Unit Plan Rationale

Unit Plan Rationale: The Scarlett Letter

The unit that I would like to implement on The Scarlett Letter is a simple plan designed to help with the understanding of the classical text. It is unquestionably important for students to read classic novels, so that they may understand how present-day literature was formed, however, many students struggle with the text structure. My plan is to involve present-day activities with my lessons on classical text in order to motivate my students, and therefore make the content easier for them to understand.
I would like to teach this unit because it is on a classical novel that connects to a variety of present-day situations. Students will be able to not only “understand the past by becoming more knowledgeable about not only what people did, but also how they felt,” (Maxwell, Meiser, McKnight; Copyright © 2011; 177) but will also be able to make personal connections. Also, students will be able to compare and contrast the difference in cultures involved, from the seventeenth century to present-day America. This, in turn will allow the students to develop critical judgments that they can use for a variety of literature.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel is extremely useful when discussing cultural significance. For example, it provides evidence that can be used in literary criticism and argument for American novels, as well as the society in which those novels reside. Students can use his novel to determine the similarities and differences in Hawthorne’s society to their own. They can review how communities handled insolence to the law in the seventeenth century, and note the level of severity. Students can then review present-day American laws, what consequences it has for that same insolence, and the severity of those particular consequences. Hawthorne’s novel will also help the students to understand how the literature of their generation was formed, because they are studying a novel that present-day novels are based on. Many of the present-day stories that students read are derived from novels like the Scarlett Letter. Upon reading them, students are able to make a connection between such stories, revert back to classic novels, and therefore make a more clear understanding of what they are reading. Another example on how Hawthorne’s novel assists in cultural significance is that it can be applied to the societies of other international cultures. Students can use the novel to express how other cultures dealt or deal with the situations involved. For example, rather than focus entirely on how American communities handle the situations present in The Scarlett Letter, the students may choose to focus on how Muslim communities, or even Hindu communities, would view them. Such would require extensive research and would broaden their acceptance and understanding of various worldly cultures. Finally, they can use their gathered information to express their personal views on how such things should be handled, and what they would do to change them. This touches on student civic awareness, by requiring them to know what is occurring in their communities, in order to accurately complete their assignments.
Such counterarguments that I can look forward too, involve the obvious complication of approaching the topic of adultery in public schools. Certain parents may not be accepting to their children learning such topics outside the home. My rebuttal to this is that though that may be part of the topic, it is not the main focus of the story. Isolation based on social customs is the main theme of the novel. Adultery is considered one reason for such isolation, but there are multiple reasons for a community to isolate an individual. Another argument that I could be confronted with, is that this novel touches on the concept of religion. Again, I would say, it is not the main focus of the story. Religion is just the medium through which social conventions are established during the time period.
One young adult novel that I would include to assist with my students’ understanding of social isolation is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. This novel discusses the concept of a high school girl who is eventually shunned by all social groups. Like the main character of The Scarlett Letter, Stargirl is accepted and befriended by only one other individual. This novel will help the students make a more personal connection to the text, and they will develop a stronger understanding. A canonical text that I would include would be The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. This story is written in the form of a play, and the setting is of the same time period. If one were to exclude the literary concept of witchcraft from their interpretation of the story, one could say that this tale is a condensed version of the Scarlett Letter. In both stories, the main characters commit adultery, and that heinous act consumes the rest of their existence, or even defines it. Students will be able to gather a stronger image of Puritan life, as well as to form new ideas and concepts on how their country was shaped. They will develop an appreciation and understanding of the Scarlett letter, by applying it to other novels that possess some similarities to it.
My unit reflects culturally relevant pedagogy in the sense that it allows students to apply the concepts in the novel to more than one worldly culture. They are not required to compare and contrast the novel to only one culture, but rather are encouraged to connect it to cultures with which they are not familiar. This in turn requires students to research various cultures, and to develop an understanding of their beliefs and values. Finally, my unit will emphasize social justice by asking the students to voice their opinions on how certain situations in the novel should be handled. All students will receive the opportunity to express their values and beliefs, either verbally or in written form, and will be encouraged to do so with every unit presented.