Students will study the writings of modern multicultural authors and engage in discussions about the forms, meanings, and historical and cultural contexts of the works. At the end of the lesson, students are going to: 
- Analyze poetry and narrative qualities to find out how form and purpose are related.
- Evaluate and interpret how literary devices are used in texts and between texts.
- Analyze how well the author uses literary devices in different genres.
- Consider the literal, figurative, and idiomatic vocabulary in context to clarify meaning. 
- Use a range of media to condense, infer, and formulate generalizations.
- Determine and assess the author's intent, the texts' essential content, and their structure.
- Create original and fresh insights based on deeper comprehension gained from reading texts critically.
- Examine the cultural and societal influences found in the texts. 

- How does text interaction elicit thought and response?

- Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances; understandings gained by “reading between the lines.” 
- Mood: The prevailing emotions of a work or the author in his/her creation of the work. The mood of a work is not always what might be expected based on its subject matter. 
- Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work. 
- Tone: The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous). 

Note: Each reading selection for this lesson should reveal the influence of the writer’s cultural heritage on the work. It is helpful if a biography of the writer is available so that students can read it after analyzing the reading. The poems were also chosen for the richness of their language, and the stories, such as “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” for the opportunity to discuss the importance of particular elements of fiction in individual works.
- Leslie Marmon Silko. Prayer to the Pacific. Available at http://autumnflower888.tripod.com/ 
- Leslie Marmon Silko (brief biography). Available at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/1104 
- “Native Voices: Leslie Marmon Silko.” American Passages: A Literary Survey. Annenberg Media, 1997. Available at http://www.learner.or/amerpass/unit01/authors-7.html 
- N. Scott Momaday. “The Delight Song of Tsoai Talee”. Available at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-delight-song-of-tsoai-talee/ 
- N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D. (brief biography). Academy of Achievement, 1996. Available at http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mom0bio-1 
- Ha Jin .(2000). Saboteur. Pantheon Books.
- Ha Jin (brief biography). Available at http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-jin-ha.asp 
- Leslie Marmon Silko. (1981).The Man to Send Rain Clouds. Seaver Books.
- Pablo Neruda. Ode to Maize. Available at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-to-maize/ 
- Pablo Neruda (brief biography). Available at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/279 
- Rita Dove. (1999). Rosa. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Available at https://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=6722 
- Rita Dove (brief biography). Available http://people.virginia.edu/%7Erfd4b/compbio.html 
- a response journal for each student

- Focus on deciphering a reading's meaning throughout the lesson, taking into account the cultural viewpoint it presents.
- Ask students to look for evidence to back up their opinions by searching "Prayer to the Pacific."
- Observations of how students participate in class and group discussions should also reveal some information about their strong points and areas for improvement.
- Gather the answers that the students gave to the "Prayer to the Pacific"; these should shed light on any issues that the students may be facing.
- Gathering the remaining two answers ought to be beneficial as well.

Direct Instruction, Modeling, Active Participation, and Scaffolding 
W: Explain to students the WWGSAPC process for thinking about the readings and give them a chance to go through it three times. Encourage students to record their thoughts about the readings in a response journal to practice the process. 
H: Offer students the chance to write written responses to the readings that include their thoughts and supporting details, as well as the chance to share their ideas with classmates. 
E: Monitor and support students while they work, both in person and through the notes they make in their response journals. 
R: Encourage students to revise and expand on their written responses after having a class discussion about their reactions to the readings in small groups.
E: Let students observe how their peers are responding to and comprehending the readings by having a group discussion of the texts and responses.
T: Discuss and analyze readings in groups so that students can work through the process with the support of other students if they are unsure of their responses.
O: Assign students to work independently on responding to readings after starting with a meticulously planned walk-through of writing a response. Have them respond to a lengthier, more difficult reading after the class.

Focus Question: How does culture function in literature?

Form a Socratic circle with your students. They are to respond to the following question in this circle to begin a conversation: "What is culture?"

Introduce response journals to the class as a whole, stressing that the assignments are tools for them to use in thinking about the readings they will be doing in the future. The purpose of the Reader Response Journal is to assist students in analyzing the meaning of poetry and short stories, as well as how the writers' cultural backgrounds influenced their works.

Part 1

Read "Prayer to the Pacific" by Leslie Silko aloud to the class. Ask students to write down the poem's title and the entry date. Next, instruct them to write down two items in their journals:

- what elements of the poem—such as its structure, imagery, the speaker's voyage to the sea, or the allusion to old mythology—most strongly appeal to them?

- what they can reveal about the speaker of the poem (e.g., that he travels from his native "southwest land of Sandrock" to the Pacific; that he is linked to mythology; that he personifies the ocean; that he talks of the great sea turtles that brought the Indians thousands of years ago; that he offers the ocean an offering; that he uses the story to explain why rain clouds originate in the west; that he values nature).

Give students five to ten minutes to write their answers, and then start the class discussion by asking them what aspects of the poem most struck them. We welcome any responses.

Ask students to reconsider the aspects of the poem that most struck them. "Now, take a few minutes to write about why this particular aspect of the poem seems particularly striking," you might say. (Talk about this word.) "Look for proof in the poem to back up your claims. Give as much detail as you can." Give students five minutes to write, and then instruct them to share their ideas with their small groups about what they believe to be the most striking, along with the reasons behind their selection. Allocate roughly ten minutes for debating the poem's significance and the rationale behind the selection. Using the chart paper or interactive whiteboard, note multiple answers.

Potential reactions:

Form: the gaps between lines and words slow down the poem's flow; "distant" on a line by itself; highlighting words and phrases on a line—such as "big as the myth of origin" and "to China"—the breaks highlight the sea turtles' slow motion; "Gift from the Ocean" highlights the significance of the phrase.

Imagery: "southwest land of Sandrock"; "moving blue water"; "pale water in the yellow-white light"; pictures of the products of the rain clouds that are the "gift of the ocean" are created in the final stanza; pictures depict the setting, which is the poem's central theme; they also show the object of worship, the scene of the ancient myth, the reason for the journey, and the giver of the gift.

Place the gathered data in a visible location for students. Ask, "What do we know about the poem's speaker?" Make sure that the answers are written on the chart paper or interactive whiteboard. (Possible responses: the speaker travels a great distance from the southwest to the ocean; he or she has a "myth of origin" in their cultural background; they personify the ocean; they offer the ocean a sample of themselves in a respectful manner; they relate the myth of the arrival of the Indians from the ocean on the backs of enormous turtles; they claim that this is the source of the rain clouds that originate in the west and give life to the speaker's country.)

Ask, "What conclusions can you draw now about the poem's speaker? How can you generalize from here?" (Potential answers include: the speaker is considerate of nature, reveres the natural world, respects mythology and old stories, and maybe is Native American.)

"Next, using the notes you took and our class discussion, please summarize the poem in two or three sentences. Once you're done, put it in a box and label it "Summary." Let students write their summaries for five minutes or so. Read some of them aloud. (Possible response: The speaker travels far to the west to the ocean to offer it an offering and tells the story of an ancient myth in which the Indians come to their new land by crossing the ocean on the backs of enormous turtles. After that, the elders claim that clouds bringing rain have always arrived from the west.)

Say, "Go back to your response journal now. Please write one sentence outlining your interpretation of the author's goal (a brief synopsis of the purpose). "Name it 'Author's Purpose.'" Ask five or six students to read aloud theirs without commentary after a minute. (Possible response: The speaker's journey story respects the speaker's traditional beliefs about the value of nature and old tales.)

Say, "Lastly, consider if you can relate this reading to anything else you have read, seen, or done. There are many different ways to make connections, such as through subject, theme, or setting." Since the prompt invites students to look for those connections, a variety of responses should be provided.

"Now, let's read about the poet who wrote 'Prayer to the Pacific,'" you say. Give the students a synopsis of Leslie Marmon Silko's life. After giving them a few minutes, ask, "Is there anything that surprises you here, or anything that validates your preconceptions?" (Potential answers: She affirms that she is a Native American; she talks about the significance of place in her life; she highlights the distinction in the setting described in the "Passages" selection; she talks about her ties to the past.)

"Is there anything you would add to or change from the comments you have already made in your response journal?" you might ask. Once you've given the class some time, draw their attention to what they completed: After reading the poet's biography and making any necessary revisions or additions, they summarized the poem, determined the author's intent, and made a generalization about the speaker based on the evidence. They also noted their initial reactions to the poem and the reasons behind them.

Part 2

Give students the mnemonic WWGSAPC to aid in their memory of the steps involved in reading analysis. Maybe you could make a poster to hang in the classroom. Describe each letter and how it relates to the previously outlined process.

What stands out

What are you aware of about the speaker?

Generalization regarding the speaker

Synopsis

Author's Purposes

Connections

Tell them, "Read 'The Delight Song of Tsoai Talee,' and use the same format we used for 'Prayer to the Pacific,' to write about it in your response journal. Utilize the acronym WWGSAPC as a reference for your answers. Make sure to cite pertinent passages from the poem as evidence. Put the poem's title and the current date at the beginning of your response."

When they're prepared, divide the class into smaller groups and give each group ten minutes to discuss the poem. As the class leads the discussion, ask one group of students to stand up and share what struck them most about the poem. Note the answers on the chart paper or the interactive whiteboard. Ask students to back up their observations with concrete examples. (Possible answers: the form with the repeated "I am," the final repetition of the joy of life, the imagery—every line of the first stanza conjures up a striking picture.)

Next, discuss what the students know about the speaker. (Possible responses: falling in love with life, reinforced by a series of vivid, upbeat images and the final declaration, "I am alive"; a nature lover, supported by a series of charming identifications with nature, such as "I am a feather on the bright sky," etc.). Remind the person who has expressed joy that the speaker is demonstrating voice.

Assign two or three students to read through their summaries. (Potential rebuttal: The speaker describes himself as a collection of natural elements, like a shimmering fish rolling in the water and the moon's extensive path across the lake. He declares that he is happy to be alive and to have a positive relationship with the earth, the gods, and everything lovely.) For the potential author's goal (to honor nature's beauty), repeat the procedure. After reading a brief biography of the poet, N. Scott Momaday, ask the students if it helped them understand the poem in any way. (Possible answers: kinship with Iowa; reverence for the land; commemoration of Native American oral history.)

Ask students to consider how the speaker influences the words and delivery of both "Prayer to the Pacific" and "The Delight Song of Tsoai Talee" and to write in their response journals about how the speaker has affected the poems. In the heading, students should write the titles of both poems as well as the date. After ten to fifteen minutes, have a discussion.

Potential reactions:

- "Pacific"—the speaker is writing about a journey to the ocean to express gratitude to it because she comes from a tradition that values the past and the natural world; the words and lines are drawn out because the speaker is talking seriously about something serious; the images are of the natural world and demonstrate the poet's interest in the beauty of nature and its significance.

- "Delight"—the speaker comes from a tradition that values the beauty of nature; he writes about things he finds enjoyable and recognizable, and he uses a style that conveys his intimate relationship with both joy and the natural world.

Part 3

Students should examine one of the following choices in groups:

- A short story by Leslie Silko titled "The Man to Send Rain Clouds"

- The short story "Saboteur" by Ha Jin (you may use a condensed version)

- "Ode to Maize," a poem by Pablo Neruda

Students are instructed to read the passage aloud in groups and then write journal entries answering the same two questions as they did with "Prayer to the Pacific": what about the reading most resonates with them and what they can learn about the author, including any conclusions they may draw from the text. The author's goal, a succinct synopsis, and a few phrases discussing connections will also be included. (Someone will undoubtedly remark on how "Prayer to the Pacific" and "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" both emphasize the significance of rain.) Additionally, let the students know where to find a brief online biography of the author, but instruct them not to read it until after they have written their first response journal entry. Allow them 35 to 50 minutes to complete this and discuss their results in their groups.

Say, "We need to add a few more points to your discussion this time. Think about the elements of fiction: characterization, plot, setting, theme, tone, mood, and point of view. Then, think about the story or poem you just read. Neruda's "Ode" has all of these elements, maybe except for the plot. Which of these components, according to the selection you read, is most crucial? (Plot, setting, and characterization in "The Man to Send Rain Clouds"; irony, setting, and characterization in "Saboteur"; tone and setting in "Ode to Maize"). "What makes you believe that way? What proof do you have? " Ask students to fill in their response journals with their observations. Although the students' answers will differ, they should provide proof to support their claims.

Potential reactions to "Rain Clouds":

Characterization: Teofilo's death is not revealed to the priest because of his ignorance of Teofilo's people, but his innate kindness leads him to sprinkle holy water on Teofilo's grave to satisfy the people's belief that Teofilo can now bring rain for their crops, even though the priest does not believe this to be true.

Plot: Teofilo's death triggers his clan's customary, expeditious funeral rites, and they ask the priest to sprinkle holy water on Teofilo's grave—not to sanctify it, but so that Teofilo can be the one who "could send them big thunderclouds for sure."

Setting: the arid environment among the arroyos and cottonwoods of the Southwest—creates a great need for rain, which provides Leon's motivation to ask the priest to sprinkle holy water on his people, and the priest eventually complies. This allows Teofilo to bring rain to his people.

Potential responses to "Saboteur":

Characterization: Mr. Chiu becomes a "saboteur," purposefully spreading his illness out of revenge for the way the city's police treated him.

Setting: Mr. Chiu is arrested on false evidence due to the Communist Chinese environment, which places harsh restrictions on personal freedom. This action results in Mr. Chiu's retaliation.

Irony: Mr. Chiu is the victim—the helpless victim—during the story, but the brief epilogue reveals that he has been more powerful than the reader could have ever imagined and has purposefully spread his illness by visiting restaurants in the city where he has been arrested, causing hundreds of deaths.

Possible responses to “Ode to Maize”:

- Setting—Maize is credited with the expansion of the Americas, particularly the southern regions, by giving the locals the strength and means of subsistence. It is a reliable source of food for the impoverished "in the blue sierras" and "beside the sea/of distant song and deepest waltz."

- Tone—the tone is reverent because the speaker credits maize with the establishment of the Americas, instructs the poet to praise it, and describes it as having "radiance," offering hope, and being a treasure.

Part 4

Say, "Considerate your own culture and cultural background for the final exercise. Compose a free-verse poem to convey a culturally relevant idea." Give volunteers some time so they can present and talk about their poetry.

Extension:

Use Rita Dove's poem "Rosa" to help students who need more practice deciphering readings and understanding their meaning. Collaborate in small groups or individually to elicit answers like the following: Simple language, short lines, short sentences, Rosa's uncomplicated name, few actions, and the use of paradox (as in "the time right inside a place/so wrong it was ready") are its most striking features. "She stood up/when they bent down," and "the doing was doing nothing. All that is known about Rosa Parks is that the speaker admires her calm demeanor, unwavering gaze ("the clean flame of her gaze/carved by a camera flash"), and simple sense of style (a sensible coat, no wasting of words, for example).

Show a poem written as a prose paragraph to students who struggle to understand the significance of form, or rewrite the poem so that each stanza consists of three long lines. After that, talk about how it affected how they read the poem.

Having a bookmark that enumerates each element of fiction along with a brief description could be helpful for students who need to review the elements of fiction.

Students who are prepared to go beyond the norm could bring in an article, act out, or draw something that illustrates how culture influences modern literature.