Lesson 17: Red, White and Whole, Argumentative Writing, Part 1

Place students with an elbow partner. Invite them to keep the poems open so they can refer to text landmarks during discussion.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: In the previous lesson, we discussed identity loss, symbols, and regrowth across “Search for My Tongue” and Red, White, and Whole. Today, we are turning that thinking into a written argument about whether symbolism is actually effective for showing what it feels like to live between cultures.

• Ask: When a poet uses a symbol instead of stating an idea directly, why might that be more powerful for a reader?

  • A symbol can make the feeling more vivid. In “Search for My Tongue,” the tongue growing back like a plant helps readers feel language loss and regrowth, not just understand it in a basic way.

Connection to Today’s Learning:

Now that students have considered why symbols can matter, they are ready to build a claim that takes a clear side and can be defended with evidence from two poems.

Guide students in analyzing symbolism to build a precise, arguable claim. Model how to move from a broad idea to a specific claim supported by evidence from both texts.

Language Study

Say these Directions: Read these two lines and think about what each symbol helps a reader understand. We are using these lines as a model for how to build a claim that answers the prompt: Is symbolism an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures?

Display page 1 of Red, White, and Whole by LaRocca and direct students to read this line from “Two:”

“I swim in a river of white skin”

Display the poem “Search for My Tongue” by Bhatt and direct students to read these lines:

“the bud opens / the bud opens in my mouth”

• Say: When I build a claim, I start by asking what I can actually support with evidence from both poems.

Claim 1: Symbols are important.

That is too broad because almost everyone would agree, and it does not tell my reader how or why they are important.

Claim 2: Symbolism is effective because it turns bicultural identity into physical images of movement, loss, and regrowth.

This includes both a claim and reasoning. I can support my claim that symbolism shows images of movement with Reha’s river and sea images, and I can support my claim about regrowth with the bud opening in the speaker’s mouth.

• Say: A strong claim is not just a topic sentence; it is a promise about what my evidence will show.

• Ask: Which claim is stronger for today’s prompt, and why?

  • Both poems use symbolism. Symbolism is effective in both poems because it turns living between cultures into vivid physical images of separation and regrowth.

  • Claim B is stronger because it answers the prompt and takes a position. It also gives a reason that could be defended with evidence from both poems.

Connection to Today’s Learning:

With a claim in place, students are ready to choose evidence that smoothly supports that claim instead of simply dropping in quotations.

Part A: Build a Strong Body Paragraph (W.7.4) (18 minutes)

Guide students in planning a structured response using the RACE strategy.

RACE Strategy Response with Modeled Writing

Say these Directions: Use the RACE Writing Strategy graphic organizer to plan your response to the following question: Is symbolism an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures?

• Say: First, choose two or three strong pieces of evidence to support your argument: from “Search for My Tongue” by Sujata Bhatt and from at least one poem from La Rocca’s Red, White, and Whole.

• Say: Remember that RACE stands for “Restate the question” + “Answer the question” + “Cite evidence” + “Explain your answer.”

• Say: Follow along as I model how to build a strong RACE response to this question:

• Ask: Is symbolism an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures?

• Say: Now that my RACE chart is filled in, I need to turn it into a paragraph with transition words, clauses, and phrases. The first thing I notice is that my Restate and Answer work better as one combined sentence rather than two separate ones.

Instead of writing them apart, I connect them with because:

• • “Symbolism is an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures, because it lets poets show feelings that are too complex to state directly.” That one sentence tells my reader exactly where I stand.

• Say: Now, instead of launching straight into my first quote, I use a lead-in that tells my reader where we are in the poem first:

  • “In the moment when the speaker imagines her mother tongue returning in a dream, Bhatt writes that ‘the bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth.’” Then my explanation has to go beyond describing the image; I need to say what it stands for: “The blooming flower symbolizes the return of her Indian identity. Instead of saying ‘I miss my culture,’ the image makes readers feel the relief of something coming back to life.”

• Say: I follow the same pattern for LaRocca, using a transition that connects back to my argument rather than just starting over:

  • “LaRocca captures the same tension through a different symbol: not a plant, but water. In the opening of ‘Two,’ Reha says, ‘At school I swim in a river of white skin’ but on weekends she ‘float[s] in a sea of brown skin and black hair.’ These symbols make the reader feel the difference between those two worlds, not just understand it.”

• Say: My closing sentence then zooms back out to land on the argument, not the last quote:

  • “Both poets use symbols because some experiences are too layered to explain directly;a symbol doesn’t just describe that feeling, it makes you live inside it for a moment.”

• Say: Every quote has a lead-in before it and an explanation after it that also serves as a transition. The quote is never doing the work alone.

Student Sample Paragraph:

Symbolism is an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures, because it lets poets show feelings that are too complex to state directly. In the moment when the speaker imagines her mother tongue returning in a dream, Bhatt writes that “the bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth.” The blooming flower symbolizes the return of her Indian identity—instead of saying “I miss my culture,” the image makes readers feel the relief of something coming back to life. LaRocca captures the same tension through a different symbol—not a plant, but water. In the opening of “Two,” Reha says “At school I swim in a river of white skin” but on weekends she “float[s] in a sea of brown skin and black hair.” The river and sea symbolize two entirely different environments, making the reader feel the difference between those two worlds, not just understand it. Both poets use symbols because some experiences are too layered to explain directly. A symbol doesn’t just describe that feeling, it makes you live inside it for a moment.

Say these Directions: As you draft, check your work for these four things:

1. a clear topic sentence that matches your claim,

2. a text landmark before each quotation,

3. at least one explanation sentence that tells how the symbol supports your argument.

4. clear transitional words, clauses, and phrases that connect your ideas.

Part B: Add a Counterclaim That Pushes Back (W.7.4) (12 minutes)

[FLAG: non-standard routine — tagging inferred]

Teach: Counterclaim Paragraphs

• Say: A counterclaim paragraph begins by introducing the other side’s claim.

  • First, I can ask myself: If someone disagreed with me, what would they say about symbolism in these poems?

• Say: Next, I concede a little by admitting why that view makes sense, but I do not stop there.

  • This is a believable counterclaim: “Symbolism can be indirect, and some readers might prefer a plain statement.”

  • Then, I will use however to pivot back to my argument and explain why symbolism still works better in the poems.

• Say: A strong counterclaim makes my essay sound more thoughtful because it shows that I have considered more than one point of view.

Structured Paragraphs

Say these Directions: Draft a counterclaim paragraph in your journal or Student Edition. Start by naming what someone who disagrees with you might say about symbolism, then answer that idea with a rebuttal. If you finish early, begin your conclusion by restating your position in a fresh way.

• Ask: What is one believable counterclaim a reader could make about symbolism in these poems?

  • A reader could argue that symbolism is too indirect and that the poets should just say how it feels to live between cultures. That is believable because some of the symbols may seem strange at first.

• Ask: How can you answer that counterclaim?

  • I can answer it by saying the indirect images are exactly why the poems work. The images make the emotions feel more real and layered than a plain statement would.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Lesson 17 Writing Rubric: Argument Paragraph — Is Symbolism an Effective Craft Choice?

Writing prompt: Write an argument paragraph developing a clear position on whether symbolism is an effective way to express living between two cultures in Red, White & Whole. Support your position with evidence from the novel-in-verse and explain your reasoning.

Have students reflect on where their writing moves from summary to argument using specific evidence.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Today, you practiced one of the hardest parts of literary analysis: taking a position and developing it with evidence and reasoning. In the performance task, you will need to do this same kind of work when you explain how imagery or symbolism reveals an important connection. The clearer your claim, commentary, and counterclaim are now, the stronger your full analysis will be later.

• Ask: Which part of your draft most clearly moves beyond summary and into argument? In 3–4 sentences, name that part and cite at least two specific details from the poems that helped you make your point.

  • The part of my draft that most clearly moves beyond summary and into argument is my explanation of the water symbols in “Two.” I wasn’t just describing Reha’s two worlds—I was arguing that the river and sea mean something different from each other. LaRocca could have written “I have two separate lives,” but instead she chose symbols that make you feel how different those worlds are to exist inside.

Instruct students to complete writing their argumentative essays and answer the following prompt in their Journal:

• Is symbolism an effective way for a writer to express the experience of living between two cultures?