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Lesson 3

We will read about the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo regime and relate its history to the novel.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

  • Can I recognize and interpret language and sentence structures to deepen my understanding of texts?

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among key details and ideas (characters, setting, tone, point of view, structure, development, etc.) within texts?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010
  • Unit Reader
    • “Dominican Republic (Document 305) U.S. Relations with the Dominican Republic,” Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, Public Domain, N DAT
    • “When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family,” Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, The Atlantic Media Co., 2016
    • “When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family, Cont’d,” Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, The Atlantic Media Co., 2016

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will review what we know about the historical literary criticism lens.

Find "When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family" by Juleyka Lantigua-Williams and "When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family, Cont’d" online.

Read both texts and take notes on her family’s experiences with the Trujillo regime.

As you take notes, find relevant details from both sources to describe and explain what life would have been like for citizens living under the Trujillo regime. Add to the Historical Lens Note-Taking Tool.

Share your responses with the class during discussion.

Activity 2: Write

We will evaluate how accurately Julia Alvarez portrays life for citizens living during the trujillo regime.

Step 1

You have read four pieces about the Trujillo regime: "Dominican Republic (Document 305) U.S. Relations with the Dominican Republic," "When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family," "When a Dictator Becomes Part of Your Family, Cont’d," and In the Time of the Butterflies.

Respond to the following question:

  1. Considering the historical texts you have read, how accurately does Alvarez portray life under the Trujillo regime in In the Time of the Butterflies?

Step 2

Use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to create a claim for your response. Write "How accurately does Alvarez portray life under the Trujillo regime in In the Time of the Butterflies?" in the Guiding Question section of the tool.

  • Attend to details by reviewing your annotations to make sure they answer the guiding question. Skim In the Time of the Butterflies and find details about the Trujillo regime.

  • Select key details by discussing your details with a partner, and select the most relevant details that answer the guiding question.

  • Analyze the details by explaining how the details connect to or answer the guiding question.

  • Explain connections by comparing the details and explaining how the details relate to each other with a partner.

Independently, form a claim about how accurately Alvarez portrays life under the Trujillo regime in the text.