamic Revolution over the years. This article shows snippets of the articles that were in print during the actually Islamic Revolution. The articles create a timeline for the Revolution. Students will be able to see the progression that occurred to get a broader understanding of the event itself.
The 1979 Iranian Revolution: How the Guardian Covered it
This link will take you to an overview on what events were ocurring in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This can be used as a handout that teachers can provide to the students. It will be helpful for students to have readily available information on the Islamic Revoltion while reading Persepolis. Teachers will be able to reference the events in the handout as it correlates to the story.
Iran Overview Handout
During the Reading Event
This link will take teachers to a day-by-day lesson plan where students learn about different aspects of Persepolis in collaborative groups of about 6 students each. This lesson focusses more on the historical and time period aspects of Persepolis which will allow students to become familiar with Iran during the time of the revolution.
Read Write Think: Historical Background Lesson Plan for teaching Persepolis
This link will take you to a webquest list of websites for the students to use when they are in groups to explore different aspects of Iranian culture and society. These websites are safe spaces for students of all ages. Webquests allow students to explore different websites and learn about different aspects of Persepolis through multimedia resources without the fear of students stumbling upon inappropriate information.
Read Write Think: Group Webquests
This link will take you to the Read Write Think page for teaching Persepolis with the focus on the form of graphic novel rather than on a historical focus. It includes a list of vocabulary and concepts that will help students understand the graphic novel.
Read Write Think: Pictures Tell the Story Improving Comprehension With Persepolis
This document with the grading rubric for an Oral Presentation on the graphic novel. Students will be broken down into groups and asked to focus on one element of the graphic novel and a topic from the text and present their work to the class.
Oral Presentation Grading Rubric
This link will take you to another Read Write Think page that allows you to make a comic of your own. Read Write Think offers a comic creator tool that helps the students create a comic of their own, with step by step guidance from Read Write Think. Once students have almost completed reading Persepolis, this activity would be a great way for students to get creative and involved in the graphic novel process.
Read Write Think: Comic Creator
This link will take you to an entire unit template prepared for the high school level. This lesson plan provides everything needed to teach Persepolis. It gives objectives for learning as well as historical background on the Islamic Revolution. Specific classroom activities are also included within the lesson plan.
Reading Persepolis: Lesson Plan on Gender, Culture, and Genre
After Reading Persepolis
This link will take you to an interview with Marjane Satrapi about the transition between Persepolis as a graphic novel and Persepolis the movie. This interview will allow students to see what Marjane Satrapi is like, allowing the to connect with the writer on a more personal level.
Interview with Marjane Satrapi
Students will get to watch the film version of Persepolis after they finish reading and discussing the graphic memoir as a class. Below is a link to the full film on youtube. Make sure your school's computers can access the video before attempting to show it in class.
Youtube: Full Movie Persepolis