Curriculum / ELA / 9th Grade / Unit 2: You Laugh But It’s True: Humor and Institutional Racism in Born a Crime / Lesson 11
ELA
Unit 2
9th Grade
Lesson 11 of 25
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Emulate Noah's tone in a short narrative scene using an informal and conversational tone as well as description and dialogue.
Book: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah — Chapters 1–4
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Choose someone in your life with whom you have a relationship (parent, sibling, friend, etc.). Using an informal and conversational tone as well as description and dialogue, create a short narrative scene between you and that person that reveals an aspect of your relationship.
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Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Book: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah — Chapter 5 ("The Second Girl "), Chapter 6 ("Loopholes"), and Chapter 8 ("Robert")
While reading, answer the following questions.
How were Black South Africans educated during Apartheid?
Why did Patricia Noah choose the name "Trevor" for her son?
What sacrifices did Trevor's mother make in order to make sure that she was able to give her son different experiences of the world?
How would Trevor's teachers have described him as a child?
Why does Trevor seek out contact with his father after many years?
What does he hope to get out of his visits with his father?
Annotate for scenes that reveal aspects of Trevor's relationship with his parents, and note down what can be concluded from these scenes/incidents.
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W.9-10.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.9-10.3.b — Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
W.9-10.3.d — Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
W.9-10.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9-10.5 — Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
RI.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
Next
Analyze how Noah characterizes his parents, their parenting, and his relationship with them.
Determine the central causes and effects of apartheid in South Africa and how it impacted different groups in society.
Standards
RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.3
Identify and evaluate the claims made by the National Party in an excerpt from their statement in support of apartheid.
RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.8
Analyze Mandela’s inaugural speech for diction and imagery and how both contribute to his rhetorical purpose.
L.9-10.5RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.4RI.9-10.6
Conduct a short research project on South African history in order to create a digital presentation.
RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2W.9-10.2.aW.9-10.2.bW.9-10.2.cW.9-10.2.dW.9-10.7W.9-10.8
Logically organize the research information into a digital presentation that includes all required components.
L.9-10.1L.9-10.2.cL.9-10.6W.9-10.2.aW.9-10.2.bW.9-10.2.cW.9-10.2.dW.9-10.2.eW.9-10.2.f
Present digital presentations as a group using appropriate physical presence and strong voice and articulation.
L.9-10.1SL.9-10.4SL.9-10.5SL.9-10.6
Analyze how Noah introduces characters, develops setting, and establishes tone in the first chapter of Born a Crime.
RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.4RI.9-10.5
Analyze how Noah develops his central idea that apartheid laws were unjust, unsustainable, and incoherent.
RI.9-10.2
Analyze how Noah develops the reader’s understanding of his unique experiences navigating life as a mixed-race person in South Africa.
Brainstorm and plan a short narrative scene that uses an informal and conversational tone as well as description and dialogue.
W.9-10.3W.9-10.3.bW.9-10.3.dW.9-10.4W.9-10.5
RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.5
Identify similarities and differences in the portrayal of South Africa’s colored community in Born a Crime Chapter 9 and a news report.
RI.9-10.5RI.9-10.7
Analyze how Noah develops the reader's understanding of his unique experiences navigating life as a mixed-race person in South Africa.
RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.5
Analyze how Noah develops the reader’s understanding of life in Alex township, and how his experience there shaped his perspective.
Plan a short description of a neighborhood that uses vivid imagery to develop the reader’s understanding of setting.
W.9-10.3
Emulate Noah’s writing style by creating a short narrative description of a place using description and imagery.
Analyze how Noah develops different ideas within Chapter 17, and make connections between events in this chapter and those that have occurred previously in the text.
RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.5RI.9-10.5
Analyze how Abel’s presence impacts Trevor’s life and how the structural choices at the end of the memoir connect to its opening.
RI.9-10.4RI.9-10.5
Engage in a summative Socratic seminar about the larger themes and ideas of Born a Crime, supporting arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence.
RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.6SL.9-10.1SL.9-10.3SL.9-10.4SL.9-10.6
Analyze a central theme developed over the course of Born a Crime, sharing one’s understanding in a final product.
RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.5W.9-10.2W.9-10.9
Apply the structural parts of a personal narrative to an excerpt from Born a Crime and brainstorm a personal narrative that explores identity development.
RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.3W.9-10.5
Outline the structure of a personal narrative that shows identity development and connects to a larger societal issue, and begin drafting.
W.9-10.5
Review the purpose of an introduction and conclusion in a personal narrative, and revise to strengthen those parts of a draft.
W.9-10.3.aW.9-10.3.bW.9-10.3.cW.9-10.3.dW.9-10.3.eW.9-10.4W.9-10.5
Analyze the effects of transitions in a personal narrative, and revise drafts to strengthen transitions.
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