Great Gatsby Lesson Plan #1

American Literature 11th Grade English

Conceptual Framework: Todays lesson will be the first on The Great Gatsby. Students read
Chapter one for homework over the weekend. They wrote down five things that they learned
about Nick and two quotations that they felt revealed something particularly important about his
character. The lesson will focus in more detail on Nick. Who is he? How does his perspective
shape our impressions of events and characters? But my essential question: Why would
Fitzgerald tell this story with an unreliable narrator? I dont expect students to have any certain
answers to this question, but they should be able to make compelling speculations after the
lesson.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a
story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are
introduced and developed).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6
Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated
in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Knowledge/Understanding: Students will be able to give a description of Nick
Carraway and begin to recognize how he is unreliable narrator. They will examine passages in
which he states his conflicted attitudes towards Gatsby and his disavowal that there is any
conflict, giving the first hint of unreliability. They will be able to give brief descriptions of Daisy,
Tom, and Jordan Baker and notice ways that Nick is determining our impressions of those
characters. They will also note how Nicks descriptions of the other characters give us, the
readers, our first impressions of these characters.
Skills: Students must cite evidence and draw inferences from that evidence in support of
their ideas about the narrators point-of-view.
Assessment: I will collect an exit ticket at the end of class in order to assess learning. On a piece
of scrap paper that will be collected, they will answer the essential question: Why would
Fitzgerald tell this story with an unreliable narrator? Their answers will allow me to assess their
understanding of an unreliable narrator. Eventually, students should be able to make connections
between Nicks unreliability and Fitzgeralds social critiques about the American Dream.
Instructional Approach: Direct instruction, student discussions (pair-shares, as a class, and in
small groups)
Materials, preparation, and/or on-line resources to be used: Only the whiteboard and
markers are needed for todays lesson.

Introductory Activity: There are presentations to get to, so we will skip the usual donow writing activity. Instead, I will begin by offering a few brief remarks about Nick: "Nick
doesn't tell us much about himself in the novel, but in chapter 1 he does. We're going to see the
story through his eyes, so it is important to get a sense of who he is. From here well segue into
a quick review of the homework. Students will add anything they didn't have to their notes. I
may ask a few questions to make sure they cover everything.
Activities: Spend 5-8 minutes on hook. Then Ill ask: What does Nick think about
Gatsby? Write down three notes and two quotations in pairs. I want them to see that his attitude
is mixed. He wants the world to be at a greater "moral attention"; he's tired of people revealing
their secrets to him. And yet Gatsby is his one exception--Gatsby who represents everything he
dislikes. After we debrief, Ill introduce the term Unreliable Narrator - "a 1st person narrator that
has a version of events that is different from the way the author implies that they occurred."
Nick's judgment about Gatsby are the first hint that he is "unreliable." Hes not a liarhes
telling the truth as he sees it, but his version might have important biases. Ill remind the students
to pay attention to other ways that Nicks version might be unreliable as the story progresses.
Who are the other characters we meet in Chapter 1? And how does Nicks perspective
shape our impression of them? Take 5 minutes to write 3-4 notes on each character, 2 notes on
Nicks impressions, and 1 quotation. (Daisy, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker...) Two groups per
character and report to class, so that the rest of class can take notes. Quotations should be fully
written out in notebooks. I will briefly mention settings (West Egg, East Egg) and gather a few
thoughts about the differences between the two. Students will set up their notes on setting so that
they can add more to them later. Exit Ticket: On a scrap of paper, write three bullet points in
response to the following question: Why do you think Fitzgerald tells this story using an
unreliable narrator? It will be collected and marked, but students do not have to worry about a
right answer at this point. For the remainder of class there will be presentations.
Differentiation including SEI considerations: I will write out the key definitions
(unreliable narrator), so that those who have trouble taking notes by listening can copy from the
board.
Grouping: Students are seated away from the people that cause them to be too chatty, so
for the work in pairs they will choose a peer nearby. For group work, I have determined the
groups in advance
Sponge Activity: Begin reading chapter 2 as a class and pause to ask questions.
Homework when appropriate: Students will read chapter 2. They will write down 3
notes about the valley of ashes and 3 notes about the eyes of TJ Eckleburg. The next lesson will
be about these key images. The notes can be associations/possible meanings/important details.
Wrap-up: The exit-ticket would constitute the wrap-up. It will allow me to assess how
well they are reading the story and understanding the concept of an unreliable narrator.
Potential Pitfalls: Students might not have done the reading. If many have not done it, I will
spring a reading quiz. It will be a small grade, but it will make the point that they are expected to
read. If they seem to be struggling to understand the work, I will spend more time rereading

particular passages as a class before they gather information about Nick and his perspective of
the other characters.