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Lesson 8

We will analyze the same text through four literary criticism lenses.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension?

  • 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

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will discuss the meaning of the word revolutionary.

Review your notes on the term revolutionary in your Vocabulary Journal.

Considering the definitions in your Vocabulary Journal and what you have read so far, do a quick-write on the following question:

  1. To what extent were the Mirabal sisters revolutionaries? Be sure to support your ideas with evidence from the text.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will analyze chapter 11 through all four literary criticism lenses by participating in a jigsaw activity.

Step 1

In this jigsaw, you will first work with your expert group (e.g., Expert Group A, Expert Group B, Expert Group C, or Expert Group D). You and your fellow experts will be assigned one of the four literary criticism lenses to analyze Chapter 11 and become experts.

After your in-depth analysis of Chapter 11, you will form home groups made up of experts from each expert group. In your home group, you will share your analysis from your expert group in a jigsaw discussion. As you share with each other, determine how your understanding of the text changes as you analyze the text from different perspectives.

Step 2

Form Expert Groups A, B, C, and D as assigned by your teacher. In your group, write the following guiding question on one copy of the Forming Evidence Based-Claims Tool.

  • Expert Group A - Biographical: What aspects of Julia Alvarez’s life are reflected in Chapter 11?

  • Expert Group B - Feminist: How do the female characters defy or uphold traditional stereotypes in Chapter 11?

  • Expert Group C - Historical: How important is the historical context to understanding Chapter 11?

  • Expert Group D - Marxist: What is the impact of having political or economic power in Chapter 11?

Once you have done an independent close reading of Chapter 11, work with your expert group to analyze the chapter through your assigned critical lens using the Forming Evidence Based-Claims Tool.

Find details in the text for your assigned lens, analyze them, and explain the connections among them on your Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool. Finally, form a claim about the lens.

While you can draw evidence from anywhere in Chapter 11, you must analyze the journal entries from "Tuesday Morning, June 28," "Thursday Night, June 30," "Friday Night, July 1," and "Sunday Night, July 10" for each lens.

Step 3

If your teacher has assigned home groups, form them now. If you are to form your own home groups, find students from each expert group. Ensure that each home group has at least one expert from each expert group.

In your home group, take turns presenting your expert group’s analysis of Chapter 11 through your assigned literary criticism lens. As other experts present their analyses, be sure to take notes and make connections to what you and your expert group discussed.

Step 4

Finally, respond to the following question in your home groups: How does your understanding of the text shift when reading the text through different lenses?

Activity 3: Discuss

We will discuss chapter 11 through all four literary criticism lenses.

In a whole-class discussion, respond to the following questions to consider if the sisters are revolutionaries from the perspective of the various lenses. Use the following questions to guide your discussion:

  • Feminist lens: How does Alvarez create women who are revolutionaries?

  • Biographical lens: How does Alvarez’s personal life become reflected in a story about revolutionaries?

  • Historical lens: Are the sisters revolutionaries?

  • Marxist lens: Is the sisters’ relationship with the Trujillo regime considered revolutionary?

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapter 12.

For homework, read and annotate Chapter 12. Write three questions you would like to discuss about this chapter.

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