Module 2: Voice of Adversity
Unit 1: Adversity in Medieval Times
In this first unit of the module, students build their informational reading skills and background knowledge about medieval times through a guided research project. Through the close reading of a general information article about medieval times, teachers introduce the skills of determining the central idea of a text, determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, and analyzing how particular parts of the text contribute to its overall meaning.
In this first unit of the module, students build their informational reading skills and background knowledge about medieval times through a guided research project. Through the close reading of a general information article about medieval times, teachers introduce the skills of determining the central idea of a text, determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, and analyzing how particular parts of the text contribute to its overall meaning.
Unit 2: Monologues, Language, and Literary Argument: Voices of Medieval Village
In this second unit of the module, students apply their background knowledge of the Middle Ages to better understand the literary text Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village. In the first half of the unit, students read these monologues, told through the voices of children from a medieval village, to identify themes of adversity. They focus on the author’s craft, specifically the use of figurative language and word choice, to better understand how the author conveys these themes. In the second half of the unit, students write a literary argument essay in which they address the question: “Do we struggle with the same adversities as the people of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!?”
In this second unit of the module, students apply their background knowledge of the Middle Ages to better understand the literary text Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village. In the first half of the unit, students read these monologues, told through the voices of children from a medieval village, to identify themes of adversity. They focus on the author’s craft, specifically the use of figurative language and word choice, to better understand how the author conveys these themes. In the second half of the unit, students write a literary argument essay in which they address the question: “Do we struggle with the same adversities as the people of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!?”
Unit 3: Modern Voices of Adversity
In this unit, students move from the monologues of medieval times to modern voices of adversity. They do this through a study of John Grandits’s concrete poems in the collections Blue Lipstick and Technically, It’s Not My Fault. As in Unit 2, students continue to read closely for word choice, figurative language, and themes of adversity found in these poems. Students consider how these themes of adversity apply to their own lives and the lives of their peers. In the second half of the unit, students identify a theme of adversity they would like to convey in their own writing.
In this unit, students move from the monologues of medieval times to modern voices of adversity. They do this through a study of John Grandits’s concrete poems in the collections Blue Lipstick and Technically, It’s Not My Fault. As in Unit 2, students continue to read closely for word choice, figurative language, and themes of adversity found in these poems. Students consider how these themes of adversity apply to their own lives and the lives of their peers. In the second half of the unit, students identify a theme of adversity they would like to convey in their own writing.