What Does Success Look Like?
Scholars explain the writers’ messages about the Civil Rights Movement and race in America.
Seminar 2:
“Southern Troubles” from Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck (pages 249-260, Penguin, 2017) (Nonfiction) and “Excerpt from The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (pages 45-47, Berkley, 2011) (Fiction)
Do Now — 10 minutes
- Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from yesterday’s seminar based on the feedback
you provided.
Launch — 2 minutes
- Tell scholars that today, they will be reading two texts: “Southern Troubles” and an excerpt from The Help. Build excitement by telling scholars that both texts will continue to develop their background knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement so that they better understand the themes in Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.
Read and Discuss 1 — 40 minutes
Display “Southern Troubles.”
Preview the Text (2 minutes):
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- Have scholars read the title and scan the passage to frame their thinking.
- Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.
Read (10 minutes):
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- Say: As you are reading, think, “What is this text mostly about?”
Discuss (5 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following question in pairs: What is this text mostly about? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.
Read (15 minutes):
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- Say: As you are rereading, think, “Why did the author write this?”
- Read the text aloud as scholars follow along on their digital copy. While reading aloud, pause to ask the questions below:
- Stop after paragraph 1.
- Partner Talk: Who are the “Cheerleaders”? What is Steinbeck’s opinion of them?
- Stop after paragraph 9.
- Partner Talk: What mood is Steinbeck creating? How does he create this mood?
- Stop after paragraph 14.
- Partner Talk: What is the “show” that Steinbeck is referring to?
- Stop after paragraph 20.
- Partner Talk: Why does Steinbeck feel “sick with weary nausea” (paragraph 20)
- Stop at the end of the text.
- Discuss: Why did Steinbeck write this piece?
Main Idea Jot (2 minutes):
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- Scholars jot their main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
- While scholars are working, circulate to determine which scholars have a bull’s-eye main idea jot and which do not.
Discuss (4 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class:
- What does Steinbeck mean when he says, “These were not mothers, not even women. They were crazy actors playing to a crazy audience”? (paragraph 20)
- Who are the “others” that Steinbeck refers to when he asks, “But where were the others — the ones who would be proud they were of a species with the gray man — the ones whose arms would ache to gather up the small, scared black mite?” (paragraph 23)
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea based on the discussion.
Write — 10 minutes
Write an essay of no more than 200 words:
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- Why is the speaker so disturbed by the cheerleaders’ actions? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “‘Southern Troubles’ from Travels with Charley.”
Wrap-up — 5 minutes
- Show an exemplar essay to scholars. Have scholars discuss what makes the claim clear and compelling. Set your expectations for what scholars must do differently when approaching the next text.
Read and Discuss 2 — 25 minutes
Display “Excerpt from The Help.”
Preview the Text (2 minutes):
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- Have scholars read the title and scan the passage to frame their thinking.
- Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.
Read (10 minutes):
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- Say: As you are reading, think, “What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this?”
- Scholars independently read and annotate the text on their Chromebooks. When they are finished, they jot their main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
- While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work and
conference with 2-3 scholars.
Discuss (4 minutes):
-
- Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs: What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea based on the discussion.
Read (2 minutes):
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- Say: As you are rereading, think, “What does paragraph 14 reveal about Minny?”
- Reread paragraphs 13 and 14 with scholars.
Discuss (5 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following question as a whole class:
- What does paragraph 14 reveal about Minny?
- What is significant about the last line of the text?
Exit Ticket — 8 minutes
Write an essay of no more than 200 words:
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- What do Mama’s rules reveal about the relationship between white and black people in Mississippi in the 1960s? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Excerpt from The Help.”
