Overview

Students use the Internet as a research tool to gather information on Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple. The students also begin reading the novel, creating a reading log as they progress.

Objectives

Students will:

• Individually research Alice Walker to learn more about her personal and professional life.


• Discuss and review information they learned in a large-group discussion.

Skills Attained

Students will be able to:

• Conduct research online.


• Recognize the theme (general observation about life or human nature) within a text.


• Identify time and point of view, as well as basic conflicts, in the text.


• Reflect on the connections between an author's background to his or her works of fiction.

Time Required

One class period.

Materials Needed

• The Color Purple novel
• Copies of The Color Purple
• "Dear Celie" reading log instructions and expectations
• "Who is Alice Walker?" worksheets (provided)
• Internet access

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

Make sure students receive their copies of The Color Purple. On the lesson's first day, have them begin their study of the novel by researching the author. After they have learned more about Alice Walker, students will continue to familiarize themselves with the book by learning about the physical setting of the book. After acquainting themselves with the "who" and "where" of the book, students will begin their study of some of the main themes of the novel.

Procedures

1. Assign copies of The Color Purple and record book numbers to students.



2. Briefly discuss the book to whet students' interest and clearly explain to them that, at this time, they will be reading and studying Chapters 1-47.



3. Refer students to the first chapter, discuss the book's format, and explain the "Dear Celie" reading log instructions below:


So you can benefit by reflecting on The Color Purple, you must keep a reading log with an entry for each chapter of the book. Each entry should consist of at least one well-developed paragraph. While you should include some facts in your entries, you goal for the reading log is mostly to reflect on the events of that chapter.

Since you should keep your reading log in the form of an ongoing letter, the same style as the book, you should choose someone or thing to address in your reading log and explain your choice and why you picked her/her/it at the beginning of the reading log. Finally, as you read, please ponder and address the following questions in your log:


• Why did Celie write to God?
• What happened to make Celie stop talking to God? Whom does she switch to and why?
• Why does Celie go back to writing to God?


4. Have students complete the "Who is Alice Walker?" worksheet (below) with information they gather from the Internet.



5. Then, review with students the information they provided on the worksheet.



6. If you decide to collect and grade the assignment, be sure you return the worksheets quickly (preferably by the second day) so students may refer to it in subsequent activities and while reading the text.



7. Remind students that they should start reading Chapters 1-47. If you have extra time at the end of class, students can begin reading in class.



8. Make sure that students document the readings and their corresponding impressions as they read the text in their "Dear Celie" reading logs.

Assessment

Use the following rubric as a guide for assigning points to the listed components, keeping in mind that the rubric's percentages are suggestions--you should adapt the assessment guidelines, as necessary, to meet your local criteria and grading philosophy.

Grading Areas	Specific Grading Criteria	Percentage of Total Grade
"Who is Alice Walker?" worksheet	Answers are factually correct. Answers show evidence of the student having reflected on their research.	60%
Reading log	Writing first explains whom or what the log addresses and why the student chose him/her/it. Writing is in the format as the novel. Log entries consist of at least one well-developed paragraph Entries show evidence of the student having reflected on the reading assignment.	40%

This lesson was written by ReBecca Hostler, a teacher at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia.

Go to the Alice Walker page of the jimcrowhistory.org gateway to get a list of sites for your research. Using the information you find, answer the following questions:

1. Where was Alice Walker born? _____________________

2. What is her birth date? _____________________

3. What happened to Alice when she was eight years old that changed her life?

_______________________________________________________________

What were the three important gifts her mother gave her and what made them so important?

4. _______________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________

6. _______________________________________________________________

Which colleges did Alice Walker attend?_____________________

7. _____________________   8. _____________________

9. Which female Harlem Renaissance writer does Alice Walker consider a major influence? _____________________

10. What was Alice Walker's husband's name? _____________________

11.What is their daughter's name? _____________________

12. What was so "interesting" to the people of Mississippi about their marriage?

_______________________________________________________________

What awards did Alice Walker receive for The Color Purple?

13. _____________________   14. _____________________

15. Why didn't men like The Color Purple? _____________________

16. Why did Alice Walker feel justified in writing it anyway? _____________________

17. In what language did Alice Walker say her book was written?

_______________________________________________________________

18. From what medical condition was Alice Walker suffering when The Color Purple was being filmed? _____________________

19. What is the phrase Alice Walker has coined to describe her feminism?

_______________________________________________________________

20. What does it mean?

_______________________________________________________________

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