Pre Reading Activity for the Great Gatsby Answers
How-do-you-do there, old sport! Allow's chat most didactics The Great Gatsby! Before nosotros dive into Chapters 1-3 of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic, make sure that yous've checked out my kickoff mail about my approach to pedagogy the novel as a whole.
Throughout the past 5 years, I've learned a lot most teaching The Cracking Gatsby, and my love for the novel has just grown as I've constitute ways to make my novel unit more engaging for my students. It'southward my hope that this serial of blog posts will aid you lot spread the Gatsby honey to your students and beat out on against the currents that we confront equally English teachers! Whether you are teaching The Great Gatsby for the outset time or looking to rehaul your existing unit, I hope you notice the following information helpful. Happy teaching!
PRE-READING FOR THE Slap-up GATSBY
Equally much every bit I honey Gatsby, I'll exist the commencement to admit that this novel is challenging for my students! That's why it'due south incredibly important to scaffold during the pre-reading stage. Time invested during pre-reading will pay off when you ask students to critically think after on in the text. Students volition not be able to clarify Fitzgerald'due south symbolism, themes, or social commentary if they do non sympathise the historical context before reading.
To set students for reading, I facilitate pre-reading learning stations on the Roaring 20s. These stations help students understanding disillusionment and the Lost Generation, the economy and divide between the "haves" and the "accept-nots," prohibition and the rise of organized criminal offense, and other key ideas that surface in The Great Gatsby. Additionally, I show "The Bang-up American Dreamer" documentary that covers Fitzgerald'south scandalous life. During the documentary, I take my students complete a viewing guide that is designed to make them pay attention to the details and ideas that are reflected in the novel. Fitzgerald's life shaped a lot of his work, especially The Great Gatsby, so the documentary helps build essential background information that students can utilise to draw parallels between Fitzgerald'southward life and the novel.
Afterward I am confident in my students' agreement of the fourth dimension period, I practise i last bit of pre-reading to accustom my readers with the text itself. Assigning Chapter 1 without back up only results in confusion and frustration for my students, then I facilitate another round of learning stations to innovate students to the novel. Stations cover Nick, the setting, Daisy and Tom, and Gatsby, and they include excerpts of essential passages and dialogue so that students can "meet" the characters and brand inferences before reading.
Chapter 1 OF THE Corking GATSBY
Permit'south all admit it: Chapter 1 is a doozy. I'k a devoted fan when it comes to teaching The Keen Gatsby, and fifty-fifty I think the showtime few pages can be dry, boring, and challenging. That's coming from me, so you can only imagine how reluctant loftier schoolhouse readers feel when they open the book for the first time. When I recall about reading from my students' perspective, here'south what I keep in heed:
- Chapter 1 is non inherently engaging, and information technology's difficult for students to chronicle to the characters, setting, and time menses.
- The language is so complex that information technology will tempt struggling readers to shut the book and never open up information technology again.
- Nick is a fleck of an bad-mannered narrator, and it's difficult to distinguish what's important.
Hopefully I didn't just convince you to remove Gatsby from your curriculum! I recall it's of import to be honest with yourself as a instructor and with the students. I always warn my kids that Chapter 1 is challenging, and I endeavour to keep them engaged with lots of begging along the lines of "Stay tuned for Chapter two!"
But seriously, to accost those three issues, I bring my A-game to Chapter 1 of Gatsby: lots of scaffolding, modeling, vocabulary back up, and discussion! I also don't expect my students to "go it" on the first read, and I don't overwhelm them with much literary analysis only however. Reading the first chapter is all almost laying the foundation for teaching the standards during the residuum of the model. I'm more concerned with getting my students through this tough chunk of the text and engaging them so that they actually want to keep reading. Our focus here is mainly comprehension, not analysis, and that'south okay.
Later on facilitating a discussion and doing some "think-alouds" to help students through challenging excerpts of the text, we do a "Character Report Card" activity that my students e'er savour. This activeness asks students to "grade" Nick, Daisy, and Tom on dissimilar character traits and and then provide testify to back up their evaluation of each character. It gets students critically thinking and discussing the text, and it'south a keen way for them to notice that these characters aren't particularly likable (which will help them clarify Fitzgerald'due south social commentary later).
CHAPTER ii OF THE GREAT GATSBY
Finally, some filth, alcohol, an affair, and violence! Affiliate 2 is typically when my students start nodding their heads like, "Okay, I can get into some juicy scandal!" Instruction this affiliate is all about building on the foundation of the first affiliate and taking the students' agreement of setting, narration, and characterization to a more analytical level. It's besides a hazard to begin to dissect some of Fitzgerald's language.
For example, we always stop to discuss and analyze the starting time few paragraphs of the chapter, the description of the Valley of Ashes and the T.J. Eckleberg billboard. We analyze how Fitzgerald's word choice contributes to the mood. I also start asking my students guiding questions nearly Fitzgerald'south choices here, in the hopes that I tin can lead them to an understanding of symbolism of this setting later on in the novel. Similarly, nosotros practice close reading with Fitzgerald'southward label of Myrtle, and then students compare Myrtle and Daisy and consider the importance of their names (flowers). My approach to teaching Chapter 2 is moving away from mere comprehension and instruction the "baby steps" it takes to go to full-blown analysis. I proceed to practise lots of modeling through "think-alouds," but I besides challenge the students to dive into the text and think for themselves. You tin can find my activities for Chapter 2 here!
I also brand sure we discuss Nick'south attitude equally the narrator, and I delight in leading a word over his "within and without" perspective (Fitzgerald 35). The 2013 film version captures Nick's mental attitude perfectly, then I typically show the movie afterwards Chapter 2. While watching the flick, students practice their literary assay skills by answering film analysis questions. Same skill, unlike medium! To read more about how I scaffold the text through film, check out my Gatsby unit planning mail, or the fifth tip on this blog postal service.
CHAPTER 3 OF THE GREAT GATSBY
Finally, it's Gatsby time! Chapter 3 is an exciting one because we finally meet Gatsby and we offset to swoop into an analysis of Fitzgerald's choices. This when I really force my students to transition from the "what" to the "why." Why did Fitzgerald make this option? What issue does it have on the reader and the text itself? Students spend fourth dimension earthworks through the text to discover how Fitzgerald sets the scene for the first political party, and then they contemplate the affiliate's near important elements: Nick meeting Gatsby, Owl Eyes and the books, the drunkard driving scene, etc. Nosotros render to the question of "Why?" and I encourage my students to go along runway of how all of Fitzgerald's choices work together. After lots of modeling and repeated practice, students will somewhen start asking "Why?" on their own, which is essential for our Socratic seminars afterward on in the novel. If you're interested in my Chapter iii assignments, you can find them hither.
Before my students move on to Chapter iv, I like to challenge them with a Capacity 1-3 Escape Room. It'due south the perfect way to review key elements and appraise the literary analysis skills nosotros've been working on. Plus, information technology'due south tons of fun! The escape room forces students to analyze primal excerpts and respond essential questions that volition set up them for the residuum of the novel. Information technology's my way of making sure they are ready to motility on and conquer the rest of this challenging only beautiful book.
I promise you institute this blog post helpful! As a reminder, you tin find all of the activities mentioned hither in my Gatsby package! Next up in the serial is how I teach Chapters 4-6, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, driblet a comment below with your favorite activities and lessons for Capacity 1-3. I would love to hear your ideas for instruction The Great Gatsby!
Source: https://writeonwithmissg.com/2019/06/28/teaching-the-great-gatsby-chapters-1-3/
0 Response to "Pre Reading Activity for the Great Gatsby Answers"
Post a Comment