characterslesson1

Title: Introduction and Assessment of the Characters in The Great Gatsby

Grade Level: Eleven

Subject(s): English Language Arts
Social Studies

Learner Outcomes:

Students will be able to describe the following characters: Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, George Wilson, Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Meyer Wolfsheim
Students will identify selections from the novel that shape the personalities of the characters in the novel.
Students will identify the character and the value system of the upper class as it is revealed through the characters.
Students will identify the impact of industrialization on individual lifestyles.

Duration of Lesson: It will take approximately four sessions of fifty minutes each

Materials: Novel The Great Gatsby, pen or pencil, paper, and teacher generated writing assignment

Technology Tools/Courseware: Multi-media computer, Power Point program "Introduction to
Characters in The Great Gatsby," and a data projector

Teacher Notes: Students will need encouragement and time to do character analysis. The teacher should model an example of personality traits of a famous person most students would recognize, such as Michael Jordan.
.

Procedures:

Students view the Power Point presentation "Introduction: The Characters in The Great Gatsby"
Students discuss personality traits they have identified about each character
Students categorize the characters into the following areas: Nouveau riche, old money, middle class, and blue collar.
After reading the novel, students find the following information about each of the characters: three adjectives about physical appearance, three adjectives about personality, one quote from another character about this character, and one quote by the character that is indicative of his/her personality.
Students view the character descriptions listed on the Beginner's Guide to Gatsby web site

Modifications: See Individual Education Plans for any modifications that may be necessary for individual students. For students who are learning disabled, provide an audio version of The Great Gatsby. This is especially good for audio learners and students with attention deficit disorder. Another modification is to show a movie version with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Enrichments Activities: Students could role play the characters to capture personality traits.

Evaluation/Assessment: Teacher will assess the students’ participation in the classroom discussions.
For the other written activity, teacher will evaluate the accuracy of the information provided by each student.

WV State Instructional Goals and Objectives:
                    English 11.10, 11.15, 11.16, 11.49
                    Social Studies 11.11, 11.22, 11.27
                    Computer/Technology 11.92, 11.93, 11.97, 11.98, 11.99

National Standards

Job Career Cluster: Fine Arts/Humanities

References: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Power Point Presentation "Introduction of Gatsby Characters"
Web Site: The Beginner's Guide to The Great Gatsby

Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Four Lesson Five

Authors:       Pamela J. Fuller
                   Kathy Humphries
                   Nancy Reeves
                    Capital High School