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Lesson 6

We will compare and contrast two narrative poems that offer pictures of two different ways of belonging in a community. We will then compare how the speakers in each poem learn the spoken and unspoken rules of their community.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the communities portrayed in “Stoop Sitting” and “If They Should Come for Us"?

  • Can I interpret and analyze the relationship between the characters and their settings in “Stoop Sitting” and “If They Should Come for Us?”

  • Can I analyze how Acevedo and Asghar use dialogue and description to develop the characters and themes in each poem?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “Stoop Sitting,” excerpt from The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo, HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
  • Digital Access
    • “If They Should Come for Us,” Fatimah Asghar, Poetry, March 2017

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss – Read – Write

We will read “Stoop Sitting,” a poem from the novel The Poet X, and analyze how the main character, Xiomara, takes a very different approach to engaging with her community.

Step 1

With a partner, think about the title "Stoop Sitting" and make predictions about the poem’s setting.

Step 2

Read the poem to yourself and highlight any places that give the reader clues about the setting of the poem. Consider the following question:

  1. How could you describe Xiomara’s community?

Step 3

In a small group, read one detail you highlighted that helped you understand this community and then explain its significance.

Then, work together to write three to four sentences describing Xiomara’s community in "Stoop Sitting."

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will consider how Xiomara fits into her community.

Reread the poem and annotate for Xiomara’s actions. Highlight each time she does something, and make note in the margins about the nature of each action, considering the following questions:

  1. What kind of action is it?

  2. What patterns do you notice in how she acts, speaks, or thinks?

Use your annotations and notes from today’s lessons to craft a brief response to the following question:

  1. How does Acevedo characterize Xiomara? How does she reveal Xiomara’s role or position in her community?

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will analyze the author’s decision to include dialogue in the poem.

Scan the poem, focusing on the dialogue. Bracket lines and sections of dialogue and label the speakers.

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

  1. Who is missing? In other words, who does not get to speak? What is the significance of this character’s silence?

  2. How does the author’s decision to include dialogue affect the poem’s meaning?

From Line 17 to the end of the poem, Acevedo uses dialogue and silence to demonstrate some of the implicit expectations of women and men in Xiomara’s neighborhood. Reread this section, and write down a list of five unofficial rules or expectations that are conveyed to women in Xiomara’s community. Support your answers with evidence from the text.

Activity 4: Discuss – Write

We will study important concepts and challenging words from the text, paying attention to their use and meaning in the context in which the author presents them. We will use the Vocabulary in Context Tool as needed and write down important words in our Vocabulary Journals so that we can refer back to them later in the unit and incorporate them into our own work.

For this activity, you will use a Vocabulary Journal. If directed, you might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Working as a whole group, review the Vocabulary List for the words for this text. Locate the words as they are used in the text, using the provided page number, and consider these questions for each:

  1. What does the context suggest the author means when using the word? What is its connotation, and how does that compare with a dictionary definition, or denotation?

  2. Why is this word and its meaning important in the author’s ideas in this part of the text?

  3. How might I use this word in my own thinking, speaking, and writing?

Write down the words and definitions with your notes about their meaning and importance in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Share your responses with the whole group during discussion.

Activity 5: Discuss – Read – Write

We will compare the speakers in “Stoop Sitting” and “If They Should Come For Us.”

Examine these two terms:

Dialectical: (adj) the logical discussion of ideas and opinions.

Dialectic: (n) a method of examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth; an intellectual exchange of ideas.

A dialectical journal is a space that captures the dialogue you have with a text while reading. During this conversation, pay attention to what you are thinking while reading. What parts of the text are interesting, confusing, thought-provoking, or question-provoking? What new insights do you have while reading, and what new ideas are sparked?

Use the Dialectical Journal Note-Taking Tool to engage in a conversation with "If They Should Come for Us" and "Stoop Sitting," utilizing the codes on the handout to organize your thoughts and responses to the text. Reflect on one or more of the following questions, and include significant lines from each text:

  1. Compare and contrast the two communities featured in "If They Should Come for Us" and "Stoop Sitting." How do the speakers choose to engage in these communities?

  2. To what extent do the speakers influence their communities?

  3. Aside from the obvious fact that these poems are about communities, what was one of the most important points of connection between these two poems? Cite evidence from both texts to support your answer.

Discuss the following question with a partner or as a group:

  1. How does considering these two poems together help you to deepen your understanding of communities?

Activity 6: Write

We will begin creating writer’s toolboxes and adding stylistic strategies to them that we might want to use on the Culminating Task.

Review your notes for each text from this section of the unit and respond to the following questions:

  1. Which author spoke most passionately about their community? Why? What evidence from the text leads you to that conclusion?

  2. What does the author do to make his or her piece effective? Consider stylistic strategies like form, vocabulary, tone, diction, sentence structure, and literary devices (e.g., simile, metaphor, imagery).

Reference the “Writer’s Rhetorical Toolbox” section of your Learning Log. Add any additional techniques used by authors in this section that are interesting to you. Respond to the following question:

  1. What strategies would you like to try in your own writing on your Culminating Task?

Activity 7: Write

For homework, we will write open-ended questions for the Section Diagnostic.

Review the Section 1 Diagnostic Checklist. In the Section Diagnostic, you will participate in a Socratic Seminar in which you will discuss the poems read in this section and how they deal with the topic of community.

For homework, write three open-ended questions that address the ways in which community was discussed in the poems. Consider the following when drafting your questions:

  1. What communities were addressed?

  2. What tone did each author take in explaining their community?

  3. How effective was each author in communicating their message?

Remember that open-ended questions do not have a right answer. They are meant to propel a discussion forward and invite multiple perspectives.