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Lesson 2

We will examine the epigraph and the prologue to understand how the author introduces key ideas and persons.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I establish and explain the context of a text?

  • Can I recognize and interpret language and sentence structures to begin my understanding of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Crown Publishing Group, 2010

Materials

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss – Read – Write

We will review our homework reading.

In your group, discuss the reading homework and the guiding questions.

After your discussion, re-examine the last paragraph of "A Few Words about This Book." According to Rebecca Skloot, what issues are raised in this text? In your Learning Log, write down each issue and a few sentences about what you understand about that issue. You will use these notes in an upcoming lesson.

Activity 2: Listen – Read – Write – Discuss

We reread and analyze the epigraph at the beginning of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to consider its importance to the text.

Epigraphs at the beginning of books often express a central idea or focus of a text. Listen as your teacher or one of your peers reads the epigraph by Elie Wiesel, and discuss its possible meaning with your group. Respond to the questions below in your Learning Log:

  1. Based on the epigraph, what might be a focus of the book?

  2. What does the word abstraction mean in this context?

  3. What are some examples of thinking about a person as an abstraction? How can you relate this to your life?

  4. Who was Elie Wiesel? How does his life contribute to the significance of the epigraph? Once you have discussed what you already know, look up Elie Wiesel on the Internet for more information.

Once you have answered each question as a group, pick one answer to share with the class. Add to or revise your answers based on the discussion and as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 3: Discuss – Read – Write

We complete a close rereading of the several sentences in the prologue “The Woman In the Photograph” to examine the author’s use of literary techniques.

Step 1

Discuss the following questions in your group:

  1. What is the purpose of a prologue?

  2. Do you normally read the prologue in a text if there is one? Why?

Discuss one or more of your answers with the class.

Step 2

Individually, choose four sentences from the prologue that you think are important to understand the writer or the subject. Write them down in your Learning Log. For each sentence, respond to the following questions, citing details from the text to support your answer:

  1. What do you notice about the writer’s choice of words? What stands out?

  2. What do you notice about the sentence? What stands out?

  3. What do you notice about the writer’s attitude toward the subject? Toward the reader?

  4. What important details about the topics or important persons are included?

After you finish, share one of your sentences and responses with your group. Pick one sentence and response to share with the class. We will return to these sentences in the next lesson.

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read “Deborah’s Voice” and chapter 1 from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for homework.

For homework, read and annotate "Deborah’s Voice" and Chapter 1 in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log, citing evidence from the text to support your answers:

“Deborah’s Voice”

  1. What is the effect of the author introducing Deborah’s voice at the beginning of the text?

  2. What do you learn about Deborah?

Chapter 1

  1. What important information do you learn about Henrietta Lacks in Chapter 1?