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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Varying views of America

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=194

A lesson plan for grade 11 English Language Arts

Provider: IRA/NCTE


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Students will study tone and perspective while reading and analyzing Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing,” Langston Hughes’ “I, Too, Sing America,” and Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of the Morning”. The teacher begins this lesson with a mini-lesson reviewing the elements of tone and point-of-view. Then after students divide into groups, they read each of the poems, write a brief summary of each poet’s message, and identify the tone and point of view about the subject providing specific text for support. Using a Venn diagram, students indicate the similarities that exist among the poems and synthesize the information by answering questions provided by the teacher. This lesson concludes with a class discussion about the groups’ findings about the poems. In addition to providing a graphic organizer, Venn diagram, and assessment rubrics, Readwritethink suggests several links to the poems being studied.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 11

  • Goal 3: The learner will demonstrate increasing sophistication in defining issues and using argument effectively.
    • Objective 3.02: Select an issue or theme and take a stance on that issue by:
      - reflecting the viewpoint(s) of Americans of different times and places.
      - showing sensitivity or empathy for the culture represented.
      - supporting the argument with specific reasons.
  • Goal 4: The learner will critically analyze text to gain meaning, develop thematic connections, and synthesize ideas.
    • Objective 4.01: Interpret meaning for an audience by:
      - examining the functions and the effects of narrative strategies such as plot, conflict, suspense, point of view, characterization, and dialogue.
      - interpreting the effect of figures of speech (e.g., personification, oxymoron) and the effect of devices of sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia).
      - analyzing stylistic features such as word choice and links between sense and sound.
      - identifying ambiguity, contradiction, irony, parody, and satire.
      - demonstrating how literary works reflect the culture that shaped them.
    • Objective 4.02: Develop thematic connections among literary works by:
      - connecting themes that occur across genres or works from different time periods.
      - using specific references to validate connections.
      -examining how representative elements such as mood, tone, and style impact the development of a theme.
    • Objective 4.03: Assess the power, validity, and truthfulness in the logic of arguments given in public and political documents by:
      - identifying the intent and message of the author or artist.
      - recognizing how the author addresses opposing viewpoints.
      - articulating a personal response to the message and method of the author or artist.
      -evaluating the historical significance of the work.
  • Goal 5: The learner will interpret and evaluate representative texts to deepen understanding of literature of the United States.
    • Objective 5.01: Interpret the significance of literary movements as they have evolved through the literature of the United States by:
      - analyzing the characteristics of literary genres, including fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry, and how the selection of genre shapes meaning.
      - relating ideas, styles, and themes within literary movements of the United States.
      - understanding influences that progress through the literary movements of the United States.
      -evaluating the literary merit and/or historical significance of a work from Colonial Literature, the Romantic Era, Realism, the Modern Era, and Contemporary Literature.
    • Objective 5.02: Analyze the relationships among United States authors and their works by:
      - making and supporting valid responses about the text through references to other works and authors.
      -comparing texts to show similarities or differences in themes, characters, or ideas.