Date: 03/08/18

Class: 10th Grade Honors

Unit: Research Paper
Lesson Topic: Hemingway short story “Hills like White Elephants”
Rationale: SWBAT The idea is that by the time students finish highlighting and writing
inferences on the margin, they will have the complete story. Often with modernist writing there
is not a complete story and students must rely on inferences to read between the lines. Through
this students will be able to develop an argument based off of inferences and will learn how to
develop an argument through textual evidence. Additionally, through analyzing scarce writing
they will learn how vague writing leaves room for interpretation. This exercise is meant to help
prepare students for their research writing unit through building argumentative skills.
Objective: SWBAT will understand that with a modernist story we do not get the full story
directly from the written text. Instead, we get part of the story directly and the rest is suggested
so that we must make inferences to get the entire story. Through building the ability to learn
inferences students will develop the ability to characterize the characters and understand the
iceberg theory.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.

Procedure:
Part one: What is subtext
○ Ask students if people should be able to read emotions through text
■ Ask why?
■ Ask for examples? Ex. subtweeting
○ Explain how this is a way of creating subtext in their day to day lives
○ Go through powerpoint examples
○ Delve into Hemingway and subtext
○ What is the iceberg theory?--what students should know by the end
 ○ Idea that we often communicate indirectly
○ Give clear idea of what you want from them
■ Also tell them coined by Ernest Hemingway
■ Hemingway believed the deeper meaning of a story should not be evident
on the surface, but should shine through implicitly
○ Time : 10 minutes
Mini Lesson: creating the script
○ Put refresher on the board how to format scripts. Remind them to do it like they
have done other scripts in the past.
○ They will be asked to construct a script (1-2 pages) where they address the
emotional conflicts between the two characters that is not being addressed
explicitly
○ Student break into base groups
○ THE PROMPT “ rewrite the subtext as a play only addressing subtext as if
characters are being totally honest with each other”
○ Students will be asked to focus on why they are in between Barcelona and Madrid
for and what sort of “operation” they are going to go do.
○ The goal is to have students realize the story is about an abortion and to
understand the subtext between the characters
○ What is it I want to see and what am I looking for?
○ Time 15 minutes
Main Lesson: acting it out
○ Each group is asked to share their proposal
○ The class should help validate their responses and scripts and will be asked for
positive feedback (help improve class culture in regards to students feeling like
their peers think they are stupid)
○ The goal is to have students realize that the operation is an abortion and express
that in their scripts
○ Time 25 minutes
● Homework: There is most likely none because students will spend the next class
presenting their scripts
 ● Assessments:
● Formative: Group work, group argument presentations, student annotations
● Summative: Written response
Differentiation:
Technology: N/A
Future use: