Home, Grief, and Storytelling in Men We Reaped

Lesson 17
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ELA

Unit 9

10th Grade

Lesson 17 of 22

Objective


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.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward  — Research sources and research trackers

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

Respond to the following free write prompt:  In what ways do the sources in your research tracker and the ways in which your topic show up in the text speak to each other? In other words, what would Ward say to one of the authors in your research tracker about your topic?

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Scaffolding Questions

The following list contains questions that students can use to guide the creation of their insight piece.

  • What would Hill/Alexander/Morris/Desmond say to the authors of your texts listed in my research tracker?
  • After I read writer Hill/Alexander/Morris/Desmond, I thought ______________; however, after I read writer _______, my thinking on this issue had changed in these ways: ______________.
  • Can I find any areas of agreement (or disagreement), including shared values and beliefs, between Hill/Alexander/Morris/Desmond and the authors of the texts listed in my research tracker? 
  • What new, significant questions do the texts in my research tracker raise for me? 
  • After I have wrestled with the ideas in these texts, what are my current views on the topic I have chosen? 

Notes


Today’s Target Task is a free writing activity. The purpose of free writing is to brainstorm in sentence and paragraph form, writing all ideas down without stopping. This is a key and necessary lesson that should not be skipped as it provides students with the opportunity to let their ideas flow and reduces the chance of them censoring a unique and nuanced idea. Additionally, this strategy is also good with ELL students because it provides them with an opportunity to produce written language easily without having to worry about grammar, syntax, and quality.

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 1.4B — Synthesize ideas from multiple texts and explain how the texts may convey different perspectives on a common theme or idea.
  • W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Supporting Standards

LO 5.1A
LO 5.1B
SL.9-10.1
W.9-10.2
W.9-10.8

Next

Analyze the details and word choice Ward uses to reveal her complex mental state. 

Analyze how Ward’s portrayal of her mental state connects to her complex portrayal of Ronald Wayne Lizana.

Lesson 18
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Lesson Map

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