Curriculum  /  ELA  /  9th Grade  /  Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts  /  Lesson 9

Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts

Lesson 9
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ELA

Unit 1

9th Grade

Lesson 9 of 20

Objective

Analyze how the motif of dreams communicates an important theme from the story.

Readings and Materials

  • Excerpt: How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity  pp. 63 – 72 — Short Story: “Trev” by Jacqueline Woodson

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Target Task

Discussion & Writing Prompt

How do Trev's recurring dreams communicate the author's theme about personal identity? Provide specific examples from the chapter and carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Questions

Close Read Questions

  • How does Trev's family respond to his transgender identity?

  • What do Trev's experiences in school reveal about the conflict between one's personal and social identity?

  • What is the importance in the story of the minor characters, Dr. K and Trev's aunt Dane?

Vocabulary

Literary Terms

motif

a recurrent, unifying element in an artistic work, such as an image, symbol, character type, action, idea, object or phrase. Motif is related to but distinguished from theme, but a motif sheds light on the theme

theme

the statement that the text seems to be making about its subject

Homework

Bring all readings and notes to class in order to participate in a small-group discussion.

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Standards

  • RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail 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.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • 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

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.10
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9

Next

Engage in a small-group hexagonal discussion to make connections between texts read so far in the unit. 

Lesson 10
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Lesson Map

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