Coming of Age and Patriarchy in Dominicana

Lesson 10
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ELA

Unit 16

9th Grade

Lesson 10 of 20

Objective


Analyze how Heaney uses imagery, diction, and shifts to reveal the complex experience of blackberry picking.

Readings and Materials


  • Poem: “Blackberry-Picking” by Seamus Heaney 

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

Complete a poetry one-pager for “Blackberry Picking” that includes a SWIFT analysis, your annotated poem, and a symbolic illustration of the poem’s meaning.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

What lines, words, and phrases reveal the complexity of the blackberry picking experience? What does Heaney do with language in these lines, words, and phrases?

Scaffolding Questions

Who is the speaker? How do you know? From what perspective is the speaker speaking?

How does Heaney describe the blackberry picking experience in the first stanza?  What does this description suggest about the kind of activity blackberry picking is for the speaker?

How does Heaney describe the blackberry picking experience in the second stanza? How has the experience shifted for the speaker? Who or what is most responsible for this shift?

What does “blackberry picking” represent figuratively?

Discourse Questions

How does the poet convey both a literal description of picking blackberries and a deeper understanding of the whole experience?

Homework


Read and annotate Part 2 of Dominicana by Angie Cruz by Lesson 11.

  • Annotation Focus: What is the power dynamic between Juan and Ana? 
  • Write a complex sentence about the power dynamic between Juan and Ana or their relationship as a whole.

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Standards


  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Supporting Standards

LO 2.3A
LO 2.3B
LO 2.3C
LO 5.1A
RL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.1
W.9-10.2

Next

Analyze how the author establishes characterization in the opening of Dominicana and how it introduces central ideas of the text. 

Lesson 11
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Lesson Map

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