Overview

Students should be able to analyze and interpret the information they have read thus far, and express these observations and conclusions verbally in a large group setting. They also should synthesize what they have recently learned from the North by South presentations into their discussions about the characters in the novel.

Objectives

Students will analyze the novel in an informal group discussion.

Skills Attained

Students will be able to:

• Read of the text of The Color Purple closely.
• Analyze The Color Purple in the broader context of the history of slavery and the Jim Crow system.

Time Required

One class period.

Materials Needed

• The Color Purple novel
• Discussion questions (below)
• Discussion grading rubric
• Reading logs
• Notebook with activities and notes leading up to this discussion

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

Arrange the classroom so that the seating is appropriate for a large-group discussion with possible room for students to break out into smaller groups and then reconvene in the large group at your discretion. Students should have completed their reading and reading logs through Chapter 47 and have the novel and their logs with them for reference during the discussion.

You will facilitate learning by allowing students to express themselves verbally in a structured atmosphere. Students who are strong verbal learners should be able to better comprehend information visually introduced to them through reading. By discussing the issues and even disagreeing on their conclusions, students will better understand and become more familiar with the novel's content, as well as the historical information and influences of the time.

Procedures

• Ask for opening comments, questions, etc. about the book.


• Then, move the discussion from there. You may use the list of suggested questions at various levels, but you should also feel free to add to these at your discretion based on your students' backgrounds, interests, and levels.

Assessment

Although you may want to create your own discussion rubric, you can use or alter the sample one that follows. This rubric bases 50% of the grade being on behavior and 50% on content. You also may comment on and/or grade students' reading logs, which they should turn into you after the discussion.

This lesson was written by ReBecca Hostler, a teacher at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia.

Please answer the following questions. Note, too, that chapter references are given after each question in parentheses if the chapter is not included in the question.

1. In the second sentence of the first chapter, Celie scratches out "I am" and then writes, "I have always been a good girl." Why?



2. How did Shug refer to the blues? Why? (48)



3. How do Shug and Celie figure out that Nettie had been writing to Celie? (49)



4. Why was Shug so interested in Nettie? What do you think Shug's feelings were about Nettie? (49)



5. What was the relationship between Shug and Albert? Why does she feel as though she no longer knows him? (50)



6. Where do Celie and Shug find Nettie's letters? What do they do with them? (51)



7. Why hasn't Celie heard from Nettie since she left? What happened between Nettie and Mr. _________? (52)



8. Where did Nettie go when she left Mr. _________ and Celie? (53)



9. What is the relationship of the people Nettie lives with to her and Celie? (53)



10. What event is foreshadowed by Nettie's letter about Corrine and Samuel being missionaries? (54)



11. By what circumstance was Nettie able to go to Africa? What did she learn from reading about Africa? (55)



12. How did Miss Beasley make it possible for Nettie to learn even when she wasn't in school? (55)



13. What does Nettie reveal to Celie about Olivia and Adam? (55)



14. What did Nettie learn while she was in New York? How does Harlem differ from the South? (56)



15. What language does Nettie learn to speak when preparing to go to Africa? (56)



16. How do white missionaries view the African people? How does Nettie view her work with African people? (56)