What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates?
Emma
30 minutes total
ByJane Austen
Grade9-10
Time30 minutes
Essential question
What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates?
Marked passage
Passage location
Chapter XLIII
Start anchor
It was badly done, indeed!
End anchor
I will tell you truths while I can
Passage focus
Badly done, Emma
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use Knightley's description of Miss Bates's situation and Emma's social position, plus Emma's reaction to the rebuke.
Mark
Underline the parts of Knightley’s rebuke that describe Miss Bates’s vulnerability. Circle the details about Emma’s social position or influence. Star the line that changes the joke from cleverness into cruelty.
Instructional move
Use a friend's rebuke to reveal consequences the protagonist ignored
Notice
• What did Emma notice about the joke when she made it? • What facts about Miss Bates change the moral meaning of the same words? • Why does social power matter when judging whether a joke is harmless?
Strong answer
Knightley makes Emma see the power imbalance she ignored. The joke targets someone poor, dependent, and socially vulnerable, while Emma has enough status that her wit can publicly wound without equal risk.
Think
Answer provisionally: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not judge the joke only by its wording. Its moral meaning changes because of who can safely laugh at whom.
Why this passage
Emma experiences the joke about Miss Bates as wit; Knightley forces her to see the power imbalance and the public humiliation created by the joke. His rebuke adds consequences Emma ignored when she was focused on performance.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline the parts of Knightley’s rebuke that describe Miss Bates’s vulnerability. Circle the details about Emma’s social position or influence. Star the line that changes the joke from cleverness into cruelty.
Notice
What did Emma notice about the joke when she made it? What facts about Miss Bates change the moral meaning of the same words? Why does social power matter when judging whether a joke is harmless?
Think
Answer provisionally: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
Ready-to-teach lesson
TumbleTA 6-12 · TEXT-BASED LESSON
BATCH 09 · 9-10 · LESSON 181
Emma
Jane Austen
What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she
joked about Miss Bates?
TOTAL TIME
PASSAGE
30 minutes
Badly done, Emma
FIND THE ANCHOR TEXT
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
SECTION / LOCATION
Chapter XLIII
START
It was badly done, indeed!
END
I will tell you truths while I can
PASSAGE ID
sec-emma-03
THE MOVE
Use a friend's rebuke to reveal consequences the protagonist ignored
WHY THIS PASSAGE
Emma experiences the joke about Miss Bates as wit; Knightley forces her to see the power imbalance and the public humiliation created by the joke. His rebuke adds consequences Emma ignored when she was focused on performance.
MARK
Underline the parts of Knightley’s rebuke that describe Miss Bates’s vulnerability. Circle the details about Emma’s social position or influence. Star the line that changes the joke from cleverness into cruelty.
page 1
NOTICE
What did Emma notice about the joke when she made it?
What facts about Miss Bates change the moral meaning of the same words?
Why does social power matter when judging whether a joke is harmless?
THINK
Answer provisionally: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
WRITE
Write a short evidence-based response to: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she joked about Miss Bates? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
CLOSE
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
STRONG ANSWER
Knightley makes Emma see the power imbalance she ignored. The joke targets someone poor, dependent, and socially vulnerable, while Emma has enough status that her wit can publicly wound without equal risk.
EVIDENCE
Use Knightley's description of Miss Bates's situation and Emma's social position, plus Emma's reaction to the rebuke.
WATCH FOR
Do not judge the joke only by its wording. Its moral meaning changes because of who can safely laugh at whom.
SOLO
Read the exact passage independently.
SUPPORTED
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
LISTENING
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
page 2
STUDENT PAGE · SAME PASSAGE, SAME THINKING
Emma
Jane Austen
What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when she
joked about Miss Bates?
START ANCHOR
It was badly done, indeed!
END ANCHOR
I will tell you truths while I can
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
OPEN THE MARKED PASSAGE IN TUMBLELIT
SOLO: read independently. SUPPORTED: use narration + highlighting. LISTENING: listen to the exact passage. The question and evidence task stay the same.
1.MARK - Underline the parts of Knightley’s rebuke that describe Miss Bates’s vulnerability.
Circle the details about Emma’s social position or influence. Star the line that changes the joke from cleverness into cruelty.
2.NOTICE - What did Emma notice about the joke when she made it? What facts about Miss
Bates change the moral meaning of the same words? Why does social power matter when judging whether a joke is harmless?
3.THINK - Answer provisionally: What does Knightley make Emma see that she did not see when
she joked about Miss Bates?
4.WRITE - Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage.
Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
page 3
Original printable PDF
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