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Lesson 3

We will read the poem “HeLa” and use text-specific questions to find and analyze connections to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. We will then update our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I evaluate the effects of literary devices and rhetoric in a poem?

  • Can I recognize points of connection among a poem and the anchor text to make logical, objective comparisons?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “HeLa,” L. Lamar Wilson, Carolina Wren Press, 2008
  • Tradebook
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Crown Publishing Group, 2010

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Listen – Read – Write

We read the poem “Hela” and complete a quick-write to establish its meaning.

Listen as your teacher or one of your peers reads "HeLa" by L. Lamar Wilson.

Reread and annotate the poem individually. With poetry, it is important to pay attention to the word choice and the way the words look on the page, as well as how they sound. Use the following guiding questions to complete a quick-write in your Learning Log:

  1. What are your first impressions of the text?

  2. What is interesting?

  3. What stands out?

  4. What is happening in the poem?

  5. What is unusual?

  6. What do you like?

  7. What don’t you like?

  8. What questions do you have?

Discuss your quick-write with your group and pick one idea to share with the class. Add to or modify your notes during the discussion as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will complete a close analysis of “Hela” by using text-specific questions.

In your group, answer the following text-specific questions in your Learning Log, rereading the text as necessary to find evidence to support your answers:

  1. Who is the speaker of the poem, and whom is the poem being addressed to?

  2. What is the poet referencing with the lines, "She kissed me & called me beautiful & I was warm again"? What is the effect of these lines?

  3. How does the poet use personification in the poem? How does it affect the overall meaning?

  4. What is the significance of the line, "I keep white men up at night"? What are the possible meanings?

  5. Each stanza ends with an African chant that refers to Yemayá, an African goddess who is the protector of women. What effect do these lines have on the poem?

  6. Using the terms from the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool, what other literary devices can you find in the poem? Explain the effect of the device on the overall meaning of the poem.

  7. How is imagery used in the poem? Describe some of the key uses of imagery and their effect.

  8. What is the overall tone of the poem? Use evidence to support your answer.

  9. How does the poem relate to the central issues in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

Once your group has completed the questions, share your answers with the class during a class discussion. Add to or modify your notes as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will synthesize our learning of “Hela” by creating an analytical statement with textual support, and a point of comparison with the anchor text, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. We will then update the Author Craft Note-Taking Tool.

Step 1

Use the sentence frame below to create an analytical statement about the poem "HeLa," using the notes from the last activity:

In the poem "HeLa" by L. Lamar Wilson, the poet uses _____ (poetic device) to convey _____. For example, _____. In comparison, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks uses _____ (literary technique) to convey _____. For example, _____.

Share your analytical statements with your group. Add to or modify them based on your discussion. Then, look at the notes from the previous activity, transfer important lines from the poem and analysis, and add your analytical statement. Add analysis in order to answer the guiding questions in the third and fourth columns of the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool.

Step 2

As a class, discuss the following questions:

  1. How does the poet address one or more of the central issues from the text?

  2. What aspects of Henrietta Lacks’s story are emphasized in the poem?

  3. What aspects of her story are left out?

  4. What impact do the poet’s choices have on the reader’s understanding of the story?