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Lesson 1

We will analyze a section of The Book of Unknown Americans to examine the difference between point of view and perspective, and we will interact with vocabulary from this section of the novel.

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

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, phrases, and figurative expressions?

Texts

Core

  • 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 review our understanding of point of view and perspective in the text.

Step 1

Discuss the following question with a partner:

  1. What is point of view as it relates to narrative text?

  2. What is the difference between point of view and perspective?

Step 2

Discuss the following questions as a class:

  1. How does Henríquez use point of view in The Book of Unknown Americans?

  2. How does Henríquez use perspective? What effect does it have on the reader’s understanding of the story?

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will listen and follow along as a passage from the novel is read aloud. We will analyze its use of dialogue to convey tone and develop characters.

Step 1

Listen and follow along as your teacher or one of your peers reads aloud pages 156-160 of The Book of Unknown Americans. Pay attention to how the dialogue in the passage develops character and conveys tone.

Step 2

This chapter is narrated from the point of view of Mayor, but his observations provide the reader with a wealth of information about the perspectives of his mother and father. With a partner, analyze each section of dialogue. Note the tone of the speakers:

  1. How does each character’s tone change throughout the chapter?

  2. How does the author use dialogue to illuminate these changes? What evidence from the text supports your answer?

  3. How do the changes in tone further develop the characters and their perspectives?

Add a new entry from this section to your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool.

Step 3

With your partner, think about each character who speaks in this section of the text. What did the characters not say? Sometimes what a character does not say reveals a deeper layer of characterization.

Write an additional statement of dialogue from the viewpoint of one character, conveying what the character might have been thinking though he or she may not have said it aloud.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will use a range of strategies to determine the meaning of words in this passage from the novel.

Step 1

For this activity, you will use your Vocabulary Journal. You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Write down the words and definitions your teacher provides in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Step 2

Work with a partner or group to respond to the vocabulary exercises, as directed by your teacher.

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read pages 160–179 of The Book of Unknown Americans.

For homework, read and annotate pages 160-179 of The Book of Unknown Americans. Write down at least four entries in your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool, focusing at least two of your entries on point of view and perspective.

When completing your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tools, think of recurring ideas or themes that are emerging.

Be sure to write down new or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal.