Sweetness Lesson Plan

Historical and Cultural Context in “Sweetness”

Kind of Activity:

Research

Objective:

Students will do research to understand the context of the story.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5

Structure:

To begin the activity, ask students to describe the setting of “Sweetness” in 1-2 words. Students may choose words like “present day,” “Jim Crow,” “nursing home,” and others. Some students may guess that the story takes place in the South, though there is not evidence for that.

Then, inform students that Lula Ann was raised during the 1990s, so she would be a grown woman in the present day of the story. While we know the story takes place in the United States,...