Sula (2021)

Lesson 4
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ELA

Unit 16

10th Grade

Lesson 4 of 31

Objective


Contrast Sula’s family life with Nel’s and explain how the differences contribute to their friendship.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Sula by Toni Morrison  pp. 24 – 32

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

How does Morrison’s description of Sula’s upbringing compare to that of Nel’s? How will this eventually contribute to their friendship?

Key Questions


pp. 24–27 review questions:

  • What does Morrison mean when she says, “they were too late,” on pp. 24–25?
  • How do Nel and Helene know that someone else had been in the room? 
  • How does Nel feel about the above? 
  • Characterize Helene’s mother, Rochelle, based on pp. 25–26.
  • Describe the interaction between Helene and Rochelle on p. 26.
  • How does Nel feel about her grandmother, Rochelle?
  • What does the Creole language mean to Helene? 

pp. 27–32

  • What are Helene’s main concerns when she arrives at home?
  • How has the trip to the South affected Nel? 
  • What key detail about Nel’s life do we discover on p. 29? 
  • Read the following line from p. 29: “When Sula first visited the Wright house, Helene’s curdled scorn turned to butter.”
  • What does Morrison mean here? In other words, what impact does Sula have on Helene?
  • What initial differences do we find about Sula’s house? 
  • On pp. 30–32, track details about: Sula’s house and Sula’s mother and grandmother.

Notes


  • Begin class with a review/quiz of pp. 24–27.
  • This can be a two-day lesson - one day to read and gather analysis and one day to write. 

Next

Contrast Sula’s family life with Nel’s and explain how the differences contributed to their friendship.

Lesson 5
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