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Lesson 1

We will continue to analyze The Book of Unknown Americans, as well as a painting by Diego Rivera, to deepen our understanding of characterization in literary text.

Lesson Goals

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

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

  • Can I evaluate the effects of literary devices and rhetoric in texts?

  • Can I work productively in various roles with other participants?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • The Uprising, Diego Rivera, Museum of Modern Art, 1931
  • Tradebook
    • The Book of Unknown Americans, Cristina Henríquez, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will work with partners and discuss our understanding of characterization.

Step 1

With a partner, discuss the following questions:

  1. What is characterization?

  2. What techniques do authors use to develop characters?

Step 2

Now review pages 14-18 of the Narratives Reference Guide.

Discuss the following with your partner:

  1. How does your understanding of characterization and character development reflect what is explained in this reference guide?

  2. What new understanding, if any, do you have?

Activity 2: View – Discuss

We will explore characterization by analyzing a Diego Rivera mural.

Step 1

Independently, examine Diego Rivera’s mural, The Uprising.

Using the Visual Analysis Tool, respond to the following question: How does the artist develop character traits in this painting?

Step 2

Discuss your analysis with your partner. Revise your tool based on new insights gleaned from the discussion.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss

We will analyze the character of alma in The Book of Unknown Americans.

Step 1

On page 6 of The Book of Unknown Americans, Alma says the following:

For nearly an hour, maybe more, I lay there listening to the soft chorus of Maribel’s and Arturo’s long, even breaths. In and out. In and out. The surge of possibility. The tug of doubt. Had we done the right thing, coming here? Of course, I knew the answer. We had done what we had to do. We had done what the doctors told us… We’ll be fine, I told myself. We’ll be fine. I repeated it like a prayer until finally I fell asleep, too.

In your Learning Log, answer this question:

  1. What does this passage tell the reader about the character of Alma?

  2. What character development techniques does Henríquez use?

Discuss your answer with a partner.

Step 2

Authors use specific word choice to convey feelings and ideas to the reader. Look again at the passage on page 6. With your partner, analyze the word choice Henríquez uses when describing Maribel’s and Arturo’s breathing. What does Henríquez accomplish with her word choice? Add notes from your discussion to your Learning Log.

Discuss your answer with a partner and then share as a class.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss

We will examine a quote from The Book of Unknown Americans, paying attention to word choice and imagery.

Step 1

Imagery is figurative language meant to create a picture in the reader’s mind. Imagery can be literal or symbolic, and it is often used to help readers make visual connections with intangible concepts.

Examine the imagery in the quote below. Write down and analyze the quote in your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool.

English was a dense, tight language. So many hard letters, like miniature walls. Not open with vowels the way Spanish was. Our throats open, our mouths open, our hearts open. In English, the sounds were closed. They thudded to the floor. And yet, there was something magnificent about it. (p. 61)

Step 2

Discuss your analysis with your partner. Revise your tool based on new insights gleaned from the discussion.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read pages 67–91 of The Book of Unknown Americans, paying attention to the author’s word choice and use of imagery.

For homework, read and annotate pages 76-91 of The Book of Unknown Americans.

Write down at least three entries in your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool, focusing on Henríquez’s word choice and use of imagery.

Be sure to write down new or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal and strong or interesting sentences in your Mentor Sentence Journal. These mentor sentences may be the same or different from the quotations you identify on your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool. In your Mentor Sentence Journal, you will specifically analyze the author’s use of language, syntax, and style.

Be prepared to discuss the vocabulary you identified in the next lesson.