Teacher: Kyle Morrill
Novel: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Grade: 11
Lesson: Socratic Circle – Chapters 1-5

Material needed:
·         Class set of The Kite Runner
·         Students’ notes
·         Individual desks

Learning objectives:
·         Students will learn to analyze literature by citing text and engage in discussion with peers
·         Student will strengthen their understanding of literary terms like suspense, atmosphere/mood, and plot/setting.

NOTE: Due to the graphic nature of some parts of the novel, teacher must get approval before reading The Kite Runner.

Procedure:
·         Divide students into two groups. Arrange the desks such that one group of students forms the inner ring and the other group forms the outer ring of circle.
·         The inner ring will be discussing the guiding questions (see attached) first while the outer circle observes.
·         Following discussion, students in the outer circle will provide feedback to the students in the inner circle.
·         The groups will then switch and the new inner circle with discuss the second set of guiding questions (see attached).
·         After the second discussion, the outer circle will provide feedback and analysis.



Guiding Questions Group One

1.      Who is telling the story? Why do you think the author choose this narrator?
2.      How does Hassan’s relationship with his father differ from Amir’s relationship with his father?
3.      Discuss the following quote: “People say that eyes are windows to the soul,” (p. 8).
4.      What are some ways the author foreshadows later events in the early chapters of the book?
5.      How are Amir and Hassan alike? How are they different?



Guiding Questions Group Two

1.      Why do you think the author begins the novel with a flashback?
2.      What feelings or images do you get in the early chapters?
3.      “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything,” (p. 22). Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
4.      How much of an effect does ethnicity and religion have on the lives of the characters? Will that ever change?

5.      What gift does Baba give Hassan and why is it ironic?

Comments

  1. Anya BentApril 27, 2017 at 12:21 PM

    This is a tough book for some students, but one that I think is very important to keep in the rotation. I like what you did.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHAPTERS 6-10 Summarizer Marty continues to struggle with his internal dilemma. He is hesitant to bring Shiloh back to his abusive owner, but knows it is the lawful thing to do. But is it the right thing to do? He is constantly questioning himself about this issue. Marty’s friend David Howard comes into the picture. Both parents want to set up a time for their boys to hang out, but Marty doesn’t want to tell David about Shiloh. Instead of waiting for David to come to his house, Marty goes into town to see him. David lives in a big house in Friendly, and he and Marty have a rather uneventful day at David’s house. A few days later, Marty goes out after supper to see Shiloh in the small pen that he built for him. He feeds Shiloh the food he has managed to scrape together and plays with Shiloh for a while. Just as he’s about to head back home, Marty looks up to see his mom standing next to the pen watching him. His secret is out. Marty explains the whole situation and they agree...
Read more

4/28 Into the Wild post

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, ‘cause “the West is best.” And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and night of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.                  --Alexander Supertramp, May 1992.             I chose this quote for a number of reasons. It comes at a major point in the story when McCandless is entering ‘the Great White North’ and highlights both his journey so far and his excitement f...
Read more
Image
CHAPTERS 1-5 Vocabulary Enricher 1. groveling (p. 13): move on the ground with one's face downward.  Ex. "Dog goes down on his stomach, groveling about in the grass." 2. ford (p. 15): a shallow place in a river/stream to walk or drive across. Ex. "So I always go as far as the ford, where the river spills across the path, and then I head back." 3. loping (p. 20): moving with a bounding/long stride. Ex. "I whistle softly. Shiloh comes loping towards me." 4. froggy (p. 29): scratchy/hoarse. Ex. "'Can you think of a way I could earn myself some money?' I ask him, with this froggy kind of voice that shows you aren't woke up yet." 5. feeble (p. 39): weak, lacking strength. Ex. "It isn't that we're rock-poor; trouble is that Grandma Preston's got real feeble, and she's being cared for by Dad's sister over in Clarksburg." 6. shadbush (p. 42): small tree/shrub of the Rose family. Ex: "Get me...
Read more