ELA / 10th Grade / Unit 2: Flowers of Freedom: Voice, Defiance, and Coming of Age in Purple Hibiscus
Students will explore how Adichie uses characterization, structure, point of view, and motifs to develop themes connected to freedom, tyranny, and coming of age.
ELA
Unit 2
10th Grade
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The second unit, centered about the core text Purple Hibiscus, fits within the year-long theme of the individual in society, as author Adichie uses parallel plotlines to portray how the Achike family is a microcosm of the Nigerian society they live in. Through her portrayal of political and familial violence, Adichie invites readers to debate whether an individual should stay in an unjust and oppressive society in order to create change or leave that society for a better life. Students also explore the sacrifices individuals make for freedom.
Before diving into the novel, students will engage with Binyavanga Wainaina's essay "How to Write About Africa" and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted Talk "The Danger of a Single Story" to explore how both texts call attention to the West's harmful stereotypes about Africa and Africans. These readings prepare students for Purple Hibiscus, which uses a dynamic Nigerian main character, Kambili, to depict the complexity of postcolonial Nigerian experiences, thus interrupting the West's single stories about Africa. Through Kambili's voice, students learn about the detrimental ripple effects of colonialism, and they explore why it is sometimes necessary to defy tyrannical authority figures.
As students read Purple Hibiscus, they will trace the significance of different motifs across the novel. At the end of the unit, students will write a literary analysis essay about how the evolution of one or two closely connected motifs develops a theme that resonates with their own lives or the world they live in.
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These assessments accompany Unit 2 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
The Socratic Seminar assesses students on their ability to push themselves and their peers to think critically and participate meaningfully in conversation by collecting and evaluating evidence, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully. Socratic Seminar assessments may occur mid-unit as a way to synthesize the ideas of the text/unit to that point or summative, taking place at the end of a unit.
The Performance Task is the culminating assessment of the unit in which students have the opportunity to show the skills and content they have learned.
Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit
The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
abjectbenevolencecoupculturally consciousdefiantdecreedesecrateengrossedevocativeheathenimplicateinvigoratedingrainedmalignmicrocosmpatronizingpacifypenitentpilgrimagereconcilerebukedrecountedsacrilegioussolemnitysubduedtaboothwarttraditionalist
allusionanecdotecharacterizationenjambmentexternal dialoguefoilhyperboleinternal dialoguemetaphormotifmoodparallel plotspostcolonial literaturerefrainrhetorical questionsatirestructurethemeunderstatementverbal irony
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 2 , view our 10th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Notes to help teachers prepare for this specific unit
Purple Hibiscus contains both explicit and implicit references to disturbing content, including physical abuse and pregnancy loss. Before starting the text, it is imperative that teachers prepare students for this content, which may be sensitive and triggering for students. To foster a safe learning environment, teachers should create or re-establish their classroom contract and have a dialogue with students about what would make them feel safe when reading and discussing upsetting scenes in the novel. Prior to students reading Purple Hibiscus, teachers should provide students with an overall warning about the sensitive content in the book. Before students complete a homework reading with disturbing scenes, teachers should warn students about the upsetting content they will come across in that particular reading, so that students can mentally and emotionally prepare themselves for it. Additionally, teachers should be aware of signs of abuse, in the event that a student displays signs or discloses abuse they are experiencing inside or outside of their home.
Below are some resources to prepare yourself and your students for this text:
Analyze Binyavanga Wainaina's use of satire in his essay "How to Write About Africa."
Standards
RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.6
Analyze how Adichie uses anecdotes to convey the danger of a single story.
RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.6
Analyze how Adichie uses characterization and structure to introduce the Achike family.
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.5
Analyze how Adichie develops the motifs of silence and speech through certain key scenes in the novel.
RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.6
Analyze how Audre Lorde uses structural elements to develop the speaker's perspective.
RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.5
Analyze how Adichie develops the reader's understanding about the dichotomy between European culture and Igbo culture in Nigeria.
RL.9-10.3
Analyze how Adichie uses foils and imagery when introducing Aunty Ifeoma and her children.
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.6
Apply the characteristics of postcolonial literature to a poem and Purple Hibiscus.
Analyze how Adichie uses characterization and imagery to develop themes about love and religion.
RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4
Analyze the mood of Aunty Ifeoma's home and compare it with Papa's home
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4
Plan to write a scene from Purple Hibiscus from a different character’s perspective.
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4W.9-10.3
Write a scene from Purple Hibiscus from a different character’s perspective.
W.9-10.3W.9-10.4W.9-10.6
Analyze how Adichie develops themes about corruption and defiance.
RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3
Analyze Kambili's changing views about religion.
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.6
Analyze how Adichie uses characterization, symbolism, and structure to develop themes.
RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.5
Analyze how Adichie develops parallels between political and domestic events.
Analyze how Adichie foreshadows the events of Palm Sunday.
Analyze how Adichie uses motifs to illustrate Kambili's character development.
Analyze how Adichie uses mood and motifs to depict the aftermath of Papa's death.
RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.5
Engage in a Socratic seminar about Purple Hibiscus by supporting arguments with strong textual evidence.
SL.9-10.1SL.9-10.1.aSL.9-10.1.bSL.9-10.1.cSL.9-10.1.dSL.9-10.4
Write a strong thesis statement about how a motif develops a theme in Purple Hibiscus, and outline body paragraphs needed to support the thesis.
RL.9-10.2W.9-10.1.aW.9-10.1.bW.9-10.1.cW.9-10.4W.9-10.5
Write the body paragraphs of the literary analysis essay, using smooth embedding of evidence.
W.9-10.10W.9-10.1.aW.9-10.1.bW.9-10.1.cW.9-10.1.dW.9-10.4W.9-10.5
Write a strong introduction and conclusion for the literary analysis essay.
W.9-10.10W.9-10.1.dW.9-10.1.eW.9-10.4W.9-10.5
Provide peer feedback and make revisions to the literary analysis essay.
W.9-10.1W.9-10.10W.9-10.4W.9-10.5
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The content standards covered in this unit
RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.9-10.6 — Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
RL.9-10.5 — Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
RL.9-10.6 — Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.9-10.1.a — Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
SL.9-10.1.b — Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
SL.9-10.1.c — Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
SL.9-10.1.d — Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
SL.9-10.4 — Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
W.9-10.1 — Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.9-10.1.a — Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
W.9-10.1.b — Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.
W.9-10.1.c — Use words, phrases, and clauses 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.
W.9-10.1.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.
W.9-10.1.e — Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
W.9-10.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.9-10.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9-10.5 — Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W.9-10.6 — Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W.9-10.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.9-10.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.9-10.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.9-10.3 — Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L.9-10.5 — Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
L.9-10.6 — Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
SL.9-10.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
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