Andy Tobin

Ed 360
Lesson Plan

Grade Level: This lesson is intended for students in a ninth-grade second semester
Honors Literature Course

Topic: The class will discuss foreshadowing present in the first six chapters of A Tale of
Two Cities and the value of Charles Dickens descriptive writing style.

Objectives/Outcomes:
• To identify through class discussion elements of foreshadowing of the French
Revolution in the first book of A Tale of Two Cities, including the spilled wine,
the meeting of the Jacques, and the imprisonment of Dr. Manette.
• To understand and appreciate the descriptive writing of Charles Dickens and to
have students write a short descriptive paragraph based on an image.

State Standards Addressed:

• 2.A.4a Analyze and evaluate the effective use of literary techniques (e.g.,
figurative language, allusion, dialogue, description, symbolism, word choice,
dialect) in classic and contemporary literature representing a variety of forms and
media.
• 2.A.4c Describe relationships between the author’s style, literary form (e.g., short
stories, novels, drama, fables, biographies, documentaries, poetry, essays) and
intended effect on the reader.

Materials and Resources:

• Reading Quiz
• Copy of A Tale of Two Cities
• PowerPoint presentation with internet images and teacher generated descriptions.

Lesson Opening: (10 Minutes)

• Ask students if they have any questions about the reading from the previous night.
Answer any questions that students might have.
• Distribute the reading check quiz to the students and inform them that they have
five minutes to complete the quiz.
• After five minutes are up see who is still working on the quiz and determine if
more time needs to be given. If not, collect the quizzes and move on to the next
portion of the lesson.

Procedure:
• Ask students to review important facts that they have learned about the French
Revolution and the Reign of Terror. (2 min)
• Remind them that this portion of the book takes place in 1775, almost fifteen
years before the revolution takes place.
 • Review the concept of foreshadowing, telling students that many books contain
hints in the earlier chapters of what is to happen in the later chapters. Remind
them that foreshadowing creates suspense and tension in the story.
• Ask students if the French Revolution is foreshadowed in these chapters.
• Possible responses include the wine flowing through the streets, Gaspard writing
“Blood” on the wall, the poverty in London and France, and the imprisonment of
Dr. Manette. Discuss each response with the students, asking what it foreshadows
and how it does so. (10 min)
• Ask students what the phrase “Recalled to life” could mean. In what ways has Dr.
Manette been dead these past 18 years? Ask students to guess what Dr. Manette
may have been imprisoned for. (5 min)
• Read the passage on page 40 describing Dr. Manette’s voice to the students.
• Read the passage on page 13 describing Jerry’s hair aloud to the class. Ask them if
they can easily picture it in their heads. (2 min)
• Ask students why Dickens uses so many detailed descriptions. Does it add to the
reading experience or take away from it? Expect a range of responses. Some
students might say that it makes it easier to imagine the scenes; others may say
that it makes the writing boring.
• Inform students that we are going to play a game that will demonstrate the
importance of descriptive writing. Project a series of 5 images of people from
advertisements, television shows, etc, on the board. For each image there is a
sample descriptive paragraph. Read each paragraph to the students.
• After each image has been shown, all five will be displayed on the same slide.
Tell students to pick one of the images and write a short physical description (4-5
sentences). Tell them that they might want to focus on one particular
characteristic, such as hair, or eyes, or mouth. Encourage the use of metaphors
and similes in their descriptions. Their descriptions need to be detailed because
we will guess which image they are describing simply from their writing.
• After ten minutes, tell students that they are going to read their descriptions out
loud to the class. The class will vote on which picture they think is being
described. Game will continue until every student who wants to read his or her
description has a chance or until time runs out. (10 min)

Closure:
• Explain to students that even though the long descriptions might be boring at
times, they allow readers to clearly visualize characters and settings.
• Ask if there are anymore questions about the reading. Answer any that students
may have
• Collect their descriptive writing samples.
• Remind them of when the next chapters need to be read by

Assessment Activities:
See how many students participate in the discussion and the depth of thought in
their responses. Note the enthusiasm with which they participate in the description
writing game. Collect the descriptions and grade it out of 10 points based on level of
description.

Accommodation for Special Needs Students:

There are multiple activities for students who have difficulty staying on task for
long periods of time. Visual media is incorporated into the class for visual learners. Give
everyone in the classroom a chance to participate in discussions

Ideas used from Handbook on Differentiated Instruction for Middle and High School
Students:

• Reading sections of the text aloud and asking questions about the text models
reading skills for the students as discussed on page 52. This is a way for students
to gain comprehension of difficult language, as Dickens can be for some students,
and pairing it with visual images helps students to imagine the story and creates a
richer world.
• The questions that are asked during the large group discussions use a variety from
the “Q Matrix” on page 112. These questions can engage students at different
levels of thinking, from recall questions to analysis and evaluative questions.
• This lesson relies upon students’ prior knowledge of the french revolution and
literary terms such as foreshadowing. This could be applied to a KWL chart as
described on page 40
• This lesson emphasis “during reading” strategies such as predicting what will
come next and reflect upon the material as it is being read which aids in
comprehension skills (40, 52)