Lesson Overview

This lesson focuses on a close reading of the poem, “We Wear the Masks” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The
lesson is designed to deepen the students’ understanding of the unit’s theme of expressing yourself and the
Instructional
unit’s essential question: “How do values Lesson
influence the way Plan
we express ourselves?” The goals of the lesson are
to introduce and model close reading andEnglish
focus on how the author
Language Arts expresses himself and conveys his message
through his use of words, figurative language, and other literary devices. The teacher models close reading and
Grade: 06 through
guides students Unit Title: Express
several Yourself
close re-readings of –
theLesson 2 Length:
poem. Students 3 Days groups to discuss
work in cooperative
Dunbar’s use of words, figurative language, and literary devices to express his point of view and the tone of the
poem. Finally, students will discuss Dunbar’s purpose for using diction in “When Malindy Sings” and Standard
English in “We Wear the Masks”. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of how Dunbar’s values influenced the
way he expressed himself in the two poems.

Teacher Planning, Preparation, and Materials

Text Complexity: There are no quantitative measures available for poetry. The poem was selected as a contrast
to the poem in lesson one by the same poet.

Preparation:
 Prepare for the lesson by closely reading the poem, “We Wear the Masks” and analyzing its content.
Review the biographical information about Paul Laurence Dunbar to review with students
o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul-Laurence-Dunbar
o http://allliteracyauthors.com/Paul-Laurence-Dumbar.htm
 Obtain a copy of the poem on audio (see links below) or record yourself reading the poems.
 Revise the cooperative learning groups (if necessary) based on individual student’s performance in the first
lesson and/or changing students’ needs.

The following suggestions may be utilized to differentiate the lesson appropriately based on the
individual needs of students.
 Apply appropriate elements of UDL:
o Provide an audio version of the poems:
 “When Malindy Sings” www.paullaurencedunbar.net/whenmalindysings.html (This site
proves an audio version in Dialect and one in Near-Standard English.)
 “We Wear the Mask” www.dermo.info/dunbarmask.htm
 Provide a large font copy of the poems (if needed)
o For Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) see www.marylandlearninglinks.org

 Apply WIDA Performance Definitions and CAN DO Descriptors to differentiate lesson for English
Language Learners.
o Offer use of bilingual dictionary (as needed)
o Create a personalized dictionary with vocabulary for each of the poems (as needed). If possible,
use pictures to aid in defining terms. Review literary terms related to the analysis of the poems,
including (but not limited to): poem, title, tone, theme, stanza, line, rhyme, rhythm, paraphrase,
authors message, connotation, diction, repetition, multiple meanings, personification, simile,
metaphor, alliteration

Essential Question:
How do values influence the way we express ourselves?

Unit Standards Applicable to This Lesson:

Reading Literature:
RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
RL.6.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a
summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
RL.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
R/ELA.MSDE.
RL.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of 1
a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.
RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
 Instructional Lesson Plan
English Language Arts
Grade: 06 Unit Title: Express Yourself – Lesson 2 Length: 3 Days

R/ELA.MSDE. 2