Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=407
A lesson plan for grade 9 English Language Arts and Social Studies
In this lesson from EDSITEment, students explore the way African-American author Zora Neale Hurston makes use of closely observed black folklife in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Students will read the novel, research Hurston’s own life and ethnography, listen to her WPA recordings of folksongs and folktales, and compare transcribed folk narrative texts with the novel itself.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 9
- Goal 5: The learner will demonstrate understanding of various literary genres, concepts, elements, and terms.
- Objective 5.01: Read and analyze various literary works by:
- using effective reading strategies for preparation, engagement, reflection.
- recognizing and analyzing the characteristics of literary genres, including fiction (e.g., myths, legends, short stories, novels), non-fiction (e.g., essays, biographies, autobiographies, historical documents), poetry (e.g., epics, sonnets, lyric poetry, ballads) and drama (e.g., tragedy, comedy).
- interpreting literary devices such as allusion, symbolism, figurative language, flashback, dramatic irony, dialogue, diction, and imagery.
- understanding the importance of tone, mood, diction, and style.
- explaining and interpreting archetypal characters, themes, settings.
- explaining how point of view is developed and its effect on literary texts.
- determining a character's traits from his/her actions, speech, appearance, or what others say about him or her.
- explaining how the writer creates character, setting, motif, theme, and other elements.
- making thematic connections among literary texts and media and contemporary issues.
- understanding the importance of cultural and historical impact on literary texts.
- producing creative responses that follow the conventions of a specific genre and using appropriate literary devices for that genre.
- Objective 5.01: Read and analyze various literary works by:
Social Studies (2003)
Grade 11–12 — African American History
- Goal 5: The learner will examine the rise of Jim Crow and its effects on the life experiences of African Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Objective 5.05: Evaluate the economic, cultural, political, and social impact of African American migration within and from the South.



