Visibility & Invisibility in Short Texts

Lesson 1
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ELA

Unit 13

9th Grade

Lesson 1 of 15

Objective


Analyze how word choice and structure impact meaning in the opening paragraph of Nobody.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill  — Preface

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

What do we now understand about the speaker based on the contrasts in the second paragraph?

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

What jumps out to you, confuses you, or intrigues you? Where do Hill’s choices around language seem most revealing and important?

Scaffolding Questions

What two ideas does Marc Lamont Hill contrast in this second paragraph?

What is Marc Lamont Hill’s attitude towards nobodies? Towards the government?

Identify the places in the first two paragraphs where Marc Lamont Hill repeats the idea of vulnerability. What impact does this repetition have on the meaning (tone, perspective, or central ideas) that Marc Lamont Hill conveys in the first two paragraphs?

According to these two paragraphs, what central argument will Marc Lamont Hill be proving throughout his book? How do you know?

Discourse Questions

How can we characterize the speaker based on the contrasts in this paragraph?

To what extent do you feel sympathy towards Marc Lamont Hill?

Homework


  • Read and annotate the “Prelude” from Nobody by the next class.
    • Annotation Focus: How does Marc Lamont Hills define being a nobody?

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Standards


  • 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.
  • 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).
  • 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).

Supporting Standards

RI.9-10.1
SL.9-10.1
W.9-10.2

Next

Explain Hill’s perspective on invisibility including how specific details, lines, and words help to develop that perspective.

Lesson 2
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