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ACTIVITY 1.16 continued
TO TEACHER
Following are sample questions that you might share with students:
Literal
• What is the name of the narrator’s neighborhood?
• What is the main incident that happens in the poem?
Interpretive
• Why did Mama make her children stand around as she argued with the storeowner?
• Why does the author compare Mama’s “madness” to “the burning bush” from the Bible?
Universal
• Why is going crazy an expression of “tired of being tired”?
• Does speaking broken English marginalize people?
15 In a class discussion, lead students to think about this question: “Is there a definitive reading of a poem, or are there multiple interpretations?”
16 Then have students work independently to respond to the Check Your Understanding.
17 Remind students to draw upon their own analysis and their group discussions when responding to the writing prompt.
ACTIVITY 1.16
continued
TEACHER
3. Craft and Structure: How does the speaker view Mama in lines 19–24? How does he feel about her?
By comparing his mother to Moses’ “burning bush” and “a pillar of fire,” the speaker seems to be in awe of her fury and power. He refers to her “sobering madness,” which suggests that he thinks her anger is righteous, not out of control. RL.11–12.6
4. Key Ideas and Details: Why do you think the author inserted an ellipsis (...) in line 33? What impact does it have on the reader?
The ellipsis builds suspense at a key point in the poem. After the police pull Mama into the parking lot and call her “crazy,” the ellipsis indicates a pause in which the reader does not know what will happen next. Then, Mama “showed them crazy!” Readers can only imagine what that was like, given Mama’s fury at the grocer. RL.11–12.3
Working from the Text
5. Using the lens of Cultural Criticism, write Levels of Questions (three for each level)—literal, interpretative, and universal—to explore the preceding text. Discuss with your group the meaning of this poem when read through that lens.
Literal: Interpretative: Universal:
Check Your Understanding
Name one way in which the Cultural Criticism lens helped you understand or make meaning from the poem.
Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text
Write a paragraph analyzing one stanza of the poem “Speaking with Hands” through the lens of Cultural Criticism. Be sure to:
• Include a clear topic sentence that responds to the prompt.
• Develop your ideas with relevant and well-chosen details from the stanza.
• Provide direct quotations from the stanza if appropriate, and introduce and punctuate them correctly.
• Organize your ideas clearly and provide a concluding statement.
My Notes
ASSESS
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Check that students understand the common ideas of Cultural Criticism and have applied these ideas to their analyses of the poem. Check writing prompt responses to make sure students have analyzed the poem through a lens of Cultural Criticism and have included a clear topic sentence, relevant examples, and a concluding statement.
If students need additional help understanding Cultural Criticism, you may wish to have students role-play a scenario exploring an obvious context in which a member of a marginalized culture must negotiate an action with a member of a dominant culture.
Unit 1 • Perception Is Everything 57
ADAPT
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.