Sherine Aboelezz

The Great Gatsby and Literary Analysis

Student Population: This lesson plan is intended for a co-educational
American International School in Kuwait. Most of the students in the school
are ELL students, however, the majority have been in American schools since
the early elementary years.
I will teach The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to an 11th grade English
class. This lesson plan is intended for 11th graders who will most likely go
onto University. The reading level ranges from advanced, ELL, and minimal
skilled. Due to the fact that it is an International school, most students have
lived in different countries, and have experienced different understandings of
the English Language.

Materials: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, What Makes the Great
Gatsby Great by Sara Churchwell (article from The Guardian), Was Gatsby
Black? by Elizabeth Manus (Article from Salon.com), Dream Deferred by
Langston Hughes, Bulletin Board Paper, Markers, KWL chart (anticipatory
set), Imagery Graphic Organizer, Annotation Guide, SOAPSTone Graphic
Organizer
Digital Materials: www.rewordify.com, www.storybird.com, 2013 film
adaptation of The Great Gatsby, http://www.history.com/topics/roaringtwenties (The Roaring Twenties: History Channel Video and Packet),
www.visualthesaurus.com, www.pixton.com, www.wordle.com

Before Reading Strategies:

Activating Prior Knowledge: Students will be asked, What do you know
about The Roaring Twenties?
KWL Chart, Activating Prior Knowledge, and Mind Map: Students will
be given a KWL chart to fill out, followed by a two minute History Channel
Video on The Roaring Twenties. After that, the teacher will pass out a hand
out that categorizes this era into 6 subtopics: The New Woman, The Birth of
Mass Culture, The Jazz Age, Prohibition, The Cultural Civil War, and The Lost
Generation. Students will complete the KWL chart, and then get into groups
to create a group mind map. The Roaring Twenties must be at the center of

the map, with all the other categories branching off. Each category must
provide at least two subcategories. Students will present and submit their
mind maps as a formative grade.
Background Information: The next stage would be to present a power
point presentation on the actual text (The Great Gatsby). The teacher will
introduce F. Scott Fitzgerald, the literary setting, and the American Dream.

At this point, the Essential Questions are provided: 1) How do authors

use literary elements and devices to establish and express their themes? 2)
How does Nicks character evolve throughout the course of the text? 3) How
do literary devices work to establish a tone? 4) How does annotating a text
support a readers understanding of the text? 5) How do Old Money and New
Money exist till today?
Define Terms: A definition of the literary terms that are to be identified
throughout the novel will be defined.
Students will also be told that, as part of an ongoing assessment, they must
look up ten difficult vocabulary words on visual thesaurus, and submit those
terms at the end of each chapter. Visual thesaurus is a website that visually
represents synonyms for words. I will model this activity, in front of the class,
on a very small piece of text.

Analysis: The KWL chart and short History Channel video are extremely
important for building upon prior knowledge and for building background
knowledge on the text. These activities allow students to ponder about how
much they might have learned about the topic in other classes. The
immediate video does not delay the delivery of missing information. It is the
combination of these two activities that allow for a completed KWL chart.
The video is an excellent supplementary text that provides background
information to visual/spatial learners, and to English Language Learners who
might not have the immediate background information on American history.
The mind map activity appeals to Accountants because there is a specific
task that must be completed within a specific amount of time. Attorneys also
appreciate the mind map because it allows them to understand how each
category connects to the other. Associates enjoy this task because they are
allowed to work in a group in order to play upon one anothers ideas.
The Essential Questions appeal to all learners because it establishes a
purpose for reading. Readers understand exactly what to look for in their
texts. There is also comfort in the fact that everyone is looking to answer the

same questions. The final assessment will relate to these essential questions,
as students will work throughout the novel to answer these questions.
Defining the literary devices ahead of time strengthens minimally skilled
readers. Defining these terms reinforces theses students understandings of
the devices, making sure that they have a foundation before seeking them
out in the text. My inclusion of the visual thesaurus helps not only English
Language Learners, but also helps the entire class in their vocabulary
retention because students are free to choose whichever word they find
difficult. The visual outlay of the words appeals to visual learners, as well as
linguistic.

During Reading Strategies:

Annotation Guide: Students are to be given an annotation guide. The
teacher will model the annotation process with students. A visual
representation of an annotated page will also be provided as a sample.
Each element will be given a symbolic letter: S= Setting, C= Conflict,
T=Theme, CH=Character, P=Plot, and LD= Literary Device. If a student
labels an item as LD, he/she must also indicate the type. Each symbol is also
a color highlighter; S= Pink, C= Yellow, T= Green, CH= Blue, P= Orange, and
LD= Red Pen. Additionally, they must write at least two How/Why questions
per page i.e. How does Fitzgerald develop Nicks character on this page?
Why does Gatsby love Daisy? A formative quiz grade is given for this process
after each chapter. At the end of each chapter, students will use their
findings to try to answer the essential questions.

Visual Thesaurus: Students are to use their visual thesaurus to define ten
difficult terms per chapter. This process allows students to take control over
the vocabulary they do not understand. They will earn a formative grade for
this process after each chapter.

Graphic Organizers: Students are given various graphic organizers

throughout the novel in order to categorize their annotations. Graphic
Organizers of interest are: Imagery, Character, Sequence of Events,
Relationship, Conflict, and SOAPSTone. These graphic organizers are
especially relevant as compared to the essential questions. These will

eventually be tools used to answer the essential questions at the end of the
unit. These are not meant to be graded. At times, students are given
opportunities to complete these graphic organizers in groups.

Rewordify: Rewordify is an application that allows for students to place

complicated texts into a software, and then have the language simplified.
This allows students to feel like they can get help understanding the text,
without immediately running to Spark Notes. The applications also works as
a dictionary that defines complicated terms.

Wordle: Wordle is an application that asks students to place excerpts of a

text in order to illustrate and keep track of the most frequently used words.
This application helps students to pay attention to the excerpts diction and
tone.

Mind Map: Students will create a mind map in order to organize and
categorize how and why authors use their elements and literary devices to
reinforce one another.

After Reading Strategies:

Body Biography: Students will create a Body Biography in order to
characterize the essential characters of the text i.e. Jay Gatsby, Daisy, Nick,
Jordan, and Myrtle. Students are assigned in groups and given a specific
essential character from their text. As a group, they are to compare their
annotations in order to characterize/categorize their character. They must
provide textual evidence for all of their claims. Each group will be given
bulletin board paper and markers in order to draw a life size representation
of their character. After detailing the physical descriptions of their character,
they must use their text and place it in the area of the body that describes
the character. For example, if there is a moment in the text that describes a
character with a broken heart, then the group must place that piece of
textual evidence over a picture of a broken heart. Each group must provide
at least five pieces of characterization, both direct and indirect. The final
product will be used as a formative grade.

Readers Theater: Students are given the opportunity to get into groups
and interpret their understanding of the text through acting. Students must
use their annotations as tools to identify different elements of the setting,
character, conflict, and plot.

Pixton: Students will be asked to choose an event in the novel and create a
Pixton comic through www.pixton.com. The website provides a format and
tools for students to create their own comics. This allows students to
illustrate and summarize their understanding of the text. This may count
towards a formative assessment.

Storybird: Storybird is an application that provides students with free

illustrations that they can then turn into picture books. The task will be for
students to not only create their own stories, but to also show the
interrelationship between the literary elements i.e. conflict, character, plot,
setting, and theme. They must provide a reflection at the end of how they
used each element to reinforce the other. They must also provide a minimum
of five literary devices.

Supplementary News Articles: What Makes the Great Gatsby Great by

Sara Churchwell (article from The Guardian) and Was Gatsby Black? by
Elizabeth Manus (Article from Salon.com). As a class activity, students will
read the above articles in order to have an understanding of a functional
literary analysis. How do authors develop a claim about a text?

Jazz Age Poetry: A Dream Deferred, by Langston Hughes, will be

annotated as a class. The teacher will model the process of a complete
literary analysis. The teacher will attempt to answer the essential questions
using the poem as a guide. The teacher will also use the poem to help
reinforce the idea of the Jazz Age and the American Dream. For homework,
students must display the interrelationship and/or cause and effect
relationship between two elements and two literary devices. A Cause/Effect
Graphic Organizer will be used during this time.

Mind Map: Students will create a mind map in order to organize and
categorize how and why authors use their elements and literary devices to
reinforce one another.

Reader Response Journal: Students will write in a Reader Response

Journal after their assigned reading in order to document any of their
questions or moments of confusions. They will also use this space to create
connections between the texts. Students MUST attempt to answer the
essential questions in their journals.

Assessments:
Formative Assessments:
Annotations: Evaluating the annotation process allows the teacher to see
what the students are noticing/observing/identifying per chapter. This allows
the teacher to modify his/her teaching, and allows for students to identify
their weaknesses before the summative assessment.
Storybird: This group assessment gives students the opportunity to apply
their understanding of the interrelationship between literary elements. This
group activity allows gives various learners the opportunity to get
student/teacher feedback on their learning processes and understandings.
Pixton: This assessment allows students to illustrate their understandings of
the text in order to clarify any misunderstandings.
Group Problem Solving: The class is divided into chunks and each given
an excerpt from the text. The teacher will ask a general question to all
groups i.e. How does Fitzgerald establish the setting your piece? How was
the character of Daisy developed in your piece? How does Fitzgerald
characterize the character in your piece? As a group, they must discuss and
determine the answer this question.
Reader Response Journals: This assessment gives students the
opportunity to respond/question the text in order to deepen the writer-reader
relationship.
Writers Workshop: This assessment shows readers that writing is a
process. Students are given the opportunity to edit one anothers work. Each
editor is given a specific set of questions to answer about the individuals
work. The questions for the writers workshop are attached.
Student/Teacher Conferences: After the writers workshop, students are
given the opportunity to have a one on one conference with their teacher
about their essays. The student must come prepared with specific questions
about their writing.

Sentence Combining: Students are divided into teams and asked to

combine various sentences in order to increase their understanding of
sentence fluency and grammar.

Summative Assessments:
Literary Analysis Essay: Students are to compose a literary analysis of
The Great Gatsby. They must answer the following questions in one essay:
How does F. Scott Fitzgerald use literary elements and devices to establish
his theme? How does the authors tone reinforce this theme? The rubric is
attached alongside this document.

Directions: Answer the above questions and establish a well

written, five paragraph literary analysis essay. Your essay
must be in proper MLA format. Do not forget to cite your
textual evidence with page numbers. Remember that your
introduction should include SOAPS and a thesis statement
(The point you are trying to prove).

Alternative Library Sources:

Rewordify: https://rewordify.com/ Rewordify is a website that helps
students decode complicated text.
Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/ Wordle is a website that, after placing a
chunk of text into the software, will illustrate the most frequently used words
in the piece. This helps with analyzing tone and word choice.
Visual Thesaurus: https://www.visualthesaurus.com/ Visual Thesaurus
creates a visual word map for students.
Storybird: https://storybird.com/ Storybird is an application that provides
free illustrations and gives students a forum for creating their own picture
books.
Pixton: http://www.pixton.com/ Pixton is a website that allows students
to create free comics
Newsela: https://newsela.com/ Newsela is a database that provides
students with a plethora of free news articles
Youtube: www.youtube.com Youtube is a website that provides free videos

Cooperative Learning Groups: I cite cooperative learning groups as a

source because in order for students to gain full independence from their
teachers, students must first view one another as a source.
The Perdue Online Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/ The
Perdue Online Writing Lab is a website that answers questions about the
writing process.
Easybib: http://www.easybib.com/ Easybib is a free bibliography generator.

Conclusions:
Teaching an entire novel is a difficult task for most teachers. The reason that
the process of teaching a novel is so difficult is due to: 1) Students not
reading the assigned text 2) The difficulty in determining/gaging a students
understanding of the text before the summative assessment. The
combination of these two factors leave students frustrated, lost, and
unmotivated. A way to overcome this problem, and motivate students, is
through read alouds, alternative library sources, and a growth mindset.
Reading portions of a shared text aloud helps model the reading process for
students. Reluctant readers learn the metacognitive reading process from
their teachers and learn how to get themselves out of difficult situations. The
required reading is also divided up into smaller chunks for the student so
that he/she can read independently at home. He/she has gone through a
process of modeled reading and, therefore, is more motivated to try it alone
at home.
Alternative reading sources create great motivation for all learners. This is
because the teacher allows his/her students to explore the text through other
media sources. These sources help scaffold the learning process so that the
student does not feel completely dependent on the teacher. This sense of
independence is a great motivator, as students feel like they are in control of
their own learning and are more willing to do the work independently.
A growth mindset is key to creating motivation in the classroom. Through
formative assessments, the teacher and the student can focus on the
learning process, as opposed to just the final summative grade. The teacher
will take the student from chapter to chapter, as to make sure that the
student does not fall to the side. The student sees that the teacher is on
his/her side. Learning, in turn, becomes a purposeful and personal process.
Overall, I do not think that the student must choose the book for it to be
enjoyable. We cant, as teachers, avoid anchor texts in the classroom.
Therefore, it is our job to make the text as enjoyable as we can. Through
read alouds, alternative library sources, and a growth mindset, teachers can

create hype around a text. It is important for the teacher to interact with the
multiple intelligences in her classroom, as well as appealing to her minimally
skilled, ELL, learning disabled, and gifted students.

Works Cited Page

Churchwell, Sarah. "What Makes The Great Gatsby Great." The Guardian. The Guardian, 2013. Web.
2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2013%2Fmay%2F03%2Fwhatmakes-great-gatsby>.
"EasyBib: The Free Automatic Bibliography Composer." EasyBib. EasyBib, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
Manus, Elizabeth. "Was Gatsby Black?" Saloncom RSS. SALON, Sept.-Oct. 2000. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.salon.com/2000/08/09/gatsby/>.
"Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events." Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current
Events. N.p., 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"The Online Writing Lab at Purdue (OWL)." Welcome to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
(OWL). Purdue University, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"Pixton Comic Maker." Pixton. Pixton, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"Read Smarter Now." Understand What You Read. Rewordify, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"The Roaring Twenties." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"RubiStar Home." RubiStar Home. Rubistar, Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
<http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php>.

"Search for Synonyms Using the Visual Thesaurus." Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. Thinkmap Visual
Thesaurus, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"Storybird - Read, Write, Discover, and Share the Books You'll Always Remember." Storybird.
Storybird, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
"Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds." Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds. Wordle, 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.