The Great Gatsby Unit
 
 
Enduring Understandings: • Dreams are the catalyst to human greatness. However, corrupted dreams will rot a human life from the inside bringing it to collapse. • The unprecedented prosperity of the 1920s coupled with the horrors of WWI led to a decadency and moral hollowness that perverted the American Dream. Through striving for that corrupt dream, individuals atrophied and decayed morally and spiritually. The very salvation they sought led to their spiritual destruction. • Truly great literature contains truths, understandings and insights that are pertinent in times and contexts outside of those in which it was written. Essential Questions: • Why did Nick move back to the Midwest? • What did Gatsby represent? • What went wrong? • What can we learn from Gatsby’s mistakes? • How does this relate to our own lives? • How does the moral/social context of the Great Gatsby apply to present day society? • How do the character flaws of The Great Gatsby manifest themselves in people today? • What is the motivation behind your dreams? (Why is Gatsby’s dream corrupt? Because it is only self-serving. Fame, power, money vs. helping family, changing the wrongs of the world, benefiting our commuities) New York State ELA Standards: Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression. Students will read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation. Assessment Evidence: • Regents Task IV and Task II essays o Pre-writing o Drafting o Revising o Editing o Final Drafts • Visual representations of imagery • Oral presentations of social context for the novel • Visual symbolic representations of characters • Quote selection and explanation representing characters from the novel • Written summaries of character traits • Graphic representations of conflict • Individual conferencing Materials: • The Great Gatsby • “Flappers in the Roaring ‘20s” • “Prohibition’s Historical Importance” • “Roaring ‘20s Overview” • “World War I Summary of Events” Learning Activities: Mini-Lesson: Christie’s Estates Workshop: Choose your Estate • Each person will sort through the distributed photos and choose their dream estate (4 minutes) • They will write a brief story about the people who live in this house; the story must include descriptions of the house (10 minutes) • Review editing symbols • We will then exchange stories with another group and people will see if they can match the story to the house • Have them use editors marks to give feedback on the papers WORKSHOP: Social Context Jigsaw Groups – 23 minutes • Prohibition • Suffrage • Flappers • WWI • Jazz Age MINI-LESSON: Imagery Rows – 5 minutes • Imagery is writing that creates a picture in your mind • It is NOT only visual, it can apply to all of the senses • Is created with sensory description • Example p. 6 (Buchanan’s house) – look at particular words (write on overhead) • Tone is the author’s attitude towards the subject • What tone does this imagery create? WORKSHOP: Imagery in The Great Gatsby Groups 20 minutes • Examine the following passages: p. 6 (Buchanan’s house); p. 7-8 (seeing Daisy and Jordan for first time); p. 20 (seeing Gatsby for the first time); p. 23 (The Valley of Ashes – where Myrtle lives) o List the words that create the imagery here. o What feeling does this create? o How does this affect your attitude towards the people being introduced? WORKSHOP: This is where they live Groups – 30 minutes o Each students will draw a picture of the place where their character (Nick, Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, (George) & Myrtle) lives o They must include 3 quotes that they used to create their pictures o Students will leave their pictures on their desks o Everybody will get three sticky notes (1st, 2nd, 3rd) o They will then vote with their sticky notes for the best visual representation (must be based on the picture AND the quotes) WORKSHOP: Mind Mirrors Groups 20 minutes • Each person is responsible for making a Mind Mirror of their character o You must draw an outline of the person o You must include three quotations that represent that character o You must draw two symbols that represent that character o You must also include a picture of their house Workshop: Summarize your character Groups – 20 minutes • Look at the following pages that describe your character • Re-read these passages • For each passage write down one word that sums up what it says about your character • Summarize your character in one sentence • Post and share Workshop: Summarize your character Groups – 20 minutes • Look at the following pages that describe your character • Re-read these passages • For each passage write down one word that sums up what it says about your character • Summarize your character in one sentence • Post and share MINI-LESSON: Literary Elements: Imagery Rows – 5 minutes • Read these selected pages • What is the imagery in these selections? • What does this imagery show us about character? Theme? Tone? WORKSHOP: Imagery in Gatsby Groups 20 minutes • Read the selected pages and find as many examples of imagery as you can • What does this imagery show us about character? Tone? Theme? WORKSHOP: PCAM Diagram Groups 15 minutes • Analyze the central conflict of Gatsby using the PCAM Diagram MINI-LESSON: Literary Elements: Symbolism Rows – 10 minutes • Define symbolism: • Read these selected pages • What is the symbolism in these selections? • What does this symbolism show us about character? Theme? Tone? WORKSHOP: Symbolism in Gatsby Groups 25 minutes • Read the selected pages and write down as much as you can about the given symbols • What do these symbols theme?