Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Beloved, Toni Morrison, Vintage Books, 2004

• • “Runagate Runagate,” Robert Hayden, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1966

Materials

Tools

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Beloved: Scene Analysis Handout

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Beloved: Section 3 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Beloved: Section 3 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will reflect on our homework reading by writing a response in our Learning Log.

Step 1

Think about the homework reading and annotations of pages 236-256 by reviewing the guiding questions below and looking over the notes you took on your Character Note-taking Tool:

1. Who is speaking in each chapter? How do you know?

2. What are some of the thoughts, feelings, or experiences revealed in each chapter? Specify who is behind these thoughts, feelings, or experiences and come up with two examples for each chapter.

Next, consider the following:

1. What are your initial thoughts and impressions from the homework reading?

2. What questions come to mind about the reading?

Step 2

Share your experiences in reading these chapters and discuss your initial thoughts, impressions, and questions as a class.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will work in expert groups to analyze key scenes in the novel using questions to guide our analysis.

Step 1

The four scenes read for homework were told in a stream of consciousness narration.

Stream of consciousness narration is a somewhat experimental way of telling a story that focuses on the inner thoughts experienced by a character; it is often presented in the way people think: in images, phrases, and associations. It is not always structured by sentences and paragraphs, as is typical with writing and speaking. Thus, some writers use minimal punctuation when depicting a character’s stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness can occur in either a first-person or third-person narrative.

You will now participate in a jigsaw discussion. Select (or perhaps your teacher will assign) one of the key scenes from pages 236-256, which you will read closely and analyze so each member of your expert group becomes an expert who can share your analysis with their home groups.

Refer to the Scene AnalysisHandout for scene assignments and guiding questions.

Step 2

Identify a compelling sentence that you want to read to other students as an illustration of an important moment, narrative technique (e.g., stream of consciousness, juxtaposing long and short sentences), or description in your scene. Be sure that each member of your expert group is prepared to share what you have discovered about your scene in response to the questions and can reference key details of the scene. You will each lead a segment of a jigsaw discussion within your home group. Add this sentence to your Mentor Sentence Journal.

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will review our notes about the scenes we have analyzed in our expert groups and form a claim about a scene and its importance in the novel.

Review what your expert group has learned about the scene you have analyzed, making sure you can present ideas in response to all of the questions. Practice reading aloud the key passage your group identified from your scene.

On your own, form a claim in response to the question below. Be prepared to share your claim with your home group.

1. What is something important you wish to point out in your assigned scene and how is it significant to the novel as a whole?

Activity 4: Discuss – Write

We will form home groups and participate in a jigsaw discussion in which we will report what our expert groups learned about our assigned scene. We will come back together as a class to clear up any leftover questions we might still have.

Step 1

In your home group, lead a discussion of your scene or chapter in the order of the chapters in the novel (Chapter 20 goes first, etc.). Begin by sharing the claim you developed about the importance of your scene and reading the key passage your expert group has identified. Then use your notes from your responses to the questions to summarize your expert group’s analysis.

As a participant in the discussion, listen carefully to what members of other expert groups have discovered about their key scenes or chapters. Write down important details in your notes. Ask questions to clarify your understanding or to help presenters support their expert group’s conclusions.

Step 2

Reconvene as a class to share any final thoughts or questions.

Activity 5: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read and explore the poem “Runagate Runagate” by Robert Hayden. We will analyze the poem’s language, structure, and meaning in more depth by discussing questions with partners.

Step 1

Read the poem’s title, "Runagate, Runagate" by Robert Hayden.

1. Based on the title, what do you predict this poem might be about?

Step 2

Listen and read along silently as your teacher or one of your peers reads the poem aloud. Respond to the following guiding question in your notes.

2. What is this poem about?

Turn to a partner. Discuss the following question:

1. What stands out to you as important?

Share your thoughts as a class to the questions above.

Step 3

Reread the poem on your own, this time focusing on specific words and phrases that create vivid pictures or evoke strong feelings.

Individually, mark at least five words or phrases that create vivid pictures or evoke strong feelings. For each marked word or phrase, identify the feelings evoked or describe your reaction.

Step 4

Work with a partner to determine meaning and deepen your understanding, then write down answers to the following questions in your Learning Log. Support your answers with textual evidence.

1. Who is telling the story or providing the voice in the poem? Is there a shift in perspective?

2. What form does the poem have? How might the poem’s form contribute to its meaning?

3. What impact does the repetition and placement of “runagate” have on the rhythm and tone of the poem?

4. How does the lack of punctuation contribute to the reader’s understanding of the poem?

5. How do Parts 1 and 2 differ? Who are the subjects in each?

6. Who levels the pistol in Part 2? Why?

Step 5

As a class, discuss your interpretation and analysis of the poem.

Step 6

With your same partner from the activity above, discuss which stream of consciousness chapter (Chapters 20-23) this poem most closely resembles in content, imagery and style (line breaks, punctuation, rhythm or rhyme scheme, etc.).

As a class discuss the following question:

1. How does the style of both the chapter and the poem allow each author to help readers understand and empathize with the characters and their stories? Keep in mind that both are based on real-life events.

Activity 6: Read

For homework, we will read pages 257–277.

For homework, read and annotate pages 257-277. Continue to fill out the Character Note-Taking Tool and use the following questions to guide your reading. Use evidence from the text to support your responses.

1. What realization does Paul D. come to regarding Mr. Garner and how he treated his slaves?

2. How does Paul D. describe the escape from Sweet Home?

3. What do we learn about the interaction between Stamp Paid and Paul D.? How does Stamp characterize Sethe’s actions?

Be sure to add new or interesting words to your Vocabulary Journal. Add at least one sentence to your Mentor Sentence Journal that stands out to you as interesting or that represents a strong example of a particular concept you have learned.