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TEACHING WITH A LINKED TEXT SET

STUDENT PROJECT

Teaching with a Linked Text Set

As an educator, it is a teacher’s responsibility to plan and implement a thoughtful curriculum as well as ensure student engagement. In Wold et. al’s “Engaging High School Students in Reading and Understanding the Canon Through the Use of Linked Text Sets,” the authors argue that a linked text set provides a meaningful approach to connect the English language arts curriculum to what teens already know and understand from their own experiences (Wold 391). A linked text set that features a combination of print and nonprint media offers students the opportunity to engage with a variety of texts. Furthermore, “by scaffolding the exploration of various forms of texts that shed light on students’ own lives, experiences, and interests, adolescents are more likely to become involved in this type of curriculum that invites thinking about multiple interpretations of texts” (Wold 392). By incorporating a linked text set to promote a deeper understanding of material through using a variety of resources, educators demonstrate an understanding of TESS Domain 3c: “Engaging Students in Learning”. Not only does teaching with a linked text set encourage student involvement in their learning, but it also offers an opportunity for educators to make literature more accessible to students of differing ability levels through utilizing different forms of media.

In the context of a graduate level course on methods for teaching reading and literature, I constructed a two-week literature unit plan for The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver that utilizes a linked text set. Kingsolver’s novel is about a missionary family that moves from the U.S. to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo in 1959 and is narrated by the five women of the Price family. In my unit I address the following three Arkansas English Language Arts Standards:

  • RL. 9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as implicitly.

  • RL. 9-10.6 Analyze a particular point of view, perspective, or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature, including works from outside the United States.

  • RL. 9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

There are four enduring understandings that I desire my students to reach by the end of The Poisonwood Bible unit plan:

  • Religion can be interpreted in various ways and shapes how people understand the world.

  • Colonialism is a form of systemic oppression that was used to exploit the labor and land of the Congolese.

  • Traditional gender roles can be limiting and oppressive or comfortable and familiar, varying from individual to individual.

  • Literature can be used to critique and explore cultural, social, and historical topics.


At the center of Kingsolver’s novel is the concept of religion, which serves as the motivating factor for Nathan Price to relocate his family to the Congo as well as a major point of conflict between the latter and the villagers in Kilanga. One essential question I invite students to consider as they read the novel is, “What makes up a religion?” In asking them to wrestle with this question, my goal is to support their understanding that religious beliefs vary across cultures and individuals and shape how they interpret the world. Another essential question that frames my unit is, “What is colonialism and how does it affect the world we live in today?” The setting of The Poisonwood Bible contributes greatly to the theme of systemic oppression since the novel is set in the Belgian Congo during a period of political unrest between the Congolese and their Belgian oppressors. It is important to me that students connect the systemic oppression evident through colonialism of the Congo to other events or instances of colonialist oppression to highlight the relevance of how colonialism affects people today. A unique characteristic of this novel is the fact that there are five different narrators—all women of the Price family—and the only man in the family, Nathan Price, does not appear as a narrator. This factor prompted me to pose the question, “Why would an author select certain narrators and omit others in order to explore character development and the influence of gender throughout the novel?”

At the beginning of the unit, one of my lesson plans incorporates a print and non-print form of media to examine the lasting effects of colonialism in the Congo. In the novel, there is a scene where Rachel Price reflects, “I pictured hands like those digging diamonds out of the Congo dirt and got to thinking, Gee, does Marilyn Monroe even know where they come from? Just picturing her in her satin gown and a Congolese diamond digger in the same universe gave me the weebie jeebies. So I didn’t think about it anymore” (126-127). I will show students a clip of Marilyn Monroe’s appearance in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes singing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and ask them to consider Rachel’s reaction to Marilyn Monroe’s affinity for diamonds. Dissecting this scene in the book supported by the film clip demonstrates standard RL. 9-10.3: “Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.” Next, students will read a New York Times article, “Blood Diamonds: It’s been 15 years since the global effort to ban conflict diamonds began, but the industry is still tainted by conflict and misery” to learn about how teenagers in the Congo opt out of attending school to work in the diamond mines in order to be able to eat. Like Kingsolver’s novel, the article presents a different perspective regarding diamonds and will prompt students to consider how the Belgian exploitation of the Congo’s diamond mines are still relevant today. After seeing Marilyn Monroe in her satin gown and flashy jewelry, contrasted to the hungry and hard-working teenagers featured in the article, I will ask students, “What do diamonds mean to people in America? People in the Congo?” in order to gain an understanding of the effects of colonialism. Article link: https://time.com/blood-diamonds/


In the novel, Nathan Price is determined to baptize the villagers of Kilanga, but his attempts are futile since the villagers refuse to go near the river. Later, Nathan is told that a little girl in the village was eaten by a crocodile from the river, which is why no one will go near the water. He explains this revelation to one of his daughters, saying that “she got killed and eaten by a crocodile. They don’t let their children step foot in the river, ever. Not even to be washed by the Blood of the Lamb” (81). In his statement, Nathan communicates his disappointment that the villagers will not even consider baptism in the river, despite this new knowledge that the water holds life-threatening animals. To emphasize the misunderstanding and conflict between Nathan’s missionary purpose and the villager’s understanding of the world, I will show students two clips from National Geographic: Raging Congo Creatures and Croc Attack- World’s Deadliest and then listen to two traditional Christian hymns: When Peace Like a River and Shall we Gather at the River. I am hoping to use this scene from the novel and the supporting clips and hymns to portray how Nathan Price views the river as a form of salvation, while the villagers see the river as deadly. After listening to the hymns, I will ask students, “How do Christians view baptism? What is the importance of being baptized within the Christian faith?” followed by questions regarding the Congo environment, such as, “What kind of animals have been featured in the novel? Are they predatorial?” in order to promote an understanding that aspects of religion can be interpreted in different ways. By using the scene in the novel to portray the misunderstanding between the villagers and Nathan regarding baptism, the supporting texts help students achieve standard RL. 9-10.1 “Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as implicitly.” Clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDYzZnTmhg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9re1bHt40

Later in the unit plan, I will ask students to read a BMC Public Health Article about research conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo to assess attitudes related to gender-equitable norms. The study, titled “Prevalence and correlates of gender inequitable norms among young, church-going women and men in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo” gathered data through a cross-sectional survey 291 women and 289 men. The research will prompt students to consider the influence of gender roles and will connect to the understanding that traditional gender roles can be reproduced or rejected in society. I especially wanted to include this research in my linked text set to appeal to students who may prefer a scientific approach to themes and issues. I plan on presenting some of the statements from the survey to the students to

have them answer and review the class results compared to the results of the research survey. I also want to ask students how they think characters from the novel would answer some of these questions to emphasize the role of gender in the novel. I will also highlight that the novel is set in 1959 and the research study was published in 2018 and ask students “have issues surrounding gender improved, remained the same, or gotten worse over time?” to reflect the understanding that gender roles can be reproduced or rejected in society. Through reviewing research conducted in the Congo, the study supports standard RL. 9-10.6 “Analyze a particular point of view, perspective, or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature, including works from outside the United States.”

The goal of this unit is for students to define and evaluate the effects of colonialism and religion and how each shapes an individual’s perspective of the world. Students will also consider how literature is used to critique and explore social, historical, and cultural topics and how they can personally utilize literature to express their own beliefs and opinions. The various forms of print and non-print sources used throughout this unit plan will work to aid in

“scaffolding what teens know and understand from their own lives to build a bridge to core texts from the canon” (Wold 292).

Linked Text Set: Projects
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