Exploring Language and Identity: Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Beyond

Lesson Plans

Student Interactives

Calendar Activities

Professional Library

 

LESSON PLANS

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Dialect Detectives: Exploring Dialect in Great Expectations

Great Expectations is rich in dialogue and in the dialect of the working class and the poor of Victorian England. What does Dickens reveal about his characters using dialect?

 

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Venn Diagram

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

 

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CALENDAR ACTIVITIES

Grades   9 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 9

Author Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944.

After students read the novel The Color Purple, dialect is discussed and students write a short piece of fiction or poetry using the dialect of their peer group.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  May 1

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is in May!

Students consider the portrayal of Asians in popular culture by exploring images from classic and contemporary films and comparing them to historical and cultural reference materials.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  December 9

Author Joel Chandler Harris was born in 1848.

Students study how regional dialect is written phonetically by reading a segment of Harris' story, as well as two others, and compare them using the Interactive Venn Diagram.

 

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PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY

Grades   K – 8  |  Professional Library  |  Journal

Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom

This article shows how to affirm and draw on the dialect diversity of students to foster the learning of Standard English.

 

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