Katherine Freeman Concept Unit Lesson Plan 8 Unit Working Title: Who Am I? Who Are We?

Identity & Community Unit Big Idea: Identity & Community Unit Primary Skill focus: Personal Writing Week 3 of 4; Plan #8 of 12; [90 min.] Plan type: Full detail Content Requirement Satisfied: mentor text, vocabulary instruction Critical Learning Objectives SWBAT: Performance: 7. Students will write to explore and reflect on their personal identities and the factors that shape them. e. Students will use several texts as models for writing. 9. Students will discuss and analyze the relationship between identity and community in a variety of texts. b. Students will develop definitions for new vocabulary encountered in a text. e. Students will compare characters from two texts, focusing on how they construct their identity. SOLs: 11.4e Analyze how context and language structures convey an authors intent and viewpoint. CCSs: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3D Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of experiences, events, settings, and/or characters. Procedures/Instructional Strategies

Beginning Room Arrangement: The desks will be arranged into four groups of four, and they will be labeled 1-4 with signs hanging from the ceiling. On each table, there will be the following items: 1. Station 1 directions, four printed copies of Hair from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a Tupperware container with white bread dough inside, a Tupperware container with two slices of white bread inside 2. Station 2 directions, four printed copies of My Name from The House of Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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3. Station 3 directions, four printed copies of Four Skinny Trees from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, several sticks and twigs 4. Station 4 directions, four printed copies of Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, stack of 20 paper cups, large bottle of coconut juice, large bottle of papaya juice, napkins or paper towels On the board, it will say, Welcome! Please find a seat wherever you would like. Please do NOT touch the materials on your table. 1. [5 min.] Opening to lesson: Good morning, everyone. Yesterday we did a lot of writing in class, so to switch things up a bit, were going to do a bit of reading today. I think youll enjoy this activity! Were going to be reading selections from a book called The House on Mango Street, which was written by a woman named Sandra Cisneros. She is a MexicanAmerican writer who grew up in Chicago, and she this book was inspired by her childhood. It is made up of small sections called vignettes. I will flip through the book as I walk around to show these to the students. Vignettes are small, short stories. The vignettes in this book all work together to give you a portrait of the main character (and narrator)s experience as a child. Some of the vignettes focus on her and her experiences, and some are about other people. Identity, community, and culture are all big themes in this book, and were going to explore those by reading four of the vignettes. 2. [55 min.] Stations: Your group is going to rotate between stations to read these vignettes. There is one at each station. You will use this graphic organizer to help you work through these stories. I will pass out four copies of the graphic organizer to each group as I continue explaining the activity. I would like each group to pick a leader, who will read the directions at each station. Go ahead and take 30 seconds to decide on your leader. I will give students time to pick their leader and hurry the process along if necessary. The first thing you do when you get to a station is have the leader read the directions, and your group should follow them closely. Youll need to work efficiently, because you only have 10 minutes at each station. Ill put a timer up on the board so you can keep track of how much time you have.

Katherine Freeman

Each station has a vocabulary activity included, which will be at the end of each section. You should try to reserve 2 minutes to work on the vocab. In each story, there is one vocab word I have selected, which is circled in your text and also printed on your graphic organizer. Id like your group to revisit the sentence in the story, and using the context, try to come up with a definition of the word. There is also a space where you can list other words from the text you are not familiar with, and we can discuss these as a class. Are there any questions so far? Go ahead and get started! I will start an 10 minute timer on the board. Go ahead and get started. If you have any questions or need help, please let me know! I will walk around to help groups and monitor progress. The students will work through the directions at their stations. The following directions will be printed out and placed at the appropriate station: Station 1: Hair Pass around the containers of bread dough and bread, and smell them. Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 1. What does bread remind you of? Read Hair. Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 2. Why might Esperanza use a simile about how her mothers hair smells like bread? Vocab: Look at the word obey in the text, and use the context clues to create a definition. Write this on your graphic organizer. List any other words you would like to learn. Station 2: My Name Read My Name, paying special attention to the second-to-last paragraph Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 1. How does Esperanza describe her name in the second to last paragraph? Everyone in your group should say their name out loud ten times. Say it fast sometimes. Say it slow sometimes. Pay attention to the sounds. On your graphic organizer, write a description of the sound of your name, like Esperanza did (2). Vocab: Look at the word inherit in the text, and use the context clues to create a definition. Write this on your graphic organizer. List any other words you would like to learn. Station 3: Four Skinny Trees Read Four Skinny Trees Pass around the sticks and twigs, and pay attention to how they feel.

Katherine Freeman

On your graphic organizer, draw a picture of the four trees based on the description in the text. Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 2. What could the trees represent? Vocab: Look at the word ferocious in the text, and use the context clues to create a definition. Write this on your graphic organizer. List any other words you would like to learn.

Station 4: Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays Pour each group member a cup of either coconut or papaya juice to drink as you read the story. Read Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays. Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 1. Why do you think Rafaela likes to drink the coconut and papaya juice? What does this say about how she views her life and identity? Vocab: Look at the word bitter in the text, and use the context clues to create a definition. Write this on your graphic organizer. Respond to the following question on your graphic organizer: 2. How does bitter relate to the juice? List any other words you would like to learn. As students work on these activities, I will walk around to provide assistance. I will also encourage fast transitions, and I will reset the timer for each section. After all stations are complete, I will say, Now lets take a look at the vocab words. Id like to go through the vocab for each station and find out what definitions you came up with. I will begin with the first station and ask someone to share what they came up with, and then I will provide a dictionary definition if necessary. I will repeat this with the word for each station. Now Id like to hear about any other words you listed that you would like to learn. Are there any from Hair? I will write any words students suggest on a list on the board. I will repeat the process for the other three vignettes. I will also define these words as I go and write them on the board. I will encourage students to write this list on the back of their graphic organizer. Id like you to use these words in your homework assignment tonight. For homework, youre going to write a short vignette of your own, about yourself. Like the vignettes in The House on Mango Street, it should relate to the themes of identity and community, which weve been focusing on in class for a few weeks now. You should also try to use descriptive details, just like we explored in the stations. I would also like you to incorporate one vocabulary word weve

Katherine Freeman discussed today. It can either be the word I selected from each vignette, or it can be from the list we just made.

The reason I would like you to do this at home is because I want you to have experience writing in a place outside of the classroom. However, I dont want you to spend too much time on this, so please spend only 15 minutes writing this. Does anyone have any questions about the homework? Please bring your vignette with you next class. You can either write it or type it on your tablet. 3. [30 min.] Text Comparison:1 Now, were going to focus in on Hair, and were going to compare it to another text. I will pass out papers with copies of Hair on one side an a selection from A Raisin in the Sun on the other. Lets start by taking a look at A Raisin in the Sun. This is a play that was written in 1959, which is right around the time that The House on Mango Street was set. Both of these stories are also set in Chicago. A Raisin in the Sun is about an African-American family who lives together in an apartment. They dont have very much money at all. This selection is from Act I, Scene II, and it focuses on one of the grown-up daughters, Beneatha. Asagai, an African man that she is dating, comes to visit her when he gets back from a trip. The two are going to have a conversation about Beneathas hair, which she relaxes. This is a special treatment she did to her hair to make it smooth and shiny. Lets go ahead and read. Can I have a volunteer to be Beneatha? And Asagai? I will read the stage directions, which are in italics, and each of you read your characters role. We will read through the passage (See appendix II). At the end, Beneatha declares that she is not an assimilationist. Assimilation means becoming a part of a new culture and giving up your old culture. The characters see this as a bad thing, and Beneatha denies that she is doing that. I will ask the following questions and take student responses when they raise their hands: How do you think Beneatha feels about her natural hair? (Responses will likely include: she does not like it, she is uncomfortable with it) What does Asagai think about what she does to her hair? (Responses will likely include: he dislikes it, he thinks its going against her culture)
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This activity is adapted from a lesson I taught to my 488 placement on March 28, 2014.

Katherine Freeman Asagai brought up a story about when they first met, and Beneatha told him she was searching for her identity. Why did Beneatha want to talk to Asagai about her identity? (Responses will likely include: he is from Africa and she is African-American) What does this conversation about hair have to do with her identity? (Responses will likely include: its about how she sees herself)

When appropriate, I will ask students follow-up questions or ask them to cite examples from the text. Now lets take a look at Hair again, and compare it to this passage we have just read. Ill go ahead and read it aloud for us. I will read the text aloud while students read along on their papers. After reading, I will ask the follow questions and call on students to answer: We discussed how in A Raisin in the Sun, Beneathas hair represents a conflict over her identity. Does Esperanza view hair negatively too? Whose hair is this about? (Responses will likely include: no, its about her family members hair) Lets look at the second paragraph. Its only two sentences, and the first one is very long. There is a lot of imagery built up in this sentence. Can you find an example in the text that appeals to the sense of smell? Sight? What about hearingare there any sounds? What about touchis there anything she feels? How does Esperanza view different types of hair? (Responses will likely include: positively, celebrating her family members) What is her favorite kind of hair? Why? How is this different from Beneathas favorite kind of hair and her reasons for liking it? (Responses will likely include: her mothers hair, describes it in much more detail, reminds her of her mothers love) Nice work, everyone! Now were going to do an activity to compare and contrast these two passages a little more closely. Im going to pass out Venn diagrams. Has anyone used these before? I will pass out the papers as I continue talking. A Venn diagram uses two intersecting circles. Each circle is labeled for something differentin this case, one is labeled for Hair and one is labeled for A Raisin in the Sun. In the circles, you write down qualities that only that text shares. In the middle, you write down things they have in common. Id like you to spend the rest of class filling this out. Youre welcome to talk to members in your group to get some ideas, but everyone will be accountable for their own Venn diagram. Ill go ahead and start you with some examples.

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I will write on the board as I do this. In the middle, I will write that both are set in Chicago around 1960. Under Hair, I will write that Esperanza is Mexican-American, and under A Raisin in the Sun, I will write that Beneatha is African-American. Does anyone have any questions? Go ahead and get started. Try to think about all the things we discussed about these texts. Ill be walking around if you need help. I will walk around and monitor progress. I will talk to each group and give them suggestions for things to consider (qualities of the genre, use of dialogue, handling of themes, use of imagery and description, etc.). 4. Closing: With about a minute left in class, I will say, Class is just about over, so please wrap up what youre writing, and make sure that your name is on the top of your paper. Be sure to leave these on the desk when you leave. Id like you to take your graphic organizer home with you to use as a reference as you write your vignette. Dont forget to spend only 15 minutes on this and bring it with you next class. See you next time!

Methods of Assessment: Graphic organizer [9b] Venn diagram [9e] Vignette (to be turned in next class) [7e] Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students: During the stations, I may have to make sure Holly works efficiently. She has good ideas and likes to explain them, but sometimes she can get a bit caught up with talking and not write everything down. I want to make sure she stays on track to get the work done, so Ill monitor her closely. Also, Holly is the only black student in the class, and I dont want her to feel uncomfortable when we are discussing the passage from A Raisin in the Sun. Ill be sure to pay attention to her behavior as we are reading this. Materials Needed: Four copies each of: Hair, My Name, Four Skinny Trees, and Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Directions for each station

Katherine Freeman Tupperware containers of bread dough and bread Sticks and twigs Mango and papaya juice Plastic Cups Paper towels Graphic organizer for each student Copies of A Raisin in the Sun and Hair passages for each student Venn diagram for each student

Materials Appendix: I. Graphic Organizer II. A Raisin in the Sun and Hair Passages III. Venn Diagram

Katherine Freeman Appendix I: Graphic Organizer Name: ___________________________________ The House on Mango Street Station 1: Hair 1. What does hair remind you of?

2. Why might Esperanza use a simile about how her mothers hair smells like bread?

Obey:

Other words:

Station 2: My Name 1. How does Esperanza describe her name in the second to last paragraph?

2. Write a description of the sound of your name:

Inherit:

Other words:

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Station 3: Four Skinny Trees 1. Draw a picture of the four trees based on the description in the text. 2. What could the trees represent?

Ferocious:

Other words:

Station 4: Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays 1. Why do you think Rafaela likes to drink the coconut and papaya juice? What does this say about how she views her life and her identity?

2. How does bitter relate to the juice?

Other words:

Katherine Freeman Appendix II: A Raisin in the Sun and Hair Text From Loraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun Act I, Scene II

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Beneatha: (eagerly opening the package and drawing out some records and the colorful robes of a Nigerian woman): Oh, Asagai! You got them for me! How beautiful and the records too! (She lifts the robes and runs to the mirror with them and holds the drapery up in front of herself.) Asagai: (Coming to her at the mirror): I shall have to teach you how to drape it properly. (He flings the material about her for the moment and stands back to look at her.) Ah Oh-pay-gay-day, oh-gbah-mu-shay. (a Yoruba expression for admiration) You wear it wellvery wellmutilated hair and all. Beneatha: (turning suddenly): My hairwhats wrong with my hair? Asagai: (shrugging): Were you born with it like that? Beneatha: (reaching up to touch it): Noof course not. (she looks back at the mirror, disturbed.) Asagai: (smiling): How then? Beneatha: You know perfectly well howas crinkly as yoursthats how. Asagai: And is it ugly to you that way? Beneatha: (quickly): Oh,nonot ugly (more slowly, apologetically) But its so hard to manage when its, wellraw. Asagai: And so to accommodate thatyou mutilate it every week? Beneatha: Its not mutilation! Asagai: (laughing aloud at her seriousness): Ohplease! I am only teasing you because you are so very serious about these things. (He stands back from her and folds his arms across his chest and watches her pulling at her hair and frowning in the mirror.) Do you remember the first time you met me at school? (He laughs.) You came up to me and you saidand I thought you were the most serious little thing I had ever seen: (He imitates her.) Mr. AsagaiI want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagai, I am looking for my identity! (He laughs.) Beneatha: (turning to him, not laughing): Yes. (Her face is quizzical, profoundly disturbed.)

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Asagai: (still teasing and reaching out and taking her face in his hands and turning her profile to him): Wellit is true that this is not so much the profile of a Hollywood queen as perhaps a queen of the Nile (a mock dismissal of the importance of the question) But what does it matter? Assimilationism is so popular in your country. Beneatha: (wheeling, passionately, sharply): I am not an assimilationist!

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Hairs from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Everybody in our family has different hair. My Papas hair is like a broom, all up in the air. And me, my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands. Carlos hair is thick and straight. He doesnt need to comb it. Nennys hair is slipperyslides out of your hand. And Kiki, who is the youngest, has hair like fur. But my mothers hair, my mothers hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty because she pinned it in pincurls all day, sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe, is the warm smell of bread before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside falling and Papa snoring. The snoring, the rain, and Mamas hair that smells like bread.

Katherine Freeman Appendix III: Venn Diagram

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A Raisin in the Sun

Hair