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Lesson 6

We will closely read and analyze a section of Chapter 6, “Minerva, 1949,” through the biographical lens.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in texts?

  • Can I analyze the impact of specific words on their meaning, especially words with multiple meanings?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will review what we know about the biographical lens from the previous lesson and how the lens relates to the text.

As a class, review your Biographical Lens Note-Taking Tools and discuss the following questions:

  1. What have you learned about the biographical lens thus far?

  2. How does reading the text through the biographical lens shape how you think about the text?

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read and annotate an excerpt of chapter 6 through the biographical lens.

Reread and analyze an excerpt of Chapter 6, starting with "I play on his vanity, and so, become his creature like all the others" (p. 98) and ending with "The university is no place for a woman these days" (p. 99).

As you read, annotate the text, focusing on the biographical lens and information that could connect to or be informed by Alvarez’s personal history. Use the following questions from the Section 2 Question Set to guide your annotations:

  1. What does Alvarez’s word choice of play reveal about her beliefs regarding women’s education? What is the connotation of the word play in the text?

  2. What connections does Alvarez share about Minerva that would influence her decisions?

  3. What experiences and knowledge does Alvarez have that would cause her to portray Trujillo’s character in this way? How did Trujillo’s regime personally affect her family?

Cite evidence from the text to support your answers.

Discuss your annotations or the questions with a partner.

Activity 3: Read – Write – Discuss

We will reread an excerpt of chapter 6 and analyze literary devices through the biographical lens.

Step 1

Reread the same excerpt from Chapter 6 and annotate for rhetorical, syntactical, and literary devices. These devices include diction, characterization, metaphors, similes, allusions, and connotations.

Step 2

Once you have marked these devices, consider how they connect to your knowledge of Julia Alvarez. For example, what is implied about Trujillo’s character in the sentence, "He grinned a naughty grin"? How is Alvarez’s personal background connected to the devices you have selected?

Step 3

Discuss your annotations and ideas with a partner or in a small group.

Activity 4: Write

We will analyze a literary device through the biographical lens.

Using your annotations, complete an entry in the Biographical Lens Note-Taking Tool that analyzes Julia Alvarez’s diction and the characterization of Trujillo in the line, "He grins a naughty grin."

Share your responses with the class.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will finish reading chapter 6.

For homework, finish reading Chapter 6 (pp. 100-117). As you read, think about the following question:

  1. What seem to be Alvarez’s major concerns in this chapter? Do they reflect any of her personal experiences?

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