Context:

Course name: Standard English

Grade level: 9th
Length of lesson: 80 minutes
Description of setting, students, and curriculum and any other important contextual
characteristics:
This lesson will be taught in a ninth grade Academic Advanced (standard) level
Collaborative English classroom. The class is comprised of 20 students, each of whom is
seated in assigned groups of four or five. Eight of the students are girls, and twelve of the
students are boys. The class is predominantly (two thirds) white, but there are two African
American students, two Latino students, and two white and African American mixed
students. Every student in the class speaks English fluently, though a few students speak
other languages, such as Spanish. Seven of the students in this class have an IEP, and two of
these students have case managers for behavioral issues and severe emotional baggage.
Accommodations must be made for one of our students, who has Autism; four of our
students, who have learning disabilities; and our two students who, due to emotional issues,
have trouble focusing in class. There is a collaborative teacher in the block, and various TAs
come into the room to support our students with IEPs.
This lesson will be taught in the fifteenth week of school (!). This class has a lot of
personality, and so the students often bring a lot of energy and fun. It is especially important
to hook this class early on, so that they remain on task and engaged throughout the period.
The students are for the most part comfortable in their groups, but they are still exhibiting
trouble with small and pair group work.
This lesson is the penultimate lesson in a four-week unit on the Patterns of Humanity. In
the last class, students had a discussion about Book IX of The Odyssey in which they focused
on the purpose for laws and rules in our society (building from the functioning of the Law of
Xenia in Ancient Greece). Students have been interacting with the understandings that all
humans are connected by common experience and everyone has different perspectives based
on their personal experiences and identity.
Objectives:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will understand that humans are united by shared experiences and shared
traits.
2. Students will understand that personal points of view and biases can influence how
we relate to other people.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
N/A
Performance (do):
3. Students will analyze the use of diction and figurative language in a poem for
meaning.
4. Students will make connections between their personal lives and literature to better
understand personal experiences in their lives and the life of a writer.

SOLs:
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including
narratives, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
a) Identify authors main idea and purpose.
d) Use literary terms in describing and analyzing selections.
CCSs:
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RL.910.2
Determineathemeorcentralideaofatextandanalyzeindetailitsdevelopmentoverthecourse
ofthetext,includinghowitemergesandisshapedandrefinedbyspecificdetails;providean
objectivesummaryofthetext.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RL.910.4
Determinethemeaningofwordsandphrasesastheyareusedinthetext,includingfigurative
andconnotativemeanings;analyzethecumulativeimpactofspecificwordchoicesonmeaning
andtone(e.g.,howthelanguageevokesasenseoftimeandplace;howitsetsaformalor
informaltone).
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RL.910.5
Analyzehowanauthor'schoicesconcerninghowtostructureatext,ordereventswithinit(e.g.,
parallelplots),andmanipulatetime(e.g.,pacing,flashbacks)createsucheffectsasmystery,
tension,orsurprise.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RL.910.6
Analyzeaparticularpointofvieworculturalexperiencereflectedinaworkofliteraturefrom
outsidetheUnitedStates,drawingonawidereadingofworldliterature.
Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know about by
N/A
Formative: Students will show their progress towards by
Throughout discussion of the poem, the students will be analyzing the authors word
choice to better understand his purpose for writing, the perspectives represented, and
the figurative meaning of a persimmon. The teacher will monitor this discussion and
guide students to the right understands.
As students make connections to the text, the teacher will lead them to conclusions
they can make about human commonalities based on these connections.
Students creative paragraphs will show how well they understand the poem because
their own writing will reflect engagement with a specific object in the same way LiYoung Lee engaged with a persimmon.
Summative:Studentswillultimatelybeassessed(todayorinafuturelesson)onby...
Philosophical Chairs Discussion: at the end of the unit, the students will discuss
whether or not all people are the same. They will have the opportunity to draw upon
this poem to support whether they think all people are the same. They will therefore
demonstrate their understanding of the poem and this lessons objectives in that
discussion.

Materials Needed:
Activator Slides
Feedback for essays and persimmon intro
Students will need: SSR books, loose leaf paper, pencils/pens
Technology: computer, projector, internet, Google slides
BeginningRoomArrangement:

Students will arrive to class and sit in their usual assigned seats in small groups.
Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher actions, discourse, and
behaviors.
1. [17 min.] Greeting and SSR
Studentsbeginclassbyreadingindependentreadingbooksforfifteenminutes,andthen
summarizingtotheirtablemateswhattheyread.
2. [10 min.] Activator: Sentence Revisions
Students correct two sentences and then go over as a class.
3. [5 min.] Discuss Class-Wide Strengths and Weaknesses of Analysis Papers
Tellstudentssomethingstheydidwellandsomethingstoworkonfornexttime.Announcethat
IwanttomeetwithallstudentsduringMMtohelpwalkthemthroughthecommentsmadeon
theirpapers.
4. [5 min.] Bridge from last class
Returntothisideathatallstoriestellaboutthehumanexperience.Askstudentstosummarize
whatwediscussed.
5. [25 min.] Persimmons Poem and Activity
[2min.]
Gooverwiththeclasswhatapersimmonis.Usepicturestogivethemavisual.
[5min.]
Readpoemaloud.
[15min.]
Talkthroughthefirsttwostanzasofthepoem.Askstudents:what'sgoingonintheselines117?
HowdoesLeefeelinthesestanzas?Why?WhatdopersimmonsmeantoLee?
Then,havestudentswriteanswerstothefollowingquestions:doesLeesaccountofhissixth
gradeexperienceremindyouofanythinginyourownlife?DoesLee'sexpertisewith,lovefor,
andknowledgeofpersimmonsremindyouofsomethinglikethisinyourownlife?
6. [15 min.] Students write about their own personal persimmon.

Studentsindividuallywriteaparagraphaboutanobjectintheirlifethatisliketheirpersimmon.
Theyrespondtothepromptintheappendix.
7. [2 min.] Closure
Studentswillcompleteparagraphforhomework,andbepreparedtoshareitoutnextclass.
Attention to Individual Student Needs: (Differentiation):
Printing out the Activator for students with disabilities in the class directly correlates to
their individual IEPs, as well as provides them with a visual to reinforce what is expected
of them.
Learning profiles are accommodated in this lesson because there is a mix of pair and
whole class discussion, as well as individual work.
Some students interests will be appealed to in this lesson because students will have a
period of time in which they creatively write.
Technology Use:
Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for why it is being used.
Google classroom (students paragraph assignment will be turned into Google)
Google slides for lesson
Students will use laptops

Materials Appendix:
1.

Persimmons by Li-Young Lee

InsixthgradeMrs.Walker
slappedthebackofmyhead
andmademestandinthecorner
fornotknowingthedifference
betweenpersimmonandprecision.
Howtochoose
persimmons.Thisisprecision.
Ripeonesaresoftandbrownspotted.
Sniffthebottoms.Thesweetone
willbefragrant.Howtoeat:
puttheknifeaway,laydownnewspaper.
Peeltheskintenderly,nottotearthemeat.
Chewtheskin,suckit,
andswallow.Now,eat
themeatofthefruit,
sosweet,
allofit,totheheart.
Donnaundresses,herstomachiswhite.
Intheyard,dewyandshivering
withcrickets,welienaked,
faceup,facedown.
IteachherChinese.
Crickets:chiuchiu.Dew:Iveforgotten.
Naked:Iveforgotten.
Ni,wo:youandme.
Ipartherlegs,
remembertotellher
sheisbeautifulasthemoon.
Otherwords
thatgotmeintotroublewere
fightandfright,wrenandyarn.
FightwaswhatIdidwhenIwasfrightened,
FrightwaswhatIfeltwhenIwasfighting.
Wrensaresmall,plainbirds,
yarniswhatoneknitswith.
Wrensaresoftasyarn.
Mymothermadebirdsoutofyarn.

Ilovedtowatchhertiethestuff;
abird,arabbit,aweeman.
Mrs.Walkerbroughtapersimmontoclass
andcutitup
soeveryonecouldtaste
aChineseapple.Knowing
itwasntripeorsweet,Ididnteat
butwatchedtheotherfaces.
Mymothersaideverypersimmonhasasun
inside,somethinggolden,glowing,
warmasmyface.
Once,inthecellar,Ifoundtwowrappedinnewspaper,
forgottenandnotyetripe.
Itookthemandsetbothonmybedroomwindowsill,
whereeachmorningacardinal
sang,Thesun,thesun.
Finallyunderstanding
hewasgoingblind,
myfathersatupallonenight
waitingforasong,aghost.
Igavehimthepersimmons,
swelled,heavyassadness,
andsweetaslove.
Thisyear,inthemuddylighting
ofmyparentscellar,Irummage,looking
forsomethingIlost.
Myfathersitsonthetired,woodenstairs,
blackcanebetweenhisknees,
handoverhand,grippingthehandle.
HessohappythatIvecomehome.
Iaskhowhiseyesare,astupidquestion.
Allgone,heanswers.
Undersomeblankets,Ifindabox.
InsidetheboxIfindthreescrolls.
Isitbesidehimanduntie
threepaintingsbymyfather:
Hibiscusleafandawhiteflower.
Twocatspreening.

Twopersimmons,sofulltheywanttodropfromthecloth.
Heraisesbothhandstotouchthecloth,
asks,Whichisthis?
Thisispersimmons,Father.
Oh,thefeelofthewolftailonthesilk,
thestrength,thetense
precisioninthewrist.
Ipaintedthemhundredsoftimes
eyesclosed.TheseIpaintedblind.
Somethingsneverleaveaperson:
scentofthehairofoneyoulove,
thetextureofpersimmons,
inyourpalm,theripeweight.

2. Creative Paragraph Assignment

CreativeParagraph
InPersimmonsbyLiYoungLee,thepoetwritesabouthowpersimmonfruithasvalue
tohimandrepresentsexperiencesinhislife.Attheend,hisfathersaysSomethingsneverleave
aperson,indicatingthattherearethingsinlifethatholdspecialandspecificmeaningto
individuals.
Inthiswritingexercise,youwillthinkofsomethinganobject,aplace,afood,etc.
thathasaspecificandspecialmeaningtoyou(onethatgoesbeyondanycommonlyaccepted
meaning).Choosethisthing,andthenwriteaparagraphthatusesdescriptionandfigurative
languagetoshow(andnottell)thereaderthemeaningthisthingholdsforyou.Feelfreeto
describememoriesinordertodothis,asLeedoes.Avoidstatinganythinglike:Persimmonsare
importanttomebecauseUsewritingtoSHOWME!
Pleasewriteatleastoneparagraph.Thisparagraphshouldhaveatleastsixcompound
sentences.YoushouldnotwriteinTEARparagraphformat.Becreative!

3. Organizer students can fill out as they read.

Name:____________________
Mr.WarrenandMiss.Wolf
English9AA
Date:____________________

ConnectingtoPersimmonsbyLiYoungLee
Stanza

MyConnection

LeeFeelsBecaus

1. Why are persimmons so valuable to Lee?

2. What human experiences are portrayed in this poem? (Hint: think about what Lee is going
through in this poem)

3. How does culture influence Lees experiences in this poem?

4. How does this poem help us to better understand our human experience, as well as the
experiences of other humans?