Home, Grief, and Storytelling in Men We Reaped

Lesson 16
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ELA

Unit 9

10th Grade

Lesson 16 of 22

Objective


Analyze the metaphor of the horse that Betts extends throughout "What We Know About Horses" including how it creates social commentary about growing up as a Black man in America. 

Explain the connection between the horse metaphor and "We are Wounded" and "Charles Joseph Martin."

Readings and Materials


  • Poem: “What We Know of Horses” by Reginald Dwayne Betts 

  • Book: Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward 

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

Complete a poetry one-pager for "What We Know of Horses" that includes a SWIFT analysis, your annotated poem, and a symbolic illustration of the poem’s meaning.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

In what lines, words, and phrases does the speaker in "What We Know of Horses" reference a horse? What does this horse refer to in those lines, words, and phrases?

Scaffolding Questions

What is the speaker’s attitude towards mass incarceration or the people/institution responsible for mass incarceration? How do we know?

What is the symbolic significance of the horse?

Zoom in on the last line of the poem: "I am the one/domesticated, a broken horse"?  What does it mean? Why is it significant? How does it contribute to your understanding of the speaker’s perspective? Of the meaning of the overall poem? 

In "We are Wounded," Ward describes being left alone downstairs with her brother Joshua by her babysitter who went upstairs to hang out with neighbors. Why does the babysitter leave her alone? Why is this experience significant and how does it impact Ward as an adult?

Discourse Questions

How does Bett’s extended metaphor impact our understanding of the speaker’s experience and the context lurking behind his brother’s imprisonment?

In what ways does Ward’s complex portrayal of Charles and her experiences connect to the horse metaphor? In other words, who or what is the horse in Ward’s life? In Charles’ life?

Homework


Read and annotate "We are Watching" and "Ronald Wayne Lizana" by Lesson 18.

  • Annotation focus: 
    • What are your first impressions of Ward’s experiences after her father leaves? 
    • What are your first impressions of Ronald Wayne Lizana?

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Standards


  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
  • RL.9-10.5 — Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Supporting Standards

LO 1.3A
LO 2.3A
LO 2.3B
LO 2.3C
LO 5.1A
LO 5.1B
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
SL.9-10.1
W.9-10.2

Next

Step back and reflect on my research question and topic and where it has shown up in Jesmyn Ward’s Men We Reaped: A Memoir.

Lesson 17
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Lesson Map

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