Sample

Lesson Plan

Essential Question: How do race, gender, and colorism impact the lives of women and girls of color in America?

Lesson Question: What does Toni Morrison's choice to begin her novel with the excerpts from the Dick and Jane stories convey about her purpose in writing the novel?

Opening/Bell Ringer/Activator (5-10 minutes)

Display the images (see below) prominently in the classroom and ask students respond with a 1-2 paragraph analysis of the following quote:

“never

trust anyone

who says

they do not see color.

this means

to them,

you are invisible.”

― Nayyirah Waheed

**Note: Once students have received approximately 5-6 minutes of time to write freely, allow for a few minutes of discussion. Do not require all students to share their responses aloud, and be sure to inform them all that their initial responses may evolve tremendously based upon the remaining moments of the lesson.

Direct Instruction (40 minutes)

Part I: Provide students with the Dick and Jane epilogue from Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Lead them in a guided discussion using the following text dependent questions:

What do you notice about the structure of the three paragraphs in the epigraph?
In what way are the paragraphs the same? Different? How are the feelings evoked in the reader different in each paragraph?
What might the author be communicating with these similarities and differences?
Compare the image of the girl (Pecola?) on the cover with the image on the cover of Dick and Jane.
What might be Morrison's purpose in beginning her novel, called "the bluest eye" in this way?

Part II: Show students the video of The Twilight Zone episode "The Eye of the Beholder" then have them respond aloud to the following question.

How might Morrison answer the question, "What do we do with a difference?" How is her answer similar to or different from that of the filmmaker who made "The Eye of the Beholder"?

Here is the house. It is green and white. It has a red door. It is

very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick, and

Jane live in the green-and-white house. They are very

happy. See Jane. She has a red dress. She wants to play. Who

will play with Jane? See the cat. It goes meow-meow. Come

and play. Come play with Jane. The kitten will not play. See

Mother. Mother is very nice. Mother, will you play with

Jane? Mother laughs. Laugh, Mother, laugh. See Father. He

is big and strong. Father, will you play with Jane? Father is

smiling. Smile, Father, smile. See the dog. Bowwow goes

the dog. Do you want to play with Jane? See the dog run.

Run, dog, run. Look, look. Here comes a friend. The

friend will play with Jane. They will play a good game.

Play, Jane, play.

Closing Activity/Homework (5-10 minutes)

Have students write about their earliest memories of self-awareness using these guiding questions:

What is your earliest memory of race, gender, class, and beauty?
How old were you when you began to notice that you (or others) were somehow different?
How has this awareness of difference helped shape various aspects of your life through this moment?

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