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Grade Level:
9 - 12
Literary Form:
American Novel
12 Lesson Plans/21 Handouts/58 Pages
Description:
Set in the 1970s, the novel is an unusual murder mystery that focuses on a family in grief over the rape and murder of their fourteen-year-old daughter. A strange twist of fate brings justice and closure in the end. Although grief, alienation, and cruelty are all found in this novel, its tone is one of optimism and hope. Death is not the end for the murdered narrator or for her family, but the beginning of a new relationship and an understanding and compassion that probably could be not achieved in any other way. Studying the novel can give insight into the complexity and depth of human relationships.
Activities:
In this unit, students answer recall and inferential questions, participate in small- and large-group discussions, analyze the significance of events and of specific sentences, research the story’s setting, relate fictional experiences to real-life ones, construct a collage, write a poem, analyze a poem, discover life values that can come from grief and tragedy, participate in a panel discussion, and role play.
Also featured in this unit is an essay test that calls for the synthesis of all the material studied.
Ethical Values:
Adaptability
Compassion
Endurance
Family commitment
Justice
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