Thematic and Organizational Patterns in McLaurin's "The Rite Time of Night"

Students will learn to identify and color-code thematic and organizational patterns found in the narrative and then use two-column notetaking to highlight how these patterns helped McLaurin give his story focus and organization. As a suggested follow-up activity, students are given ideas for writing their own narratives, using similar techniques as McLaurin.

A lesson plan for grades 9–11 English Language Arts

By Vickie Smith

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• Great endings: Sometimes authors end their stories with a memory, a feeling, a wish, or a hope. Other times they end the story by referring back to the language of the beginning. In this lesson, students will examine the characteristics of good endings by reading good endings of narrative picture books. They will then practice writing good endings for their own narratives.

Related topics

• Learn more about English language arts.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• identify patterns in the narrative.
• understand how McLaurin used specific patterns to achieve focus and organization.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 hour

Materials/resources

• A copy of “The Rite Time of Night” found in Close to Home: Revelations and Reminiscenes by North Carolina Authors, edited by Lee Harrison Child, (Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1996), 109-112.
• Colored pencils

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

Students should read the piece once before starting the activity below.

As a class, decide what McLaurin’s purpose(s) was for writing the narrative. Write it (them) on board. “During today’s activity, we are going to identify thematic and organizational patterns in McLaurin’s writing to see how he organized his narrative and kept his writing focused.”

Activities

Modeling/ Minilesson:

1. Tell students that they will be learning how to identify two kinds of patterns in a piece of writing: thematic patterns and organizational patterns. At the bottom of the transparency of the narrative, create a legend. For example, the author makes numerous references to nature. You could make a box, color it in with a green pencil, and label it “nature.” Then, every time you saw this pattern in the text, you would mark it green. (Other patterns include, for example, nature vs. city; ritual; past/present/future; figurative language; rooms in house).
2. After the list is completed, ask students to star or circle those patterns that influenced the way the narrative was organized or helped the writer maintain his focus.
3. As a class, choose one of the patterns that influenced organization and purpose. Then complete the outline below.

Examples of Pattern in Text	Purpose/Effect of Pattern (What did it help the author do or achieve focus or organization?)
The title, “The Rite Time of Night” “I go through this ritual (closing up the house) every night.”	Allowed writer to tie his life to that of his parents; he says they are similar but also different. This idea relates to the last line of the narrative where the author states his purpose: “A father should not be faulted for wanting to visit upon his children the morning coo of doves, if at the same time he provides them the tools to build the foundations of their own lives.”
“My parents followed a similar ritual.” “I check the children next.”	Led toward the organization of his thoughts. As he walks into a room he discusses that place, the people in it, and the memories it triggers.

Guided Practice:

4. As students read the narrative a second time, they should color-code other patterns found in the narrative. A pattern can be defined as any item that appears more than twice. (Other patterns include, for example, nature vs. city; ritual; past/present/future; figurative language; rooms in house).
5. When the students are finished, the teacher should list all the thematic patterns the students found on a piece of paper or overhead. Let students know that it is ok to name the same pattern differently. The teacher should also note that some answers/patterns will be very simplistic while other responses may be complex. Do not censor what is shared but ask students to give examples of where their identified pattern appears in the text.
6. Have students complete a two-column chart on one of the identified patterns and share their charts with a small group of students who completed a chart on the same pattern.

Followup activities:

Use similar organizational structures as McLaurin’s to help students write their own narratives:

• Organize a story as if you were moving from place to place, room to room, person to person, or item to item. As you reach each place, person, or item what does it tell you about the traveler? Each room, for example, could symbolize a different aspect of the traveler’s personality.
• Pick a common ritual or perhaps one personal to your family. As the details of the ritual are explained, intersperse the writer’s thoughts about what is happening?like objective reality vs. internal monologue.
• Have the details of a place or person trigger a childhood memory. Describe the place in the present as the introduction and then flashback to the past.

Assessment

• Was the student able to find at least three patterns in the narrative?
• Was the student able to contribute/understand the analysis of a selected pattern?

Supplemental information

None

Related websites

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Comments

Development of this lesson plan was made possible by a grant from the North Caroliniana Society for the 2002 North Carolina Literary Festival.