Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Beloved, Toni Morrison, Vintage Books, 2004

Materials

Tools

• Beloved: Section 4 Diagnostic Checklist

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide
• Mood Reference Guide
• Narratives Reference Guide
• Style Reference Guide
• Theme Reference Guide
• Tone Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Beloved: Section 4 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Beloved: Section 4 Diagnostic Checklist

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Beloved: Section 4 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will discuss the Section Diagnostic and complete a quick-write to determine our initial understanding of the prompt.

Step 1

Read the prompt for the Section 4 Diagnostic:

Beloved is filled with complex topics, including slavery, motherhood, love, and loss. What messages is Toni Morrison conveying about these topics?

Participate in a Socratic Seminar to deepen your knowledge and explore the following question:

1. What message does Toni Morrison want readers of Beloved to learn, understand, and remember?

Use evidence from the novel and other texts you have read from the unit to pose new questions, support your responses to your classmates’ questions, and develop a more critical understanding of the novel.

Step 2

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

1. What are potential themes of the novel? Think back to previous lessons and class discussions on this topic.

2. Have you ever participated in a Socratic Seminar?

3. What do you know about Socratic Seminars?

4. If you have participated in a Socratic Seminar, how have you been successful in previous seminars? How have you been challenged? What questions do you have about Socratic Seminars?

Discuss your responses as a class.

Step 3

You might be wondering what a Socratic Seminar is and why we conduct them.

A Socratic Seminar is a student-led dialogue in which participants use open-ended questions to gain a deeper and more robust understanding of the ideas and values in a text or the connections across multiple texts. The purpose of a seminar is not to argue for a particular view or interpretation, but to ask questions, posit your own thinking, listen to others' responses, and expand your views of the texts and topics. Each participant's voice is equal, and there are no experts.

Different perspectives and analyses of the texts are critical: they help all participants see multiple sides of complex ideas, issues, and topics, expanding everyone's understanding. During a seminar, it is important to pose questions that elicit discussion, not a simple right-or-wrong or yes-or-no answer.

As such, it is critical that questions in a Socratic Seminar are open-ended (they elicit multiple responses), thought-provoking (they challenge to deeply analyze important aspects of the text), and clear (they are easily understandable).

With your classmates, create norms for a Socratic Seminar. We will write these norms in a place that is easily accessible for all and revisit them as we continue to prepare for our Section Diagnostic.

Now that you know the purpose of a Socratic Seminar, with a small group, discuss possible norms for a Socratic Seminar. Think about what instructions or guidelines each student should follow as they engage in the seminar in order for it to be productive and respectful. Be sure to ask each other clarifying questions when suggestions are made that are unclear.

Step 4

Discuss your small group’s suggested norms with the larger class.

After each group has shared, ask any necessary clarifying questions of your peers. We will write these norms in a place that is easily accessible for all and revisit them as we continue to prepare for our Section Diagnostic.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read pages 281–295 of the novel and discuss responses to guiding questions. We will analyze the changes in character relationships and in characterization as they relate to the plot of the novel.

Step 1

Read and annotate pages 281-295 (ending at the second paragraph on page 295). Following the reading, respond in your Learning Log to the following questions:

1. "So it was she who had to step off the edge of the world and die because if she didn’t, they all would" (p. 281). Explain the meaning of this quote.

2. Describe how the relationships among the three girls change between January and March.

3. Why does Denver go see Lady Jones? How does this event signal a change in Denver’s characterization? Update your Character Note-Taking Tool for Denver.

4. Describe what is happening to Sethe in these pages. What is happening to Beloved?

5. Revisit your Learning Log from Section 2, in which you responded to the following prompt: "In lamplight, and over the flames of the cooking stove, their two shadows clashed and crossed on the ceiling like black swords" (p. 68). This statement is symbolic. Who and what could it be foreshadowing? Comment on your initial response to this question with what you now know of Sethe and Beloved’s relationship.

6. Compare your response to Question 1 above with this quotation: "As Denver’s outside life improved, her home life deteriorated" (p. 294). Relate Denver’s initial fears of the outside world with her growth as a woman: "She did not know it then, but it was the word, ‘baby,’ said softly and with such kindness, that inaugurated her life in the world as a woman" (p. 292). Add the term deteriorated to your Vocabulary Journal.

Step 2

With a partner or a small group, discuss your responses to the questions and update your Learning Log to include any information shared by your peers.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

We will focus heavily on characterization in comparison to the organization of the novel and revisit the concept of Morrison’s literary style in comparison to that of poetry.

Step 1

Notice how the novel is divided into three parts. Identify the first line of each part of the novel. Record this line as a citation in your Learning Log.

Then, interpret the meaning of each line. How does each opening line connect to the atmosphere in that part of the novel?

• "124 was spiteful" (p. 3) - Part 1

• "124 was loud" (p. 199) - Part 2

• "124 was quiet" (p. 281) - Part 3

Identify words, phrases from each part of the novel that depict the atmosphere of the house as it relates to the opening line for that part of the novel. Record these notes in your Learning Log.

Analyze your recorded words and phrases and determine an overall tone for each part of the novel.

Step 2

As a class, discuss the following questions:

1. How is Morrison’s literary style similar to that of a poet?

2. How is the organization of the novel similar to that of a poem?

3. Considering your analysis of the structure of poems discussed in this unit, what connections can you make to the organization of the novel? How is the novel organized similarly to a poem? Think about one poem from this unit in particular to drive your analysis.

   1. Consider poem structure and compare stanzas with the three parts of the novel.

   2. Consider line breaks and the opening lines of each part of the novel.

4. Consider the content of stanzas and the content of each part of the novel.

   1. How does the setting and atmosphere change in each part of the novel?

   2. How do events, characters, setting, and atmosphere change between stanzas in your selected poem?

5. Consider the transitions of tone and mood between stanzas and line breaks and the transitions of these in each part of the novel. Look back at the words and phrases that you recorded about the atmosphere of the house for each part of the novel. What tone do these words and phrases depict? What mood is created as a result?

Activity 4: Discuss – Write

We will allow our analysis of Morrison’s masterful use of language and poetic style to drive our own practice of writing poetry. Our poems will also serve as character analyses.

Step 1

Choose one of the characters below and record details of their characterization for each part of the novel. Consider personality, internal and external motivators and conflicts, and relationships with other characters.

• Beloved

• Sethe

• Denver

Include direct citations from the novel in your notes. You should also reference your Character Note-Taking Tools for information.

What is the overall tone of your character’s transformation for each part of the novel?

Compare your character’s transformation with the transformation of 124.

Step 2

Using the notes from the previous activity regarding your selected character and your recorded citations about the atmosphere of the setting (124) for each part of the novel, write a poem following these requirements:

• Each opening line will have one stanza (hence, you will have three stanzas).

  • "124 was spiteful" (p. 3) - Stanza 1

  • "124 was loud" (p. 199) - Stanza 2

  • "124 was quiet" (p. 281) - Stanza 3

• The first line of each stanza has been provided.

• The lines of each stanza must describe your selected character’s transformation throughout the novel (divided appropriately among the stanzas).

• You must utilize an appropriate tone for each stanza that directly compares and is similar to that of each part of the novel, based on your analysis.

• You have freedom in establishing speakers and sound devices (including rhyme).

Step 3

We will share our poems by hosting an in-class poetry slam.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read pages 295–305 and respond to guiding questions.

For homework, read pages 295-305 (stop after the second paragraph on p. 305 at the line "In the beginning was the sound, and they all knew what that sounded like"). We will finish page 305 in the next lesson. As you read, update your Character Note-Taking Tool and answer the following questions in your Learning Log:

1. Describe the relationship between Sethe and Beloved in these pages.

2. "The best thing she was, was her children" (p. 296). What does this sentence mean? How does it apply to the idea of motherhood?

3. "It was a new thought, having a self to look out for and preserve" (p. 297). What does this sentence mean? How does this thought illustrate Denver’s transition throughout the novel?

4. "Nothing could be counted on in a world where even when you were a solution you were a problem" (p. 302). Interpret this line.

5. Describe the scene from pages 304-305. Who is there? Why?

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.