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Understanding and Interpreting
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TRM Suggested Responses 1. Rhetorical Situation. What is the “crucial paradox which confronts us here” (par. 2)?
Suggested responses to the questions for Identity 2. Rhetorical Situation. To what emotions does James Baldwin appeal in paragraphs 3–5?
this reading can be found in the Teacher’s What purpose do these appeals serve?
Resource Materials. 3. Rhetorical Situation / Claims and Evidence. How would you describe Baldwin’s
perspective on history? What is the effect of using historical events to support his argument?
4. Claims and Evidence. What does Baldwin mean when he writes, “What passes for identity
in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors” (par. 15)?
DIFFERENTIATION 5. Claims and Evidence / Reasoning and Organization. Summarize Baldwin’s central
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
Connections to World claims in paragraphs 10–12. What line of reasoning does he develop here?
Understanding Q3. Some of the events Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure
that students might consider “historical”
were contemporary events for Baldwin’s 1. Vocabulary in Context. In paragraph 15, Baldwin claims that “What passes for identity in
audience. You might ask them to distin- America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors.” He repeatedly uses the term
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
guish those events—the Birmingham “myth” in the following paragraph as well. How does the word “myth” serve his argument?
bombing, Khrushchev, and Castro—from Consider how the meaning and connotation of “myth” is different from similar words such as
ones in the historical past, such as the “stories,” “folk tales,” or “legends.”
Mayflower. 2. Rhetorical Situation / Claims and Evidence. What is the effect of Baldwin’s emphasizing his
personal experience when he begins paragraph 6 with “I still remember my first sight of New York”?
3. Rhetorical Situation / Reasoning and Organization. Analyze Baldwin’s use of pronouns
in paragraphs 8 and 9. What is his purpose in alternating among first, second, and third person?
4. Rhetorical Situation / Style. In paragraph 11, what is Baldwin’s purpose in including the
actual racial slur, rather than a euphemism? What would be lost by not including it?
5. Reasoning and Organization. What is the effect of the short two-sentence paragraph 17?
6. Rhetorical Situation / Reasoning and Organization. Identify examples of parallelism and
repetition in the long final paragraph. Discuss how Baldwin uses these strategies to achieve
his purpose.
7. Rhetorical Situation / Style. How would you describe Baldwin’s overall tone? Why is this
tone particularly effective in the context of Baldwin’s message? Cite specific words, images,
and sentences to support your description.
TRM Rubric Topics for Composing
A rubric for these prompts can be found in 1. AP FRQ Rhetorical Analysis. In 1963, James Baldwin delivered a speech, now known
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the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
as “A Talk to Teachers,” to a group of educators in New York City. Read paragraphs 1–4
carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Baldwin makes to convey his
message that teachers have a responsibility to address injustice.
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2. AP FRQ Argument. In “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin claims that “The purpose of
education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his
own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there
is a God in heaven or not” (par. 2). Write an essay that argues your position on Baldwin’s view of
the purpose of education.
3. Creative Writing. Write your own “Talk to Teachers,” addressing either the teachers in your
school or teachers in general. To start this assignment, replace the name Khrushchev with the
word terrorism in the opening paragraph. How does this substitution set the stage for your
more contemporary view?
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DIFFERENTIATION
Connections to Text
Composing Q3. For an extension activity or
as a warm-up for this creative writing assign-
ment, you could have students read “James
Baldwin’s Lesson for Teachers in a Time of
Turmoil” by Clint Smith, published September
23, 2017, and available on the New Yorker
website. What connections does Smith draw
between Baldwin’s speech and modern-day
issues? To what extent do students agree
with Smith’s claims? Can they think of any
other ways in which Baldwin’s speech con-
tains a “lesson” for teachers today?
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