9 T H GRADE ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTSDESIGNED BY OSMAN KHAN AND TEIGAN MCINTOSH
ENGL 3391SPRING 2011
Turn On the Power:The Stories of Janie and Bo
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Everyone struggles with choices.Relationship ProblemsJudgmentSelf-DiscoveryVarious hardships
Students connect to the text by relating to the characters allowing them to discuss their own issues and ideas dealing with concepts such as love, independence, and individuality.
YAL Text – Ironman by Chris Cutcher
This book pairs thematically with Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Family relationshipsPeer pressureSeeking independenceDealing with emotional issues
Essential Questions
1. What influences from others have had an effect on your own life decisions? What were these effects? How did they change the outcome of your decisions?
2. Explain the impact of abuse and violence on individuals and society.
3. What does the word “power” mean to you? How does one become powerful? What has to happen for someone to retain this power? How can they lose it?
Essential Questions
4. What do you believe life was like for an African American woman in the early 20th century? How do you think that it is different from an African American woman’s life now?
5. How have the public dynamics, including treatment and attitudes, between men and women changed in the past 100 years? Explain your answer.
6. How are men viewed in society? Are they held to some standard or classified to be stud athletes in order to get attention and respect from others?
Lesson One
Introducing the Harlem Renaissance and TEWWG
Historical Background (Handout)Handout Worksheet (Assessment)
Another short story by Zora Neale HurstonListen to a Jazz Clip from the 1920’s
Exploring other Authors of the Harlem Renaissance
Lesson Two
Dissecting the Dialogue
Discuss the division between black dialect versus voice of
narratorCell-Phone Activity
Listen to Chapter 1 by Ruby Dee
Lesson Three
Personification in TEWWG
Examples of personification in textExamine “Go Down Death” poem by James
Weldon JohnsonName abstractions (love, jealousy, etc.) and
personify them in groups
Mini Lesson
Janie a Blossoming Pear Tree: Imagery in TEWWG
“[Janie] was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the
inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the
thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with
delight. So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation. Then Janie felt a pain remorseless
sweet that left her limp and languid.” (11)
Five Senses in the Passage
SightHearing
SmellTasteTouch
Example
Question #3
On the back of this page, recall a favorite memory or scene from your life and describe it addressing all of your five senses.
Try to paint a picture with your words so that your audience will be able to envision your experience.
Alternatively, if you have found another passage that illustrates a scene, repeat the exercise above.
The drawing is optional.