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Lesson 3

We will write an analytical statement about author craft in Chapters 26–28 and then examine some of the central issues in the same chapters. After completing these activities, we will update our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool with our notes from these and previous lessons.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I establish and explain an accurate understanding of the central ideas of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among key literary techniques and structure within a text?

Texts

Core

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

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss

We will write an analytical statement about author craft from the reading using the Analyzing Relationships Tool.

Step 1

Individually, pick one chapter from the homework to analyze and one of the following categories from the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool to focus your analysis: diction and tone, imagery and figurative language, representation, structure, or syntax.

Access the Analyzing Relationships Tool and write down the following guiding question at the top:

What effect does Skloot’s use of _____ have on the reader’s understanding of the text?

Put your chosen category in the blank space.

Next, review the chapter and take notes as you find details that relate to your category. Choose three key details from the text and use the Analyzing Relationships Tool to examine the details and come to an analytical conclusion about Rebecca Skloot’s craft in the chapter.

When writing an analytical statement, identify the technique and its effect on the reader. Then, provide an example to support your statement.

In your Learning Log, write the following:

  • the technique that Rebecca Skloot devises by using the terms on the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool

  • an example of this technique from your reading

  • the purpose of the technique and its intended effect

Step 2

Next, create two sentences for your analytical statement. Use the sentence frame below:

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot uses _____(technique) to _____ (purpose). For example, _____.

Step 3

Share your sentences with your group and discuss the the following questions:

  1. Is this a style or structure that makes the author stand out from other authors that you have read?

  2. How is Skloot’s specific purpose in this text different from the purpose of other texts you have read?

Select one sentence from the group to share with the class.

Add to or modify your notes in your Learning Log based on the discussion. You will update your Author CraftNote-Taking Tool in an upcoming activity.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We analyze one of the central issues in chapters 26–28 using the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool.

Step 1

Individually, pick one of the central issues—race, class, ethics, or science—and one of the chapters from the reading homework. Make sure to review your notes from the reading to pick a relevant issue. Each member of your group should pick a different issue or chapter. When you have chosen your issue and chapter, use a copy of the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to analyze the issue with the following question:

  1. What central claims does Skloot make about _____ in Chapter _____, and how does she present them?

Step 2

When you have completed the tool, share your conclusions with your group and pick one conclusion to share with the class. In your notes, add details about other central issues that students analyzed.

Activity 3: Read – Write – Discuss

We will synthesize our notes on the central issues and author craft into our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool to deepen our understanding.

Review your notes in your Learning Log for Chapters 23-28 on author craft. Highlight notes that provide the most insight into the writer’s craft; copy the evidence into the cell for Chapters 23-28. Make sure you label each piece of evidence using the terms on the tool. Answer the Framing Questions for each piece of evidence.

Review your notes on the central issues of the text from Chapters 23-28. Summarize your notes and answer the Framing Questions above the cell to deepen your understanding.

Review your Author CraftNote-Taking Tool with your group members, and add to or modify your answers as you share.

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapters 29–30 from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

For homework, read and annotate Chapters 29-30 in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Write down new or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal, and respond to the following questions in your Learning Log, providing evidence from the text to support your answers.

Chapter 29

  1. Based on this chapter, what new or more nuanced understanding do you have about Rebecca Skloot?

  2. Based on this chapter, what new or more nuanced understanding do you have about Deborah?

Chapter 30

  1. Based on this chapter, what new or more nuanced understanding do you have about Zakariyya?