Curriculum / ELA / 10th Grade / Unit 3: Feminism and Self-Respect in Sula / Lesson 9
ELA
Unit 3
10th Grade
Lesson 9 of 21
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Analyze how the author establishes setting, conflict, and characterization in the beginning of Sula.
Book: Sula by Toni Morrison pp. 3 – 6 — Part 1
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
How does Morrison establish setting, conflict, and characterization in the beginning of Sula? (Students should choose two of the three to discuss in their response.)
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Key thinking students do about today's reading.
What lines, words, and phrases help to establish the setting, conflict and characterization?
How does Morrison characterize the present day Bottom? How does Morrison characterize the Bottom of the past? What is the impact of this change on the community?
What does the description of the changes in the Bottom suggest about the narrator’s attitude? What does the description of the changes in the Bottom suggest about the people who once lived there?
How does Morrison establish the setting, conflict, and characterization in the opening?
What relationship does Morrison create between the setting of the Bottom and the conflict introduced in the first few lines?
In what ways is the Bottom a character in the text?
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
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LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
LO 1.3A — Analyze how literary elements interact to develop the central ideas of a work of literature.
LO 2.3A — Assert a precise central claim that establishes the relationship between a work's features and overall meaning.
LO 2.3B — Organize ideas and evidence to effectively develop and support a thesis.
LO 2.3C — Select and incorporate relevant and compelling evidence to support a thesis.
RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
W.9-10.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Lesson 8
Lesson 10
Introduction
Analyze how word choice and structure impact meaning in the opening sentence of “On Self-Respect.”
LO 1.3B RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4
Close Reading
Characterize Didion’s view of self-respect and analyze how Didion conveys this view.
LO 1.2A RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.5
Analyze the techniques Susan Minot uses to characterize the narrator.
LO 2.3A LO 2.3B LO 2.3C LO 2.3D RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4
Socratic Seminar
Interpret and evaluate “Lust” through a feminist critical lens using bell hooks’s Feminism Is for Everybody.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B SL.9-10.1
Analyze the techniques that Zora Neale Hurston uses to characterize Janie.
LO 1.3B RL.9-10.3
Analyze the techniques that Gloria Naylor uses to characterize Mattie Michael.
Explain Deborah Tannen’s line of reasoning in “There Is No Unmarked Woman” by identifying relevant claims and clearly explaining connections among them.
LO 1.3A LO 2.3A LO 2.3C W.9-10.2
Formulate and share unique arguments about self-respect and feminism across texts.
Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a Summative Socratic Seminar.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.2
Writing
Analyze the techniques Morrison uses to reveal Helene’s character.
Examine Morrison’s description of Sula and Nel’s upbringings and explain the impact it has on their friendship
LO 1.3B RI.9-10.3
Analyze how Morrison portrays Eva, Plum, and Hannah and their complex relationships as mother and children.
Analyze how Morrison portrays Sula and Nel and their complex relationship as friends.
Analyze the changes in Nel and Sula’s friendship. Examine the significance of Jude’s infidelity and Sula’s betrayal.
Assessment: Free Response
Analyze how the relationship between the deficiencies of a male character and the strengths of a female character in Sula illuminates the central ideas in the text.
LO 1.3A LO 1.3B LO 2.3A LO 2.3B LO 2.3C LO 2.3D RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 W.9-10.2
Analyze how Denise Levertov uses structure and other poetic techniques to highlight her perspective on marriage.
LO 1.3A LO 1.3B RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.4
Synthesize ideas about marriage, sex, and love across Sula and “About Marriage.”
LO 1.4B RL.9-10.2
Analyze how Morrison portrays the complex relationship between Ajax and Sula.
LO 1.2B LO 1.4B RI.9-10.3
Analyze the paradox of Sula’s evil and the impact it has on the residents of the Bottom.
Examine the ironic nature of Sula’s death and analyze the significance her death had on the community of the Bottom.
LO 1.2B LO 1.4B RL.9-10.3
Assessment: Socratic Seminar
Formulate and share unique arguments about Sula.
Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B RL.9-10.3 SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.2
Assessment: Performance Task
Complete the performance task to show mastery of unit content and standards.
L.9-10.5 LO 1.4B LO 1.4B LO 2.1A LO 2.1B LO 2.4B LO 2.4C LO 3.2B LO 3.3C RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.3 RL.9-10.2 W.9-10.3 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
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