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Section 5: Overview

Reconciling Choices

We will finish The Warmth of Other Suns, refine and revise our understanding of the decision to migrate, and evaluate the overall impact of the Great Migration on individuals and families and the United States as a whole. We will review the breadth of material we read in previous sections in order to synthesize our understanding of the Great Migration.

Additionally, we will conclude our examination of Wilkerson’s structural decisions as she constructs this complex time in history and consider the following question:

  • How and why do authors and artists help us to construct the truth of this history?

  • Lesson 1:

    We will participate in our final jigsaw about our three focus figures, examining the long-term impacts and effects of their single decision to move away from the South. We will also examine the epigraphs Wilkerson uses to begin this section of the text and their relationship to the content of this section.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will participate in our final jigsaw discussion, focusing on the details explored in our expert groups in the previous lesson. We will read the Epilogue and then analyze the ideas presented by Wilkerson about the long-term impact of the Great Migration on individuals, families, and regions of the United States while synthesizing our understanding of the time period and the lives of Wilkerson’s three focus figures. Finally, we will consider how Wilkerson’s choices about sources, organization, and structure impact our understanding of this complex time in history.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will synthesize our understanding and bring closure to our study of the Great Migration and the unit texts in preparation for the Section Diagnostic and Culminating Task.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will synthesize our understanding of Wilkerson’s sources, organization, and structure, their relationship to the meaning she constructs and point of view she conveys, and how those impact our greater understanding of the Great Migration in preparation for the Section Diagnostic and Culminating Task.

  • Lesson 5:

    We will participate in a formal discussion on the topic of how and why authors construct histories, citing examples from The Warmth of Other Suns as well as at least three print and non-print texts we have read.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will review the teacher’s feedback on our Section Diagnostic and will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 7:

    We will share the analyses we have made about our independent reading texts and make connections to the unit. We will plan a final product to share our experiences from reading independently and the knowledge we have gained.