Ninth graders will be introduced to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and will explore how this hierarchy relates to the needs that humans have. Students will also be introduced to background information about the South during Jim Crow through an informational article, the song "Strange Fruit," and a video about Ernest Gaines. Students will also read chapters 1-7 of A Lesson Before Dying and participate in a whole-class discussion about the similarities between the characters' situations and where these characters fall on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.