UNIT:
Lesson: 1
Text Title
“Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers,” edited by Joanne Veal Gabbin. Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8.
Note: For students, this will be paragraphs 1-6. Mari Evans: A Generational Voice video clip
Main Idea
In My Father’s Passage, Evans begins by sharing a personal story of her father and how he was the most influential person in her life. She goes on to give a descriptive account of her journey as a writer as she stumbled upon poetry.She later expresses her motivation for writing as a connection to her culture. Evans’ use of imagery to describe who she is and how she writes is evidenced in her description of her father, “An oak of a man…” and “who hear the music and can catch a beat.”
Essential Question
The unit essential questions developed in this lesson are…
- Who is Mari Evans?
Content Objective
By engaging in this lesson, students will know/understand that…
- Literary nonfiction, such as a personal narrative, uses literary devices to add emotion and insight into factual events. At an early age, Evans was drawn to Langston Hughes’ writing as she connected to his cultural references and could see herself in his work.
Literacy Objective
By engaging in this lesson, students will strengthen their ability to…
- Identify imagery within a personal narrative and analyze how it provides insight into the speaker’s voice.
Standards Alignment
- Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a work of
literature propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. (8.RL.2.3)
