Blogging

Teacher Name: Brooke Kistner

Lesson Title: Introduction to The Great Gatsby
Target Grade/Subject: 11th grade/English (American Literature)
Length: 90 minutes

VA SOL: 11.3: The student will read and analyze relationships among
American literature, poetry,
and culture.
11.3c: Discuss American literature as it reflects traditional
and contemporary
themes, motifs, universal characters and genres.

Essential Questions:
1. What connections between poetry and history can be made?
2. How has poetry changed?
3. How does an author’s environment affect his/her writing?

Learning Objectives:
⇒ Given a poem from two authors, the student will be able to identify
poetry styles of authors and compare and contrast the two.
⇒ Given these poems and recalling the history of the 1920s, the
student will be able to identify connections between American
literature, history and culture of the 1920s.

Tools and Resources

- Langston Hughes’s poem “Brass Spittoons” (read for homework)
- W.B. Yeats’s poem “Under Saturn” (read for homework)
- ibooks
- Access to class blog site (xxxxx.com)
- PowerPoint on Fitzgerald and symbols
- Journals/pencils
- The Great Gatsby (to be issued in class)
- Fitzgerald Handout (to be filled in while PowerPoint is presented)
- Family Feud materials

Preparation
Technology/Classroom Arrangement and Management
Strategies:
Each student will use their ibook to post their blog to the class website.
If internet access is not available, then students will write in their
journals as if it were a blog. The teacher will be moving about the
room to ensure students are staying on task.

Prerequisite technology skills needed by students:

Students will need to be familiar with the class website and have basic
word processing skills.

Lesson Development
Focus and Review of previous work/knowledge:
The students will have read both poems for homework and are
prepared to discuss the poetical elements contained in each poem.
After the poems, we will discuss as a class the connections between
American literature, history and culture of 1920s. Some information
about F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsbywill be given. An
introduction to the symbol group assignment will be given, and groups
assigned.

Anticipatory set:
- Students will be shown a PowerPoint concerning different symbols.
In their journals, they will write down what each symbol means; a few
words will suffice. The class, as a whole, will discuss each symbol after
it has been presented, gather different viewpoints and thoughts.
○ Slide 1: Rainbows was taken from a daycare site. Can
represent gay/lesbian pride, nature, happiness…
○ Slide 2: This is a “Climate change” symbol associated with
the 2008 Olympics. “Peace but 1.” Can represent the
number 3.
○ Slide 3: This is Uncle Sam. He is typically associated with
joining the army. Discuss whether it’s a
negative/intimidating or positive symbol and how this may
have changed over the years.
○ Slide 4: This is a typical Peace sign. In Europe, especially
England, this sign is an offensive symbol. It can also
merely represent the number 2.
○ Slide 5: This is the Chinese symbol for peace. Students
probably will not know what this represents, but it could be
discussed how the Chinese language, much like the English
language has experience change. Can also discuss how it
relates to the peace sign in slide 4.
○ Slide 6: This is a bald eagle, which is typically associated
with America. It also can represent, nature, strength,
power, etc.
After this exercise, the class will discuss:
- Why did some symbols draw different interpretations?
- How has society influenced your interpretation on these
symbols?
- How has society effected the way people write?
- Can you come up with one or two examples of work (writing or
art) that represents its
 time period?
The class will then be divided into small groups for a small group
activity.

Instructional Activity:
- Students have read the two poems for homework, and they will be
assigned small groups when entering class. In these groups the
students will discuss the poetry styles and elements of the poems. The
students will focus on symbols seen in the poems and connections to
the time period they’re written. Then the groups will blog about their
findings. Each group then must comment on another group’s posting.
➢ Class will regroup to discuss the connections between American
literature, history and culture of 1920s.
○ Some connections to mention to help class
 Some authors wrote about what was happening in
the 1920s in their works
 The World War effected the amount and types of
works produced
 Three significant groups during this time
• The Algonquin Round Table: informal gathering
of literary men/women in NYC
• Harlem Renaissance: considered the first
important movement of black artists and
writers in the US. Centered in Harlem, NY
black writers published more than ever before
• The Lost Generation: the self-exiled expatriates
who lived and wrote in Paris between the wars.
These writers, looking for freedom of thought
and action, changed the face of modern writing
 Beginning of the Golden Age of Mysteries - with
such writers American hard-boiled writers as Raymond
Chandler and Dashielle Hammett and paving the way
for the next 80+ years.
Students will then be presented information on F. Scott Fitzgerald via
PowerPoint. They will be encouraged to take notes on the handout
given.

➢ Background information on Fitzgerald will be presented:

○ Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on 24 Sept 1896
○ Related to Francis Scott Key
○ Dad from Maryland and devoted to the Old South
○ Mom daughter of Irish immigrant who became wealthy in
St. Paul
○ Both parents Catholic
 ○ While at St. Paul Academy, Fitzgerald’s writing of a
detective appeared in school newspaper, his first
publication
○ At Newman School Father Sigourney Fay encouraged
Fitzgerald’s ambition for personal distinction and
achievement
○ Neglected school to become literary apprentice
○ 1917 joined army because on academic probation and
wrote The Romantic Egotist, but was rejected by publishers
○ Fell in love with Zelda Sayre when stationed near
Montgomery, Alabama
○ After war, Fitzgerald went to NYC to get rich so he could
marry Zelda; but she was impatient and broke off their
engagement
○ 1919 renamed The Romantic Egotist as This Side of
Paradise and was accepted by Maxwell Perkins of
Scribner’s in September 1919
○ Began writing in Saturday Evening Post to make fast cash,
known as Post writer
○ The Smart Set was a collection of his commercial stories
○ This Side of Paradise instantly famous and Zelda married
him a week after its publication
○ Wrote his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned in NYC
○ The Fitzgeralds moved back to St. Paul and in October
1921, had only child Frances Scott Fitzgerald
○ 1922 moved to Long Island to be closer to Broadway,
Fitzgerald became distracted from writing and became an
alcoholic; he was distracted from writing The Great Gatsby
as well
○ In 1925, The Great Gatsby published, yet not high sales
despite the sale of stage and movie rights
○ After this, Fitzgerald went downhill, his wife’s mental health
went downhill as well
○ 1940 he died of heart attack, 1948 his wife died in a fire at
Highland Hospital
 After presentation of information, a game of “Family
Feud” will be played to help students remember
information, questions can be formed from bullets
above, and questions are worth 10 points each

➢ Presentation of symbol group project: Groups will be assigned and

each group will select a symbol in The Great Gatsby to present to
the class- further instruction will be given next class. (10 mins)
Guided practice and checking for understanding (student
activities):
At the beginning of each class, students will be presented with some
sort of symbol and will be given the chance to verbally discuss
thesymbol. They will discuss possible interpretations, its evolvement,
its impact on society; etc. During the small group activity, the teacher
will be available to answer any questions.

Independent practice (student activities):

The students will express their ability to make historical connections
and interpret symbols through small group activity, homework
assignments, and the symbol group project (assigned later in the
lesson).

Closure:
Recap on the connections made between the poetry and the 1920s.
Assign the books to students. Assign the homework of reading first two
chapters of The Great Gatsby. Ask students to pay particular attention
to any symbols they may discover in the reading that they may want to
present on. Pay attention to point of view, tone and character
development in the chapters to be prepared for discussion next class.

Evaluation:
Assessment will be completed through interaction in small groups and
among the class. Students will receive participation credit for giving
relevant comments in small groups and class discussions.
Students will receive participation credit for blogging and contributing
to other group blogs. Students, later in the lesson, will be assessed on
their knowledge of symbols through a project and unit assessment.

References:
Encarta.com
Google.com
Flickr.com

Francis Scott Fitzgerald Fact Sheet.

Fill in the blanks. You are responsible for knowing this information.
○ Born in St. Paul, _________________ on September 24 __________.
○ Related to _____________
○ Both parents ______________
○ While at St. Paul Academy, Fitzgerald’s accomplished his
_________________ in the school newspaper.
○ Neglected ___________ to become literary apprentice
○ 1917, joined the ____________ because of academic probation and wrote
_______________________, but was rejected by publishers
○ Engaged to ________________; but she could not wait for him to get rich
so she broke off their engagement
○ The Romantic Egotist as This Side of Paradise and was published in
__________
○ This Side of Paradise instantly famous and Zelda married him a week after
its publication
○ Wrote his second novel, ______________________in NYC
○ The Fitzgeralds moved back to St. Paul and in October___________, had
only child _________________
○ 1922 moved to _______________ to be closer to Broadway, Fitzgerald
became distracted from writing and became an ______________; he was
distracted from writing ______________________ as well
○ In 1925, ______________________ was published, yet not high sales
despite the sale of stage and ________________________
○ After this, Fitzgerald went downhill, his ______________ mental health
went ________________ as well
○ _______________ he died of heart attack, 1948 his ___________ died in a
fire at Highland Hospital