Angelou, Maya. Still I Rise. And Still I Rise. Maya Angelou. New York: Random

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1 Michelle Quindara November 27, 2006 Text Set Unit: Tradition as a Conflict Text Set: 2 novels, 2 short stories, 3 poems Angelou, Maya. Still I Rise. And Still I Rise. Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Perrine s Story and Structure. Eds. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, Frost, Robert. The Road Not Taken. Modern American Poetry. Ed. Louis Untermeyer. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1919; Bartleby.com, November 27, Hughes, Langston. I, Too. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Eds. Mark Strand and Eavan Boland. New York: W.W. Norton, Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Perrine s Story and Structure. Eds. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers. New York: Persea Books, 2003.

2 Rationale for Text Set This unit was designed for an eleventh grade English course. Students at this suburban school are very ethnically diverse and have many expectations placed on them by their parents and teachers to excel in school and later in life. They are expected to attend a higher education school post-graduation. At this stage in their life, students are beginning college searches, and other after high school plans. The students are at an age where they are thinking on their own, while still trying to honor their parents. Thus, the unit Tradition as a Conflict will help show them how to think independently. Particular needs in this classroom include reading disabilities, dyslexia, and ADD/ADHD. It is intended that reading these works will show the students that sometimes traditions need to be broken, that it is acceptable to think outside the box, and how to break away from expectations. I selected Anzia Yezierska s Bread Givers because it is a novel about a Jewish immigrant family. In this text, the main character is fighting the tradition of her heritage, and also the expectations placed on her from her family, particularly her father. Students in this class will be able to learn about another culture, what life was like in that time period, and how challenging tradition can be the pursuit of the American Dream. The other novel, Lois Lowry s The Giver, will be a revisit for most of the students, since many students read this in middle school. I selected it for this unit, though, because it provides the students the opportunity to see it in a new light. Here, the students will focus on the theme on tradition and how tradition held Jonas s community together. After visiting a family in the past, students can look at this future society and see that

3 tradition and expectations are placed there as well and how Jonas and the Giver were able to overcome them and whether or not it was a good decision. The short stories were selected because they are a fast read for students with learning disabilities and attention disorders. These texts will provide them an opportunity to be successful readers. Also, they fit into the unit because of what happens when tradition is not challenged. In Shirley Jackson s The Lottery, the community did not challenge the tradition, or even consider challenging the tradition. In William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily, the main character did not adapt to the changing social times. Students will analyze how tradition held the character in her place, even though the traditional way of life was fading and class division was disappearing. The poems selected for this unit provide a wide range of poetry. Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes are positive examples of African-American writers and their views of challenging tradition for the greater good of society and humanity. This will give the students good, positive writers to look up to, especially providing works for diversity and hard work. Their poems I, Too and Still I Rise show life from the perspective of people who do have the courage to stand up and fight against expectation and tradition. Robert Frost s poem The Road Not Taken is a standard reading assignment in many high schools. This poem is often read for senior level students, so it will fit in well with this eleventh-grade class. In this context, students will be able to see that sometimes the well-worn path is not the best path. This will open up discussion on life s expectations and whether challenging the norm is a good thing.

4 Objectives for Text Set PASS Objectives Reading/Literature: The student will apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, appreciate, and respond to a wide variety of texts. The students will be reading novels, short stories, and poetry, and thus will be interpreting and analyzing a wide range of texts. Standard 1.4: Rely on context to determine meanings of words and phrases such as figurative language, connotations and denotations of words, analogies, idioms, and technical vocabulary. We will focus on this standard particularly when looking at the Jewish terms in Bread Givers and the figurative language in the poetry selection. Standard 2: Comprehension - The student will interact with the words and concepts on the page to understand what the writer has said. 2. Inferences and Interpretation a. Interpret the possible inferences of the historical context on literary works. b. Describe the development of plot and identify conflict and how they are addressed and resolved. c. Investigate influences on a reader s response to a text (e.g., personal experience and values; perspective shapes by age, gender, class, or nationality). d. Make reasonable assertions about author s arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify interpretations. 4. Analysis and Evaluation a. Compare and contrast aspects of texts such as themes, conflicts, and allusions both within and across texts. b. Analyze the structure and format of informational and literary documents and explain how authors use the features to achieve their purposes. Throughout this unit, students will analyze how the author used point of view and the style to convey the effects of tradition on the community and family members. Standard 3: Literature - The student will read, construct meaning, and respond to a wide variety of literary forms. a. Analyze the characteristics of genres including short story, novel, drama, poetry, and essay. Variety of literary forms including poetry, short story, novels, all written by a diverse group of writers. 2. Literary Elements - Demonstrate knowledge of literary elements and techniques and show how they affect the development of a literary work. Students will analyze characters traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration. They will also analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. Here, the students will analyze how tradition is a conflict for the characters, and how they perceive the conflict in today s society with our modern day interpretation and expectations.

5 4b. Analyze and evaluate literature from various cultures to broaden cultural awareness. Students will be analyzing different works within the context of the different cultures and their traditions and cultural norms. Writing/Grammar/Mechanics and Usage: The student will express ideas effectively in written modes for a variety of purposes and audiences. Write responses to literature that a. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas in works or passages. b. analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text. c. support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed reference to the text or to other works. d. demonstrate an understanding of author s style and an appreciation of the effects created. e. identify and assess the impact of ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text. This text set can meet many of the Oklahoma State PASS Objectives by reading, analyzing, and writing about these different genres. The objectives meet the needs of the students by looking at diversity and setting them up for success. Students will work on critical reading, visual literacy, and writing.