Lesson Plan: Voice and James Joyce

Overview & Purpose

Grammar: Active and Passive Voice

Literature: Eveline, James Joyce

Critical Thinking: Using grammatical style to add subtext

Education Standards Addressed

AP Section I: Identify rhetorical devices and structures from a passage.

AP Section II: Analysis and discussion of various techniques used in a passage

Additional Notes

2 hour class with 15 minute break

Teacher Guide

Objectives

(Specify skills/information that will be learned.)

Help the students discover how analyzing tense and grammatical structures ( active and passive voice) can lead to different interpretations of a text.

Information

(Give and/or demonstrate necessary information)

Examples of active and passive voice:

The tree was struck by lightning - passive voice

Lightning struck the tree - active voice

How does this change the meaning and emphasis of the sentence?

Verification

(Steps to check for student understanding)

5 Question Eveline comprehension quiz

Find examples of passive voice in Joyce's text Eveline.

What does Joyce's decision to employ the passive voice tell us about the character Eveline?

Activity

(Describe the independent activity to reinforce this lesson)

Group work: Active and passive voice in Eveline thesis generation, evidence collection, and outline preparation.

Report back to whole class for comments.

Student Guide

Objectives

(Specify skills/information that will be learned.)

In the short story Eveline, Joyce purposefully breaks many of the conventions we've agreed generally improve writing ( active and passive voice ). Why?

Information

(Give and/or demonstrate necessary information)

Using the active voice and avoiding Latinate diction will make your writing more engaging.

If an experienced writer, such as Joyce, uses the passive voice, there must be a reason. Verification

(Steps to check for student understanding)

Always know your authors, major plot points, and character names.Activity

(Describe the independent activity to reinforce this lesson)

In groups of 3 decide on a thesis related to our in class discussion ( Eveline and active and passive voice ). Find three passages to support your thesis. Construct, outline, and present it to the class for discussion.Summary

When you find something unusual it is usually important. The only way to know when a convention is being broken is to know the conventions.