Lesson Plan #6: Details, Imagery, and Character

UTL 640E Nathanael Walker

Michelle Iskra/Cedar Park H.S. AP English IV/12th
Date: 6 November 2019 Teach(es) # 7
Class Period & Time: 2nd Period, 10:55-12:18

Unit Connection—Enduring Understanding(s) & Essential Question(s):

How are the moral struggles of anti-hero characters realistic to humanity’s struggle to be good?
(Whole semester/year question)
G/T=
EU: To examine a person’s motivations, one must consider their unique development as a
human being and the complex factors that drive it, such as prior life experience, culture, and
moral code.
EQs= 
o Is it wise for people to examine a person’s morality without considering their hidden 
motivations? In other words, would a person be interpreted as “good” due to a 
charitable action despite having nefarious motives? (for the unit) 
o What criteria can we use to judge if a person is moral or immoral? (c) Can we even gauge
this correctly? (p)
o When does judging a person’s morality become problematic, and should we do this at 
all? (p)
o In East of Eden, in what ways does Steinbeck develop his character’s in terms of their 
relationships with and their treatment of others? (f)
R/WC=
EU: Writers use both details and imagery to create dynamic, fully developed characters that
come to life through the story’s plot.
EQs=
o How do writers use details to make their characters seem more relatable and realistic to
the reader?
o In situations where little to no details are given, how can we use interpretation and
assumption to picture what is going on in a text, especially with the text’s characters?

TEKS/SEs Targeted in the Lesson:

§110.39. English Language Arts and Reading, English IV (One Credit), Adopted 2017.
(4) Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts.
The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of
increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:
(D) create mental images to deepen understanding;
(F) make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;
 (G) evaluate details read to analyze key ideas;

(8) Author's purpose and craft: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple
texts. The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they influence
and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author's
craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances. The student is
expected to:
(D) critique and evaluate how the author's use of language informs and shapes the
perception of readers;
Resources/Materials:
A. “TO DO” before the day of the lesson:
o Prepare the PowerPoint slides, prepare the passage assignments, prepare the activity
instructions sheet, prepare copies of “Conversation Piece”
B. For use during the lesson itself:
o PowerPoint slides, copies of East of Eden, copies of the activity instructions sheet, copies of
“Conversation Piece,” lined paper, pencils/pens

Lesson Frame:
Objective(s)
- Today, we will be using Chapters 19 through 28 of John Steinbeck’s, East of Eden, to
examine how writers use both details and imagery to create well-developed and
realistic characters.
Companion Concluding Task(s)
- The students will take skills that we practiced with poetry and prose and apply them
to East of Eden, chapters 19 through 28. They will work in groups to pick a character
featured in the passage that they have been assigned and will then analyze that
character based on details given and ones not given by Steinbeck. They will then
share these findings with the rest of the class.

Lesson Steps / Sequence:

ENGAGEMENT (~5 minutes)—
What the TEACHER will do / say— What the STUDENTS will do—
o “So class, we’re going to start today with a
Poetry Response as usual. Today, we’re going
to be looking at a poem, titled “Those
Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden. Make
sure you get out your notebooks and pay
close attention to what details are present
and how these details shaped our
understanding of the narrator and his
father.”
o I will have the poem projected at the front of
 the classroom on a PowerPoint slide
o I will read the poem out loud at least twice
and they will have plenty of time to quietly
take notes and reflect, keeping in mind the
details Hayden is giving us and the
characterization present
o “So folks, what do we think about the poem?
What were some things that stood out to us?
What details do we see? What
characterization is happening here? How
does the narrator feel about his father? How
do we feel about the father? How could we
describe these characters? Could we have
gotten this much information or inferred as
much without these details?”
STATE THE “WE WILL” OBJECTIVE following the engagement.
Today, we will be using Chapters 19 through 28 of John Steinbeck’s, East of Eden, to examine
how writers use both details and imagery to create well-developed and realistic characters.
ACTIVE LEARNING (~65 minutes)—Introduce/explore / Explain / Apply/elaborate / Evaluate
What the TEACHER will do / say—
Introduce/Explore (~10 minutes)
o “So, as y’all can probably tell, today we’re
going to be examining the relationship
between details and imagery, and how
writers use these two devices to create deep
characterization.”
o I will switch to the next slide that goes
through some characteristics that writers
often use to develop their characters (start
of the mini-lesson)
o Students will be invited to raise their hands
to add more characteristics if they can think
of any that aren’t included on the slides or to
go into more detail about any characteristics
that especially catch their attention
o “What traits make a “good” character? What
traits make a “bad” character? What makes a
strong/weak character? What types of
characters are we seeing in East of Eden?”
o The students will listen quietly as I read
the poem out loud twice, taking
independent notes as we go along
o Possible responses:
o There’s a lot of cold imagery
surrounding the father. Maybe
that means that the father’s
character is cold to? As in, he’s
not a very emotional or feeling
man towards his son.
o Clearly the narrator has some
animosity towards his father, as
he treats him “indifferently.”
Does this have something to do
with the house’s “chronic
angers”?
o We probably could not have
inferred as much about how cold
the father is or how cold the
family is in general if Hayden
didn’t give us those details.
What the STUDENTS will do / may ask—
o Possible responses:
o One big characteristic that drives
character development is an
understanding of a character’s
morality. This can be from their
religious beliefs, their culture, or
from an inner code that the
character guides their actions by.
o In East of Eden, Steinbeck really

Explain (~15 minutes)
o “So now we’re going to look at a piece in
which a writer gives us little to no details
or information to work with. Let’s see
what we make of it.”
o The students will have a paper copy of
this piece and it will also be on Google
Classroom
o We’ll be looking at Ned Guymon’s
“Conversation Piece”
o Since there are three voices, we will
need at least three students to read for
the rest of the class (one victim, one
killer, and one phone operator)
o Once we have read through the short
piece together, I will invite the students
to share their thoughts on the piece
o “So what do we think? What details does
Guymon give us, and what does he not?
Is there enough information here for us
to create an image of the characters and
setting? Do we need more? Is it possible
for writers to create vivid imagery and
character development with little to no
details given?”
goes into depth in developing his
characters, and really none of
them could be described as flat
or undeveloped. Most of them
are relatable in some way, except
for maybe Cathy.
o Three students will be expected to read
aloud for the class, hopefully they will
volunteer instead of being chosen
o After we read through it together, the
students will have a few minutes to read
through it again with their groups and
take notes
o When time is up, they will be expected
to take part in the class discussion
o Possible responses:
o Guymon only gives us what the
characters are saying to each
other, but surprisingly, this is
enough for us to understand
what’s going on. For example,
we can assume that the first
speaker is eventually murdered
by the second in an act of
revenge.
o We really don’t need more
details. We can picture that this
violence is occurring at a home
environment and that the killer
murdered his partner in the
bedroom.
o The only character that’s not
developed here is the phone
operator.
Apply/Elaborate (~25 minutes)
o At this point, we’ll switch back to East of
Eden
o The students will be in their table groups
and with their groups will be assigned a
passage from Chapters 19-28 of East of
Eden
o “So folks, now we’re going to turn back
to East of Eden, and each group has been o The students will work in their groups for
assigned a passage from Chapters 19-28. the remainder of the period, gathering
For this assignment, you will need to textual evidence to support their choices
focus on one character present in your while also giving an appropriate amount
passage and describe how Steinbeck of explanation.
develops the character through details o They will submit this written work to me
given as well as details not given. Try to at the end of the period after their group
limit your discussion to this one passage, shares.
but if you feel that you need to reference o I will expect this work to be presented in
a previous moment than be sure to give paragraph form
direct textual evidence with page
numbers.”
o These passage assignments will be
displayed on a PowerPoint slide, as well
as the instructions for the activity
o I will also provide paper copies of the
instructions for each table
o The groups will need to find direct
textual evidence to support their
character evaluations along with
explanation.
o Each student will need to submit written
work for this activity

Evaluate (~15 minutes) o Each group will be expected to share

o When time is up, each group will need to
share what character they decided to
focus on and a few key details that they
found to be particularly insightful
o The students will need to be paying
attention to what the other groups
shared, and they can build upon other
groups’ ideas if their character was the
same
their chosen character and details given
and not given that they find the most
important to the character’s
development
o They will also give some sort of
explanation as to why these details are
important and their implications
o Possible responses:
o For our passage on pages 219
through 221, the character Faye
is clearly shown to be incredibly
 naïve and desperate to be a
mother. Despite the clear
warning signs that her newly
adopted daughter is up to no
good, Faye dotes on Kate to the
point of ridiculousness when it’s
painfully obvious that Kate is just
using her.
o Our passage, pages 302 to 304,
makes it clear that Lee is the
voice of reason for both Samuel
and Adam. This is revealed
through the imagery of him
carrying a lit lantern during the
night, which translates to Lee
being the figurative and literal
light in the darkness.

CLOSURE (~5 minutes)—

What the TEACHER will do / say—
o “So what do we think about Steinbeck’s use
of details? What do we think of his character
development? Does Steinbeck give a lot or a
lack of details? What characters do we tend
to give the most attention to in East of
Eden?”
What the STUDENTS will do—
o Possible Responses:
o Steinbeck gives so much through
details! While he doesn’t give
everything away, this writer spends a
lot of time developing his characters,
his settings, and his imagery through
giving concrete details.
o Gathering this through our own
group work and the work of other
groups, clearly Steinbeck puts a lot
of weight behind Lee’s character as
he’s the thematic voice of this novel.

Modifications / Differentiation Strategies:

o This period (2nd) has a student multiple notes on their 504: cancer, depression, ADHD, and
anxiety.
o Her work is not graded, and she is not expected to answer direct questions from the
teacher or to be called on in class.
o Because of this, I will be providing her with a printed copy of this lesson plan as well as a
printed copy of the slides.
o I will be reading “Those Winter Sundays” out loud as well as having it projected on the
slides.
o This benefits both auditory and visual learners as well as my 504 student due to
attention issues.
o Directions for the East of Eden passage activity will be given visually on the slides as well as
on paper
o Students will work both independently and as a group.
o Ideas will be shared to the class both independently and as a group; this benefits students
who are a little more reluctant to share.
o Students will be presenting their work, which gives them a chance to practice their public
speaking and oral communication skills.

Assessment Strategies:
o Formative/Informal: students will share their individual ideas with the class during
discussion
o Formative/Informal: students will turn in their independent and group work on the short
story at the end of the period
o Formative/Informal: students will give informal presentations over their assigned passage
during the class period

Notes/Recommendations for next time:

o