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Lesson 6

We will complete an activity on vocabulary and examine how Rebecca Skloot uses imagery in the text. We will also analyze Skloot’s representation of herself in the text and add our analysis to our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

  • How well do I evaluate the effects of literary devices in text?

Texts

Core

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

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will complete a quick-write about Rebecca Skloot and how she represents herself in the text in order to examine the effect on the reader.

Complete a quick-write in your Learning Log regarding what you learned about Rebecca Skloot in the reading, how she represented herself in the text, and the effect of including the author in the text. Use the Representation of Key Persons section from the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool to guide your writing.

Once you have finished your quick-write, share your answers with your group. Pick one idea to share with the class. During the class discussion, add and revise your notes to deepen your understanding.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will interact with the words we wrote down for homework in our Vocabulary Journal to cement our understanding of their meaning.

Join your small group and compare the words you wrote down in your Vocabulary Journal. Select one word from each group’s Vocabulary Journal and respond to the vocabulary exercises as directed by your teacher.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will complete a close analysis of a sentence in chapter 5 to examine how the author uses imagery.

Step 1

Imagery is the use of words that evokes one or more of the five senses. Imagery is used to make writing interesting and vivid. Imagery can be figurative language, but it does not have to be. You can describe a pizza as overcooked and covered with soggy sardines (non-figurative) or a choir of flavors all singing in tune (figurative). In your groups, create an image for each of the five senses using precise language and sensory details:

Bakery (smell):

Hospital (sight):

Concert (sound):

Bed (touch):

Ice-Cream Cone (taste):

Share one of your answers with the class.

Step 2

On page 48, Rebecca Skloot quotes Henrietta: "Henrietta just nodded and said, ‘Lord, it feels like that blackness be spreadin all inside me.’"

In your Learning Log, individually answer the following guiding questions to complete a close analysis of the sentence:

  1. Which of the senses does the imagery evoke?

  2. What is the overall effect of the imagery on the reader’s experience or understanding?

  3. What does the imagery reveal about the subject?

After you have completed the answers, share your answers with your group. Pick one answer to share with the class. During the discussion, add and modify your answers as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 4: Write – Discuss

We synthesize our learning about Henrietta Lacks and Rebecca Skloot into our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool to deepen our understanding.

Individually, examine your notes in your Learning Log about the use of imagery in Chapter 5 and representation in Chapter 6. Add evidence to the Chapters 5-6 evidence cell from your notes. Make sure you label the evidence using the important terms in the tool. Answer the Framing Questions in the Analysis cell of the Author Craft Note-Taking Tool:

  1. How does an author introduce and develop key persons, ideas, or events?

  2. What is the impact of an author’s word choice, and how does it affect the overall tone of a text?

  3. What inferences can be drawn about the ideas and key persons in the text?

  4. How does an author structure a text that involves multiple narratives over an extended amount of time?

Be prepared to discuss your examples and analysis with the class.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss – Write

We will discuss and analyze Rebecca Skloot’s sentences, analyzing the diction and sentence structure. Then, we will write sentences that mimic her structure, style, grammar, and punctuation.

Step 1

Reading like a writer involves studying how an author writes and determining why the author makes specific writing choices at the paragraph and sentence level. Understanding what those writing choices mean and deconstructing how the author made those choices can help you emulate those choices in your own writing practice and diversify your range of writing strategies.

Follow your teacher’s direction regarding grouping, materials, and which mentor sentences you will analyze. Use the Working with Mentor Sentences Tool to work through the following steps for each mentor sentence.

Step 2

Read the sentence aloud. Unpack any unfamiliar vocabulary using your vocabulary strategies. Then, determine what the sentence is saying, and paraphrase the sentence to convey its meaning based on your initial understanding.

Step 3

Deconstruct the whole into parts. Split the sentence up into parts as directed by your teacher; sometimes your teacher will give you the parts, and sometimes you will have to split the sentence on your own. Complete the following for each part:

  • Determine the parts of speech and function.

  • Note other observations about the part, such as examples of effective diction or changes in verb tense or point of view.

Step 4

Follow along as your teacher reviews the relevant grammatical terms and concepts of specific phrases and clauses, punctuation, syntax, mood, and tone.

Step 5

Analyze the concepts. Review, discuss, and revise your deconstruction notes. Then, respond to the following questions:

  1. Which parts make up the main clause? The main clause is the main subject and predicate that expresses the central idea of the sentence. Write down the sentence, underlining the main clause.

  2. How do the other parts of the sentence (e.g., phrases, clauses, modifiers) enhance the main clause?

  3. How could you restructure this sentence so that it relays the same message to the reader? What is the impact of the different structures on your understanding?

  4. What revisions need to be made to your initial paraphrasing now that you have increased your understanding of the sentence?

Step 6

Analyze mood, tone, and meaning. Discuss the following questions:

  1. What mood does the author create in this sentence? How is this mood created?

  2. What tone is conveyed by the author in this sentence? How is that tone conveyed?

  3. What does this sentence contribute to the author’s ideas in the text? How does it expand your understanding of the text or author?

Step 7

Follow your teacher’s directions about choosing one or two mentor sentences to mimic. Use your deconstruction analysis of your chosen sentences to write your own, mimicking what the author does in terms of structure, style, grammar, and punctuation. The specific content of your sentences is your choice. Be prepared to share your sentences with your peers.

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapters 7–8 in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Read and annotate Chapters 7-8 in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Respond to the following text-specific questions in your Learning Log, providing evidence from the text to support your answers.

Chapter 7

  1. What do we learn about the progress of the HeLa cell culture?

  2. How does the information about Alexis Carrel and the immortal chicken heart enhance our understanding of the text?

Chapter 8

  1. What more do we learn about Henrietta Lacks in these chapters?