Lesson 2 | The Great Gatsby | 12th Grade English

Objective

Analyze the key diction used to characterize the setting as well as the major characters: Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc.

Compare how Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc., are characterized versus how Gatsby is characterized.

Readings and Materials

Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — Chapters 1 and 2

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Target Task

Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved

Writing Prompt

Juxtapose the choices the author makes in his characterization of Gatsby with his methods in characterizing the other characters. What is the impact of these decisions? Use specific evidence to support your answers.

What does the valley of ashes represent? Why is it significant that the Wilsons live there?

Key Questions

Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding

What were some of the arguments we raised about Nick as a narrator after our close reading? Are there details from the reading that support/challenge his role as a narrator? As one who judges? Continue to track evidence of his reliability as a narrator and of the limitations of a first-person narrator.
What specific settings are mentioned in chapters 1 and 2? What diction is used to describe them? What does this choice of diction convey about each?
What do we know about each of the characters we have met so far? What is the key diction that describes each?
What is the valley of ashes? How is it described? What might it represent? Who lives there?

Notes

Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson

By the end of the class, students should be able to identify key diction and devices the author uses to develop the characters. They should recognize that Fitzgerald tempts his readers with shadowy images of Gatsby—we know the novel is titled after him, but we only see a glimpse of him or hear a snatch of conversation about him. Fitzgerald seems to want him to be mysterious.
It may be beneficial for students to work in small groups to identify the ways in which Fitzgerald develops his characters. In the end, each student should have either a list in his/her notes or heavy annotations in his/her book that capture his characterizations of each.

Lesson 1

Lesson 3

Lesson Map

“8 Ways 'The Great Gatsby' Captured the Roaring Twenties”
The Great Gatsby — Chapter 1

Identify contradictions present in 1920s society and evaluate how these contradictions are revealed in the opening chapter of the novel.

The Great Gatsby — Chapters 1 and 2

Analyze the key diction used to characterize the setting as well as the major characters: Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc.

Compare how Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc., are characterized versus how Gatsby is characterized.

The Great Gatsby — Chapters 1-3

Identify details from chapter 3 that can support assertions about Gatsby’s character.

Analyze how Fitzgerald develops the symbolic meaning of cars in the novel.

The Great Gatsby — Chapter 4

Identify details from chapter 4 that can support our assertions about Gatsby’s character.

The Great Gatsby — Chapters 5 and 6
“Gatsby's Green Light”

Analyze Fitzgerald’s characterization of Gatsby and his development of theme in chapters 5 and 6.

The Great Gatsby — Chapter 7

Analyze Fitzgerald’s use of diction, characterization, and historical context to develop the themes of memory and social class.

The Great Gatsby — Chapters 8 and 9

Evaluate Fitzgerald’s use of foreshadowing and symbolism in the final chapters of the novel.

Discussion & Writing

The Great Gatsby — Entire novel

Evaluate the essential questions of the unit in the context of the novel.

Assessment

Select a topic and begin work on a unit paper.

The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby

Analyze how the filmmaker establishes tone in the film version.

The Great Gatsby

Objective

Readings and Materials

Target Task

Writing Prompt

Key Questions

Notes

Lesson Map

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