Twelve Years a Slave Lesson Plan

If all of the elements of this lesson plan are employed, students will develop the following powers, skills, and understanding:

1. 1

   Students will evaluate the role of memoir in the context of political and social issues.

2. 2

   Students, through research and classroom discussion, will be able to place the work in its social and historical context, and clearly explain its significance in the pre-Civil War United States as well as continued contemporary resonance.

3. 3

   In both writing and classroom discussion, students will cite textual evidence to support opinions on the meaning and significance of the text.

4. 4

   Students will build vocabulary using different techniques, including...