The Bean Trees (9th Grade Literature) Unit

As students make their way into adolescence, their minds may or may not have developed a sense of identity. This unit is designed to take the idea of identity both as it relates to a student’s own, and the identity of characters in a literary text. Students begin by learning about character traits, and how those traits then lead to a form a character’s identity. As the unit progresses, students then take the analysis of characters as they relate to the overall theme of a piece of literature, and apply that into their understanding of their own identity in the world we live in. The theme of identity is the focus of the entire school year in 9th grade, but this unit is particular centralizes that focus to how our identities form with our understanding of families and community. Using Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees as an anchor text, student learn about the story or Taylor Greer and how her journey of self-discovery is shaped by different and “unconventional” definitions of family and community. Using the story of Taylor, students then reflect on their own life, their families and communities, and learn how different definitions of American values, and the stories of those around us in our community, shape every aspect of who we are.This unit was designed with the specific 2017-2018 school year in mind. Each period is 1 hour and 45 minutes in length and students come to class 4 days a week.