12th Grade AP Literature Lesson Plan

Class Description: There are 2 sections of this 12th Grade AP Literature class. The first section
(4th period) is comprised of 19 students, 4 males and 15 females. All of the students identify as
White except for one African American female and one Hispanic American female. Six students,
2 males and 4 females, have been identified as gifted. All of the students in this first section are
proficient in English. The second section (8th period) is comprised of 23 students, 7 males and 16
females. All of the students identify as White except for one Asian American female, one Asian
American male, and two Indian American females. Eleven students, 4 males and 7 females, have
been identified as gifted. All of the students are proficient in English. There is one female
student with a known Emotional Disorder and one female student who receives Special
Education services for a Specific Learning Disability.
The second group of students (8th period) will be videoed for this observation.
Plan type: Full-Detail (approximately 45 minutes)
Important Context for this Lesson:
The students have been reading A Streetcar Named Desire both out loud in class and at home for
the past two weeks. Their ongoing homework assignment has been to follow a single character
from the beginning of the play to the end, documenting the major things that happen to the
characters as well as writing at least three 250-word journal entries from the perspective of their
characters. They were assigned characters based on their interest (I tried to give them their first
or second choice). This assignment is attached at the end of this lesson plan for reference. Ive
also included the character assignments to show how the students were grouped.
The students have also been aware that the culminating assessment for this play was going to be
a discussion in which they would have to speak as their characters. To prepare them for this
discussion, I had the students meet together according to the characters they were assigned and
fill out an Anticipation Guide (also attached at the end of this lesson). This guide was designed
to help them think about how their characters would answer the prompting questions that would
be asked during the actual discussion. It also allowed them to rank which topics they felt most
comfortable discussing as their character, and I am trying to honor their preferences for the
discussion on Monday.
Also, since this will be my last day of full-time teaching, the students wanted to bring in food
and even dress up in character. The food and mingling will take place after the formal
discussion, however.

Critical Learning Objectives: Specific lesson objectives being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (to know and understand)
1. Students will understand the viewpoints of the main characters in A Streetcar Named
Desire.
2. Students will know how the dialogue and stage directions in A Streetcar Named Desire
reveal the characters perceptions of reality.
3. Students will know how the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire define truth.
Affective (to feel/value) and Non-cognitive
4. Students will imagine how the characters from A Streetcar Named Desire would respond
to themes revolving around love, abuse, justice, and truth.
Performative (to do)
5. Students will be able to articulate the viewpoints of the main characters in A Streetcar
Named Desire.
6. Students will be able to explain how the dialogue and stage directions in A Streetcar
Named Desire reveal the characters perceptions of reality.
7. Students will be able to explain how the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire define
truth.

SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]

12.1 The student will make a formal oral presentation in a group or individually.
b) Choose vocabulary, language, and tone appropriate to the audience, topic, and purpose.
c) Use details, illustrations, statistics, comparisons, and analogies to support the presentation.
h) Use a variety of listening strategies to analyze relationships among purpose, audience, and
content of presentations.
12.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze the development of British literature and
literature of other cultures.
h) Analyze how dramatic conventions including character, scene, dialogue, and staging
contribute to the theme and effect.
i) Compare and contrast dramatic elements of plays from American, British, and other cultures.

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

Beginning Room Arrangement:

[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
The desks will be arranged in a fishbowl. There will be four desks arranged in a circle in the
center of the room, and the rest of the desks will be in a larger circle around them.
1. [_2_mins.] Opening to lesson: Greeting and Explanation of Days Events
As students walk in, they will be setting their food down on the back table and getting nametags
with their assigned characters name on it. I will be prompting the students to do these things.
Hey everybody. I hope everyone had an awesome weekend and is excited for our last big activity
with A Streetcar Named Desire. I hope you all found your characters nametag on the back
table. Id like you to pin those on you so that we can all see who you are. As you can see, the
desks are arranged a little differently for our discussion today. We will be doing this discussion
fishbowl style. Four people will be in the center of the circle carrying on a discussion in
character, while the rest of us will be respectful and attentive onlookers. After we have our
discussion, we will partake in the feast you all have prepared!
2. [_35_mins.] Step 1: Fishbowl Discussion
Okay. Heres how this is going down. I have already assigned you into groups of four. Each
group contains at least one Stanley, one Stella, one Blanche, and one Mitch. Ive also tried to put
you in groups according to which discussion statement you wanted to address. You may use your
notes that you took during your small group activity on Thursday during the discussion, if you
wish.
I am going to call out the names of the people who are up. Those people will go into the
center of the circle and sit in those desks. I will then read the discussion statement out loud as
well as give you a slip of paper with the discussion question written on it. Each person in the
group must speak at least one time. To help us keep track of who speaks, you will have a yellow
slip of paper out on your desk. When you speak, take that paper off of your desk. Lastly, I will
be setting a timer for 5 minutes. Each group must talk for 5 minutes before being allowed to
leave the center.
Now, remember: this is a conversation among the 4 or 5 of you in the group. Feel free to jump
in when you have something to say, but be respectful of your group members. Also, please
remember that you are IN CHARACTER right now; anything derogatory that is said is not meant
for the speaker, but for the character. For example, Stanley has pretty strong feelings against
Blanche, so obviously Stanley might use some derogatory language towards Blanche. Do not
take these comments personally.
Is everyone ready? Lets begin.
I will call the first group up. I will read the discussion statement out loud and then start the
timer. I am sure that there will be some awkward silences, but I plan to provide a 10-second

wait-time before jumping in with another prompting question. I will also let the group continue
past 5 minutes if they can/want to.
I am planning to have 5 groups for 8th period. I have created groups based on the students
interest in the discussion questions. Ive excluded the student that told me she was going to be
absent, but Im sure there will have to be some rearranging when other students dont come to
school.
Here are the discussion statements and the groupings as I have them so far:

4th Period
Statement #1:
Group:
Kaitlin (Stella)
Ethan (Mitch)
Morgan (Stanley)
Julie (Blanche)
Statement #2:
Group:
Madison (Stella)
Aidan (Mitch)
Zach Gentry (Stanley)
Tyler (Blanche)
Statement #3:
Group:
Gaby (Stella)
Kevin (Mitch)
Sharon (Stanley)
Rachel (Blanche)
Statement #4:
Group:
Katie (Stella)
Lucy (Stella) Could go to Statement #2
Leah (Mitch)
Chloe (Stanley)
Isabella (Blanche)
Sadie (Blanche)

8th Period
Statement #1: People who have a bad reputation must have done something to deserve it.
Group:
Isabella (Stella)
Wade (Mitch)
Quinn E. (Blanche)
Jeanette (Stanley)
Statement #2: Physical abuse is always worse than verbal abuse.
Group:
Julia H. (Stella)
Julia S. (Mitch)
Madison (Blanche)
Jeffrey (Stanley)
Group:
Jazzy (Stella)
Quinn (Mitch)
Divya (Blanche)
Craig (Stanley)
Statement #3: Our primary responsibility lies in taking care of ourselves, not other people.
Group:
Kelly (Stella)
Cassidy (Stella)
Bryan (Mitch)
Samyuktha (Blanche)
Jimmy (Stanley)
Statement #4: There is no such thing as a true reality; everything depends on our
perceptions.
Group:
Sadie (Stella)
Emily (Mitch)
Hannah (Mitch)
Mariah (Blanche)
Gus (Stanley)
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Formative (in past lessons):
Timeline Activity (KUDs 1, 2, 5, 6)

Journal Activity (KUDs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)

Anticipation Guide Small Group Discussion (KUD 4)

Summative (in this lesson):

Fishbowl Discussion (KUDs 3, 4, 7)
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
I gave students choice in the characters they wanted to be and the discussion statements they
wanted to discuss.
Materials Needed:

Yellow slips of paper

Slips of paper with discussion statements on them
Nametags
Timer
Group listings

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

handouts, etc.

Preparatory Assignments for the Discussion

o Timeline Assignment
o Journal Entry Assignment
o Anticipation Guide

Timeline Assignment: As you read A Streetcar Named Desire, keep track what your character is doing. What are the
conflicts? How does your character develop? What are the major events that happen to your character? You may want to
organize this by scene, but sometimes multiple things happen within one scene. Organize what is happening on the
attached graphic organizer or in a medium of your choosing. You should have at least one event per scene of the play
OR at least 8 events spanning the entire play. This will be due on Monday, November 24th.
Journal Entry Assignment: As you are reading A Streetcar Named Desire, I want you to imagine that you are your
assigned character. You will be writing a journal entry from that characters point of view, cataloguing what they might be
thinking throughout the play. These journal entries will resemble dialectical journals. You will be expected to write a total
of 3 journal entries with a minimum of 200 words as we are reading the play. These will also be due Monday,
November 24th. Here is an example of what one entry might look like from Scene 1:

Quotation from Streetcar

STANLEY: If I didnt
know you was my wifes
sister Id get ideas about
you! (41)

Journal Entry
That Blanche is up to no good. What was with all those furs, anyhow? Shes
a school teacher, for crying out loud! And the little womans got enough
jewelry to buy me and Stella two Belle Reves. I really ought to have my guy
make an appraisal and see how much we could get. Throw those furs in
there and we might be set for life. And whats she got all those letters for?
She wouldnt even let me touch the things. Spilled them all on the floor when
I tried to take them from her! Shes hiding something. Well, she gave me all
the papers, anyhow. Im going to have my lawyer take a look. See if he can
figure out if me and Stella can get anything out of this deal, you know, under
the state of Louisianas Napoleonic code. Whats Stellas is whats mine. And
that palace of theirs in Laurel has got to be worth a pretty penny. That is, if it
isnt completely lost on a mortgage. How could she not know if thats what
happened? Shes just worried about her pretty dresses and furs, is all. Shes
worried about those buttons. Those buttons she wanted me to do up for her!
Fishing for all those compliments. Well, shes not getting any from me. Shes
all into that Hollywood glamour stuff. Im getting ideas about her alright, and I
dont like it. Ive got a feeling shes going to be too much trouble.

Groupwork Guide
Your name:
Your characters name:
A. Compare timelines and add any notable events to your timeline (do not spend more than 3
minutes doing this)
B. Pretend you are your character. Answer the following questions as she/he would:
Read the following statements and rate your reaction to them on the scale below each one. Write
at least 2 pieces of evidence that support your claim. Feel free to divide this up among your
group members, but eventually each of you needs to fill out this sheet completely.
1. People who have a bad reputation must have done something to deserve it.
1
Strongly disagree

5
Strongly agree

2. Physical abuse is always worse than verbal abuse.

1
Strongly disagree

5
Strongly agree

3. Our primary responsibility lies in taking care of ourselves, not other people.
1
Strongly disagree

5
Strongly agree

4. There is no such thing as a true reality; everything depends on our perceptions.

1
2
3
4
5
Strongly disagree
Strongly agree

***** Answer this question WITHOUT talking to your group. Which of these statements do
you find most intriguing? Which would you like to write and think about more? Feel free to
rank them, but be sure to explain your rankings. Write this down on a separate sheet of paper and
turn it in.