“The Garden”
Amplify ELA’s lesson “The Garden” can be found in the Perspectives & Narrative unit. This unit aims to teach students to read like writers: to pay attention to the craft of writing, to the moves a good writer makes to shape the way we see a scene or feel about a character—to stir us up, or surprise us, or leave us wondering what will happen next.
Students read “My Mother’s Garden” a personal narrative by Kaitlyn Greenidge. In her essay, Greenidge weaves together two overlapping narratives: the story of her experience as a scholarship student at a prep school, and the story of the garden that her mother planted on the grounds of the public housing project where they lived. Throughout her narrative, Greenidge explores complex emotions and ideas. This first lesson on her text focuses on the most tangible part of her story: her mother’s garden.
Lesson objectives:
- Reading: Students consider how a character’s feelings about a setting can be revealed through what they say and do.
- Writing: Students write a narrative piece in which they describe a moment from their lives set in a place they associate with feeling comfortable or uncomfortable.
Included in sample:
- Teacher edition
- Student edition
- Writing journal