Lesson 4

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Chapter 4, excerpt from Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance, HarperCollins Publishers, 2016

• • “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” excerpt from The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin, Dial Press, an imprint of Random House, 1962

Materials

Tools

• Dialectical Journal Note-Taking Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Question Sets

• Community: Section 2 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Dialectical Journal Note-Taking Tool

• Community: Section 2 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Discuss

We will look at specific claims that Vance uses to develop his argument in Hillbilly Elegy.

Hillbilly Elegy is considered to be literary nonfiction, meaning that it straddles the line between two genres: narrative story and informational text.

As a whole group, discuss his description of his style of writing from the paragraph that begins with "This book is not an academic study," considering the following questions:

1. In what ways does this text blur the line between memoir and academic study?

2. How does Vance use personal narrative to create his argument?

Activity 2: Write

We will evaluate Vance’s credibility as the author of this memoir.

Individually, respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

1. Why is J.D. Vance is uniquely qualified and positioned to write in this style? What are some of the strategies he uses to convince the reader that he is a credible source and that his claims are credible? Consider both the information he uses to support his claims and from where that information comes.

2. Find at least two moments in Chapter 4 in which the author does something to increase his credibility. Describe each of these moments in one or two sentences, and explain whether these techniques were successful in convincing you of his credibility. On the whole, do you trust J.D. Vance and his thinking?

3. Describe Vance’s writing style. What are some of the advantages for the author of writing in this style? What are some advantages of this style for the reader? What would be missing from this text if the details of Vance’s community were to be presented in a purely informational style? What would be missing from this text if the details were recounted in the form of a story?

4. What is the impact on the reader of mixing story with informational text?

5. What elements of Vance’s writing might you incorporate into your presentation on your community for the Culminating Task? Add those ideas to the “Writer’s Rhetorical Toolbox” section of your Learning Log.

Share your ideas with the whole group during discussion.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will synthesize our understanding of the lessons in Hillbilly Elegy about community and its members.

Step 1

Write a response to one of the following questions in your Learning Log:

1. In what ways is Vance a part of his community? In what ways do he or his family defy the expectations or rules for members of his community? Use specific details from the text to support and explain your perspective.

2. What lessons do we learn about community from this text? What advice might Vance offer to a member of a marginalized community or marginalized group who is transitioning from childhood to adulthood?

Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

Step 2

Form a small group, including classmates who answered the same question as you and those that answered the other question. Discuss your insights with the group and decide what should be shared with the whole class.

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read “My Dungeon Shook” from The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and determine the narrator’s message.

For homework, read the excerpt from James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. Annotate details that help you to understand the narrator and his message. Complete a copy of the Dialectical Journal Note-Taking Tool for the text.

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.