Page 59 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

Text Overview and Pacing

The following chart is designed to help you make specific instructional choices about the use of the
materials, texts, and other resources found in this chapter.

Level of
Author/Title Summary: Features and Challenges Difficulty Length Lexile Pacing*
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
Tan’s conversational tone and narrative form provide students with an
On-Level
1090L
2 days
2,504
Amy Tam, Mother
Central Text Tongue (p. 174) opportunity to build their skill at reading a text that makes an argument
without an explicit call to action. You may ask students to analyze Tan’s
establishment of ethos, detail, and syntax to convey her attitude toward
her mother, her experiences with becoming a writer, and language
acquisition.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
Classic Text Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston blends metaphor and crystallized claims to craft an argument Foundational 1,600 940L 2 days
How It Feels to Be
about her identity and how it is shaped (or not) by members of her
community and white America. This essay can be used to teach analysis
Colored Me (p. 181)
of figurative language, imagery, and syntax, all of which contribute to
Hurston’s establishment of ethos and tone.
Frances Willard, How Willard’s voice is as strong and self-confident as her approach to learning Challenging 2,499 1410L 2 days
I Learned to Ride the to ride a bicycle. Due to the archaic diction and syntax of the piece,
Bicycle (p. 187) students will likely need assistance understanding Willard’s language.
You may consider providing students with a summary of each section
and guiding them to see the structure of her argument as it logically
progresses.
Virginia Woolf, There is a clear rhetorical situation for Woolf’s speech, which makes Challenging 2,436 960L 3 days
Professions for Women this text a strong instructional tool for teaching students how a writer
(p. 194) aligns evidence and audience, persona with purpose, and all of the
connective threads that create a piece of writing. Students may need
help understanding the “Angel of the House” and with hearing how the
sentences flow given the older style of syntax.
James Baldwin, A Talk Baldwin’s speech to New York teachers provokes teachers to think about their On-Level 3,631 1140L 3 days
to Teachers (p. 200) content and instructional practices in the larger context of institutional racism.
Prior to reading, students may need information on the historical context of the
speech, and you may want to use the section markers to guide the pacing of a
lesson sequence.
Judy Brady, I Want a The thinly veiled sarcasm of Brady’s essay will delight many students, and Foundational 1,000 1130L 1 day
Wife (p. 209) the simple sentences will likely delight them all. This essay works as a
short but sweet text for analyzing tone and syntax. Brady’s style is also a
gem to ask students to imitate. On-Level 1,625 1190L 2 days
Other Voices Walk on By (p. 212) narrative style of his language assists students as they read this short but
Brent Staples, Just
Though the vocabulary in Staples’s essay is challenging at times, the
powerful essay. You may use this text as a model for how imagery, diction,
and detail contribute to tone, as well as how a writer effectively uses
personal experience and observations as evidence.
Jesmyn Ward, Spurred by the results of optional genetic testing, Ward uses her family Foundational 1,857 1290L 1 day
Cracking the Code experiences to ask larger questions about what shapes our identities.
(p. 218) Students may connect with the internal conflict Ward presents with her
perception of self prior to the testing results and after. Ward’s writing is a
model of effective imagery and detail, and students can analyze the use of
anecdotal evidence to support a position.
Rahawa Haile, How Haile’s informal writing style and inspirational message invites students to Foundational 2,061 860L 1 day
Black Books Lit My Way walk a mile in her shoes (pun intended). While the essay is about Haile’s
along the Appalachian personal triumphs, it is also about how racism manifests in our country,
Trail (p. 222) so discussion of this topic must be handled thoughtfully.
Sarah Smarsh, Country Like many writers in this chapter, Smarsh uses her life experiences to On-Level 2,903 1190L 2 days
Pride (p. 228) make an argument about larger societal issues: the stark differences
between economic classes in America and the stereotypes that exist
around people from Midwestern, rural places. Students can likely relate
to Smarsh’s feelings of being out of place, and they can try their hand at
mimicking her use of dialogue as evidence.
Ilya Kaminsky, from Poetically wrought, Kaminsky’s essay is a master study of stylistic Challenging 3,501 730L 3 days
Searching for a Lost technique. Staccato sentences and fragments work together like panes
Odessa — and a Deaf to create a beautifully colored window into Kaminsky’s experiences as a
Childhood (p. 235) person who has lost his hearing at a young age and his homeland as well.
You may use this essay to teach the analysis of an unconventional line of
reasoning and the transitions that hold the piece together.
(continued)

Planning Pages 170-b

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