10.1.2 Lesson 4 - EngageNY...L.9-10.4.a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and...

NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum Grade 10 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 4

File: 10.1.2 Lesson 4, v2 Date: 5/26/15 Classroom Use: Starting 5/2015

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10.1.2 Lesson 4

Introduction

In this lesson, students read and discuss pages 168–171 of “The Palace Thief” (from “I had come to this

job straight from my degree” to “my ‘Outline’ pressed against the inside of his garment”) in which the

narrator, Hundert, struggles to understand the events of the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition and how

best to move forward in its aftermath. Students analyze the conflict the narrator experiences, and

explore how this conflict develops central ideas in the text. Student learning is assessed via a Quick

Write at the end of the lesson: How does the narrator’s description of the “Mr. Julius Caesar”

competition develop a central idea in the text?

For homework, students read pages 171–175 of “The Palace Thief” (from “‘Well, young man,’ I said,

knocking on the door frame” to “and trundled off to sit among his friends”). Students continue to use

the Central Ideas Tracking Tool to trace the development of central ideas in the text, box unfamiliar

words, and look up their definitions.

Standards

Assessed Standard(s)

RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over

the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific

details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Addressed Standard(s)

W.9-10.9.a Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and

research.

a. Apply grades 9-10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how an author

draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare

treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play

by Shakespeare]").

L.9-10.4.a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grades 9-10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's

position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.







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Assessment

Assessment(s)

Student learning is assessed via a Quick Write at the end of the lesson. Students respond to the

following prompt, citing textual evidence to support analysis and inferences drawn from the text.

How does the narrator’s description of the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition develop a central idea

in the text?

High Performance Response(s)

A High Performance Response should:

Identify a central idea in the text (e.g., expectations).

Analyze how this central idea develops through the narrator’s description of the “Mr. Julius

Caesar” competition (e.g., The narrator’s description of the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition

develops the central idea of expectations by demonstrating how competing expectations of self

and others shape events. Early in the passage, Hundert expresses his idealistic expectations for

himself stating that when he came to St. Benedict’s, he carried with him “the hope that I could give

to my boys the more important vision that my classical studies had given to me” (p. 168). However,

Hundert compromises these idealistic expectations when he follows his own ambition of “one day

becoming a headmaster” (p. 169) by choosing to follow Mr. Woodbridge’s orders to ignore

Sedgewick’s cheating. Hundert also feels “an inexplicable pity” for Sedgewick (p. 168) because of

the expectations Senator Bell has for his son. However, Hundert also realizes that Deepak’s

parents, too, have expectations for their son. In the end, Hundert finds himself torn by his

expectations for himself, Senator Bell’s expectations for his son, and Mrs. Mehta’s hopes for her

son.).

Vocabulary

Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)

myopia (n.) – condition of the eye that makes it difficult to see objects that are far away;

nearsightedness

begets (v.) – causes; produces as an effect

Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or questions)

coddled (v.) – treated tenderly; nursed or tended indulgently







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deliberation (n.) – careful consideration before decision

Additional vocabulary to support English Language Learners (to provide directly)

din (n.) – loud, confusing mixture of noises that lasts for a long time

Lesson Agenda/Overview

Student-Facing Agenda % of Lesson

Standards & Text:

Standards: RL.9-10.2, W.9-10.9.a, L.9-10.4.a

Text: “The Palace Thief” from The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin, pages 168–171

Learning Sequence:

1. Introduction of Lesson Agenda

2. Homework Accountability

3. Masterful Reading

4. Reading and Discussion

5. Quick Write

6. Closing

1. 5%

2. 10%

3. 10%

4. 55%

5. 10%

6. 10%

Materials

Student copies of the Central Ideas Tracking Tool (refer to 10.1.2 Lesson 2)—students may need

additional blank copies

Student copies of the Short Response Rubric and Checklist (refer to 10.1.1 Lesson 1)

Learning Sequence

How to Use the Learning Sequence

Symbol Type of Text & Interpretation of the Symbol

10% Percentage indicates the percentage of lesson time each activity should take.

no symbol

Plain text indicates teacher action.

Bold text indicates questions for the teacher to ask students.

Italicized text indicates a vocabulary word.

Indicates student action(s).

Indicates possible student response(s) to teacher questions.







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Indicates instructional notes for the teacher.

Activity 1: Introduction of Lesson Agenda 5%

Begin by reviewing the agenda and the assessed standard for this lesson: RL.9-10.2. In this lesson,

students analyze an excerpt from “The Palace Thief,” focusing on how the narrator’s reflections on the

“Mr. Julius Caesar” competition develop central ideas in the text.

Students look at the agenda.

Activity 2: Homework Accountability 10%

Instruct students to form pairs and share their additions to the Central Ideas Tracking Tool.

See the Model Central Ideas Tracking Tool for possible student responses.

Lead a brief whole-class discussion of student responses.

Instruct student pairs to share and discuss the vocabulary words they identified in the previous lesson’s

homework.

Students may identify the following words: myopia and begets.

Differentiation Consideration: Students may also identify the following word: din.

Definitions are provided in the Vocabulary box in this lesson.

Activity 3: Masterful Reading 10%

Have students listen to a masterful reading of pages 168–171 of “The Palace Thief” (from “I had come to

this job straight from my degree” to “my ‘Outline’ pressed against the inside of his garment”).

Consider pausing several times during the masterful reading to allow students time to write down

initial reactions and questions.

Students follow along, reading silently.

Differentiation Consideration: Consider posting or projecting the following guiding question to

support students in their reading throughout this lesson:







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To what extent does the narrator meet his own expectations?

Activity 4: Reading and Discussion 55%

Instruct students to form small groups. Post or project each set of questions below for students to

discuss. Instruct students to annotate for central ideas throughout the reading and discussion, using the

code CI.

This focused annotation supports students’ engagement with W.9-10.9.a, which addresses the use

of textual evidence in writing.

Instruct student groups to read pages 168–170 (from “I had come to this job straight from my degree”

to “I could see the sheets of my ‘Outline’ pressed against the inside of his garment”) and answer the

following questions before sharing out with class.

How does the narrator’s description of his first days of teaching develop his expectations for himself

and his students (p. 168)?

Student responses should include:

o The narrator expresses the idealistic expectation that he will share with his students his own

love of learning. He says he carried with him “the hope that I could give to my boys the

more important vision that my classical studies had given to me” (p. 168).

o The narrator expects himself to be a demanding teacher, noting, “I knew that [the boys]

responded best to challenge” (p. 168).

o The narrator expects himself to share with his students the values he expressed to Senator

Bell when he talked about “the importance of character and high ideals” (p. 163).

Differentiation Consideration: If students struggle, consider posing the following scaffolding

question:

Based on the narrator’s interview with Senator Bell described on page 163, what benefits does the

narrator see as the “important vision” (p. 168) that his classical studies gave him?

The narrator believes that by studying the classical world, the boys will “understand the

importance of character and high ideals” (p. 163).

What does the narrator’s attitude towards coddling suggest about his teaching philosophy?

The narrator’s belief that coddling makes boys “weak-minded” (p. 168) suggests that he believes

that the opposite of coddling should happen. The narrator believes in being strict with students,

even suggesting that the best teachers are “tyrants” (p. 168).







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Differentiation Consideration: If students struggle, consider asking the following scaffolding

question:

What words and phrases in this paragraph clarify the meaning of the word coddled?

Student responses may include:

o Hundert explains that being coddled “holds [the students] back” (p. 168) so coddled must

mean something negative.

o Hundert equates being coddled with being kept “in the bosoms of their mothers” (p. 168),

which indicates that coddled might mean being treated as a child.

Consider drawing students’ attention to the application of L.9-10.4.a through the process of using

context to make meaning of unknown words.

What does the narrator’s “period of internal deliberation” (p. 168) suggest about his expectations for

himself?

The narrator’s internal deliberation suggests that he expects himself to behave ethically, but he

also wants to act compassionately. The narrator expects himself to challenge the boys and does

not want to coddle them, but at the same time he feels an “inexplicable pity for the boy,” who,

like the narrator himself, “had suffered at the hands of his father” (p. 168).

Differentiation Consideration: If students struggle, consider posing the following scaffolding

question:

What details in the text clarify the meaning of deliberation (p. 168) in this context?

The phrase “internal deliberation” (p. 168) appears after the narrator realizes that Sedgewick

has been cheating but before the narrator acts. The narrator says, “I don’t know how long I

stood there” before deciding what to do (p. 168). Therefore, deliberation means “careful

consideration before decision.”

Consider drawing students’ attention to the application of L.9-10.4.a through the process of using

context to make meaning of unknown words.

To what extent does Hundert meet his expectations of himself in his response to Mr. Woodbridge’s

order to ignore Sedgewick’s cheating?

This is the first time the text uses the narrator’s name. From this point on, lessons will refer to the

narrator as “Hundert.”

Student responses may include:







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o Hundert fails to meet his expectations for himself when he decides to obey Mr.

Woodbridge’s orders. Although he explains that he designed his room as “a tribute to the

lofty ideals of man” (p. 156) and says that he wants to teach his students to “temper their

ambition with humility” (p. 157), Hundert allows his own ambition to one day become

headmaster to influence his decision. Rather than risking his professional career, Hundert

agrees to stay silent and justifies Mr. Woodbridge’s order by saying that he understood “the

necessities of a boys’ school” (p. 169).

o Hundert partially meets his expectations for himself; while he does not stand up for his

principles against Mr. Woodbridge, he does find a way to ensure that Sedgewick, who is

cheating, cannot win the competition by asking a question he knows only the best prepared

boy, Deepak Mehta, can answer.

How do parental expectations influence Hundert’s decisions during the “Mr. Julius Caesar”

competition?


o Knowing that Sedgewick’s parents are in the audience, Hundert says his “eye went instantly

to them” and when the crowd claps as the senator calls out, “That’s my boy!” (p. 169),

Hundert felt “the sudden, indefensible urge to steer the contest in young Sedgewick Bell’s

direction” (p. 170). Hundert’s awareness of the senator’s expectation that his son will win

the competition adds to Hundert’s desire to help Sedgewick win.

o Hundert reports, “[T]he presence of [Deepak’s] mother … finally brought me to my senses”

(p. 170). It causes Hundert to ask a question that he knows only Deepak can answer so that

Deepak will win the competition. Hundert’s awareness of Deepak’s mother’s expectations

for her son, along with his knowledge that Deepak is the most deserving of the competitors,

overcomes his impulses to steer the contest in Sedgewick’s favor because of the senator’s

expectations and causes him to favor Deepak instead.

What are the “mighty forces” (p. 170) that Hundert believes influence Sedgewick?


o Hundert believes that Senator Bell, Sedgewick’s father, is one of the mighty forces that

influence Sedgewick. Hundert’s speculation follows Senator Bell’s departure from the

auditorium after Sedgewick loses the competition. Hundert’s earlier descriptions of Senator

Bell as “a tyrant” and Sedgewick as a boy “struggling gamely from beneath the formidable

umbra of his father” (p. 164) suggest that Hundert believes Senator Bell has caused

Sedgewick to cheat.

o Hundert suggests that Sedgewick’s childhood experience of cheating during the “Mr. Julius

Caesar” competition is a force that influences his later adult decisions. While Hundert says it







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is “historically inopportune to blame a life gone afoul on a single incident in childhood” (p.

169), he casts doubt on that statement and seems to regret not having followed his

principles by making Sedgewick’s cheating known publicly.

In the sentence, “However, I myself would have stood up for our principles,” how does Hundert’s use

of the word “However” change the meaning of his previous statement: “[I]t is historically inopportune

to blame a life gone afoul on a single incident in childhood” (p. 169)?

The word “however” suggests that although Hundert did not act on his principles and did not

expose Sedgewick’s cheating, he regrets that decision and feels it contributed to Sedgewick’s

difficulties as an adult. He says he “would have stood up for our principles” if Mr. Woodbridge

had not threatened to fire him (p. 169), suggesting that if he had acted according to his

principles at the time, Sedgewick’s life might have been different.

Lead a brief whole-class discussion of student responses.

Activity 5: Quick Write 10%

Instruct students to respond briefly in writing to the following prompt:

How does the narrator’s description of the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition develop a central idea in

the text?

Ask students to use this lesson’s vocabulary wherever possible in their written responses. Remind

students to use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide their written responses.

Students listen and read the Quick Write prompt.

Display the prompt for students to see, or provide the prompt in hard copy.

Transition to the independent Quick Write.

Students independently answer the prompt using evidence from the text.

See the High Performance Response at the beginning of this lesson.

Activity 6: Closing 10%

Display and distribute homework assignment. For homework, instruct students to read pages 171–175

of “The Palace Thief” (from “‘Well, young man,’ I said, knocking on the door frame” to “and trundled off

to sit among his friends”) and continue to use the Central Ideas Tracking Tool to trace the development

of central ideas. Direct students to box any unfamiliar words and look up their definitions. Instruct them







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to choose the definition that makes the most sense in context, and write a brief definition above or near

the word in the text.

Students follow along.

Homework

Read pages 171–175 of “The Palace Thief” (from “‘Well, young man,’ I said, knocking on the door frame”

to “and trundled off to sit among his friends”) and continue to use the Central Ideas Tracking Tool to

trace the development of central ideas. Also, box any unfamiliar words and look up their definitions.

Choose the definition that makes the most sense in context, and write a brief definition above or near

the word in the text.







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Model Central Ideas Tracking Tool

Name: Class: Date:

Directions: Identify the central ideas that you encounter throughout the text. Trace the development of those ideas by noting how the author introduces, develops, or refines these ideas in the texts. Cite textual evidence to support your work.

Text: “The Palace Thief” by Ethan Canin

Page # Central Ideas Notes and Connections

Page 164 Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of self)

The narrator’s decision to continue to cheat on Sedgewick’s behalf by asking him easier questions in the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition might be motivated by the ways in which Sedgewick’s success in the competition contributes to his own success. Sedgewick’s achievements help the narrator to fulfill his own expectations of himself as a teacher who inspires struggling students improve, or move “from darkness into the light” (p. 164).

Pages 164–165

Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of self)

The narrator’s decision to change Sedgewick’s quiz grade so that he is eligible to participate in the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition might be motivated by the narrator’s desire to fulfill his own expectations of himself as a teacher. The narrator’s description of “those students who come, under one’s own direction, from darkness into the light” as “the honeyed morsels of a teacher’s existence” (p. 164) suggests that Sedgewick’s rise from “poor student” (p. 159) to a contestant in the prestigious “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition reinforces the narrator’s belief that he is achieving great things as a teacher.

Page 166 Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of self)

The narrator reacts to Sedgewick’s hesitation at answering a question by worrying about his own role in Sedgewick’s failure, he “felt that it was I who had put him in this untenable position, I who had brought a tender bud too soon into the heat” (p. 166). The narrator’s overwhelming feeling of responsibility for Sedgewick’s apparent failure suggests that his own expectations of himself as a teacher who helps boys







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develop into better versions of themselves play a crucial role in his response to Sedgewick’s struggle.

Pages 164, 167

Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of Sedgewick)

The narrator’s decision to skew the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition in Sedgewick’s favor by asking him easier questions, or giving him “an easier examination” (p. 167) results from his expectation that Sedgewick is not as smart or capable as the other boys in the competition because of the disadvantage of growing up under the “formidable umbra of his father” (p. 164). The narrator’s low expectation for Sedgewick convinces him that he needs to cheat on Sedgewick’s behalf so that Sedgewick can succeed.

Page 167 Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of Sedgewick)

The narrator reacts to Sedgewick’s success with the “sudden, heartening premonition” (p. 167) that Sedgewick might win the competition. Hundert’s surprise at Sedgewick’s success suggests that he originally had low expectations of Sedgewick’s ability to compete at the same level as the other students. It also suggests that the narrator is beginning to expect more of Sedgewick, because he starts to believe that Sedgewick can win the competition.

Page 167 Expectations (the narrator’s expectation of self)

The narrator reacts with “delight[]” (p. 167) at Sedgewick’s success in the competition, and explains “not only was he proving my gamble worthwhile, but he was showing the twittering boys in the audience that, under fire, discipline produces accurate thought” (p. 167). The narrator’s focus on how Sedgewick’s success validates his own questionable decision to cheat on Sedgewick’s behalf, as well as proves to the other students the effectiveness of the narrator’s emphasis on discipline in his classroom, suggests that his attitude towards Sedgewick’s success is shaped by his own desire to be recognized as a successful teacher who, as he explained to the senator earlier, can impart “the importance of character and high ideals” (p. 163) on his students.

Page 168 Expectations (the narrator’s expectations of Sedgewick; Sedgewick’s expectations of self)

The narrator’s realization that Sedgewick is cheating develops the idea of how the narrator’s expectations influence Sedgewick’s actions. The narrator’s decision to cheat on Sedgewick’s behalf is motivated both by his low expectations of Sedgewick’s academic abilities and







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his desire to fulfill his high expectations for himself as a teacher who imparts upon his students “the importance of character and high ideals” (p. 163). Sedgewick’s decision to cheat suggests his need to maintain his status as a leader among his classmates and to escape “the formidable umbra of his father” (p. 164).

Page 169 Expectations While Hundert wants to meet his own idealistic expectations, he also wants to meet his professional expectations and knows that disobeying Mr. Woodbridge will destroy his chance of “one day becoming a headmaster” himself.

Page 169 Expectations (parents’ expectations of children)

While wondering, “What kind of desperation would lead a boy to cheat on a public stage?” Hundert’s eyes go “instantly” to Sedgewick’s parents, establishing the idea that the parents’ expectations may have caused Sedgewick to cheat and that his parents have formed Sedgewick’s character.


Hundert, watching Senator Bell and his wife leave the auditorium after Deepak Mehta wins the title of “Mr. Julius Caesar,” says, “I had my first inkling then of the mighty forces that would twist the life of that boy.” Hundert’s observation suggests that Sedgewick’s identity is shaped more by the “mighty forces” of his powerful father’s expectations than anything else.


Hundert says that losing the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition was the beginning of Sedgewick Bell’s “lifelong pursuit of missed glory,” indicating his belief that this single event was key to Sedgewick’s efforts throughout his life to meet his father’s expectations.


10.1.2 Lesson 4 - EngageNY...L.9-10.4.a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and...

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