Lesson Length: 70 minutes
Objectives: Students should fully understand what Marxism is and how it relates to Their Eyes Were Watching God. Students should be able to analyze pieces of writing using a Marxist lens. 10 min~ Brainstorm - Write Marxism on the board and ask students to brainstorm what they think of. What it means, things that relate to it, things that seem familiar, first thing that comes to mind. Write all the terms they think of on the whiteboard. 15-20 min~ Discuss with class about Marxism and the true meaning of it. Go over previous points brought up, and introduce points they missed. (Communism, the USSR, Karl Marx, Cold War, Class struggle, Dialectic Materialism, rich vs poor, ect) Tie it back to the book and tell them they will analyze this class struggle in the book. 10 min~ Give class quotes and tell them to analyze them and write down how they are connected to the theory of Marxism 15 min~ Discuss quotes. Have students tell what they believe is the connection to Marxism is, and give them the actual definition of a Marxist lens. 10 min ~ Review - Summarize what Marxism is and generalize what Janie goes through in the book. "In the book Janie sees many different people all with their own economic status. Just from the people she has married Janie has seen a large spectrum of wealth. Logan Kilicks, Joe Starks, and Teacake were very different in what class of society they belonged to, even though they were all black males." (If there is time at the end of class, popcorn read chapter 5) HW: Read chapter 5 with a Marxist lens and find, analyze, and annotate at least 3 quotes that relate to Marxism. |