


Their Eyes Were Watching God
This unit is designed before reading the novel.
Standard students will read the majority of this book in class. I alternate between
reading aloud, listening to the audio version, and independent reading.
Honors students will read outside of class with group discussion as a focus.
Introductory phase:
Day 1: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God: An Introductory Activity
Purpose: Hurston’s novel explores self actualization by focusing what’s important in
male-female relationships. This introductory lesson directs student attention, as they
begin to read, on these themes.
Time required: a double class period
Materials needed:
1) butcher paper (white or light); two long sheets per group
2) markers of two different colors (say, purple and green); two or
three of each color for each group
3) papers with the first discussion topic for each group
Before class: Obtain materials. Divide students by gender into groups of 3 – 5.
(To keep discussion flowing, no group should have less than three or more than
five.) Post the groups or have your list ready; some changes may be necessary if
students are absent.
In class:
1) Assign groups (one, two, etc.)
2) Explain that each group has about five minutes to determine and write down
who’ll take these important roles: a) a moderator, responsible for making sure
everyone speaks and that the group stays on task; b) a secretary, responsible
for recording the group’s ideas; and a reporter, responsible for recording and
explaining the group’s conclusions.
3) Take a list of roles from each group.
4) Introduce activity by telling students that the book they’re about to begin,
Their Eyes Were Watching God, deals a lot with male-female relationships.
Before they begin to read, you want them to think about their own
observations of male-female relationships. Once you’ve given each group its
topic, they’ll have ten minutes for discussion and five minutes to list their
ideas on butcher paper, so that each reporter will have a visual aid. Remind
the recorder that it’s important to jot down all ideas discussed. Remind the
moderator that time’s short and that it’s important that everyone contributes to
the discussion. Tell the groups that it’s important, at this stage, not to share
topics; that will happen later.
5) Hand each group a topic card and remind the students that they have ten
minutes to generate ideas. For female groups, the topic is what does a male
look for in a mate; for male groups, the topic is what does a female look for in
a mate.
6) Tell the groups when 5 minutes remain and when 2 minutes remain.
7) As group time comes to a close, place butcher paper and the purple markers
near each group.
8) Call time. Tell the groups that their mission now is to list their ideas on the
butcher paper, so that their reporter will have a visual aid. They have five
minutes.
9) Again, remind the groups of time remaining. (You can modify these times but
knowing that time’s short usually helps with this kind of listing.) When you
call time, ask each group to put its group number on its list.
10) Take up the paper and markers. Tell the students to stay in their groups, that,
before we begin our discussion, you want each group to consider one more
topic. Tell them that, again, they’ll have a total of 15 minutes. This time you
want them to think about themselves: Ladies, what does a woman really look
for in a man? Gentlemen, what does a man really look for in a woman?
Begin!
11) As the groups begin their discussion, give each group a piece of butcher and
three green markers.
12) Post the purple marker lists as the students work. Call time when ten minutes
remain. When five minutes remain, remind students that they need to make
their lists. When you call final time, remind each group to write its number on
the paper.
13) Except for reporters, students may return to their usual seats. Place reporters
at the front of the room, guys on one side and girls on the other, so that all
purple lists are clearly visible. Remind audience to take notes. First all male
reporters will present lists from their groups. Set the rule that, for this part of
the discussion, when the reporter has finished girls may ask questions but only
guys may answer. When all males have presented, it’s the girls’ turn! After
these groups have presented, guys may ask questions but only girls may
answer.
14) Post the green marker sheets which the guys wrote. Leave the purple marker
sheets which the girls wrote. Ask the male reporters to explain what they’ve
claimed men really look for. Lead a discussion of how well or poorly these
match what the girls thought men looked for.
15) Post the green marker sheets which the girls wrote. Leave the purple marker
sheets which the guys wrote. Ask the female reporters to explain what
they’ve claimed women really look for. Lead a discussion of how well or
poorly these match what the boys thought girls looked for.
16) Tell students to think about the process they just gone through. Do men
understand what women want? Do men understand what women want? Are
the qualities that men and women look for in an ideal mate similar . . . or
different? Have their own beliefs changed because of the day’s discussion?
(This works as an oral activity but could be a journal activity.)
Day 2: Begin reading folk tale by Zora Neale Hurston. Have students answer several
questions about the folk tale and discuss their findings.
Day 3: Complete dialect issues worksheet. Have class discussion about students’
translations. Have students listen to Ruby Dee’s introduction of the book Begin reading
and discussion of chapter one and two. Distribute unit long assignments:
A. Map
In this activity students draw a map of Florida in order to keep track of each place Janie
goes. On a separate piece of paper students chart the following: Janie's activities in each
place, quotes from the novel that describe each place, information about these
geographical locations from the Internet, and conclusions about what Janie learned from
each stop on her journey.
B. Double Entry Journal
Students keep a Double Entry Journal with quotes from the novel on the left side
and reflective responses on the right side. In this journal, students can follow themes such
as marriage, the role of women, issues of race, Janie's growth as a woman or the folkways
of the people. Standard should have 10 quotes and honors should have 20 quotes.
Other research/creative assignments:
Chapters 1-6
Research:
Choose 1 of the following research topics to complete.
1. Find a recipe for mulatto rice.
2. What is hoe-cake? How is it made?
3. Find out information on Big John de Conquer. ( Ck references on legendary heroes)
Creative assignments:
Choose 1 of the following creative assignments to complete.
1. You are Janie. Write Logan a note and leave it under his plate of hoe-cakes before you
leave for good.
2. You are Janie, sitting under the pear tree. What do you see, smell, hear, feel, and think
about? Write a poem or diary entry that captures the moment for you.
3. At the dragging of the mule, Starks leads off with a eulogy on the departed creature. Write
this eulogy.
Chapters 7-15
Research:
Choose 1 of the following research topics to complete.
1. Jody criticized the way Janie cut the tobacco. Find out more about plug tobacco
and how it was cut.
2. Find out more about the Everglades and Lake Okechobee.
3. Find out more about Eatonville.
Creative Assignments:
Choose 1 of the following creative assignments to complete.
1. You are Janie. Write a letter to an advice columnist about your husband, who is
constantly putting you down. Have a partner draft a response.
2. Suppose Janie keeps a dream diary. Write her entry about the dream she has the
night after she meets Tea Cake.
3. Suppose Janie had written a letter to Pheoby while worriedly waiting for Tea
Cake to return. Write the letter and have a partner draft Pheoby’s response.
Chapters 16-end
Research:
Choose 1 of the following research topics to complete.
1. Find out more about flip and coon-can and the other games Tea Cake and his friends
played while waiting out the storm.
2. Find out about the “Jim Crow Law” to which Tea Cake refers.
3. Find out about rabies.
Creative assignments:
Choose 1 of the following creative assignments to complete.
1. Write a character sketch of Mrs. Turner. Begin by describing in detail her particular
characteristics. Illustrate your description by referring to what she says and does. As part
of your sketch, write an episode that shows her after she has been driven out of town.
Your sketch should reveal a lot about the type of person she is.
2. Describe the thoughts going on in Tea Cake’s mind from the time he woke up and saw
Janie in the water to the moment when he killed the dog.
3. If you were to make a 1 hour video based on the novel, what episodes would you include?
What actors and actresses would you use.
Cumulative essay assignment: Topic: Janie was on a quest for love. She had three
relationships during this quest. In a five paragraph essay, thoroughly discuss the three
relationships that Janie had in her search for love.
http://www.4secondarysolutions.com/PDFSamples/TEWWG/Dialect_TEWWG.pdf
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1993/2/93.02.10.x.html