THE KITE RUNNER NOVEL STUDY English 12 weeks

THE KITE RUNNER NOVEL STUDY English 12 weeks 26 & 27

OPENING ACTIVITIES FEBRUARY 24 -27, 2017 Objective: Students will engage in a comparative study of the Afghan social customs and their personal social customs. Warm Up: The strong underlying force in the novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Discuss their friendship. Why is Amir afraid to be Hassan’s true friend? Why does he resent Hassan?

SOCIAL CUSTOMS Actions and behaviors that are expected of a particular culture. For example: Asking the father for permission to marry his daughter. In the novel, Amir is not permitted to have a conversation with Soroya without an adult present.

CLASS WORK With a partner, brainstorm a list of courtship, educational, career, adoption customs/philosophies depicted in the novel, using quotes and page numbers for supporting evidence. Then, compose your own list that is defined by your own personal culture. Graphically organize the information on either the Venn diagrams provided or a poster.

OPENING ACTIVITIES FEBRUARY 28 TH AND MARCH 1 ST Objective: Students will determine what the text says explicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Warm Up: “Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer. ” (125) Comment on this paradox. “At the most basic level, a paradox is a statement that is self contradictory because it often contains two statements that are both true, but in general, cannot both be true at the same time. ”

QUOTE ANALYSIS A country where people are free to do as they please is probably very appealing to a man like Baba, who loved to prove the naysayers wrong. He prides himself on being able to accomplish things that others cannot. Baba’s life in America is drastically different from his life in Afghanistan because he is not treated with the same level of respect and he lacks the same affluence and power he has in Afghanistan. He has to work in a gas station making so little money he qualifies for government assistance. Additionally, Baba is not afforded the same luxuries of his good name in America. We see this after his argument with the grocery store owner about his identification. All of these things combine to create a very stressful situation for a man who should be able to thrive in the land of opportunity that is America.

GROUP ACTIVITY QUOTE ANALYSIS With a partner, provide an analysis of the following quotes. Discuss the significance of this quote in regard to the context of the chapter. Rather than merely summarizing what is happening, interpret the text in a critical and insightful way. “People need stories to divert them at difficult times. ” (139) “Life is a train. Get on Board. ” (185) “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything. ” (221)

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Complete the Purposeful Reading handout for chapters 21 -25. Study the Vocabulary for Chapters 15 -20

OPENING ACTIVITIES MARCH 6, 2017 Objective: Students will determine what the text says explicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Warm Up: Analyze the following quote: “For me America was a place to bury memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his. ” (129)

GUIDING QUESTIONS – SOCRATIC SEMINAR #2 Rahim writes to Amir, “…And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good. ” 302 What are the limits to redemption? How much can you undo? “Closing Sohrab’s door, I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night. ” Pg 359 Does time heal all wounds? Or simply leave us all crippled? Has Rahim’s promise been redeemed, at either the personal or societal level? What are Amir’s prospects for being good again? Or Afghanistan? Or any of us?

SILENT DISCUSSION Travel silently around the room, choosing three of the issues to respond to. Write your responses silently. Silently read other responses to the questions and respond in writing to two of them. Initial each comment and response you make.