MiriamRock

TheHandmaidsTaleWeeklyLessonPlan

Week:3

OVERVIEW/RATIONALE
ThisisthethirdweekoflessonsonTheHandmaidsTale
Forthisunit,studentswillfocusonformingtextbasedarguments
ENDURINGUNDERSTANDINGS
Studentswillunderstandhowtobuildargumentsbasedonthetextand
howtoanticipatetheflipsideofthatargument.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
SWBATunderstandhowanauthorcreatesaworldascommentaryon
herculture
SWBATcreatethreepartthesisstatementsandblogpostsIOTbuildtext
basedargumentationskills
COMMONCORESTANDARDSFORENGLISHLANGUAGEARTS
1.1FoundationalSkillsStudentsgainaworkingknowledgeofconceptsof
print,alphabeticprinciples,andotherbasicconventions
1.2ReadingInformationalTextsStudentsread,understandandrespondto
informationaltextwithemphasisoncomprehension,makingconnections
amongideasandbetweentextswithfocusontextualevidence.
1.3ReadingLiteratureStudentsreadandrespondtoworksofliterature
withemphasisoncomprehension,makingconnectionsamongideasand
betweentextswithfocusontextualevidence.
1.4WritingStudentswritefordifferentpurposesandaudiences.Students
writeclearandfocusedtexttoconveyawell-definedperspectiveandappropriate
content
1.5SpeakingandListeningStudentspresentappropriatelyinformalspeaking
situations,listencritically,andrespondintelligentlyasindividualsoringroup
discussions.
MATERIALS
ClasscopiesofTheHandmaidsTalebyMargaretAtwood,classsetof
whiteboardsandmarkers,Prometheanboard,classsetofchromebooks,Digital
versionofEveryFistClenchedasOne,"Coverof1934A.I.Z.(Workers
IllustratedMagazine)

MONDAY(GuidedInstruction)
TeacherwillguidestudentsthroughoverviewofMarxism,before
turningthediscussiontothewayTheHandmaidsTaleplayswith
MarxismandtheBible
Slide1
Capitalism:Aneconomicandpoliticalsysteminwhicha
country'stradeandindustryarecontrolledbyprivateowners
forprofit,ratherthanbythestate.
Communism:Asocioeconomicsystemstructuredupon
commonownershipofthemeansofproductionand
characterizedbytheabsenceofsocialclasses,money,andthe
state.
OnecommunistsloganwasWorkersoftheWorld,Unite
Slide2
Communismvs.Marxism
KarlMarxwrote"TheCommunistManifesto"
Marxismisthetheorywhichcommunismisbasedoffof.
Morethan50percentofAmericanswronglyattributedthe
quoteFromeachaccordingtohisability,toeachaccordingto
hisneedstoeitherGeorgeWashington,ThomasPaine,or
PresidentBarackObama,whenitisinfactaquotefromKarl
Marx,authorofTheCommunistManifesto
Slide3
MarxisminHandmaid'sTale
KarlMarx:Fromeachaccordingtohisabilitytoeachaccording
tohisneed
"TheBible":Fromeachaccordingtoherabilitytoeach
accordingtohisneed.(pg.117)
Slide4
BlogPost
ThesloganwhichOffredsaysisusedtojustifytheexistenceof
handmaidsisFromeach...accordingtoherability,toeach
accordingtohisneed(pg.117).Offredsaysshethinksthe
slogancomesfromtheBible.Infact,itisavariationofaslogan
popularizedbyKarlMarx,Fromeachaccordingtohisability,
toeachaccordingtohisneed.WhatisAtwoodsuggestingby
changingthepronounandtheaccreditedsourceforthissaying?
Aremensneedsactuallybeingmet?
Teacherwillencouragestudentstofindexamplesfromthetextthat
respondtotheabovequestionorthatrevealotherwaysinwhichGilead
misattributedideastotheBibleorchangesideasfromtheBibleinorder
tofurthertheirpoliticalsystem
1


MONDAYCont.
THURSDAYFRIDAY(Inclassreading)
Studentswillbegintofindpassagestousefortheirblogposts
Studentswillbegiventheoptionofreadingsilentlyorreadingaloud
Homework:WorkonBlog
StudentswhoreadsilentlywillbeginreadingTheHandmaidsTalein

class
TUESDAY(InClassWorkPeriod)
Studentswhoreadaloudwillsitinhallwaywithteacherandwilltake
Teacherwillshowexampleofblogfromweekbeforetopointoutto
turnsreadingparagraphsandstoppingwhenusefultodiscuss
studentshowtouseformattingandimagestoenhanceblogs
Homework:Readpg.151-223forMonday
Studentswillwriteblogsinresponsetoprompt
ThesloganwhichOffredsaysisusedtojustifytheexistenceof
handmaidsisFromeach...accordingtoherability,toeach
accordingtohisneed(pg.117).Offredsaysshethinksthe
slogancomesfromtheBible.Infact,itisavariationofaslogan
popularizedbyKarlMarx,Fromeachaccordingtohisability,
toeachaccordingtohisneed.WhatisAtwoodsuggestingby
changingthepronounandtheaccreditedsourceforthissaying?
Aremensneedsactuallybeingmet?
TeacherwilldirectstudentstoespeciallyfocusonexploringAtwoods
argument(part2ofthreepartthesisstatement),explicitlylinkingback
tothepreviousweeksdiscussionoftheses
Homework:Blog2due

WEDNESDAY(Jigsaw)
Studentswilldivideintofivegroupseachofwhichwillbeassigneda
differentNightchapter.Studentswillanswereachofthefollowing
questions
Whendoesyourchapteroccur?
HowdoesOffredfeelatthispoint?Whatisshethinkingabout?
Howareherthoughtsdifferent/similartoherthoughtsinthe
surroundingchapters?
Whatdoesthischaptershowusaboutthenarrator?
WhydoesAtwoodincludethischapter?
Studentswillreconfigureintofivenewgroups,discusstheirfindingsand
thenanswerthefollowingquestions:
HowdotheNight/NapchaptersfunctioninTheHandmaids
Tale?
Whydoesthenarratorchoosetoincludethem?
WhydoesAtwoodchoosetoincludethem?
Classwillreassembleandstudentswillshareouttheiranswerstothe
finalthreequestions