Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock?
Wuthering Heights
30 minutes total
ByEmily Brontë
Grade11-12
Time30 minutes
Essential question
Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock?
Marked passage
Passage location
Chapter IX
Start anchor
If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be;
End anchor
Nelly, I am Heathcliff!
Passage focus
I am Heathcliff
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 the qualities Catherine assigns to foliage and rock, ending with the claim that Heathcliff is bound to her own being.
Mark
Circle the foliage image and underline what Catherine says it means about one love. Circle the rock image and underline what it means about the other. Write CHANGEABLE and FOUNDATIONAL beside the two comparisons.
Instructional move
Use incompatible comparisons to define two kinds of love
Notice
• What qualities of foliage make it useful for describing one relationship? • What qualities of rock make it useful for describing the other? • Why is 'I am Heathcliff' a stronger claim than simply saying she loves him more?
Strong answer
Foliage represents a love that changes with season and circumstance; rock represents a love Catherine experiences as foundational and enduring. The comparison distinguishes kinds of attachment by durability and relation to identity.
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not turn the answer into a ranking of which man is 'better.' The images define different structures of love.
Why this passage
Catherine uses foliage and rock to distinguish a love that is changeable and seasonal from one she experiences as foundational to identity. The incompatible images let her define two relationships through durability rather than intensity alone.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Circle the foliage image and underline what Catherine says it means about one love. Circle the rock image and underline what it means about the other. Write CHANGEABLE and FOUNDATIONAL beside the two comparisons.
Notice
What qualities of foliage make it useful for describing one relationship? What qualities of rock make it useful for describing the other? Why is 'I am Heathcliff' a stronger claim than simply saying she loves him more?
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock?
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 10 · 11-12 · LESSON 192
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as
rock?
TOTAL TIME
PASSAGE
30 minutes
I am Heathcliff
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 IX
START
If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be;
END
Nelly, I am Heathcliff!
PASSAGE ID
sec-wh-02
THE MOVE
Use incompatible comparisons to define two kinds of love
WHY THIS PASSAGE
Catherine uses foliage and rock to distinguish a love that is changeable and seasonal from one she experiences as foundational to identity. The incompatible images let her define two relationships through durability rather than intensity alone.
MARK
Circle the foliage image and underline what Catherine says it means about one love. Circle the rock image and underline what it means about the other. Write CHANGEABLE and FOUNDATIONAL beside the two comparisons.
page 1
NOTICE
What qualities of foliage make it useful for describing one relationship?
What qualities of rock make it useful for describing the other?
Why is 'I am Heathcliff' a stronger claim than simply saying she loves him more?
THINK
Answer provisionally: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock?
Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
WRITE
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as rock? 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
Foliage represents a love that changes with season and circumstance; rock represents a love Catherine experiences as foundational and enduring. The comparison distinguishes kinds of attachment by durability and relation to identity.
EVIDENCE
Use the qualities Catherine assigns to foliage and rock, ending with the claim that Heathcliff is bound to her own being.
WATCH FOR
Do not turn the answer into a ranking of which man is 'better.' The images define different structures of love.
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
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other as
rock?
START ANCHOR
If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be;
END ANCHOR
Nelly, I am Heathcliff!
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 - Circle the foliage image and underline what Catherine says it means about one love.
Circle the rock image and underline what it means about the other. Write CHANGEABLE and FOUNDATIONAL beside the two comparisons.
2.NOTICE - What qualities of foliage make it useful for describing one relationship? What
qualities of rock make it useful for describing the other? Why is 'I am Heathcliff' a stronger claim than simply saying she loves him more?
3.THINK - Answer provisionally: Why does Catherine describe one love as foliage and the other
as rock?
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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