ALEX Learning Activity Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (11) 6 :

6 ) Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). [RL.11-12.6]

[ELA2015] (11) 8 :

8 ) Demonstrate knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics. [RL.11-12.9] (Alabama)

[ELA2015] (11) 9 :

9 ) By the end of Grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the Grades 11-College and Career Readiness (CCR) text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. [RL.11-12.10]

[SS2010] US11 (11) 5 :

5 ) Evaluate the impact of social changes and the influence of key figures in the United States from World War I through the 1920s, including Prohibition, the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the Scopes Trial, limits on immigration, Ku Klux Klan activities, the Red Scare, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Jazz Age, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, W. C. Handy, and Zelda Fitzgerald. (Alabama) [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Analyzing radio, cinema, and print media for their impact on the creation of mass culture

•  Analyzing works of major American artists and writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, and H. L. Mencken, to characterize the era of the 1920s

•  Determining the relationship between technological innovations and the creation of increased leisure time

This explore/explain activity can be used after studying The Great Gatsby to compare themes depicted in the novel with some of Langston Hughes’ Poetry. Students will discuss topics which have universal appeal but diversity in interpretation as well as some of the features of Modern Poetry.

Using the two handouts from Google Docs, students will complete the Langston Hughes Poetry Graphic Organizer after they read the poems. Students will engage in a group discussion.

The links will take you directly to the two Google Docs; teachers may make copies of the handouts or insert into their own Google Classroom for students to use directly.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (11) 6 :

6 ) Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). [RL.11-12.6]

[SS2010] US11 (11) 10 :

10 ) Describe the impact of World War II on the lives of American citizens, including wartime economic measures, population shifts, growth in the middle class, growth of industrialization, advancements in science and technology, increased wealth in the African-American community, racial and ethnic tensions, Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G. I. Bill of Rights), and desegregation of the military. [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Alabama's participation in World War II, including the role of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Aliceville Prisoner of War (POW) camp, growth of the Port of Mobile, production of Birmingham steel, and the establishment of military bases (Alabama)

This learning activity uses a video of Dr. Seuss' satirical story of segregation and discrimination. The overall message is presented in the form of a cartoon that magnifies the ideas of identity and differences.  This activity requires students to analyze a case in which the author uses both directly stated and implied ideas to make a point. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (11) 1 :

1 ) Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. [RL.11-12.1]

[ELA2015] (11) 2 :

2 ) Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.11-12.2]

[ELA2015] (11) 4 :

4 ) Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) [RL.11-12.4]

[ELA2015] (11) 6 :

6 ) Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). [RL.11-12.6]

Before reading Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour, students practice annotating song lyrics that echo the short story's theme regarding gender inequality. Annotation is an effective way of having student engage with a text for close reading. By having students annotate song lyrics first, the task seems less daunting or overwhelming to students. Also, the pop culture aspect peaks student interest and makes the literature more relevant as students discover that contemporary songs and classic literature share common, universal themes.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.