The Good Earth Lesson Plan

What If?

Kind of Activity:

Group Work

Objective:

Students will analyze pivotal plot points in the novel, considering what might have happened if events had gone differently.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5

Structure:

In Chapter 19, the narrator states, "Now if the waters had at this time receded from Wang Lung's land...Wang Lung might never have gone again to the great tea shop. Or if a child had fallen ill, or the old man had reached suddenly to end of his days, Wang Lung might have been caught up in the new thing and forgotten the pointed face on the scroll or the body of the woman slender as...