Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 61625
"Lonesome for a Change": Close Reading an excerpt
from Their Eyes Were Watching God
In this lesson, students close read chunks of this challenging excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was included on the 1987 AP
English Literature exam. As they read and mark the text, students will uncover Zora Neale Hurston's layers of meaning within beautiful figurative
language and symbolism, all of which communicate Janie's realizations and maturity following Joe Starks's death. The close reading and provided
questions lead students to develop interpretations of Janie's character as she reflects on her past and realizes she likes "being lonesome for a
change."
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD
Projector, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 3 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Hurston, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, figurative language, imagery, symbolism,
lonesome, close reading, text dependent questions, multiple choice
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Cooperative Learning
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Their Eyes Were Watching God Excerpt.doc
Light vs Dark TChart Possible Responses.doc
Close Reading Guiding Questions with Answers Excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God.doc
Their Eyes Were Watching God Close Reading Excerpt without Text Marking.pptx
Possible Text Marking Key Their Eyes Were Watching God Close Reading Excerpt.pptx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to:
1. demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings as they examine and analyze an excerpt from chapter 9 from
Their Eyes Were Watching God.
2. cite strong and thorough textual evidence as they answer text-dependent questions about this Zora Neale Hurston text excerpt. They will also be able to cite textual
evidence to support inferences drawn from the text.
3. determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the excerpt from chapter 9, including figurative and connotative meanings; they will be able to
analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should:
page 1 of 4 1. have an understanding of how the following literary terms apply to their reading: figurative language (i.e. simile, metaphor, imagery, and personification), Biblical
allusion, and symbolism.
2. be familiar with symbolism associated with a woman's hair (femininity and freedom) and light (goodness, purity, knowledge, freedom, for example) versus
darkness (evil, secrecy, lack of knowledge, for example).
3. be familiar with elements of syntax, particularly the use of fragments for effect and shifts from Standard English to dialect. This lesson works well in conjunction
with an actual reading of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in its entirety, or readings of similar African American literature from the same era.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Use the following questions to guide discussion and student thinking throughout the close reading process. The questions are in an order that corresponds with the
written Guiding Questions students will answer.
1. How can an author's use of imagery communicate emotions in a text?
2. In what ways can an author's syntax affect a text's meaning?
3. How can an author's use of personification bring deeper meaning to a character's emotions in a text?
4. What types of images might symbolize hopes and dreams within a text? Explain.
5. How might an author use symbolism to communicate ideas in a text?
6. In what ways can characters change from the beginning to the end of a text?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Chunked Text without Text Marking, for student copies and teacher modeling on LCD Projector. The text is also provided as a Word document if the teacher would
prefer this format. Teachers can reference the Chunked Text with Text Marking.
Engagement:
To get students thinking about the key images in this excerpt, the teacher should begin the lesson by having students create a T-Chart to brainstorm a list of images
that they associate with light and darkness. Remind students of symbolism associated with these terms as well—they may need reminders to think both literally and
figuratively. The teacher should have students brainstorm on their own papers, then share in group discussion. The teacher should then compile a class list on the
board as students revise their responses. A sample with possible responses has been attached.
Teacher Modeling/Explicit Instruction:
1. The teacher will provide students with a black and white copy of the first slide containing the lines 1-24 of the text and will use this slide to model the close reading
process for students. Students should have a pen or pencil and two highlighters to complete all three readings of each chunk of text.
2. The teacher will complete Reading #1 of this chunk, using the first color to highlight imagery associated with darkness and the "outside."
3. For Reading #2 of the chunk, the teacher will use the second color to highlight imagery associated with light and the "inside."
4. For Reading #3 of the chunk, the teacher will underline examples of figurative language using a pen or pencil.
5. The teacher will then provide the Guiding Questions for students (without the Possible Answers page) and pose question 1, modeling a response, if necessary, and
reviewing how to correctly use in-text citations while quoting evidence to support an answer.
6. The teacher will divide students into groups of two to three to work on the second question associated with Lines 1-24, and will circulate to answer questions and
provide additional assistance.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Students will work in small groups of two to three to close read the second and third chunks of the text and answer the two Guiding Questions that go with each
chunk.
The teacher should remind students to use their T-Charts to assist them as they read. Each chunk must be read three times:
Reading #1: Use one color to highlight imagery associated with darkness (including death) and the "outside."
Reading #2: Use a second color to highlight imagery associated with light (including life) and the "inside."
Reading #3: Use a pen or pencil to underline examples of figurative language. Even though this is a group assignment, all students must mark their texts and
answer their questions on their own papers.
The teacher should circulate as students work to provide verbal feedback, as well as pick up student work at the end of each class period to provide written feedback.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
Once students have worked in their groups to close read and answer questions associated with the first three chunks of the text, they are ready to work independently
on the final fourth and fifth chunks (lines 61-69 and 70-80). The teacher should continue to circulate to provide assistance as needed and keep students on track to
ensure they are still reading each chunk three times.
Students will independently mark the text and answer questions #7-10.
Finally, prior to the summative assessment, it may be beneficial for students to rejoin their groups and share answers, either in small groups or in whole-class
discussion. This may assist students in seeing certain elements of the text from a different perspective, or seeing something they may have missed while working
independently.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Following the summative assessment, the teacher should grade the multiple-choice quizzes and return them to students.
As closure for the lesson, the teacher should divide students into their same groups and assign each group one to two questions from student quizzes that were
problematic for the class (to save time, jigsaw the questions so that groups are working on different ones). The teacher should prepare the selected questions ahead
of time. It is not necessary to review questions that the majority of the class answered correctly, but it is beneficial to review those that were particularly difficult for
students.
In their small groups, students will work for 10-15 minutes to record on chart paper the following:
The incorrect answer(s) they chose and their points of confusion behind those choices
page 2 of 4 Evidence from the text (or dictionary, if vocabulary is the issue) proving the correct answer to be true
To conclude, groups will share their findings in a class discussion and the teacher may decide to award extra points for the corrections students have now made.
Summative Assessment
Students will complete multiple choice questions #1-15 for the excerpt from chapter 9 in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The questions can be accessed via the link
below - scroll to pages 7-10.
AP English Literature 1987 Released Exam, Multiple Choice, Questions 1-15
An optional adjustment to this assessment is to also have students provide textual evidence for each answer they provide on the multiple choice questions. This textual
evidence will provide the teacher with further further information regarding individual student understanding or misconceptions.
Formative Assessment
After close reading each chunk of the excerpt, students will answer two questions. The teacher will model the first question and response, and will circulate the room
to provide assistance and to check for understanding as students work in their groups to answer the second question. From that point forward, the teacher should use
these written responses as formative assessments of student understandings each day.
Students will work in groups to close read and answer questions #1 through #6; at that point, they'll move into independent practice and complete the remaining
reading, text marking, and written responses independently.
Feedback to Students
The teacher should check student written responses daily and provide written feedback on individual papers.
The teacher should provide verbal feedback to small groups regarding questions that the group members had difficulty answering on the previous day.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations: 1. To differentiate instruction, the teacher may decide to group students according to ability, balancing the groups with stronger and weaker
students.
2. Assigning roles may work well. For this assignment, assign a Leader (keeps time and keeps the group on task), a Reader (reads all instructions and text chunks
aloud), and a Writer (makes sure all group members have correctly marked their texts and that all sentences in written responses are complete and include textual
evidence).
3. To accommodate students with disabilities, the teacher may provide a partially marked text that provides modeled examples of what students should be looking for
within each chunk.
4. The teacher may also provide sentence starters for the Guiding Questions (use the Possible Answer Key to assist with this).
5. For ELL students, a picture of a horizon, such as this one, may be helpful for visualization of "for no matter how far a person can go, the horizon is still way beyond
you."
Extensions: An extension to this lesson would be to have students write an essay responding to the following prompt:
In this excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, attends her husband's funeral and returns home to face what
will come next in her life now that he is gone.
In an essay, write to explain how Hurston uses imagery of light and darkness, along with other figurative language elements, to help the reader understand Janie's
character and the realizations she comes to in the time following her husband's death. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
pen/pencil
highlighters in two colors
chart paper (for closure)
Further Recommendations: 1. Post the text marking steps for the three readings and a reminder for students to complete the two questions associated with
each chunk once they have read and marked it three times.
2. Keep the class-developed T-Chart visible on chart paper or on the board for student reference.
3. During formative checks of student answers to the Guiding Questions, take note of particularly insightful responses to share at the beginning of class the following
day. Add these to the Possible Answers document for future use.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
This lesson utilizes an excerpt from chapter 9 of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston found on the 1987 AP English Literature released exam. The Lexile level
of this excerpt is 960. Taking into consideration the quantitative measure along with the qualitative measures and reader and task considerations, this excerpt is appropriately
complex for students in grades 11-12.
page 3 of 4 SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: April Fleetwood
Name of Author/Source: April Fleetwood
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Levy
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.1112.L.3.5:
LAFS.1112.RL.1.1:
LAFS.1112.RL.2.4:
Description
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text.
b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or
language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
page 4 of 4