Lesson 41: Literary Analysis and Original Poem: Draft Essays

Place students in pairs. Invite students to skim the checklist in the Student Edition and jot one note before speaking.

Turn-and-Talk

• Say: In the previous lesson, we gathered ideas about how LaRocca uses images and symbols to show Reha’s connections to family, culture, and grief. Today, we are using those ideas in drafting a literary analysis. This matters because the literary analysis is one half of your Performance Task, and today helps you move from notes to real writing.

Say these Directions: Take out the working claim you wrote yesterday. Today, you will revise that claim into a clear thesis and begin building your full analysis. Read through the checklist. Decide one part that feels strong and one part you still need to work on. As you read, focus especially on how well your writing explains what the image or symbol accomplishes, not just what it says. Turn to your partner and share one strength and one question.

Literary Analysis Checklist

• I name the poem I am analyzing.

• I write a thesis that explains what the poem does and how.

• I choose a specific image or symbol as evidence.

• I explain what that choice reveals about Reha.

• I use clear sentences so my phrases and clauses point to the right idea.

• I reread and revise to strengthen commentary and clarity.

• Ask: Which part of the checklist feels clearest to you right now, and which part do you still have a question about?

  • One part that feels clear to me is choosing evidence because I already know which line from my poem I want to use. My question is about commentary because I am not always sure how to explain what the image reveals about Reha instead of just paraphrasing the line.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Today, you will focus on one key writing move: explaining what an image does, not just what it says. This is what makes literary analysis strong.

Use this mini-lesson to make the writing move visible. Students should see one sentence that describes and one that analyzes so the distinction is concrete before drafting. This routine focuses on how authors’ choices create meaning and how writers clearly express that thinking.

Language Study

• Say these Directions: Today we are working on a key writing move for literary analysis. You are going to look at three lines from a poem and notice the difference between a sentence that describes what the line says and a sentence that analyzes what the line accomplishes.

Display the lines from “Two” on page 1:

I have two lives.

One that is Indian,

one that is not (p.1).

Teach: Deconstruct the Lines (Language Study Step)

• Say: Let’s examine each line:

  • “I have two lives” → suggests separation or division

  • “one that is Indian” → one identity or cultural connection

  • “one that is not” → contrast or tension

• Ask: What does each line of poetry suggest about how Reha sees herself? Let’s examine two sentences that interpret the lines.

  • Sentence 1: The speaker says she has two lives, one Indian and one not.

  • Sentence 2: By stating that she has “two lives,” LaRocca emphasizes a division in Reha’s identity, revealing how she feels split between her Indian and American worlds

• Say: I want to notice first that Sentence 1 mostly tells me the content of the line. It answers the question “What literally happens in the poem right here?”

• Say: Sentence 2 goes further because it explains the effect of LaRocca’s choice, not just the words. Strong analysis uses verbs like emphasizes, reveals, suggests, or shows because those verbs help us explain what the craft move does.

• Say: This is the difference between description and analysis: description tells what the line says, while analysis explains what the author’s choice does.

• Say: I also want to make sure my opening phrase is attached to the right idea. If I wrote “By stating that she has two lives, Reha’s identity is shown,” the phrase is not clearly attached to the actor. It is clearer to write “By stating that she has two lives, LaRocca emphasizes Reha’s divided identity.” That clear placement of the phrase helps the sentence sound precise and makes my analysis easier to follow.

• Ask: Which sentence is description, which sentence is analysis, and how can you tell the difference?

  • Sentence 1 is description because it just tells what the line says. Sentence 2 is analysis because it explains what LaRocca does with the idea of “two lives” and what that reveals about Reha.

• Ask: How does clear phrase placement help the analytical sentence make more sense?

  • Clear phrase placement helps because the sentence shows that LaRocca is the one making the choice in the poem. That makes the commentary more precise and avoids confusion.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Now that you can tell the difference between description and analysis, you are ready to plan and draft your own literary analysis with stronger commentary.

Part A: Planning Thesis, Evidence, and Commentary (W.7.5)

Students should work with the poem they selected for the Performance Task. Have them use their notes, sticky-note annotations, or marked pages from earlier lessons.

Think-Pair-Write-Share

• Say these Directions: Copy this chart into your notes, and use this structure to organize your analysis:

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Teach: Planning before Writing

• Say: Yesterday, you wrote a working claim. Today, you will expand that idea into a clear plan by developing your thesis, evidence, and commentary.

• Say: When I begin a literary analysis, I do not try to write the whole essay at once. I make three clear decisions: my thesis (what the poem does and how), my evidence (one specific line, image, or symbol), and my commentary (what that choice reveals about Reha).

• Say: Strong writers also make sure their commentary explains the effect of the author’s choice, not just what the line says. That means using analysis verbs like reveals, emphasizes, or suggests.

• Say: Planning in this order helps me revise with purpose because I can check that each part is doing its job. Make sure your claim explains not just what the symbol or image reveals, but why this symbol or image is strong evidence for your analysis (for example, it repeats, connects across moments, or carries central meaning).

• Say: First, think quietly about the poem you chose and the one image or symbol you want to analyze. Next, explain to your partner what your poem accomplishes with that image or symbol and how. Then write your thesis, evidence, and commentary in your journal using the three-part structure. Make sure your commentary includes an analysis verb and explains what the author’s choice accomplishes.

• Ask: What image or symbol from your selected poem will anchor your analysis, and what does it reveal about Reha?

  • In my poem, I want to focus on the image of blood because it can represent both family connection and fear. The symbol reveals that Reha feels close to her mother but is also scared by what a blood-rooted illness is doing to their family.

Part B: Drafting the Analysis (W.7.5, L.7.1.c)

Students should draft in their journals or on journal paper. Emphasize progress over completion; the goal is to begin a strong draft that they can revise in the next lesson. Focus on drafting one strong thesis and on the evidence-commentary section. You will continue building your full draft in the next lesson.

Modeled Writing

Teach: Drafting Your Analysis

• Say: I am going to turn my plan into a draft by following the same three-part structure. First, I write a thesis that explains what the poem does and how. Next, I include one strong piece of evidence instead of summarizing the whole poem. Then I write commentary that explains what that choice reveals about Reha. As I draft, I check: Am I explaining what the author’s choice does, not just what it says? Am I using an analysis verb like reveals, emphasizes, or suggests? Is my opening phrase clearly connected to the subject in the sentence?

• Say:If I notice I am only retelling the poem, I pause and revise my sentence to explain the effect of the author’s choice.

Say these Directions: Use your completed chart from Part A to draft the beginning of your literary analysis in your journal. Write at least one clear thesis, one piece of evidence, and one commentary section.

As you draft, make sure your writing uses an analysis verb (reveals, emphasizes, suggests), explains what the author’s choice does, and includes at least one sentence with an appropriately placed phrase or clause. As you begin drafting, keep the checklist in mind. Does your commentary explain what the image does, not just what it says?

• Say: Now draft a paragraph based upon a completed row of your planning chart.

  • The poem “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” uses the symbol of confined hair to reveal Reha's longing to belong freely in American life, even as her Indian identity holds her in place. LaRocca writes, "I want to free my hair from this ponytail, this braid, / toss it over my shoulders / to unfurl in curly glory" (p. 3). LaRocca emphasizes the gap between what Reha desires and what she is permitted, using the braided hair as a symbol for all the cultural rules that keep her from fitting in. The word "unfurl" suggests something natural and powerful being held back. Reha doesn't just want to look different; she wants to finally reveal her whole self.

Say these Directions: As you draft, use this checklist to check your work for:

• a thesis that names what the poem does and how

• one specific image or symbol as evidence

• commentary that explains what the choice reveals about Reha

• one sentence with a clearly placed phrase or clause

Scoring Rubric

The Performance Task Rubric is located on the second page of the Performance Task Handout:

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Return to the checklist and reread what you wrote today. Then make a short plan for how you will further your literary analysis in the next lesson. If you’d like, use the optional sentence starter to frame your response:

Optional Sentence Starter: Next, I will strengthen my analysis by _____.

• Ask: Which part of your literary analysis will you accomplish next, and what is your plan for doing so? Use the checklist and refer to textual evidence from your selected poem.

  • Next, I want to strengthen my commentary on the line where Reha describes wanting to "unfurl" her hair because right now I don't fully connect it back to her identity. I also want to add a second piece of evidence from later in the poem where Amma's voice interrupts Reha's wishes so my analysis shows the tension from both sides. My plan is to reread those lines, add two commentary sentences using the phrase “This reveals . . . ,” and check that my opening phrases clearly point to LaRocca as the one making the craft choice.

Instruct students to reread their selected poem and expand their draft. Then, ask them to complete the following tasks in their Journal:

• Highlight one sentence from your draft that is mostly description and revise it so it becomes analytical.

• Proofread for phrase or clause placement and revise for clarity if needed.