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Temptation in the Garden: Analyzing Satan's Character
Lesson 4 of 6
Objective: SWBAT demonstrate their ability to analyze a complex character and his impact on the meaning of a text by participating in reading groups and discussion with book 1 of Paradise Lost.
Big Idea: Milton's dilemma: How do you "justify" the ways of God to men AND make Satan into a hero at the same time?
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Today we will dive right into Paradise Lost Book 1. The students had a few pages of reading as homework, so I will start by asking them for any clarifying questions on vocabulary or plot. I will then ask them to move into their Faulkner squares. Faulkner squares are mixed ability groups, similar to Kagan grouping, that my teaching partner and I created within our seating charts. There are four students per group and they sit near each other so they can form tables for activities like these. My students will work in these groups to compare annotations and discuss the following questions:
- What is Milton doing with the setting? How do these parts of the text help us to sympathize with Satan?
- What patterns do you see in Milton's narrative style? What purpose does this serve?
- What is Satan trying to do? Is he successful?
These discussions are meant to promote the standard of character analysis (RL.9-10.3), but will be very informal as they are meant to serve as scaffolding for Friday's activity. I want to make sure they are comprehending the plot and understanding how Milton is using Satan's character development to further his rhetorical purpose. This will hopefully set them up for Friday and Monday's summative assessment of both Book 1 and 9.
On a side note, I also decided to truncate (see video: Paradise Lost Review for an explanation) what the students need to read in this passage. This is partly because of time, but mostly because I want to make sure that they are focusing on what I would like them to focus on, which is mainly Milton's rhetoric.
Resources (2)
Wrap up and Next Steps
I think 10 minutes is a little optimistic here, but any time that is left, I will ask for students if they have any questions and check in with them on their comprehension as yesterday they definitely struggled.
SSR
We will end class today with our reading time so students can read their choice novels without having to worry about Paradise Lost. This move is also so that I can hold them accountable to their homework from last night. I don't want them to use their reading time to play catch up.
Jessica, as a beginning English II teacher, I REALLY felt compelled to tell you how much I enjoy your lessons. They are a BRILLIANT educating tool for me, and given ALL the myriad resources we're exposed to during our cert. process, I wanted to let you know that your lessons were the ONLY resource that really lined out the PROCESS of what I'm supposed to be doing here. I have starred your webpage here and look forward to reading more from you. Thank you SO MUCH for your incredibly hard work. Knowing now how much time your JOB actually takes, it BLOWS my mind that you've managed to create time to post your lessons here as well. Thank you again, ma'am, you are a GENIUS!
| 3 years ago | Reply
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- UNIT 1: Establishing a Classroom Culture: Reading and Writing
- UNIT 2: Narrative Reading and Writing: Persepolis and Memoir
- UNIT 3: Informational Text: How to Read for Rhetoric
- UNIT 4: Literary: Analysis of Thematic Connections and Artistic Choices in Paradise Lost
- UNIT 5: Literary: Study of Character Development in Shakespeare's Othello
- UNIT 6: Literary: Thematic Analysis of Shakespeare's Othello
- UNIT 7: Argument: Persuasive Speaking and Rhetorical Anlaysis
- UNIT 8: Literary: Analysis of Plot and Character Development in A Tale of Two Cities
- UNIT 9: Literary: Analysis of Narrative Style in A Tale of Two Cities
- UNIT 10: Narrative Writing: Creating, Revising and Publishing Narrative
- UNIT 11: Skill Review: Preparing for the State Test
- UNIT 12: Informational Text: Craft and Structure Analysis
- UNIT 13: Speaking and Listening: Imperialism Seminar
- UNIT 14: Literary: Dystopian Fiction Literature Circles
- UNIT 15: Argument: Analyzing and Creating Social Commentary
- UNIT 16: Informational Texts: Analyzing the Narrative Non-fiction Style of Night
- UNIT 17: Literary Texts: Analyzing Modern Conflict
- UNIT 18: Assessing the Standards: Final Project
- LESSON 1: Levels of Thinking: An Introduction to Archetypes
- LESSON 2: Levels of Thinking: Little Red Riding Hood Analysis
- LESSON 3: Temptation in the Garden: An Introduction to Paradise Lost
- LESSON 4: Temptation in the Garden: Analyzing Satan's Character
- LESSON 5: Temptation in the Garden: Using Archetypes to Create Artisitic Representaitons of Text
- LESSON 6: Temptation in the Garden: Analyzing the Serpent's Rhetorical Strategies in Paradise Lost
