NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9.1.2
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
Lesson 9
Introduction
This lesson concludes the first close reading of “Solarium” in Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, from
“One moment we were watching the twitch” to “I might as well hang myself.” (pp. 149–156). Students
will continue their examination of Jason’s predicament and will analyze Madame Crommelynck’s
advice to him. They will closely analyze Madame’s view of truth through close reading in groups. This
lesson serves as a bridge to the next three-lesson arc, in which students prepare for the End-of-Unit
Assessment.
Students will begin by reviewing the previous lesson’s homework. They will close read a new section of
text, work in groups to create summaries, and continue to investigate vocabulary in context. Finally,
students will read in groups, annotating and answering text-dependent questions. For homework,
students will complete a vocabulary activity and continue to read their Accountable Independent
Reading (AIR) texts.
Standards
Assessed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over
the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Addressed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
SL.9-10.1c
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current
discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
Assessment
Assessment(s)
Quick Write: What is Madame’s view of truth?
High Performance Response(s)
Anyone can be truthful about “superficialities, but it is difficult to be truthful about pain.” Artists must
be truthful or their “art will stink of falseness.” People appreciate truth. Madame says the girl will
appreciate the poem if it is “beauty and truth.” Truth is not popular, and therefore “poetry is not.”
File: 9.1.2 Lesson 9 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
Vocabulary
Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)

stratagem (n.) – trick designed to gain advantage

hi-fi (n.) – record player

L.P. (n.) – a record

Liverpool F.C. (n.) – a football (soccer) club

stylus (n.) – instrument used for writing

quotidian (adj.) – usual or customary

prat (n.) – an incompetent person (slang)

a priori (adj.) – existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions)

pseudonym (n.) – a fictitious name used by an author

quintessentially (adv.) – of the pure and essential essence of something

versifier (n) – a writer who composes rhymes; one who writes poor verse

derivative (adj.) – not original; secondary
Lesson Agenda/Overview
Student-Facing Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
% of Lesson
Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.2, SL.9-10.1c
Text: “Solarium” from Black Swan Green (pp. 149–156)
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Homework Accountability
Read Aloud
Group Work TDQs
Evidence-Based Discussion
Closing
Materials
• TDQ Strips
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5%
5%
10%
50%
25%
5%
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
Learning Sequence
Percentage of
Lesson
Teacher Actions
5%
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Begin by reviewing the agenda and
sharing the standards for this lesson:
RL.9-10.2, RL.9-10.1, SL.9-10.1c.
5%
Students participate in the debriefing.
Read Aloud
Ask students to take out their texts.
Prepare them for their group reading
and summary activity by reading aloud
the section for today (from “One
moment we were watching the twitch”
to “the English have an irresistible urge
to self-mutilation. But today you are
late.”) Remind students to read along
silently in their own texts.
50%
Students look at the agenda.
Homework Accountability
Lead a short debriefing discussion on
the Three-Column Note-Taking Tool
assigned for homework to ensure
students have a solid understanding of
Madame and Jason. Tell students to
keep the tool with them to use in the
next few lessons.
10%
Student Actions
Students follow along, reading silently.
Group Work TDQs
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Instructional Notes (extensions,
supports, common misunderstandings)
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
Transition students to group work. Have
students form heterogeneous groups of
3 or 4.
Display the following quote from
Madame:
“So. Do I learn today your true name, or
do I still give hospitality to a stranger
who hides behind a ridiculous
pseudonym?”
Pose the following questions for
students to discuss with their groups
before sharing out with the class:
Student responses may include the
following:
1. What does Madame Crommelynck
say in this sentence? What is Jason’s
pseudonym?
1. Madame says that she wants to know
Jason’s name and that he hides behind a
pseudonym. These words suggest the
meaning of the word. She knows that Eliot
Bolivar is a fake name.
2. How do her words point to what you
already know about her and about
Jason?
2. Madame is blunt here as she is earlier
when she tells Jason, for example, that
“[b]eautiful words ruin his poetry.”
In the same way that she criticizes his
poetry, she is critical of his use of a fake
name. His use of a fake name is the same
as hiding.
Distribute a TDQ Strip to each group.
Students respond to TDQs in their groups.
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2. This idea is significant, and some
students may grasp how much hiding
Jason really does. To push students to
think further, consider discussing this
idea in greater depth.
Check students’ understanding of the
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Tell students that their job is to reread
the passage on the strip and discuss the
TDQ.
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
way the author uses the exchanges
between the two characters to develop
his ideas.
Instruct each group to:
25%

read the passage together

read the group’s TDQ

discuss possible responses

record the responses in their notes
Evidence-Based Discussion
Transition students from small-group
work to a whole-class discussion. Invite
each group to report the key idea they
discussed. Tell students to take notes on
each question.
Groups report the key idea they have
discussed and take notes on each
question.
Although this activity is structured as a
whole-class discussion, it could easily
be done as a Jigsaw or using another
protocol that gets students talking to
one another. Keep students seated with
their group for this activity.
3. Why does Jason mention “Hangman”
in this passage?
3. Student responses may include the
following:
Extension: In a previous lesson,
students discussed Madame’s
resistance to changing her name; this
passage provides an opportunity to
revisit her reasons.

In “Hangman,” Jason describes his
stammer as a potential social
problem. Therefore, it is something
that he carefully conceals.

He also tells her that he chose the
pseudonym because it sounds “more
… poetic.” Jason hides his stammer
and he hides his real name—he is
insecure about both his speech and
his poetry.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
4. How does the author use Jason’s
explanation about his name to further
develop his character and illustrate the
relationship between the old woman
and the boy?
4. Student responses may include the
following:
5. Why does Madame exclaim “Aha!
Truth!”?
5. Student responses may include the
following:
6. How does Madame bring the
conversation back to the truth?

Madame forces Jason to admit that
his “poetry is a shameful secret.”
Jason says that she is correct and then
attempts to explain why he does it.
His reasoning further complicates his
relationship not only with his
environment but also with himself.

Jason tells Madame that if a person’s
parents are “famous,” he can write
poetry. Because his father works in a
supermarket, he cannot.

She realizes that he is afraid. She
states, “You are afraid the barbarians
will not accept you in the tribe if you
write poetry.”
6. Student responses may include the
following:

Madame asks more questions and
pushes Jason to explain himself. He
says that since he is 13 and he does
not “fit in,” his life is “a misery.”
Madame says, “Now you are talking
like a real poet.”

Madame explains that he is “entirely
of his words” and that he is “being
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Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
6
6. The definition of the word essential
will help students establish the
meaning of quintessential. Consider
revisiting the word later in the
discussion when its meaning becomes
clearer.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
DRAFT
quintessentially truthful.”
Transition students to small-group
discussion.
Students follow along, reading silently.
Read aloud the next passage from
“’Anyone can be truthful’” to “‘I should
just hang myself.’” Tell students to
follow along in the text.
Provide the definition of the following
word when you read it in the text:
a priori (adj.) – existing in the mind prior
to and independent of experience
Instruct students to reread the passage
and annotate.
Students annotate the text.
Transition students to complete a Quick
Write.
Student responses may include the
following:

Anyone can be truthful about
“superficialities, but it is difficult to be
truthful about pain.”
What is Madame’s view of truth?

Instruct students to discuss their
answers in their groups and add to their
response if they choose.
Artists must be truthful or their “art
will stink of falseness.”

People appreciate truth. Madame says
the girl will appreciate the poem if it is
“beauty and truth.”
Collect their responses at the end of
class.

Truth is not popular.

Truth is beauty. “If an art is true, if an
art is free of falseness, it is, a priori,
Ask students to use their annotations to
respond to the following question:
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Extension: Discuss what Jason means
when he says, “Only in my poems, I
realized, do I get to say exactly what I
want.” Student responses may include
the following:

Jason’s stammer prevents him from
saying many words easily. He often
will “substitute” words for
“stammer words.” It is only in his
poetry that he does not need to do
this. Here he can indeed say
“exactly” what he wants.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
beautiful.”

5%
Jason’s best poem is “Hangman”
because he is truthful about his
stammer. It is here that Jason actually
understands the greater point that
Madame makes.
Closing
For homework, instruct students to
select one of this lesson’s vocabulary
words and explain how that word
connects to a key idea in the text.
Students select one of this lesson’s
vocabulary words and explain how that
word connects to a key in the text.
In addition, students should continue
their Accountable Independent Reading
through the lens of their focus standard
and prepare for a 3-5 minute discussion
of their text based on that standard.
Students continue to read their
Accountable Independent Reading text for
homework.
Homework
Select a vocabulary word from today’s lesson that you think is important to expressing a key idea in the text. Write a short paragraph in which
you explain the word you selected and how it connects to an important idea in the text.

pseudonym

quintessentially

versifier

derivative
 a priori
In addition, students should continue to read their Accountable Independent Reading through the lens of their focus standard and prepare for a
3-5 minute discussion of their text based on that standard.
File: 9.1.2 Lesson 9 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 9
Text-Dependent Question (TDQ) Strips
Reread the following passage:
From “Hangman was even stopping me from saying, ‘Sorry.’” to “’just sounded more … poetic.’” (p.
153.)
TDQ: Why does Jason mention “Hangman” in this passage?
Reread the following passage:
From “What is more poetic than ‘Jason,’” to “your logic is eluding me.” (pp. 153–154).
TDQ: How does the author use Jason’s explanation about his name to further develop his character and
illustrate the relationship between the old woman and the boy?
Reread the following passage:
From “If your dad’s a famous composer” to “(She’s a pain sometimes.) ‘That’s it. Exactly.’” (p. 154).
TDQ: Why does Madame exclaim, “Aha! Truth!”?
Reread the following passage:
From “And you wish to become a hairy” to “you are being quintessentially truthful.” (p. 154).
TDQ: How does Madame bring the conversation back to the truth?
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