B”H

English Literature

Instructor: Mrs. Karen Guth

Yael Noiman

Pre-Reading Component

Discussion

We all came from somewhere, a family, a tradition, a place .These factors create who we are and affect our choices.

Many times teenagers try to rebuff or are ashamed of their roots in their struggle to reach an independent personality.

The aim of this discussion and its following assignment is to make students understand they should be respectful and feel proud of their roots while forming an independent personality.

T

The following quote on the board:

. Know from where you came, where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give a

judgement and accounting.(Pirkei Avot 3;1)

Leading Questions

How would you explain this Mishnah?

What is our "common background"?

What is "personal background"?

What does the word "roots" signify? Give examples

What features in your family can be traced to their "roots"?

How significant are "roots"?

How much do they affect our lives?

Should anyone ever deny his\her "roots"?

My Roots

Try to define your “roots” . In what ways do you recognize inside you your "roots" and in what ways are you different? Present your " roots" to your class.

Basic Understanding

Low Frequency vocabulary

Key Vocabulary

squatגוץ\שפוף

snugהצטנף

rasping soundקול שפשוף

spadeאת

gravellyמכוסה חצץ

straining rumpאחוריים מאומצים )מאמץ(

coarseגס

shaftמוט

leveredהניף, העלה

turfאדמת עשב, שטח

corkedאטום

heaving (heave)מושך במאמץ רב

sodגוש אדמה עם עשב

mould (mold)העלה עובש, התעפש

peatחומר אורגני לדישון והסקה

squelchמעיכה

slapרמיסה

curtחד

cuts of an edgeחתיכות של קצה

drillמזרעה

nickingלחתוך

High Frequency Vocabulary

Complete the sentences with the suitable word.

edge rhythms sinks nestled rooted up buried firmly sloppilystraightened-up soggy stooped slice neatly handles

1. The temperature______________quickly after the sun sets.

2. The cereal got all _______________.

3. She enjoyed the________________of country life.

4. He ________________ his head against his mother's shoulder.

5. Stop the bleeding by pressing _________________

6. They made a mess, ______________plants and flowers.

7. He ___________________the box in the back garden.

8. She usually ties her ponytail __________________.

9. He slowly ______________________, using the table for support.

10. Linda _______________________to pick up the bottles.

11. ____________________the onion into rings.

12. I folded the shirts and put them _____________ in the closet.

13. He made us all nervous by standing so close to the ___________ of the cliff.

14. He _____________ his motorcycle well.

Questions

1. What connection is there between the poet and the characters in the poem?

2. What is the characters' occupation? Does the poet share the same job?

3. How is their work described in the poem?

4. What smells and sounds comes to life in the poet's head?

Explicit Hots Teaching

Task #1: Hots

Comparing and Contrasting

The teacher will read the children's book: Apples and Oranges: Going Bananas with Pairs by Sara Pinto. This book is a funny and cute opening

That will help the students begin to understand comparing and contrasting.

Afterwards, we will learn from the Comparing and Contrasting Presentation . This explains comparing and contrasting and demonstrates their use.

Practice: pictures of home and nest on the board. The students will compare and contrast the two pictures. They will use a Venn Diagram to record their answers.

Task #2

Literary Terms: Metaphors and Similes

Simile: Comparing between two unlike or dissimilar things (using "like" or "as"). Line two contains a simile.

For example: The sisters are like two peas in a pod.

Metaphor: Using the characteristics of one thing to describe another. In other words, a metaphor is a way to compare by saying one thing is another thing.

For example: Friendship is eternal sunshine. He was drowning in paperwork

Write either a metaphor or a simile using the word pairs below:

Owl, smart

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Computer, vehicle

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paintbrush, magic wand

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Waves, lions

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Using metaphor and simile in the poem

1. Throughout the poem, the term "digging" is used metaphorically. What does it

imply?

2. How does the simile show the writer's attitude to his "pen"?

Analysis and Interpretation

Questions

1. Throughout the poem, the term "digging" is used metaphorically. What does it imply?

2. Heaney compares his pen to a gun. What does he try to say by this simile? Compare and contrast "pen" and "gun".

3. Compare and contrast the first stanza of the poem with the last, considering specifically the replacement of “snug as a gun” (2) with “I’ll dig with it” (31). What kind of attitude toward the speaker’s work does each phrase suggest?

4. What is the general attitude of the speaker towards his family and their chosen livelihood?

5. What similarities are there between writing and digging for potatoes or peat?

Answers

1. The term "digging" is used metaphorically to imply a certain way of living. The line "But I've no spade to follow men like them" (26) especially conveys this meaning, as the speaker doesn't possess the intentions or the desire to live as his father and grandfather did. Instead of the way of the life the spade denotes, he chooses the pen and the life it signifies, saying, "I'll dig with it" (31) in the final line. Although he obviously cannot dig with a pen, in this sentence the meaning is purely metaphorical to represent the speaker's choosing his own path.

2. While it doesn't quite look the same, both holding a pen and a gun require your finger and your thumb. Both pens and guns are tools, albeit for totally different jobs. We typically think of writing as something peaceful and contemplative, which is what the word "snug" makes us think of – snuggled up, tight, secure. Yet, Heaney jolts us awake by saying that writing is like holding a gun, which conjures up images of violence and unrest. Heaney’s intention in using this simile is to prove the power of his “pen” . He uses his pen as powerful as a gun, which makes also his thoughts and ideas powerful, as well.

3. The first and last stanzas are the same, except Heaney added “I’ll dig with it” to the last stanza, referring to the speaker’s pen. As it says in the first stanza, the pen rests as “snug as a gun” in his hand, suggesting that he feels comfortable

with the pen, and the pen fits well in his hand. Throughout the poem, he watches his father dig outside, “Stooping in rhythm through the potato drills.” He sees how well his father digs; how he has been digging for his whole life: “Bends low, comes up twenty years away.” The fifth and sixth stanzas describe the young man’s grandfather digging out his years as well. The speaker says, “Through living roots awaken in my head, but I’ve no spade to follow men like them,” connoting his desire to follow a different path. He takes the strong qualities that he has seen growing up in his father and grandfather, and uses them with writing. The last stanza says, “I’ll dig with it,” showing how he will use his pen to dig like his elders. The young man is breaking the tradition, however, he will still dig with the pen, symbolizing the spade, but this time through writing

4. The general attitude of the poet towards his family and their chosen livelihood in the poem "Digging" is reverence. Heaney shows a great respect for his father and grandfather. Although he does not necessarily want to follow in their footsteps, he realizes that they picked a tough job and he commends them for it. Heaney looks up to his father and grandfather. "My father digging, I look down Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds Bends low" "By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man." Instead of Heaney carrying on his family tradition of digging, he is saying that he will dig with his pen. He would strive to become the best writer he could be in order to make his father proud.

5. "Digging" certainly takes skill, physical overworking and a tool – a spade or shovel. This also applies to writing which demands the skill, talent hard work if one wishes to succeed and tool- the pen.

Bridging Text and Context

Read the information below and answer its following question.

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Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) 1939-2013) was born in in Northern Ireland, the eldest member of a catholic family of nine children. His father owned and worked a small farm. Potato Farming was a major industry in Irish agriculture in those daysHeaney won many prizes for his writing and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995

"There are lots of people I admire and respect, but I don't necessarily want to be like them. I'm too happy being myself."

James D'arcy

How does the new information about Heany and the quote connect to the poem "Digging"? Include examples from the poem to support the connection which you made.

Heaney admires his father and grandfather. He admires their work ethics and skills. You get a sense that he wants so much to be like them, even though he never will be. His admiration for them and for their culture seems to have begun at a very young age." My grandather cut more turf in a day/than any other man on Toner's bog."

‘By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man.” This divine admiration in the work of his forefathers highlights Heaney's connection to his family religious culture, even though he has chosen a different line of work. In fact perhaps it's because he admires his forefathers so much that he tries to be as hard working as they are. He grows up looking up to them. And his admiration shapes the person the speaker becomes in his adult life: “The squat pen rests. I will dig with it." He is strictly adherent

to tradition and custom in Irish culture, so, Heaney himself will now dig in the linguistic sense of culture.

Heaney’s wish is to link between work and rich culture. His achievements and above all- winning of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 prove his keeping his culture of hard work like his ancestors and is a fulfillment of his wish.

Post-reading Component

Choose one of the following:

Create a dialogue between the speaker and his father.

Draw a cartoon or make a PowerPoint presentation depicting your interpretation of the poem.

Write an interview with Seamus Heany and have him explain the main message of his poem.

Summative Assessment

Module F: Digging/ Seamus Heaney

LOTS questions (questions are worth 5 points each):

Question 1: Who are the characters in the poem?

Answer : The speaker, his father and grandfather. Men of three generation.

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Question 2: What are the characters' occupations?

Answer : The speaker’s father and grandfather’s occupation is digging potatoes and peat. The speaker doesn’t share the same job. He is a writer.

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Question 3: What places does the poet describe in his poem?

Answer : The poem opens with our speaker at his desk. But then, through his reminiscences, it moves back in time to the potato field and peat bog where his father and grandfather worked.

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Question 4 : What smells and sounds comes to life in the poet's head?

Answer: The poet recalles the sounds and smells of working the land: The rasping sound the spade was making when it sank into the ground. The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge and the cool hardness of the potato.

HOTS questions (questions are worth 10 points each)

Question 5 : What does the speaker think of his father's and grandfather's work?

i) It's pointlessii) He respects their hard-working attitudes

iii) He is afraid they will hurt themselvesiv) He is jealous of all the time they spend in the field.

Answer: ii) He respects their hard-working attitudes.

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Question 6: There are repeated references to the spade and shovel. Why? What those tools represent?

Answer: The spade and shovel symbolize hard work. By repeating references to the spade and shovel Heany emphasizes the value of manual labor.

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Question 7 : When the lines "Between my finger and my thumb/ The squat pen rests" are repeated at the end, has the meaning changed from when you read them at the beginning? How so?

Answer : This use of repetition serves to bring the poem in a circle, as the speaker arrives back where he began but now sees things in a different way. At the beginning he expresses the gap between him and his forefather. At the end he sees how he is able to continue his forefathers’ tradition with his device.

Extended HOTS questions (question are worth 15 points each):

Question 8 : Do you think the speaker is unhappy that he's not a potato farmer like his father and grandfather? Why or why not? Support your answer with proof from the poem. What thinking skills did you use to answer this question and how did you use it?

Answer:

Thinking Skill: Inferring.

I infer the speaker is both happy and unhappy at the same time. On one hand he is unhappy that he could not simply follow his forefathers. He uses a negative sentence to tell that he cannot do this work.: " But I’ve no spade to follow men

like them". On the other hand he is happy to find and follow his talent and love: writing. "I'll dig with it”.

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Question 9: Why does Heaney compare the spade to the pen?

What thinking skills did you use to answer this question and how did you use it?

Answer:

Thinking Skill: Comparing and Contrasting.

A pen might harm just like weapon. When it is used for a bad purpose: writing an evil gossip for example. Though his pen isn't quite as great as the spades of his father and grandfather, he's decided to be as skilled as he possibly can with it. The grandfather and father are the very best at digging potatoes. Our speaker isn't so good at farming, but he knows that his calling is to be a writer. So he will be good at that, too.

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Question 10:

"Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots." Victor Hugo

How does the quote connect to the poem? Give at least one example of the connection to the text.

Answer : One should have the freedom to be himself, and to find his individual uniqueness. He should be able to voice his opinions. At the same time, there should be a commitment to principles, to norms and customs.

This is what "Digging" is all about. On one hand the author finds his own path in life and he does not have a "spade to follow men" like his ancestors. But at the same time he does not neglect his culture. He still adheres to his roots. He keeps the desire of "digging" which represents his culture of hard labor: The squat pen rests, I’ll dig with it." Heaney wishes to be a successor, only with a different device.

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Analysis and Interpretation:

Look at the picture. How do you think each person listed below will react?

3. a meteorologist

Analysis and Interpretation:

HOTS

Dana

What can you infer about Dana?

Unit Graphic Organizer (UGO)

Literary terms

One of the literary terms featured in the poem is that of Simile.

simile: Expressing an idea by comparing one thing with an aspect of another thing, using ‘like’ or ’as…as…’ to show similarity. For example: He is as brave as a lion. In our

poem: "The squat pen rests' snug as a gun"

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Pre-Reading Activity

Discussion

We all came from somewhere, a family, a tradition, a place .These factors create who we are and affect our choices.

. Know from where you came, where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give a judgement and accounting.(Pirkei Avot 3;1)

How would you explain this Mishnah?

What does the word "roots" signify? Give examples

How significant are "roots"?

Characters:

1. The speaker2. His father3. His grandfather.

Setting (time and place):

1. The speaker is sitting his desk in the present.2. The potato field and peat bog where his

forefathers used to work in the past.

Post-Reading Activity

Choose one of the following:

Create a dialogue between the speaker and his father.

Write an interview with Seamus Heany and have him explain the main message of his poem.

Summary of Events

1. The speaker is at his desk with his pen between his fingers.

2. He reminisces about digging in the field, and of sounds and sensations of digging potatoes and peat.

3. He reminisces aboutgrandfatherr cutting turf and bringing him milk to drink.

4. The speaker comes back to the present- at his desk with a conclusion for his self-fulfillment: He will dig with his pen.

Complete the sentences with the suitable words.

Edge rhythms sinks nestled rooted up buried sloppily straightened-up soggy stooped

slice neatly handles

The temperature______________quickly after the sun

The cereal got all _______________.She enjoyed the________________of country life.

________________ his head against his mother's shoulder.Stop the bleeding by pressing _________________

They made a mess, ______________plants and

Title: Digging

Author: Seamus Heaney

Student Name:

Date:________

Bridging Text and Context

"Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots." Victor Hugo

How does the quote connect to the poem?

One should have the freedom to be himself, and to find his individual uniqueness. He should be able to voice his opinions. At the same time, there should be a commitment to principles, to norms and customs.

This is what "Digging" is all about. On one hand the author finds his own path in life and he does not have a "spade to follow men" like his ancestors. But at the same time he does not neglect his culture. He still adheres to his roots. He keeps the desire of "digging" which represents his culture of hard labor: The squat pen rests, I’ll dig with it." Heaney wishes to be a successor, only with a different device.

Poem Pouch

1. a pen

2. a potato

3. a bottle of milk

4. a picture of spades

5. a picture of digging potatoes in Ireland in the past

6. a picture of digging peat

DiggingBy Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumbThe squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping soundWhen the spade sinks into gravelly ground:5 My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbedsBends low, comes up twenty years awayStooping in rhythm through potato drillsWhere he was digging.

10 The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaftAgainst the inside knee was levered firmly.He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deepTo scatter new potatoes that we picked,Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

15 By God, the old man could handle a spade.Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a dayThan any other man on Toner's bog.Once I carried him milk in a bottle20 Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened upTo drink it, then fell to right awayNicking and slicing neatly, heaving sodsOver his shoulder, going down and downFor the good turf. Digging.

25 The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slapOf soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edgeThrough living roots awaken in my head.But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb30 The squat pen rests.I'll dig with it.