ELA 9: Introduction to Literature (Foundational)—Semester A

Tyler Perry's Baz Lurhman's William Shakespeare's Shmoop ELA 9.

  • Course Length: 18 weeks
  • Course Type: Remedial
  • Category:
    • English
    • High School

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Over the course of the next four years, you're going to learn everything there is to know about literature. But you have to start somewhere, right? And that's what ELA 9 Foundational is all about—and freshman year's much less painful when it's administered by a website. Plus, ELA 9 Foundational offers

  • shorter reading assignments.
  • recaps and reviews of every lesson's reading, as well as helpful links and resources.
  • scaffolded activities with fill-in-the-blanks and helpful hints.

In Semester A's standard-aligned lessons, you'll

  • get your feet wet with language, grammar, essay-writing, short fiction, and poetry—and we'll even give you a taste of novels, including everyone's classic and contemporary literary sweethearts, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book Thief. 
  • complete close-reading and big-picture analysis activities.
  • create unit projects that appeal to every type of learner, from shiny essays to collages and interpretive dances.

By the end of the course, you'll be a regular ol' bibliophile—or at the very least, a total Jabberwocky.

P.S.: ELA 9: Introduction to Literature Foundational is a two-semester course. You're looking at Semester A, but you can check out Semester B here.


Unit Breakdown

1 ELA 9: Introduction to Literature (Foundational)—Semester A - The Long and Short of It

This unit will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about words—and then some. We'll be talking grammar, syntax, diction, and everything else you'll need to master the rest of ELA-hood. At the same time, we'll closely read classic short stories, examining their most basic but essential elements: plot, characterization, and narration, to name a few.

2 ELA 9: Introduction to Literature (Foundational)—Semester A - The Ars Poetica

We'll read plenty of classic poems in this unit, but the main focus will be on diction and analysis. How can just a few choice words, line breaks, or parallel structural repetitions reveal worlds about a speaker's perspective? Shmoop's got you covered.

3 ELA 9: Introduction to Literature (Foundational)—Semester A - Shmoop's Gonna Shmoop You a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is so beloved that it deserves its own unit. Through Harper Lee's classic, we'll think more about the novel form, starting basic through vocabulary and summary, and then use our fancy reading skills to analyze this timeless book. (Spoiler alert: the mockingbird is killed.)

4 ELA 9: Introduction to Literature (Foundational)—Semester A - Sometimes It's Okay to Steal a Book

In this unit, modern classic The Book Thief will help us dig deeper into the finer aspects of the novel after Unit 3 is under our belt. This World War II drama, narrated by death (yeah, you heard us) will be used to learn about motif, symbolism, allusion, and…oh yeah…themes.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 4.05: Literary Décor

A sleek 1960s car shaped and painted to look like a shark.
If it's shaped like a shark, colored like a shark, and named "The Mako Shark," then it's safe to say it has a shark motif.
(Source)

You've probably noticed by now that Death likes to make lists, like his opening description of the book:

It's just a small story really, about, among other things:

  • A girl
  • Some words
  • An accordionist
  • Some fanatical Germans
  • A Jewish fist fighter
  • And quite a lot of thievery

Other names for all these things? Characters, symbols, and motifs.

Look at it this way: Zusak is actually making it easy for you. Instead of making you painstakingly thumb through the pages (or scroll through the screen) to look for imagery, he lays it out: thieving is important. The accordion is key. Words matter.

Back to Basics

Let's get back to basics for a minute. You probably remember that a symbol is one thing that represents another thing, like when someone offers up a dozen red roses on Valentine's Day. Those flowers = love, right? Simple.

If, however, you're reading a book, and the author first draws your attention to a dozen red roses on the table, and then later mentions two lilac bushes outside the front door, followed still later by a patch of daisies in the yard, an azalea, several tulips, and some violets—you might begin to think there's a flower motif in play.

What's It All Mean?

Basically, a motif is just a meaningful pattern of imagery or objects. The key is that there needs to be meaning. If there is meaning behind the images, like, say, all the cut flowers mentioned in the book (roses, tulips) wither away and die while the wildflowers continue to grow and flourish, the author might be using the flowers as a motif to hint that nature's best left untouched, for example.

Of course, if you can't find any meaning, no matter how hard you try, then maybe the author spent a few summers working as a landscaper and just likes to include as many mentions of flora as possible, because why not? The great thing is that, as a literary critic, you get to argue either way. Just make sure you've got plenty of evidence to back it up.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 4.4.05a: Standing By

Speaking of motifs, keep your eyes peeled for them as you read this next section, Part Four: The Standover Man:

Read the summary of the following longer chapter:

Then read this crucial chapter in its entirety, which describes the dynamics when Max settles into his basement lodgings:

  • "A Good Girl"

Read the summary of:

Read the following chapters about the Hubermanns' good deeds:

  • "The Wrath of Rosa"
  • "Liesel's Lecture"

Read the summary of:

Then, close out Part Three by reading the final (and illustrated!) chapter:

  • "Pages from the Basement"

And hey, keep 'em front and center as you tackle Part Four: The Whistler, too:

Read:

  • "The Floating Book (Part I)" 
  • These sections in the "The Gamblers": "The Weatherman," "The New Dream," and from page 251 ("For a long time, she sat on the steps") to 264 ("She'd be glad of it"). Read the summary of the rest of the chapter.

Read the summaries of:

Then, close out Part Five by reading:

There are three chapters you read summaries of that focus on characters and their backstories: Rudy, Hans, and Max. In your final reading for the lesson, choose one of the following chapters to read in its entirely, annotating and scribbling as you read for any major details of characterization, historical allusion, symbolism, or motif.

Nice job, Shmoopers—that was a lot of reading. But this is a two-day lesson, after all. In case you forget any of it by the end of the lesson, hit the summaries section to make sure you got everything.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 4.4.05b: Recap and Review

Recap

  • This lesson's reading mostly focuses on the Hubermanns hiding Max, and the risks they take. After Part Four opens by establishing Hans' backstory ("he was not well-educated or political, but if nothing else, he was a man who appreciated fairness. A Jew had once saved his life and he couldn't forget that"), and that Max's father saved his life. Oh…so that's why Max ends up at Hans's place!
  • But it's not just Hans who's the good German. Liesel treats Max with kindness (how cute—they even have simultaneous nightmares), and Rosa is established as being strong in times of chaos.
  • These chapters also pile on the wartime hardships. Liesel and Rudy continue to steal food with their crew, and Rosa loses the mayor as her laundry client. But don't feel too bad for Rosa…Liesel gets back at the Hermanns by sneaking into their mansion with Rudy and stealing a book.
  • The Book Thief adds another layer to its experimental style: it includes illustrations. Max paints pages of Mein Kampf white (blotting out Hitler's words and replacing with his own), and uses the book to create a gift for Liesel: a picture book of his life story. Check out "Pages from the Basement" if you want to check out Max's artwork again. We dig it.

Chapter Summaries

Related Shmoop Videos and Guides


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 4.05a: How'd You Do?

Now that you've finished the lesson's XL reading, take a few moments to jot down a sentence or two for each of the comprehension questions.

  1. This one's not so much a question as a task: jot down any potential motifs that jump out at you as you read this section. They'll come in handy later (and sooner, too).

  2. Who was Max's father and how did he once save Hans's life?

  3. What piece of information (which happens to be another example of dramatic irony) does Death give us regarding Hans's future war service in Essen in 1943?

  4. Why didn't Hans Hubermann join the Nazi Party like so many other Germans?

  5. How did Walter Kugler and Max Vandenburg become friends?

  6. How does Rosa react to the arrival of Max?

  7. What similarities do Max and Liesel share?


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 4.05b: Lucky Number 13

  1. Here's a question: did you pick up on all of those 13s in the reading?

    Seems like a motif to us.

    If not, go back through Part Four and look for them. Make a note of each one you find, including the context and page number of each instance, and write them below in list form. (There are a few in Part Three, too, so you might want to look there as well.)

    As a hint, look for the following chapters for the most important and frequent mentions of the number thirteen:

    • "Pages from the Basement"
    • "The Short History of the Jewish Fist Fighter"
  2. Once you're done scouring the pages for Lucky Number Thirteen, take a look at your list and try to draw some conclusions.

    • Is the number thirteen a motif? 
    • Is there a special meaning behind all those mentions of the number? 
    • Together, do they suggest anything at all? 
    • Why do you think Zusak chose to include so many thirteens?

    Below your list, write us a 200- to 300-word argumentative paragraph with textual support. Your thesis should explain what, if anything, you think the number—in all of its manifestations—could mean, and, unlike TEEA paragraphs of Unit 3, you should include at least three pieces of analyzed evidence about thirteen's significance.

    You can use an outline like this one:

    Thesis: The number thirteen signifies ______________ in The Book Thief.

    • Evidence 1: The first example is on page __________, when __________.
    • Quote 1: Zusak writes, "__________" (page number).
    • Analysis 1: This example shows that the number thirteen __________.

    Then, repeat the same structure for the last two pieces of evidence.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 4.05c: Motif and Meaning

Books.

Unsurprisingly, they're kind of a Big Deal in The Book Thief. Why?

Let's see:

  • They're mentioned a bajillion times (or more).
  • Our protagonist is pretty much obsessed with them.
  • The narrative is broken up in parts that are named for specific books.
  • They're burned, cherished, given as gifts, and transformed over the course of the story.
  • The protagonist writes her own book, which, presumably, is the basis for the tale Death spins for us.
  • Oh, you know, we're reading one?

Books seem pretty significant, and they definitely qualify as a repeated image or object. But to what end? What's it all about? What do they mean?

The List

Let's make a list of all the things books could represent. Or rather, let's make three lists, in response to each of the questions below. Answer each of the following brainstorming questions on a piece of scrap paper—no complete sentences needed.

  • What might the books themselves represent?
  • What about the book burnings?
  • What does the act of stealing books represent?

A Quick Aside

Before we get to the big payoff here—a discussion what the book motif could mean in this novel—let's take a quick moment to revisit the difference between a symbol and a motif.

When we're talking about the books in The Book Thief—all of the books, collectively—we're looking at them as a motif. Jot down answers to these questions, too:

  • Why are books so prominent in this narrative? 
  • Why do they appear over and over again in different situations (being stolen, being burned, being read, being rescued, being used to help a Jew to freedom, being used to spread knowledge, being used to spread lies)?

Now the Big Payoff

What do we think the book motif is all about? We could write a lengthy essay—heck, maybe even a whole dissertation—on this one, but we'll try to keep it simple, especially since we're only working with half of the book at this point.

Instead, make a short vlog (video blog entry) about what you think the book motif is doing in The Book Thief.

Start by using your brainstorming points to create a script. You'll be talking for two minutes in your YouTube confessional-style vlog post, so try to write a script that's about 100 – 200 words.

Since this is expository and not argumentative—you don't need to convince your viewer of anything, but rather just explain your thoughts—you don't need to open with a thesis. Start with just a general topic sentence that sets up what your paragraph will explore. Try this:

Books are a major motif in Markus Zusak's The Book Thief.

Then, get into your paragraphs. Why does Zusak include it, and how does it relate to the novel's themes? Don't forget to use the lists you brainstormed at the beginning of the activity.

In your vlogs, be sure to

  • reference at least two specific mentions of books in the…book.
  • use at least one direct quote from the novel.

Then, submit your file below.


Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. Where is Liesel's brother, Werner?

  2. Why is Liesel put in a class with much younger children?

  3. Rudy tells Liesel always to say "Heil" when she goes where?

  4. Who is the heavyweight champion of the schoolyard?

  5. Why does Rudy's father tell him he's lucky?

  6. What word upsets Liesel when she hears it yelled out at the bonfire?

  7. Which of the following items do Liesel and Rudy not steal?

  8. Which of the following traits best characterizes Death?

  9. Which character in the novel is Liesel most immediately drawn to?

  10. Which of the following motifs represent personal growth?