Skip to Main Content

Lesson 10

We will write responses to questions about how the first four chapters of In the Time of the Butterflies portrays life for people under the reign of Rafael Trujillo.

Lesson Goals

Reading and Knowledge

  • Gather and Organize Evidence: How well do I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of texts and topics, support claims, and develop ideas?
  • Compare and Connect: How well do I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

Writing

  • Generate Ideas: How well do I generate and develop ideas, positions, products, and solutions to problems?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010
  • Digital Access
    • “‘El Jefe’ Portrait of a Dictator,” Bill Leonard, CBS News, 1961

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will review the expectations of the Section Diagnostic.

Review the expectations on the Section 1 Diagnostic Checklist and respond to the following question:

  1. What will I need to do to succeed on the Section Diagnostic?

Activity 2: Write

We will plan our responses by building a mind map that connects information we learned about what life was like for people living in the dominican republic under the dictator rafael trujillo and the events and characters in the novel.

Step 1

Your teacher will show you examples of mind maps, or you will be directed to research mind maps on Google. With a partner or in a small group, analyze those examples.

Step 2

Gather all the texts studied in this section.

Start your mind map by writing "Life under Trujillo" in the center.

From that central idea, create major branches for each sister and any other central ideas you think should be highlighted.

Create minor branches and make connections among the ideas on your mind map. Use a combination of visual symbols or pictures and words to explain your connections.

Add in information you learned from "'El Jefe' Portrait of a Dictator," information about Julia Alvarez, and information from the novel.

Step 3

Review your mind map and consider the following questions:

  1. To what extent have you included all the information you need to accurately show what life was like under the Trujillo dictatorship?

  2. To what extent did you connect different branches of your mind map?

  3. To what extent did you use evidence from the text to support your ideas?

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will review our mind maps and write responses to the Section Diagnostic questions.

Using your mind map, write a response that answers the following questions:

  1. What was life like for people under the reign of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic?

  2. How did their age, gender, and socioeconomic status affect their experience?

Support your answer with textual evidence from In the Time of the Butterflies and other materials you have studied.

Activity 4: Write – Discuss

We will reflect on our work and assess how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.

Step 1

Choose at least three of the questions below and respond to them in your Learning Log:

  1. How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?

  2. What went well for you during the completion of this task?

  3. What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?

  4. How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?

  5. How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?

  6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned and done during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge to determine your progress toward the Culminating Task.

Step 2

Review the Central Question of the unit:

What makes a revolutionary?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

  1. What new knowledge do you have in relation to the Central Question?

  2. What are you still curious about in relation to the Central Question?

  3. What is the relationship between the question and the texts you have read so far? How do the texts shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the texts?

  4. How has your response to the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

In your Learning Log, write your response to Question 3. You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.