Colonial America Agenda

Essential Questions:

  • How is a period of literature a response to the culture/history of that period?
  • What themes/ideas transcend time and culture?
  • What are the key concepts, values, and literary forms of the various periods?
  • How did religion influence Puritan literature?
  • What is persuasive rhetoric, and how can it be used effectively?

Text: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards

Rubric: Common Core ELA Regents Textual Analysis

CC Standards

Writing

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.C
Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.9.A
Apply grades 11-12 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics”).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.D
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.E
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Reading

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4
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.)

Summative Assessment: Literary Analysis Essay

In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards uses various rhetorical devices to persuade his audience to fear God and believe in their sins, ultimately converting them to the Puritan beliefs. Select one rhetorical device that you believe the author uses most effectively in convincing his audience to conform to the Puritan beliefs (or “ the awakening”)  and discuss how Edward achieves his purpose through the device.

9/9/2015

Objectives: Students will share enlighten each other with their summer project.

Aim: How did literature help you ” see” who you are ?

Agenda

  1. Greetings! Share summer highlights
  2. Small group project sharing
  3. Share one element of the summer project in class
  4. Collect projects.
  5. Assign homework assignments.

9/11

Objectives: Students will use their prior knowledge to help them gain insight of a text.

Aim: How does your knowledge of the colonial America help you gain insight of the “Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”?

Agenda

  1. Do Now:  What do you know about the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
  2. Discuss the text- details that stand out to you, details that you anticipated about slavery, details that surprised you.
  3. How does the narrative influence your view toward the trans-Atlantic slave trade? Colonial history? slaves? or anything else?
  4. What other questions do you still have? Text-based or history-related? Write down the questions and share in small group discussion.
  5. Exit slip: How does your prior knowledge influence your reading of a specific text?

Homework assignment: Complete the reading of the narrative. Write a response in which you express how the narrative has demystify or add your understanding about slavery.

9/16

Objectives: Students will critique the cultural references in the narrative by sharing their research and response.

Aim: What new perspectives have you read about the slave trade? How did the new knowledge affect your understanding of the narrative?

Agenda

  1. Do now: Share any detail that stands out to your from the 2nd half of the narrative-details that are strange, unusual and familiar or with which you have made a certain historical connection
  2. Raise any questions you may have encountered during your reading, Share in class.
  3. Share your response to the narrative.
  4. Self assess: How does research or reading the salve trade from a different perspective broaden my understanding of history or the text?

Homework: Read the narrative by John Smith  about  his struggle in Jamestown when he and other settlers first arrived in the New World by the ship, May Flower. How does his describe his ordeal of survival as a free man?

9/17

We’ll Continue discussing the slave’s narrative.

Homework: Finish reading John Smith’s narrative. Do research on Anne Bradstreet and read one of the poems written by her. What perspective do you gain about colonial life through her poem?

9/21

Objectives: students will examine  context, situation and voice of each colonial narrative.

Aim: How does the author’s voice reveal his/ her situation as well as the context in the respective narrative?

Agenda-

  • Do Now: discuss situation and voice.
  • Share questions about john smith’s text and Bradstreet
  • In small groups, describe the situation, voice and context of the assigned narrative.
  • Gallery walk.

End of the lesson assessment: How are colonial cultural and history revealed in the three narratives? Why does literary analysis of the primary document or works provide new insight of history and particular culture?

9/21

Objectives: Students will examine the context, situation, and voice in each historical narrative and work through closely each text.

Aim: How do the voices differ in the three narratives?

Agenda

  1. Do Now: use your homework notes to complete the poster based on the assigned reading.
  2. Gallery walk. Make comments or add information using post-its.
  3. Share the synthesis piece on colonial culture and history in groups  of three.
  4. How did you come to the conclusion about colonial America? What was your process? Did you examine the author’s voice, situation and context?

End of the lesson assessment: How can we use he author’s voice, situation and context to help synthesize our views on a topic? ( i.e.Voice in Colonial writing)

Homework: Select a particular rhetoric as your focus and reexamine your point of view of the colonial America.

9/22

Objectives: Students will examine the context, situation, and voice in each historical narrative and work through closely each text.

Aim: How do voice and language reveal historical and cultural contexts?

Agenda

  1. Do Now: Complete the posters
  2. Gallery walk- use post-its to comment on the posters- you can add or copy notes.
  3. Unpack each narrative- What insight does each narrative bring to our understanding of Colonial America?
  4. Share synthesis: what’s synthesis?

Self-Assessment: What’s your new understanding of the Colonial America? What evidence helped you gain the insight?

Homework: Research and take notes about Puritanism.

9/25

Objectives: Students will examine what Puritanism means and how it is reflected in the colonial characters by making textual connections.

Aim: How do John Smith and Anne Bradstreet’s beliefs reflect or not reflect Puritanism?

Agenda

  1. Do now: Share our synthesis on colonial American after having read John Smith,Anne Bradstreet and the slave’s narratives.
  2. Unpack Puritanism and how  it impacted the early settlers thinking and actions.
  3. In small groups, make connections between Puritanism and the Colonial characters. How do John Smith and Anne Bradstreet’s beliefs reflect or not reflect Puritanism? Use your notes for discussion.
  4. Share in class.

Self Assessment: Select one quotation from Puritanism and explain what it means. Explain how colonial characters such as John Smith and Anne Bradstreet’s beliefs reflect that ideology.

Homework: Read and annotate ” Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.( 4 pages)

9/28

Objectives: Students will continue to examine what Puritanism means and how it is reflected in the colonial characters by making textual connections.

Aim:

Agenda-

  1. Visit the websites History of Puritanism and Puritanism and Predestination  and use notes for the websites for your group discussion.
  2. Create two group posters- one to show the history of Puritanism and the other  to  your understanding of Puritanism. Make sure to include group members’ names at the bottom of your poster.

Homework: Read four more pages of the “Sinner” and identify examples from the sermon that illustrates the ideology of Puritanism.

9/29

Objectives: Students will gain understanding of Puritanism through close reading and group presentations.

Aim: What does Puritanism represent? In what ways do we still see the connection between the ideology and current society?

Agenda

  1. Do Now: present the history of Puritanism.
  2. Present Puritanism and Predestination.
  3. Class read the first 4 pages of the “Sinner”.
  4. Discuss a) What genre is the “sinner”? b) What purpose is the writing? c) What kind of man was Edwards? d) Who was the audience? e)What was the context? f) What medium did the author use?
  5. Resources-a.from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God p. 168b. On Puritanismc. Puritanism and Predestinationd. Lesson on “Sinner” and resourcese. On Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinner”

End of the Lesson Assessment: How does the sermon reflect  Puritanism?

Homework: Read annotate the two more pages of the sermon and continue searching for evidence that reflects Puritanism.

10/1

Assessment 1: Select one perspective that you are interested in for the Analysis of the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards

  • The language perspective
  • Figurative language
  • Imagery
  • Symbolism
  • Irony
  • Rhetorical Perspective- how effective is Jonathan Edwards’ sermon? His speech is considered the “Real Awakening” .How does he achieve the goal? Awakening of what? How does he use rhetorical appeals for persuasion?
  • rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos, pathos
  • Historical significance of this piece- from the colonial America to the independent America. See evidence that clearly demonstrates the Puritan values and encourages colonial Americans to strive to be good and fight against the enmity within themselves. How does the sermon never to feel self-complacent but be grateful to God’s grace. Altruistic values? Humble? Seeking redemption?

Assessment 2: Synthesis essay on Colonial America

In this essay, you will create a specific point of view about the Colonial America based on your various reading- a slave’s narrative, John Smith’s narrative, research on a colonial woman poet, Anne Bradstreet’s life and poems, Puritanism and the sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. You will need to provide contexts as well as specific evidence from the texts to illustrate your perspective. The essential questions you will need to answer through the essay are: what image of Colonial American do I see through the different portrayals? What point does text  make? What are the connections and differences between the texts? If there are too many points you have drawn from the reading, what are the three major ones? Do you see a pattern among them? Your thesis needs to represent your unique perspective on the topic and be supported by specific textual evidence from the reading or your own research( cite sources).

In each paragraph, you will need to provide context as well as evidence and analysis.

There should be a Works Cited sheet at the end of the essay.

Rubric:

  1. Thesis statement: original and insightful
  2. Context: precise and deepening the meaning of the evidence
  3. Evidence: precise, illustrating and complicating the thesis
  4. Analysis: insightful and closely connected to the thesis
  5. Structure: well-organized essay with a clear beginning, well-developed middle and  solidifying conclusion
  6. Language: clear, sophisticated and appropriate
  7. Mechanics: meaningful punctuation, MLA format
  8. Grammar: following conventions
  9. Syntax: use of various sentence structure

10/5

Objectives: Students will determine the most important purpose of the sermon and examine it through a specific language or rhetorical perspective.

Aim: What’s the most significant purpose the sermon serves? How does the author convey the purpose?

Agenda

  1. Do Now: Write a couple of sentences describing the purpose of the sermon.
  2. Share in class.
  3. Finish reading the sermon and for each paragraph, analyze the central point and provide supporting evidence. Do the activity in pairs.
  4. Review the assessment task :

Select one perspective that you are interested in for the Analysis of the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and use it as a lens to examine the author’s purpose.

  • The language perspective
  • Figurative language
  • Imagery
  • Symbolism
  • Irony
  • Rhetorical Perspective- how effective is Jonathan Edwards’ sermon? His speech is considered the “Real Awakening” .How does he achieve the goal? Awakening of what? How does he use rhetorical appeals for persuasion?
  • rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos, pathos
  • Historical significance of this piece- from the colonial America to the independent America. See evidence that clearly demonstrates the Puritan values and encourages colonial Americans to strive to be good and fight against the enmity within themselves. How does the sermon never to feel self-complacent but be grateful to God’s grace. Altruistic values? Humble? Seeking redemption?

Essay structure-

Introduction- Be sure to point out the purpose and the literary or rhetorical device the author uses to convey such a purpose. Bring your voice into the analysis. What personal connection do you have with the topic? Why have you made the choice you did?

Body Paragraphs-

For each body paragraph, develop a topic sentence that helps the thesis evolve. Be sure to include specific quotations from the text to illustrate your point. Follow the structure of a well-developed paragraph.

Conclusion

Homework: Finalize your literary approach for the analysis and collect key textual evidence for your analysis.

10/6

Objectives: Students will determine the most important purpose of the sermon and examine it through a specific language or rhetorical perspective.

Aim: How does the evidence you have collected reveal the author’s purpose or an idea that never came to you before?

Agenda

  1. Do Now:Share your homework in pairs and discuss if there is any new idea inspired by the evidence.
  2. Share in class your new ideas only.
  3. Continue the close reading of “The Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God”.
  4. Continue to gather evidence for your analysis.

Homework: Develop a thesis for your analysis and write a complete introductory paragraph.

10/7

Agenda

  1. Questions about writing an outline
  2. Share the outline in pairs
  3. Share in class.
  4. Continue reading and analyzing “The Sinners”
  5. Read the American Anthem Lyrics/ America, the Beautiful and see if you can discern the Puritanism beliefs implicit in the song.

Homework: Create a table with three columns , in which one provides quotations of God, the 2nd one of sinners, and the middle section of descriptions of God & Sinner relationship.

10/8: Citation Workshop

Objectives: Students will learn to cite succinctly by eliminating words or phrases that are not essential to the meaning.

Aim: How can we provide evidence that is right to the point and precise?

Agenda

  1. Share the citations you have made about God and Sinners. We’ll go around the table.
  2. Now you will limit the word count to 10 by selecting the essential elements in your citation. share again.
  3. What do you learn from this excise? Why is it important to express ideas more to the point and in a succinct way?
  4. Now we share quotations about Sinners. Once again make your quotation more succinct.

End o of the Lesson Assessment: Based on the quotations you have shared, make a claim about the relationship between God and Sinners.

Homework:

  1. Select three pairs of quotations ( each of which should be fewer than 10 words) and make a claim of God-sinner relationship based on each pair.
  2. Read closely the passage ( page 7 2nd para. to page 8, the end of 2nd para) and select three sentences that have complex syntax. Copy each sentence and analyze the structure of the sentence.

10/9

Objectives: Students will analyze how Edwards urges his audience to be devout by showing vividly the relationship between God and “sinners”.

Aim: How does Edwards urge his audience to be devout Christians?

Agenda

  1. Share the homework assignments in pairs.
  2. Share in class.
  3. Continue reading and discuss how syntax is used by Edwards to continue his urging his audience to be morally astute and fearful of God.
  4. What does Edward want to achieve through his sermon?

Homework: First draft of the essay is due Monday on Edwards’ purpose or what he has morally accomplished in the Colonial America.

 

Rubric for Analyzing “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

  1. Thesis statement reflects the student’ insightful understanding of the author’s purpose and how he achieves it.
  2. Effective thesis demonstrates tension. For example, “By using imagery to describe God’s immense wrath and sinners’ helpless condition, Jonathan Edwards aims to convince his parishioners( audience)  that only through God’s love and mercy can people become morally astute and receive redemption.”
  3. An additional paragraph is needed if you want to provide some context about the author. and it should be between the introduction and body paragraphs.
  4. Each body paragraph must begin with a claim based on a pair of quotations  ( that describe God and sinner respectively). You may use additional textual evidence to develop each claim.
  5. The quotations you use should be examples of literary device or rhetorical device.
  6. Claims need to develop and evolve. Avoid repetition ( you should be able to detect this issue when using the outline).
  7. Find the nuance of meaning in each textual evidence. Edwards may seem to sound repetitive in his sermon but he does accomplish to make several points concerning people’s morale and their believe in God and themselves.
  8. For each quotation you use, make sure the meaning is clear and succinct( you can use more than 10 words). You can not use more than two block quotations in the essay.
  9. Be sure to end each body paragraph with a ” so what”.
  10. Conclusion: restate your point and evaluate: how does Edwards’ views impact the American society today.