Both writers give similar advice, and both use images to emphasize their main ideas. But each writer uses a different form of writing to communicate his message: Robert E. Lee wrote a letter, while Langston Hughes wrote a poem.
Compare the two forms of writing, and answer this question:
Which did you find more persuasive, the letter or the poem? Why?
Think about these questions as you prepare your response. Use specific examples from the texts.
• Which piece was easier for you to understand?
• Which piece gave stronger reasons and evidence?
• Which piece drew the reader’s attention most toward an image?
• Which piece inspired you more? Why?
Read: “Letter to His Son” and “Mother to Son”
As you read these two texts, know that sometimes you may need a little extra help decoding vocabulary in order to understand the text completely. If you encounter a word you don’t know, take the time to use reference materials to help you understand the word.
Remember that the same word can have dramatically different definitions, depending on how it is used in a sentence. Be sure to read all of the definitions listed in the entry and compare each one with the sentence the word appears in. That way, you can be sure you have the correct definition.
Read ” Letter to His Son ” and ” Mother to Son .” Use the reading graphic organizer to apply reading strategies.
Reading Graphic Organizer
Literature: Visualize
Title and Author:
Question Answer
What genre is the text? (short story, myth, poem, etc.)
Visualize the events and ideas of the story. What do you see? Use all your senses – what do you hear, smell, or feel as you read?
What is the setting?
Who is telling the story – a narrator, a character?
Describe each character. What are they like? How do they speak? How do they interact with others? What type (main, minor, dynamic, etc.) is each character?
What conflicts (man vs. man, man vs. self, etc.) are in this text?
Vocabulary: Check Point
Before your next assignment, review the module vocabulary you have encountered so far. Check that you have learned the definitions for these words.
astute
adjacent
concur
alternative
evident
originate
illustrate
vocation
dependent
patronize
logical appeal
either-or argument
evidence
informational
procedure
emotional appeal
image
claim
reason
How well were you able to use word families to discover the meaning of the words? Try this example:
The organizational structure a writer uses is dependent on several factors, including the author’s purpose for writing and the topic.
You may be familiar with the derivative of this word, depend. “Want to study for the math test together tonight?” “It depends! I might have soccer practice.” When something is dependent on something else, it means that one thing is caused by or determined by another thing. Your beach vacation may be dependent on the weather, for example. Some other words in this same family are depending, independence, and dependence.
On the following pages, you will be working on a written assignment. In this assignment, you must incorporate at least three of these words.
