Reading Comprehension Week Four Malcolm X: Differences in Points of View

Overview This week begins with a review of vocabulary from the previous week, followed by two readings, one from The Autobiography of Malcolm X and one a biography taken from a website devoted to his legacy. Students will begin by brainstorming what they have heard about Malcolm X and his life. The focus of this lesson is on “fact checking” and comparing information from students’ prior knowledge with two sources. This information will serve as “predictions” about the readings. Using a DR-TA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity) procedure, the class will read the excerpt from The Autobiography and compare what they have learned with what they thought they knew before they read the article. The second article from the website will then be read using DR-TA. There are some slight discrepancies between what Malcolm X wrote and the information in his biography, such as Malcolm’s relationship with Elijah Muhammad. In discussion, students should be coached to find these discrepancies and discuss them, asking, for example, why Malcolm would not want to criticize Elijah Muhammad in his Autobiography in the same way he is criticized in his biography. In the final part of class, students will work in small groups of 4-5 to identify one vocabulary word from either text. The students will present the word, giving its definition and making an argument for why this word is important and should be studied. The class will vote on whether to include each word after it is introduced and discussed.

First hour: Vocabulary Review and Malcolm X Begin by asking students to recall vocabulary that we learned from last week. Write each word on the board and ask the students to give a definition for the word. Introduce Malcolm X. Who was he? Why is he important? What did he write? What do you know about his life? What happened to him? Record this information on the board. Ask students, “If you were going to read about Malcolm X’s life and point of view (POV), what would you expect to read about? What else would you want to know?”

First hour, Cont’d. Use the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity to read the selection from The Autobiography: Read the first paragraph aloud and compare what was read to the information students already provided. What did they read that was different from what they thought they knew (if anything); what is new information; what will they read about next? Record new information on the board. Read the second two paragraphs aloud; repeat the process above. Have students read the remainder of the text. Discuss: What did they learn? In discussion, have students summarize what they learned from the text. Discuss: Whose point of view (POV) was this written from? What point does he want to make? What might he not be telling us?

Second hour: Comparing First- and Third-Person Accounts Read the second selection, the biography of Malcolm X, using the same DR-TA method as before: Read the first paragraph; stop and discuss new information; record Read the second two paragraphs; stop and discuss; record Read to the bottom of page one silently; stop and discuss; record Read the remainder of the text; stop and discuss; record Ask: What discrepancies (differences) do you see between Malcolm X’s autobiography and his biography? What could explain these discrepancies?

Vocabulary Self-Selection (VSS) Ask students to form groups of 4-5 students Divide the room in half: one side for the autobiographical text and one for the biographical text Have students select one word from their text to present. They should give the definition and make an argument for why this is an important word to study and remember Have each group present a different word (no repeated presentations; groups with the same word can collaborate) and then have the class vote on whether this is an important word.