1. Do Now 8/26/19 – Look at the words below
Do Now 8/26/19 – Look at the words below. Come up with 4 categories that you could put these words into. Try to get at least 5 words in each category
December Bright Frozen Red Heaviness Lightness Neat and tidy Straight ahead Wrinkles Eyes blue with old age Old Severe Trembling Fiercely Face lighted A hundred years old Deaf Solemn Rigidity Forgot Without education Dark Pine Shadows Wild hogs Long way Deep and still Too bright Up a hill Chains Thorny bush Sun so high Trial Pearly cloud Barbed wire fence Dead trees Black men Withered Buzzard Two-headed snake Dead corn Maze Black Death Cold as ice Scarecrow Quiet bare fields Boarded shut Swampy Big black dog Old dead weeds Little closed claw Shadows Shining Bells were ringing Red and green electric lights Perfume Red roses Hot summer Big building Tower of steps Gold frame Ceremonial stiffness Soothing medicine Little windmill
5 Minutes
Use this slide and different colored dry erase markers to identify words that can be categorized together.

2. December Bright Frozen Red Heaviness Lightness Neat and tidy Straight ahead Wrinkles Eyes blue with old age Old Severe Trembling Fiercely Face lighted A hundred years old Deaf Solemn Rigidity Forgot Without education Dark Pine Shadows Wild hogs Long way Deep and still Too bright Up a hill Chains Thorny bush Sun so high Trial Pearly cloud Barbed wire fence Dead trees Black men Withered Buzzard Two-headed snake Dead corn Maze Black Death Cold as ice Scarecrow Quiet bare fields Boarded shut Swampy Big black dog Old dead weeds Little closed claw Shadows Shining Bells were ringing Red and green electric lights Perfume Red roses Hot summer Big building Tower of steps Gold frame Ceremonial stiffness Soothing medicine Little windmill
5 Minutes
Use this slide and different colored dry erase markers to identify words that can be categorized together.

3. A Worn Path
Less than 30 seconds
Lesson 2

4. I Can…
Locate motifs that create patterns or contrasts throughout the story (9-10.RL.KID.3)
Express in writing how an author uses patterns of language to create meaning. (9-10.W.RBPK.9)
1 minute

5. Standards 9-10.RL.KID.3 9-10.W.RBPK.9
Analyze how complex characters, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text to impact meaning.
9-10.W.RBPK.9
Support and defend interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with evidence found in literature, applying grade band 9-10 standards for reading to source material.

6. Class Discussion What is Phoenix Jackson doing in this story?
WHAT do we learn about Phoenix Jackson?
HOW do we learn about Phoenix Jackson?
How does Phoenix Jackson compare to the other characters in this story?
6 minutes

7. Partner Work
Re-read the story and complete the first two rows on the timeline handout on page 4 of your guidebooks.
It is up to you and your partner to decide which four events are most important to the story.
Move chronologically through the text.
Make sure to name specific characters involved in each event.
Then determine what caused the event and what the outcome of the event was.
1-2 minutes
Use this slide to introduce the activity.
Extra Support:
If students do not know what to include in the event descriptions, tell them to include the following elements:
who?
what?
when?
where?
If a pair is struggling to identify important events in the text, ask them to give you a short oral summary of the text. Most likely, students will offer you the more memorable parts of the story, which will probably be the most pivotal points in the story as well. If they cannot provide you with a summary, direct them to go back and reread the text.

8. Save for the next lesson!
Event 1 Description
Event 2 Description
Event 3 Description
Event 4 Description
Phoenix maneuvers through the maze of corn and believes she sees a ghost.
Cause/Outcome
Because of her bad eyesight, Phoenix cannot see that the “ghost” is a scarecrow; however, she is undeterred in her journey.
Save for the next lesson!
1-2 minutes
This visual provides a model for students as they work through the activity.

9. Partner Work
Re-read the story and complete the first two rows on the timeline handout on page 4 of your guidebooks.
It is up to you and your partner to decide which four events are most important to the story.
Move chronologically through the text.
Make sure to name specific characters involved in each event.
Then determine what caused the event and what the outcome of the event was.
The Remainder of the Class Period
Extra Support:
If students do not know what to include in the event descriptions, tell them to include the following elements:
who?
what?
when?
where?
If a pair is struggling to identify important events in the text, ask them to give you a short oral summary of the text. Most likely, students will offer you the more memorable parts of the story, which will probably be the most pivotal points in the story as well. If they cannot provide you with a summary, direct them to go back and reread the text.

10. Motifs What we have done is identified patterns in diction.
Patterns in diction that recur are called motifs.
1 minute or less
Motifs

11. Work Station Groups—Let’s find some MOTIFS in “A Worn Path!”
DIRECTONS—Look at each event you identified. Look for patterns in the language Welty uses to describe that event to identify a MOTIF.
Guiding Question:
What words, phrases, images, ideas, objects, events repeat or are emphasized throughout the story or the specific section of the text you are analyzing?
1-2 minutes to introduce the activity

12. Save for later in the lesson!
Event 1 Description
Event 2 Description
Event 3 Description
Event 4 Description
Phoenix maneuvers through the maze of corn and believes she sees a ghost.
Cause/Outcome
Because of her bad eyesight, Phoenix cannot see that the “ghost” is a scarecrow; however, she is undeterred in her journey.
Motif
Cold—”She found a coat and inside that, an emptiness, cold as ice.” We also see this idea with the references to time of year and to her grandson being bundled in an old quilt.
Save for later in the lesson!
1-2 minutes to model the activity

13. Interpretive Commentary Guiding Questions
What is this story about on a literal level? How is Phoenix's trip into the city representative of journeys in the wider human experience?
Consider Phoenix’s name. What is the significance of her name to a theme of the story?
What motivates Phoenix’s journey into the paved city? How does this motivation give her journey meaning?
How do Phoenix’s reactions to the trials on her journey reveal a central idea or theme of the story?
Consider the title of the story. What does the description of the path as “worn” convey about Phoenix’s journey, both literally and allegorically?
NOTE: You may not be able to answer ALL these questions with your current level of understanding for the narrative. That’s is OKAY! No worries! Find the questions you CAN answer and work from that point forward!  
2-3 minutes
Print this slide to provide guiding questions for students as they work if needed.
Go over these questions before modeling this step for students. This is the toughest part of the chart and will need the most guidance.

14. Interpretive Commentary
Event 1 Description
Event 2 Description
Event 3 Description
Event 4 Description
Phoenix maneuvers through the maze of corn and believes she sees a ghost.
Cause/Outcome
Because of her bad eyesight, Phoenix cannot see that the “ghost” is a scarecrow; however, she is undeterred in her journey.
Motif
Cold—”She found a coat and inside that, an emptiness, cold as ice.” We also see this idea with the references to time of year and to her grandson being bundled in an old quilt.
Interpretive Commentary
The motif of cold suggests death, struggle, and trial. Phoenix, brave and resilient, confronts all obstacles.
1-2 minutes to model

15. Interpretive Commentary
Event 1 Description
Event 2 Description
Event 3 Description
Event 4 Description
Phoenix maneuvers through the maze of corn and believes she sees a ghost.
Phoenix, confronted by a dog, lands in the ditch. A hunter must come to help her.
Cause/Outcome
Because of her bad eyesight, Phoenix cannot see that the “ghost” is a scarecrow; however, she is undeterred in her journey.
Phoenix attempts to hit the dog with her cane, but she loses her balance. She patiently waits for someone to come help her, and she outsmarts him.
Motif
COLD—”She found a coat and inside that, an emptiness, cold as ice.” We also see this idea with the references to time of year and to her grandson being bundled in an old quilt.
HOME—The hunter asks if she is “on [her] way home,” and she answers, “I going to town.”
Interpretive Commentary
The motif of cold suggests death, struggle, and trial. Phoenix, brave and resilient, confronts all obstacles.
It would seem that Phoenix would give up and retreat to the safety of her home. She seems to draw strength, however, from the journey rather than the idea of home.
1-2 minutes to model
Discuss column 2 as a guided example.

16. Let’s Review THEME!
First and foremost, themes and motifs are NOT the same thing!
Themes…
should be expressed using declarative sentences.
should be universal.
The thematic statement should be able to apply to another text and to students’ own lives.
should not be bound by time period, genre, culture, etc.
should reveal truths about human nature.
Example:
Motif/Topic—Love
Theme—Love never fails.
1-2 minutes

17. If you need help getting started, you can use the suggestions below to help guide your writing!
CLAIM:
Welty’s use of __________ as a motif in “A Worn Path” __[VIVID VERB]____ the idea that (theme statement).
CITE: In the text,…
CLARIFY: As a result,…
PROMPT
How does Welty use motifs to develop a theme in “A Worn Path”? Use the CCC format for your response.
Vivid Verb Suggestions
communicates
expresses
reveals
illustrates
exemplifies
5-7 minutes
Students can work on this with a partner if needed.