ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

UNDERSTANDING THE USE OF A COLON & PARALLELISM

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 15-20 minutes

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will analyze a section of Amy Tan's writing in The Hundred Secret Senses
• Students will learn how to use a colon.
• Students will learn how to use parallelism.

Materials Needed:

• A handout or overhead transparency of the writing sample below
• Each student should have his own writing sample (narratives work well, but doesn't have to be limited to this mode of writing)

Description

• Before reading the following passage aloud, tell students that the writer uses two grammatical/stylistic features effectively, colons and parallelism. While the passage is read the first time, ask students to figure out how Tan is using the colon.

  I taught her to point and call out the five elements that make up the physical world: metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

  I taught her what makes the world a living place: sunrise and sunset, heat and cold, dust and heat, dust and wind, dust and rain.

  I taught her what is worth listening to in this world: wind, thunder, horses galloping in the dust, pebbles falling in the water. I taught her what is frightening to hear: fast footsteps at night, soft cloth slowly ripping, dogs barking, the silence of crickets.

  I taught her two things mixed together produce another: water and dirt make mud, heat and water make tea, foreigners and opium make trouble.

  I taught her the five tastes that give us the memories of life: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty.

  Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses, pgs. 53-54

   

  Put the following sentence starter on the board:

  You use a colon when . . .

  Using the student's wording, write the rule for colon usage.

• Before the passage is read a second time, underline the areas marked below with an overhead marker. Use color if possible. Ask students to decide what they have in common. Using students' word choice, label each colored pattern in the margin.

   

  I taught her to point and call out the five elements that make up the physical world: metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

  I taught her what makes the world a living place: sunrise and sunset, heat and cold, dust and heat, dust and wind, dust and rain.

  I taught her what is worth listening to in this world: wind, thunder, horses galloping in the dust, pebbles falling in the water. I taught her what is frightening to hear: fast footsteps at night, soft cloth slowly ripping, dogs barking, the silence of crickets.

  I taught her two things mixed together produce another: water and dirt make mud, heat and water make tea, foreigners and opium make trouble.

  I taught her the five tastes that give us the memories of life: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty.

  Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses, pgs. 53-54

  • On an index card or piece of paper, ask students to "mimic" one of Tan's sentences. They should use her wording before the colon, but then add their own after it. For example, a student might choose, I taught her what makes the world a living place, and then add his own list of five noun pairs connected by "and" with the third through fifth pairs each starting with the same noun.
  • Put students in groups and let them share their sentences. Have the group vote on one winner to be placed in the "Language Hall of Fame." Post the winning sentences in the classroom.
  • Ask students to look through the paper they are currently writing for an appropriate place to use a colon and parallelism. Mark the selected sentence and write the revision above it or in the margin. (If a student says he cannot find a logical place for a colon, have him look through past writing assignments.)

Teacher's Notes

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