Lesson Overview:

Students will record images from Jonathon Edward’s sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," as well as selections from Puritan poets. They will learn how to support statements about Puritan theology by using quotes from the text. As a culminating activity, they will construct and perform a dialogue between Jonathon Edwards and a Native American.

Length of Lesson:

Two 45-minute class periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• explore how early American settlers and Native Americans viewed the relationships between the divine, nature, and the individual.
• learn the elements of narrative writing.
• learn about the structures, refrains, and elements of presenting narratives.
• sharpen research skills.
• increase cultural sensitivity and awareness.

Supplies:

• A copy of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by Jonathon Edwards
• Other examples of Puritan poetry, such as:
  • "Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666," by Anne Bradstreet
  • "To My Dear and Loving Husband," by Anne Bradstreet
  • "Upon a Spider Catching a Fly," by Edward Taylor

Instructional Plan:

To begin this lesson, provide some introductory information to help students gain some understanding about Puritans. Specifically, review the Puritans' history as a persecuted people, as well as the influence of John Calvin and Martin Luther on the Puritans' religious beliefs. Some of this information may be included in an anthology introduction (See References section).

Read aloud Jonathon Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." As you read, ask students to record images that they find striking. They may record these images using words and lines from the sermon, quick sketches, or a combination of the two.

Tell students to create three columns on their paper: Nature, the Divine, the Individual. Ask students to categorize their recorded images according to these columns. Lead students in a discussion about the relevance of images to the categories. Compare the students' categorization of the images. The discussion should reinforce the idea that the three categories are interrelated.

Ask students to revisit the list they made for the Native Americans' approach to the divine, nature, and the individual in the lesson Native American Poetry and Sand Paintings. What similarities and differences do they see between the Puritan and Native American conceptions of the divine, nature, and the individual? What place does the individual have in relation to the divine and nature, according to both groups (Puritans and Native Americans)?

Optional: Have students read selections of Puritan poetry and add to the columns of images that they constructed while listening to Jonathon Edward's sermon. Suggested poems include: "Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666," and "To My Dear and Loving Husband," by Anne Bradstreet. A more challenging reading is "Upon a Spider Catching a Fly," by Edward Taylor.

Ask students to complete the Using Quotes to Support Statements handout. The purpose of this handout is to help students understand the basic tenets of Puritan theology. It will also help them learn how to use passages to support their ideas. Students should be able to identify passages from the literature that reflect the Puritans' beliefs.

The activity at the end of this handout asks students to revisit the Native American poems they wrote in Native American Poetry and Sand Paintings and write down lines that would speak to, or contradict, the Puritans' ideas about God and nature.

Discuss the veracity of each statement from the handout, as well as the quotes that students used to support their opinions and Puritan theology.

Share selections from Native American poems that speak to, or contradict, the Puritans' ideas about God and nature.

Assign one or both of the writing tasks detailed in the Preparing an Outline for Comparison/Contrast Essay and Creating a Dialogue handouts. The first assignment prepares students to write an essay comparing and contrasting Native American and Puritan conceptions of God and nature. The second asks students to create a dialogue between Jonathon Edwards and a representative from a local Native American tribe.

Expanded Response: Have students perform their dialogue in front of the class.

Assessment:

Areas of evaluation for the dialogue:

• Description of setting
• Appropriateness of gift and its incorporation into the conversation
• Accuracy and coverage of areas discussed in terms of Native American and Puritan theology/approaches to nature
• Effectiveness of dialogue as written

Sources:

Print:

• Bonvillain, Nancy. Native American Religion. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.
• Edwards, Jonathon. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Elements of Literature: Literature of the United States 5th edition., New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston 1997. (This anthology also contains selections from Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, and other Puritan readings, as well as a helpful introduction.)

Authors:

• Dr. Gregory Rubano
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