Purple Hibiscus

As students read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, which tells the story of a young Nigerian girl and her family, they investigate the topics of identity, oppression, love and tradition.

icon/ela/white

ELA

Unit 9

9th Grade

This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 9th Grade English course.

Unit Summary


Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus tells the story of a young Nigerian girl, Kambili, and her family. Throughout the novel, the author wrestles with themes of identity, freedom, oppression, love, and tradition as she explores the tensions within Kambili’s family and within the country of Nigeria itself. As students read this text, they will investigate these thematic topics while also learning about the complex history and political climate in Nigeria. As their first experience of the year with world literature, students will explore both the universal human truths and the culture-specific aspects of the novel. Adichie’s “Danger of a Single Story” talk will serve as a powerful backdrop to facilitating students’ abilities to draw thematic comparisons between the novel and the American literature they have read this year: The Bluest Eye and Of Mice and Men. Additionally, the teacher will lead students to expand their knowledge of both the country of Nigeria and the continent of Africa through visual, literary, and informational materials.

The major writing focus of the literature lessons will be literary analysis, specifically around writing essays in which students compare portions of the novel with poetry. Poetry will be woven throughout the unit to build students’ analytical skills, and it will appear on the end-of-unit assessment. The mid- and end-of-unit assessments will both require students to compare Purple Hibiscus and a novel poem, writing about how the authors convey similar themes. Note: Several poems, as well as time to work in analysis of the poems and review poetry terms, are built into the unit plan. If students appear to need more extensive review, the teacher should plan to build in extra poems as Do Nows and/or homework throughout the unit.

At Match, students have a Composition class 4 days per week in addition to English class. Below, we have included Supplementary Composition Projects to reflect the material covered in our Composition course. For teachers who are interested in including these Composition Projects but do not have a separate Composition course, we have included a “Suggested Placement” to note where these projects would most logically fit into the English unit. While the Composition Projects may occasionally include content unrelated to English 9, most have both a skill and content connection to the work students are doing in their English 9 class.

In these supplemental Composition Projects, students will sharpen their rhetorical analysis skills by reading a series of persuasive speeches and letters on equality and justice in society. These accompanying composition projects build upon each other to prepare students for the culminating project of the unit: an original argument essay about the role of equality and justice in society. To prepare to write their own argument essay, students will first spend time analyzing techniques used by several authors and speech makers. The rhetorical analysis students will do includes elements of both reading and writing, with an overarching focus on developing the bank of rhetorical techniques students are able to recognize, analyze, and ultimately use themselves.

Texts and Materials


Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which supports our non-profit mission.

Core Materials

  • Book: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Algonquin Books, 2012)

Supporting Materials

Assessment


This assessment accompanies Unit 9 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

  1. Read and annotate the novel with the thematic questions in mind.
  2. How do you expect students might answer these questions on day one of the unit? How should their answers grow and develop over the course of the unit?
  3. Take the exam and write your mastery response to the essay portion of the exam.

Essential Questions

  • Freedom: What does it mean to be truly free? What is the relationship between freedom and sacrifice?
  • Silence: What are the benefits and consequences of silence? What are the risks associated with not remaining silent?
  • Love: What does it mean to love someone? Should love ever hurt?
  • Oppression: What is the impact of oppression on the everyday lives of those who are victims of it? How does the author’s use of microcosm convey this theme?
  • Identity: How do our identities change over time? How does this theme relate to the theme of identity as we’ve seen it in other units?
  • Tradition: What are the benefits of honoring our past? What are the dangers of ignoring it? What might be the benefits of ignoring it?

Writing Focus Areas

English Lessons Writing Focus Areas

The focus of the writing in this unit is for students to develop the ability to write a theme statement that can apply to more than one text.

  • Thesis: Begin with a theme statement that is accurate and can be supported with examples from the text
  • Evidence: Use well-chosen evidence to support thesis

Composition Projects Writing Focus Areas

Students will work on their rhetorical analysis and narrative writing in these projects. For teachers and students unfamiliar with rhetorical analysis writing, it is a type of writing in which we explain the techniques a speaker/writer uses to persuade an audience in a particular context. 

  • Thesis: Clear and relevant; previews the information to come
  • Analysis: Demonstrates clear and logical reasoning
  • Analysis: Effectively and smoothly incorporates framing of evidence
  • Diction: Includes precise language and advanced vocabulary

Vocabulary

Literary Terms

Unit: metaphor, simile, symbolism, foil, theme, thematic topic, extended metaphor, microcosm, allusion, motif, structure, mood, tone, diction

Poetry only: structure, verse, stanza, rhyme scheme, alliteration, speaker

Roots and Affixes

meti- (23), sub- (126), equi- (224), micro- (224), vacu- (302)

Text-based

solemnity (4), modesty (5), contorted (7), civilized (13), defiance (16), oppression (theme), meticulously (23), coup (and The Wealth of Africa) (24), thwart (32), desolate (38), integrity (42), despair (45), assume – as in take on (46), migration (53), tinged (58), discordant (61), decree (62), covert (68), heathen (74), perpetual (78), pagan (81), intercede (83), placid (92), apparition (99), mandated (100), extorted (104), pilgrimage (107), materialize (111), restore (112), uncivilized (116), indigenous (118), “culturally conscious” (118), rueful (121), submerge (126), punctuate (126), sacrilegious (135), disorderly (136), exile (144), taut (148), abomination (159), twining (165), interchange (167), plaintive (168), elusive (176), sparse (183), grievous (184), excruciating (194), waft (197), activism (199), charismatic (210), exquisite (211), exert (217), nostalgic (221), equivalent (224), microcosm (224), reluctant (228), ingrained (230), tyranny (244), descend (257), disheveled (262), radiant (267), heretical (279), constrict (280), rebuke (286), unkempt (295), regime (297), stringent (299), pessimistic (300), vacuously (302)

Idioms and Cultural References

colonialism (general), missal (3), etagere (3), oblate (3), compound (9 and throughout), harmattan (4 and throughout)

Content Knowledge and Connections

Knowledge of colonialism and the concept of a coup would help students to more deeply access this text. Conversely, the text itself will help to deepen students’ understanding of these abstract topics.

Previous Fishtank ELA Connections

Future Fishtank ELA Connections

Lesson Map


Composition Projects


3

Analysis

(PROCESS)

Reread the excerpt of the speech given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie entitled We Should All Be Feminists. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the persuasive techniques used by Adichie to convey her attitude and beliefs about feminism.

An effective rhetorical analysis:

  • accurately identifies the rhetorical devices (anaphora/repetition, parallelism, rhetorical questions, humor, anecdotes, etc.), rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), and powerful diction used by Adichie;
  • explains how Adichie uses the techniques;
  • provides examples of each technique;
  • explains what makes each technique appropriate/effective for the audience; and
  • concludes by connecting back to the overall purpose of the speech.

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6

4

Analysis

(PROCESS)

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Consider King’s message about justice. Then write an essay in which you develop your own position on the meaning and importance of justice. Use appropriate, specific evidence from a variety of sources to illustrate and develop your position.

An effective argument essay:

  •  identifies the author’s position and claims;
  • provides examples to support each claim;
  • addresses possible counter-claims;
  • is structured purposefully to support the development of the claims;
  • utilizes powerful diction and other rhetorical devices and appeals; and
  • concludes by connecting back to the author’s original position and claims.

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6

Common Core Standards


Core Standards

L.9-10.6
RI.9-10.1
RI.9-10.2
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.3
RL.9-10.4
RL.9-10.5
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.2
W.9-10.1
W.9-10.1.a
W.9-10.1.b
W.9-10.1.c
W.9-10.1.e
W.9-10.2
W.9-10.3
W.9-10.4
W.9-10.5
W.9-10.6
W.9-10.9
W.9-10.10
icon/arrow/right/large copy

Unit 5

Gender and Power in The Taming of the Shrew

Request a Demo

See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.

Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.

Contact Information

School Information

What courses are you interested in?

ELA

Math

Are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders?

Yes

No

Any other information you would like to provide about your school?

Effective Instruction Made Easy

Effective Instruction Made Easy

Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free