Week 2
Short Novel - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzegerald
Background
Across these lessons students commit time to engaging in deep reading with The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Engaging students in low-stakes reading of a novel aims to immerse students in a pleasurable reading experience. This reading will be underpinned by analysis and responding activities.
Lesson 4: Prediction and Deep Reading
Activity 1: Prediction
Show students the various book covers of the Great Gatsby. Student’s use visual and textual clues to make predictions.
- “Who is Gatsby and why is he Great?”
- “Where is the story set?”
- “What time-period do you believe this is set?”
- “What is the story about?”
(Student-centred)
Activity 2: Deep Reading
Engage students in a reading of The Great Gatsby – consider reading aloud and sharing reading responsibility with students.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 3: Prediction Reflection
Students reflect on their four predictions from the beginning of the lesson. They edit these predictions and provide textual evidence that supports the amendment.
- “Gatsby is Great because he is the main character” > “Gatsby is Great because the narrator Nick Carraway believes so.”
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
Engaging students in regular reading for pleasure is an key focus of this unit with the aim of minimising student resistance. Proper analysis requires a pleasurable reading experience. Findings from Gildersleeve's (2019) review of Deep reading: teaching reading in the classroom significantly influenced the deep reading strategy that is consistent throughout this week.
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Made predictions based on visual and contextual evidence?
- Engaged in deep reading?
- Reflected and edited predictions with reference to textual evidence.
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-01: analyses the ways an author’s choice of language, form and structure shape meaning in texts of different modes and mediums.
Lesson 5: Context
Activity 1: Deep Reading
Engage students in a reading of The Great Gatsby – consider reading aloud and sharing reading responsibility with students.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 2: Context Scavenger Hunt
By this point in the unit students have read at least one-third of the novel.
Assign students to groups of 3. Each group is given a character from a different social group that existed in the 1920s. They conduct research to find out the following questions.
- “What would your character do for work?”
- “What part of New York would your character live in?”
- “Where would your character go for entertainment?”
- “What values are important to your character?”
- “What opportunities are inaccessible to your character?”
- “What might limit your character from achieving success during this time period?”
(Student-centred)
Activity 3: Context Response
Groups swap their work with another, so each group has a new character. Using the answers, they answer the following question in 100-150 words.
“Is success available for everyone? Or can only those born with advantages truly attain success?
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
Activity 3's social approach is underpinned by McKnight and Gannon's (2024) research which emphasises the importance of writing for real audiences. Through collaboration, students can deeply consolidate their understanding of the text.
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Engaged in deep reading?
- Used ICT to conduct research on the text of the novel and created an original character that fits the themes of the text?
- Utilised peers' original texts to write a critical response.
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-05: composes critical and creative texts for a range of audiences and purpose.
Lesson 6: Point-of-view
Activity 1: Deep Reading
Engage students in a reading of The Great Gatsby – consider reading aloud and sharing reading responsibility with students.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 2: Character Analysis - Reliability Scale
Provide each student a different quote of Nick Carraway. Students use the individual quote and make an initial judgment on a reliability scale. Students analyse the quote and record one piece of textual evidence to support their judgement of Nick’s reliability. Provide an example and gradually release students into the activity.
Quote:
“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”
Analysis:
Claiming to be “one of the few” honest people positions Nick as morally superior to those around him and demonstrates his judgemental character. This is an effective use of irony by Fitzgerald as Nick’s self-righteousness confirms bias in his perspective.
Once students have provided their evidence, they swap quotes and repeat with the new quote, making an adjustment to the scale based on the new quote.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 3: Discussion
At the end of Activity 2 students discuss the question as a class: “Is Nick Carraway a reliable narrator?”
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Link to Research
Inspired by Grover's (2023) research on short stories, I desired to make an activity where students aim to analyse feature of the text through a limited number of quotes. This is achieved by having students make judgements on Nick Carraway's reliability through the textual concept of point-of-view. By limiting resources, students have to maximise their creativity.
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Engaged in deep reading?
- Critically analysed the text to make an authentic judgement of the narrator's reliability?
- Used their findings to form a final opinion that is discussed with the class?
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-01: analyses the ways an author’s choice of language, form and structure shape meaning in texts of different modes and mediums.
Lesson 7: Text Comparison - Excess vs Shortage
Activity 1: Deep Reading
Engage students in a reading of The Great Gatsby – consider reading aloud and sharing reading responsibility with students.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 2: Text Comparison
In groups, students analyse The Great Gatsby and identify evidence of overconsumption. Following this, they re-read Time Capsule found on the dead planet by Margaret Atwood and identify links between the two texts. They respond to one of the guiding questions:
- “How does the pursuit of a better individual life become destructive for the collective?”
- “Who benefits from a society that values money, and who suffers?”
- “How does the narrator’s perspective shape the audience’s understanding of the story?”
(Student-centred)
Activity 3: Extended Creative Response
Prompt: You arrive at a deserted planet after a long space journey. There is nothing but a wasteland before you. You have been tasked with reporting your findings to your home planet. You find a time capsule and inside are a few items. You see:
- A bottle with the word ‘champagne’ written on it.
- An envelope that is titled ‘Invite’.
- A photograph of an extravagant party.
- A photograph of a man in a tuxedo and a woman in a dress.
- A toy yellow car.
- A music box that plays a jazz-like tune.
“What was life like for the man in the photograph?”
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
It was necessary to include a lesson which solely focused on comparing two texts and creating an activity that integrates themes and ideas from both. This is to demonstrate to students the idea of cause-and-effect, a historical concept that may align with students taking history electives. In Activity 3, students immerse themselves in an extended writing activity. Being provided a guiding question, students are given a structured and gradual release into writing creatively (Graham, 2019).
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Engaged in deep reading?
- Identified links between the two texts with reference to textual evidence?
- Used textual evidence to craft an original creative response that explores the complex relationship between the two texts?
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-02: explains the relationships between texts through context, form and language.
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