Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
This unit on Oroonoko by Aphra Behn is designed to focus on close reading skills that show an appreciation for the ways in which language choices and narrative details develop larger ideas and issues in a work. Because the work was written in the late 17th century, students find the language challenging. Chunking the work through passages can make the work less intimidating while giving students the opportunity to appreciate the stylistic effects of the first novel written in English.
The resources in this unit include:
- Activities that appreciate the novella’s style, language, and tone, and ask students to develop interpretations based on suggestive language and implicit meanings.
- A multiple choice knowledge and understanding formative assessment (with answer key).
- A guided key passage analysis (formative assessment)
- An activity linking key passages with global issues (for IB Language A)
- A summative comparative passage analysis.
- A PDF of Oroonoko.
Teaching Resources (PDF)
Teaching Resources (Word)
A Note about the Resources
The study of the novel has been divided into three sections:
- Section 1: pages 1-17
- Section 2: pages 18-26
- Section 3: pages 27-41
The multiple choice knowledge and understanding assessment is part of an ongoing action research project to assess the role of objective formative assessment in developing students’ reading skills. These are intended to be used as a formative assessment (quizzes) that allow students to get immediate feedback on their knowledge and understanding of the work as well as reflect on their developing reading skills. Many students find this novel more challenging to read and discover they need to rely on different reading strategies (finding the independent clause, using a dictionary, slow reading, re-reading, etc.) to ensure comprehension.
Assessment rubrics are not included in the materials. For the comparative passage analysis, we suggest using an adapted IB Language A Individual Oral Rubric that is modified to account for the response being written (as opposed to spoken) and explicitly assesses comparison. Comparative analysis is not assessed in the IB Language A Individual Oral, however students benefit from this approach by developing comparative skills in preparation for their IB Paper 2 exams. In other courses, comparative analysis is an effective means by which to encourage higher order thinking skills in response to literature.