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"Sunny Glow, which had tipped completely over and lost its protective disk, exploded in peach puff under the weight of the raindrops."
Song of Solomon 17 -She Was Loved - Chapter 13 - Group Work : This Chapter is one of the most heartbreaking pieces of prose ever written. I was never ashamed to share with my students that it made me cry - each and every time that I read it. Poor Hagar has been let down and brought to her doom - not only by Milkman, but by Pilate and Reba - and a larger society that seems to value one group of people much more than another. We will discuss what happens along with the rest of the novel in our next class - but I always wanted the students to first have a crack at the material - without their teacher so that their reactions (still fresh from the night's reading) can be as honest and heartfelt as possible. The Group Work goes through just who is to blame - and like Morrison - it spares no one. It also considers Pilate's last words - asking for Mercy and declaring that Hagar was loved. It also brings in All Quiet on the Western Front - and examines just why this chapters hits us all so hard. The last question has students pull some of the text from this chapter - along with earlier chapters - to try and pull some of the book's "bigger" ideas together - preparing them for the end of the book (that they will read after doing this Group Work).
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
The Quiz
The Quiz
As most always, we begin with a quiz. This one is on Chapter 13. It's short - the students are motivated (in fact, by now most students have finished reading the entire novel. It was always interesting to note the student average on quizzes for the respective books that we covered in this class. The quizzes for Song of Solomon had to be the highest. This is especially interesting given that it is almost the end of the year - and many Senior classes had shut down by this point.
The Group Work
The Group Work
We will discuss what happens along with the rest of the novel in our next class - but I always wanted the students to first have a crack at the material - without their teacher so that their reactions (still fresh from the night's reading) can be as honest and heartfelt as possible. The Group Work goes through just who is to blame - and like Morrison - it spares no one. It also considers Pilate's last words - asking for Mercy and declaring that Hagar was loved.
A brief summary of the Group Work questions (see the actual Group Work Handout [below] for much more)
What is ironic about Guitar's little speech putting down Milkman for how he has treated Hagar?
Who exactly (with textual evidence) is to blame for what happens to Hagar?
What does Pilate mean when she asks for "Mercy!"?
A revisit to Milkman's last Christmas gift and thank-you note to Hagar.
What epiphany does Milkman have about how he has treated her - AND a link back to Kat from All Quiet on the Western Front.
This is a little more involved - no question, just a collection of six very closely thematatically related quotes - and the question asks the students to find their relationship - to each other and to the rest of the book.
Group Work - Feather & Roots - Chapters 6 to 7
Group Work - Feather & Roots - Chapters 6 to 7
See above in my Lesson Overview for a very detailed examination of the Group Work. You should also take a look at my Group Work page that describes how to use Group Work effectively - as well as why I do it.
The Group Work goes through just who is to blame - and like Morrison - it spares no one. It also considers Pilate's last words - asking for Mercy and declaring that Hagar was loved.
A Sample Reading Page with my notes
A Sample Reading Page with my notes
The text with my notes served as a guide for the questions, comments and ideas that I ask (including Group Works) - though I was always ready for and often elicited the students ideas, questions, etc. Over the years - as I wrote notes in this text - the previous years' notes and questions become incorporated into the lesson. Again - you will find that these instructions are flexible - and I had to be - they kept changing the amount of time that we had in the classroom.
Most Recent Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
If you want to give the students the entire period to work on this (less homework) - skip the quiz today. If you have not quizzed the students on Chapter 6 - you can find that in the last lesson. As always, you want to quiz the students on the reading. If they haven't read - nothing else matters that you do. Also - if they haven't read (I graded these right away), they shouldn't get into a group but should do the reading during class time and do the Group Work on their own for homework (in addition to any reading they need to do for the next class.)
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
Group Works are fantastic for Remote Teaching - once you get the hang of getting your students into group and virtual rooms.
This book really is the favorite novel of my students over the some thirty years that I taught. Most of them are seniors - about to head off to college and this wonderful parable of a novel, about leaving your material possesions behind and simultaneously knowing where and who you came from - speaks to them in a way that no other book can. There is so much to cover in this final discussion: Milkman's journey home from Shalimar, his acknowledgment of his part in Hagar's death, his rejection of Guitar's hatred - and his discovery that if he truly wants to fly - he has to follow the path of his greatest role model, Pilate - and that path is through love. In addition to our discussion - I always asked the students to bring in one thing from the novel (I did this for all of my final discussions): a comment, a question, a quote - that they felt about the novel. If there is time, we also read Julius Lester's "The People Who Could Fly" - a tale of slaves who were able to fly to Africa and escape the yoke of tyranny they'd been put in.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
This Chapter is one of the most heartbreaking pieces of prose ever written. I was never ashamed to share with my students that it made me cry - each and every time that I read it. Poor Hagar has been let down and brought to her doom - not only by Milkman, but by Pilate and Reba - and a larger society that seems to value one group of people much more than another.
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