The Bean Trees Lesson Plan

Lou Ann's Point of View

Kind of Activity:

Creative Writing

Objective:

Students will think about perspective and write a diary entry from Lou Ann's point of view.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3

Structure:

While most of the novel is told in Taylor's first-person voice, several chapters, including Chapter 2, which introduces Lou Ann, are written in third person.

As a class, discuss why Kingsolver might have decided to write Lou Ann this way. Why doesn't she speak in a first-person voice like Taylor? What effect does this have on our understanding of her character?

Ask students to imagine the events of Lou Ann's chapter were written in the...