By Becs Richert
Download the full lesson as PDF.
Get the related handouts: Spanish/English Activity | Quote Significance Activity | Phases Chart | Integration Definition Handout
Course | English Language Arts 9–12
Context | This lesson is designed to be used in a unit on immigrant experiences or integration of peoples, but it can easily be adapted for general discussions on characterization and character changes in a story.
Length | This lesson is designed for three 50-minute class periods. Extension activities are included at the end of the lesson. Any of these discussion questions and/or handouts may be used in a shorter lesson according to teacher discretion.
Learning Objectives | Students will be able to:
Common Core State Standards Addressed | Reading: Literature, Grades 9–10
Reading: Literature, Grades 11–12
Materials Included | Each student should have a copy of Richard Rodriguez’s “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” the Spanish/English Activity (Spanish English Activity KEY), the Quote Significance Activity (Quote Significance Activity KEY), and the Phases Chart. If students are unfamiliar with the concept of integration, you may give them the Integration Definition Handout.
Teacher Background Information | The son of Mexican immigrants, Richard Rodriguez was born in the United States and grew up in a mixed-race neighborhood in Sacramento, California. In this opening chapter of his autobiography, Hunger of Memory, Rodriguez describes the tensions of navigating the Spanish-speaking world of his home life and the English-speaking world of school and public identity. Not a straightforward, chronological story of his childhood, Rodriguez describes what he gains and loses as he moves between these two realms of language. The story offers some personal insight into the role of language in integration: Rodriguez’s parents, in some ways, remain on the margins of society, not because they cannot function in English, but because they lack the comfort in English to claim a public identity. At the same time, the family’s home identity consists of an embrace of linguistic isolation. But identity becomes a matter of distress to Rodriguez as he claims his English-speaking public identity only to find that his connections with his family and his culture are strained. Is this inevitable? Is it permanent? Does this problem change our evaluation of his Rodriguez’s argument against bilingual education? And what distinction is Rodriguez drawing between sounds and words?
Student Preparation | Students should read and annotate the text before the lesson. The teacher might direct students to mark any of the following as part of his/her annotations:
Note: Prior to meeting, students should have read and annotated the text. Students should be familiar with a basic definition of integration. (If not discussed in previous lessons, you may use the Integration Definition Handout.)
Warm-Up (15 minutes) | Allowing them to work in small groups, direct students to complete the the Spanish/English Activity. The purpose here is two-fold: students who have not read will get exposure to hinge moments in the text, and students who have done the reading will revisit those moments in preparation for discussion. (Teacher note: I often call the activity a reading quiz and assign an “all or nothing” grade; this encourages students to take a closer look at the text.)
Discussion (15 minutes) | Introduce students to the objectives and essential questions of the story:
Calling on students at random, have students explain each quotation and what language the author is describing. As you review the answers, lead students in a discussion of the following:
Integration Review (15 minutes) | Review the Integration Definition Handout. You might have students brainstorm different ways in which people are or are not integrated in American society, specifically thinking about obstacles that must be overcome before people can be integrated. Then ask students to go back over the text with a partner and mark places in which the author suggests that his family may not be fully integrated. Also have them mark areas in which the author suggests his family is integrated.
As a whole class, discuss the following:
Exit Slip (5 minutes) | Students should answer the following question on a sheet of paper: Describe what Richard Rodriguez means by calling his family “foreigners.” (If you’d like to give your students more direction in their thinking, ask them to use the word “public” in their answers.) Collect their answers to review during the next class period.
Warm-Up (20 minutes) | Allowing them to work in small groups, direct students to complete the Quote Significance Activity. Like that of the previous day, this activity will prepare students who did not read to participate in class and allow students who did read to revisit hinge moments of the text in greater detail. This activity also directs students to think about areas of the text they might use in their Phases Charts. Push students to articulate the significance in their own words and to look closely at context before they consider the activity complete. The teacher may check for annotations at this time.
Discussion (20 minutes) | Calling on students at random, have students explain each quotation and its significance. Many of the quotations require sophisticated inferences, and students may need help explaining the significance of each event in their own words and why the author feels as he does. As you review the answers, you might discuss the following additional questions:
Phase Chart Work (7 minutes) | Introduce the Phases Chart to students. Complete the first box together, and emphasize that students should be making generalizations about the different phases the author and his family undergo as they learn English (students should not be quoting the text in the top boxes). Have students work with a partner to complete the Phases Chart, which will be reviewed during the next class period.
Warm Down (3 minutes) | Allow students to share a box with a student from a different partner set. Direct students to finish the Phases Charts for homework.
Warm-Up (5 minutes) | In a paragraph, have students answer the following: What does the author gain and what does he lose when he begins to achieve proficiency in English? While students write, briefly check their Phases Charts for completion and overall accuracy.
Phase Chart Review (20 minutes) | Calling on students at random, fill out a Phase Chart together on the board, asking students to defend their answers and describe the link between their supporting details and generalizations. While wording and interpretation may vary, the class might arrive at the following general phases:
Discussion (20 minutes) | As a class, discuss any or all of the following questions. Direct students to hinge moments in the text as necessary, and encourage students to support their ideas with specific reference to the text.
Hinge Moments:
Exit Slip (5 minutes) | Have students answer the following in a brief paragraph: Using ideas from the story as part of your answer, what is the role of language in integration?
Alternate/Extension Activities
About the Author | Becs Richert is an English teacher at UNO Garcia Charter High School in Chicago, Illinois.
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