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Lesson 4

We will revisit our homework reading and questions. We will read and explore the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay, analyzing the poem’s language, structure, and meaning. We will connect the poem to the novel and form a claim about which character best connects to the message of the poem. Then, we will review the task and expectations for the Section 3 Diagnostic.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I synthesize information from the novel Beloved and Claude McKay’s poem “If We Must Die” to create new understanding?

  • Can I write responses that demonstrate analysis of texts, including comparing Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” and Beloved?

  • Can I analyze relationships among thematic development, characterization, point of view, significance of setting, and plot in Beloved and “If We Must Die.”

  • Can I analyze relationships among characteristics of poetry, including stanzas, line breaks, speaker, and sound devices in the poem “If We Must Die.”

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Beloved, Toni Morrison, Vintage Books, 2004
  • Unit Reader
    • “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay, Poetry Foundation, 1919

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

In small groups, we will revisit the homework and review our responses to the guiding questions.

In your group, discuss the reading homework and the notes you took in response to the following questions:

  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?

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read and explore the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. We will analyze the poem’s language, structure, and meaning with partners.

Step 1

Consider the title of the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay.

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

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

  1. What is this poem about?

Turn to a partner. Discuss the following question:

  1. What stands out to you as important?

Share your thoughts to the questions above with the class.

Step 2

Reread the text on your own and 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.

With a partner, look at the words and phrases you marked, as well as the feelings and reactions you identified. Work together to determine meaning and deepen your understanding of the poem through the words and phrases.

Then, consider the questions below. Write down your answers in your Learning Log. Support your answers with textual evidence.

  1. What is the speaker’s attitude toward death?

  2. What is the mood of the first four lines?

  3. How do lines 5-8 draw on the emotions of the audience?

  4. Who does the speaker address in lines 9-16 and what is the message?

  5. How do specific words or phrases impact the meaning of the poem?

  6. What is the extended metaphor used throughout the poem and how does it allow the speaker to drive his point home even further?

Step 3

Now that you have had a chance to dig into the poem’s meaning, look at the form. This poem is written as an Elizabethan sonnet, which means that it has 14 lines and a particular rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg).

  1. Sonnets are often (but not always) about romantic love. How does using this format impact the meaning of the poem? Why might McKay have chosen this form? Use evidence to support your thinking.

  2. The final couplet (gg) in Elizabethan sonnets usually provides a conclusion, an emphasis, or even a rebuttal of the previous part of the poem. Reread the poem, focusing on the ending. What is the purpose of the couplet of this poem? Use evidence from the poem to support your thinking.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will write our own sonnets to help us better understand the poetic form.

Step 1

Now that you have studied the sonnet “If We Must Die” by Claud McKay, you will be writing your own sonnet. Begin by brainstorming to determine your focus for writing. Using an effective process, begin to organize your ideas for the sonnet. This might involve clustering around a central idea or thematic topic, journaling, or using an organizational tool. Then, determine which idea or topic you want to focus on and review the tools and notes you have developed for this idea.

Step 2

Create your sonnet. Remember that sonnets have a particular structure that you will follow: 14 lines and an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme.

Step 3

In trios, share your sonnet. Take turns reading your sonnets aloud. Then, discuss each of the following questions:

  • What does each sonnet do well?

  • What could be improved?

  • How does the structure of the sonnet impact the poem’s meaning?

Step 4

How did writing your own sonnet help you better understand sonnets?

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will each choose a character from our homework reading (Paul D., Stamp Paid, or sixo), and form a claim about which man best connects to the poem “If We Must Die.”

Step 1

Look at the list of characters below and choose which one you think most connects to the poem. Use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to form a claim to the following question:

  1. Which character most resembles the mood and feelings from the poem?

Choose one of the following characters and form a claim about which man you think connects most to the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. Use evidence from Beloved as well as the poem to support your response.

  1. Paul D.

  2. Sixo

  3. Stamp Paid

Share your individual claim in a small group. Discuss reasons and evidence that could be used to support your claim as well as ways to make the claim stronger. Revise your claim based on the discussion and feedback.

Step 2

Using your revised claim and the evidence from your tool, write a paragraph that analyzes how your chosen character from Beloved connects to the speaker or subject matter in Claude McKay’s poem “If We Must Die.”

Activity 5: Read – Write

We will review the task and expectations for the section 3 diagnostic. We will review our writing piece from the section 2 diagnostic and brainstorm and determine what we will focus on for the section 3 diagnostic.

Step 1

Read, annotate, and analyze the Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist, which overviews what you will be asked to do.

With an understanding of how Morrison utilizes narrative shift in point of view, you will build upon your flashback narrative from the Section 2 Diagnostic, but this time, you will look at the same event from a different character’s point of view.

Review your Section 2 Diagnostic narrative. If you wrote this narrative in first person, you can switch the point of view by choosing another character to narrate the vignette. If you wrote this narrative in third person omniscient or limited, you can choose one of your characters to narrate from the first person point of view and dig deeper into their thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Reread your story, making notes about the key events you will need to narrate through a different character’s point of view and how that character might view those events. Brainstorm at least three ideas for how you could retell this same event through a different character's point of view.

Step 2

Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify a significant word or words that you would like to use in your response to the Section Diagnostic.

Review your Mentor Sentence Journal. Select at least one technique that you plan to use when writing your response to the Section Diagnostic.