Mostly black and white illustration of nine letters, one of them has been opened

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

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The Color Purple eNotes Teaching Guide

by Tessie Barbosa

  • Released November 06, 2019
  • Language Arts and Literature subjects
  • 13 pages
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Grade Levels

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 12

Grade 9

Excerpt

So you’re going to teach The Color Purple. Whether it’s your first or hundredth time, Alice Walker’s novel has been a mainstay of English classrooms for decades. While it poses challenges—vernacular language, difficult content, and a popular film adaptation—teaching this text to your class will be rewarding for you and your students. Studying The Color Purple will give them insight into the intersectionality of misogyny and racism, as well as important themes surrounding religion and identity. This guide highlights some of the most salient aspects of the text before you begin teaching.

About

Our eNotes Teaching Guides have been designed to help first-time and veteran teachers open up classic works of literature for their students. Each guide provides creative and practical approaches to teaching the text, as well as rich background information, key plot points, and recommended texts.

The main components of each guide include the following:

  • An overview of the text and its key components
  • Teaching approaches and discussion questions
  • A list of complementary texts

These Teaching Guides offer valuable context and promote meaningful discussions about novels, plays, poems, and stories that have captivated English Language Arts students for generations. Each guide is comprehensive and concise, thought-provoking and practical.