Curriculum / ELA / 9th Grade / Unit 2: You Laugh But It’s True: Humor and Institutional Racism in Born a Crime / Lesson 18
ELA
Unit 2
9th Grade
Lesson 18 of 25
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Lesson Notes
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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.
Book: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah — Chapter 17: "The World Doesn't Love You"
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Reread pages 57–58, 138–139, and 239–240. What connections can you make between these three passages? What do these passages, read together, reveal about Trevor Noah's experiences growing up? Provide evidence from all three passages to support your answer and carefully explain your thinking.
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Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
Why does Noah most likely include the story on page 225? What is the relationship between this story and the choices he makes in the following chapter? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer.
What did Trevor's experience in jail teach him about the assumptions we make about others? Provide specific evidence from the chapter to support your answer.
On page 56, Noah writes, "That, and so many other smaller incidents in my life, made me realize that language, even more than color, defines who you are to people." How does Trevor's experience in jail further develop this idea about language?
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Born a Crime, Chapter 18: "My Mother's Life"
While reading, answer the following questions.
Where did Trevor's mom meet Abel?
What kind of man was Abel to the outside world?
What is Trevor's reaction to his mom telling him she and Abel are going to get married? Why?
What does Trevor learn about Tsgonan culture when they visit Abel's family? How does Patricia behave during this visit?
How did the police respond to Patricia when she reported domestic violence? What lesson does Trevor learn about the police?
What new rules did Abel establish in the house? How did his presence impact Trevor's relationship with his dad?
What sacrifices does Patricia make to "make their marriage a true marriage of equals" (258)?
What does Trevor understand about his mother's discipline of him and why she was different with Andrew?
What was the turning point in Abel's excessive use of alcohol and violence?
Why does Trevor move out? After that, what are the contributing factors that push Trevor further away from his mother?
What happens to Trevor's mother?
What's the final piece of the story that his mother tells him on pages 284–285?
Note moments from the text that further characterize Patricia as well as moments that show how Abel's presence impacts Trevor's life.
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RI.9-10.3 — Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
RI.9-10.5 — Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.9-10.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.9-10.6 — Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RI.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.
RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze 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.
SL.9-10.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.9-10.1 — Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.9-10.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W.9-10.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Analyze how Abel’s presence impacts Trevor’s life and how the structural choices at the end of the memoir connect to its opening.
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
Emulate Noah's tone in a short narrative scene using an informal and conversational tone as well as description and dialogue.
Analyze how Noah characterizes his parents, their parenting, and his relationship with them.
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.
RI.9-10.3RI.9-10.5RI.9-10.5
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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