Thank You, Ma’am

By Langston Hughes

Literary Analysis Focus: Types of Conflict

Central Conflict

-The main problem in the story.

-It develops throughout the story and is solved at the end

Other Conflicts

-minor problems the characters face.

-The entire story DOES NOT revolve around them!!!

A story can have MANY conflicts but only ONE Central Conflict

Conflicts Are Divided into Two Groups
Internal	External-Struggle between the character and some outside force
Character vs. Himself A struggle within a character i.e. decision, choice	Character vs. Nature
	Character vs. Another Character
	Character vs. Society
	Character vs. Object

Exit Pass

Internal and External Conflict

Complete on an index card

Conflict	Internal	External	Which type?
1. Maria and her brother argue about who gets to sit in the front seat of the car
2. A farmer and his family must find a way to survive a terrible flood.
3. Sue is angry with herself for missing an easy question on a test.
4. The captain of a ship tries to sail through a dangerous storm.
5. James can’t decide what to do tonight. Should he stay home and study or go to a movie?
6.	X
7.		X

Selection Vocabulary

Directions: Use your glossary to define the following words.

Word	Definition
Barren	Empty, deserted
Frail	Weak, fragile, delicate
Mistrust	To have no confidence in
Presentable	Fit to be seen by people
Suede	Leather with a soft, fuzzy surface

Directions: Choose the synonym that best expresses the meaning of the underlined Word to Know. Write the correct answer.

Sentence	Synonyms	Answer
A frail railing was all that separated us from the edge of the cliff	-unsubstantial -in poor health -delicate	Unsubstantial
He tried to make his stained T-shirt presentable by bleaching it.	-respectable -fit to be seen -suitable	Fit to be seen
Mistrust of the water led the hiker to boil it before she put it in her canteen	-doubt -suspicion -wariness	wariness
We saw only rocks as we surveyed the barren desert landscape-not a single plant or animal	-infertile -unprofitable -desolate	desolate

Directions: In each blank, write the word from the word list that the rhyme describes.

Rhyme	Word
This would describe a tree if all Its leaves had tumbled in the fall.	Barren
If they order coffee, but I bring them tea, My customers surely might do this to me.	Mistrust
If you go on a television show, You must be this (but not on radio).	Presentable
This might describe the year’s last rose When the fierce wind of autumn blows.	Frail
You might use this for shoes and vests and such, To make them warm to wear and soft to touch	suede

Directions: On your own sheet of paper to turn in, write a sentence for each vocabulary word that contains context clues. A person who does not understand the word should be able to figure it out when they read your sentence. Use the above sentences as a guide.

(GRADED)

Build Background

Langston Hughes, The Harlem Renaissance, and Jazz music

Connect to Literature

Examine the underlying meaning of the following African proverb:

"It takes a village to raise a child."

Not all teachers are found in school. Has there been someone outside of school that has taught you an important lesson?

Preview:

Predict:

Purpose Question:

Examine conflicts in the story

Directions: Go through "Thank You, Ma'am" and record conflicts on the chart below. Then check whether the conflict is Internal or External. Which one is the Central Conflict? Partner

Conflict	Internal	External	Central?
Sample: Roger and Mrs. Jones fight over her purse		X
Purse Strap and boy; breaks		X object
Roger doesn’t have anyone at home		X society
Boy is being dragged in a half nelson to her house; wants TO BE LET GO		X character
Mrs. Jones struggled with her own past	X
Thank you m’am or something more	x
Boys wants blue suede shoes	x
Can’t decide whether to run out or not	x

Critical Thinking Questions (WHILE YOU READ)

Question

1. What does the woman do to the boy after he tries to steal her purse?

2. What do you think Mrs. Jones is going to do to the boy?

3. How would you evaluate the way Mrs. Jones treats Roger?

4. How would you have reacted in Mrs. Jones’s place?

5. Make inferences about Roger’s home life?

6. What might be some other reasons why Roger tries to steal?

7. What types of conflict is Roger experiencing in paragraph labeled A.

8. Characterize Mrs. Jones

9. Why doesn’t Roger run out of the room when he has the chance?

10. Why do you think Mrs. Jones told Roger about the things she wanted but “could not get”?

11. Mrs. Jones left her purse unattended and went into the other room. What is revealed by her action?

12. What was revealed by Roger’s action when he slid over so she could see him from the other room? Is Roger changing?

13. Do you think Roger did the right thing by giving Roger ten dollars?

14. Explain the phrase: “because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet.”

15. The last paragraph begins with “The boy wanted to say something else but couldn’t do it.” What else do you think he would have like to be able to say to her besides “Thank you”.

16. Analyse how Roger’s view of Mrs. Jones changed from the beginning to the end of the story.

17. Do you think at the beginning if Roger had been successful in stealing the purse, would he have bought shoes with the money? At the end, now that he has been given $10, will he use it to buy shoes?

18. Create a theme statement.

19. What is the central conflict and climax?

Inferencing

Teacher Led Discussion

Inference situation one:

Three boys are walking down the street. Peter has just shoved his allowance money into his pocket. Ed and Tommy start patting Peter on the back. They are telling him what a good friend he is and what a good football player he is. They also tell him how smart he is. It seems they just can’t compliment him enough.

Inference situation two:

Andrew and his mom and dad are all outside in their yard in the snow building a snowman. After only five minutes, Andrew heads for the front door to his house. He’s had enough. Mom and Dad look very surprised.

Inference situation three:

You ask your sister how she did on her chemistry test. She replies by slamming down her books on a table and snapping, “It’s none of your business!”

Group Activity

Read “The Snake Dance” and answer the following inference questions:

Inferencing-Individual Activity

Inference situation one:

Your older sister and two friends have been singing together for over a year now. They practice for at least an hour a day because they hope to become big stars. So far, they’ve appeared only in amateur talent shows, but today they were supposed to have an audition with an important recording studio. You’ve just gotten home from school when your sister burst through the front singing, with a big smile on her face.

Inference situation two:

Maybe I’ll put my head under the pillow- No, that’s no good at all. I can imagine him, whoever he is, sneaking up on me. Ok, that does it. I’m going to get up and stay up, put the lights on in the living room, and turn on the television. Oh, I hate going into the dark….There! Overhead light on, floor lamp on, TV on, nice and loud. Now I’ll sit down and relax and watch the---

Hey, what was that? Oh. Old houses creak, remember? If it creaked when Russell was here, it will creak while he is away. It’s only your imagination, that’s what it is. And the more sleepy you get, the more vivid your imagination will get.

PLOT LINE

BCR Question:

-After reading “Thank You, M’am” explain the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Use events from the story to help support your explanation particularly Mrs. Jones’ role in Roger’s life.

Pd 3

The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is expressed clearly through Mrs. Jones’ actions toward Roger in the story “Thank You, M’am”.

Explain proverb

(Brain Info)

Connect to story

(Text Info)

-many different kinds of people are needed to help raise children.

-different people teach different things.

-helps when families are not able to raise a child effectively.

-Roger didn’t have a family.

-Mrs. Jones didn’t know Roger but saw a need.

-taught respect (tried to steal; left purse out/did not ask personal ?/share experiences

-fed him

Pd 1

BCR Question:

The saying “ “ relates to the story because of Mrs. Jones actions.

Explain proverb

(Brain Info)

Connect to story

(Text Info)

-Need more than parents to help care for a child.

-Parents sometimes can’t provide everything for you.

-Older people provide experience and wisdom

-Different skills to help support child.

-Mrs. Jones, stranger, but took him home

-saw a need-face dirty, hunger, late at night

-fed him, bonded w/him, trust, shared, respect, money

-learned a lesson

Pd 4

BCR Question:

Explain proverb

(Brain Info)

Connect to story

(Text Info)

Pd 5

BCR Question:

The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is shown in the story “Thank You, M’am”.

-Start discussing what Mrs. Jones does

-Connect to the proverb.

Explain proverb

(Brain Info)

Connect to story

(Text Info)

-children need more than their parents to raise them successfully.

-Different people can provide different knowledge & perspective.

-Roger did not have a family at home to raise him properly.

-Mrs. Jones took him home to feed and clean him, helped him realize that stealing was wrong, caring, trust, respect,

Compare Movie and Short Story

Similarities

Differences

Steals the purse

gue

Hold him all the way home

Washes face

Has to make choices

Story is 50’s/Movie is 70’s

Movie-daytime

He doesn’t struggle in the movie

Not a half nelson

Doesn’t seems as scared

More rooms; not a single

Story didn’t have him dropping the towel and then deciding to pick it up.

Saw him roll his eyes

“everybody’s got something in common”

Comes into the kitchen with her instead of scooting over

Eating chicken instead of ham

In the movie she asked him a question about family during dinner.

She’s a nurse in the movie not a hairdresser

$20 instead of $10

In movie, he says Thank you after she closes the door

Study Guide

Test Items	What to Study
General conflict questions	Internal and External conflict notes
Comprehension questions	Review plot line
Vocabulary questions	Vocabulary activities
External/Internal Conflicts	Re-read story/Conflict activity
If you have lost any of the activities, they are all located on the website under "Thank You, Ma'am" Work Packet

Review for Thank You M’am

In one word describe Mrs. Jones when Roger tries to steal her purse.

What is Mrs. Jones’ MAIN reason for taking Roger home?

How does Roger feel about Mrs. Jones right after she takes him home?

Why does Mrs. Jones tell Roger about her past?

Why does Mrs. Jones leave Roger alone in the room with her purse?

Why does Roger decide to slide into Mrs. Jones’ view?

Paraphrase “Shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet”

Why does Roger find is difficult to say more that “Thank You, M’am”?

Use two traits to describe Mrs. Jones’s character throughout the story.

What does Roger learn by the end of the story?

Use PRESENTABLE in a sentence.

Use FRAIL in a sentence.

Use BARREN in a sentence.

Inferencing

What is an inference?

What is the first step in inferring?

What is the second step in inferring?

Explain the second step.

What is the third step in inferring?

Explain the third step.

Internal and External Conflicts

Explain what an internal conflict is.

List two types of external conflicts.

How many central conflicts are there in a story?

How many conflicts can there be in a story?