The Great Gatsby Unit Plan

Digital Unit Plan Template
Unit Title: The Great Gatsby
Name: Miss Sweeney
Content Area: English Language Arts
Grade Level:11th Grade
CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
3.2 Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to
support the claim.
3.3 Analyze the ways in which irony, tone, mood, the authors style, and the sound of language achieve specific rhetorical or
aesthetic purposes or both.
3.5 Analyze recognized works of American literature representing a variety of genres and traditions:
c. Evaluate the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of the historical period that shaped the
characters, plots, and settings.
Writing Applications
2.2 Write responses to literature:
a. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas in works or passages.

b. Analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text.
c. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text and to other works.
d. Demonstrate an understanding of the authors use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created.
e. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text.
Big Ideas:
1. The American Dream varies greatly for each individual and sometimes the quest to achieve it will alter a persons whole
being.
2. The language of a novel is intentional so that the essence of the novel comes alive through symbols, messages, and
themes.
Unit Goals and Objectives:

1. Students will be able to describe the main elements in the biography of author F. Scott Fitzgerald.
2. Students will be able to state the decade in which The Great Gatsby takes place, and explain how the Roaring 1920s
received their name.
3. Students will be able to summarize the values of the 1920s, as well as provide examples of its social corruption, vibrant
lifestyle, moral depravity, and materialism from The Great Gatsby text.
4. Students will be able to define the notion of the American Dream via an interactive group project.
5. Students will be able to apply the notion of the American Dream to Gatsbys life and connect the Dream to their own lives over
the course of the novel and personal study.
6. Students will be able to analyze how the settings, characters, and plot of The Great Gatsby affect the overall novel.
7. Students will be able to distinguish the main themes and messages in The Great Gatsby in a contemporary context.
Unit Summary:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to understand and identify key literary elements such as themes, importance of
setting, and symbols. Students will also be able to explain how success is defined for each individual. Students will be able to
recognize that the pursuit of the American Dream can alter an individual.
Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level:
Carousel (3 stations multiple sets of
these three stations):
First station: Students will be

given supplies to draw the eyes of
T.J. Eckleburg on a small poster
and will discuss why they drew
the eyes the way they did
Formative:
Daily reading journals for each chapter
Summative:
Analytic Essay
Second station: Students will be

given descriptions of the main
characters. Students will be asked
to make connections to people
they personally know or modernday celebrities that match the
main characters
Third Station: Quickwrite about a

selected quote from famous
quotes from the novel. Students
will be asked to write an analysis
of what the quote means and what
they believe it says about the
context of the novel
Lesson 1
Student Learning
Objective:
1. Students will
be able to
summarize the
values of the
1920s, as well
as provide
examples of its
social
corruption,
vibrant
lifestyle, moral
depravity, and
materialism
from The Great
Gatsby text.
2. Students will
be able to
define the
notion of the
American
Dream via an
Acceptable Evidence:
1. Complete the
guided notes
2. In groups of 3
to 4, students
will complete a
Venn Diagram
Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:
1. Teacher Lecture
2. Students will follow along with the lecture through
guided notes
3. Class project about how their notions of the American
Dream is similar or different from one of the
characters notion of the American Dream
interactive
group project.
3. Students will
be able to
apply the
notion of the
American
Dream to
Gatsbys life
and connect
the Dream to
their own lives
over the
course of the
novel and
personal study.
4. Students will
be able to
distinguish the
main themes
and messages
in The Great
Gatsby in a
contemporary
context.
Lesson 2
Student Learning
Objective:
1. Students will
be able to
describe the
main elements
in the
biography of
author F. Scott
Fitzgerald.
2. Students will
be able to
state the
1. Complete the
WebQuest
worksheet
Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:
WebQuest
decade in
which The
Great Gatsby
takes place,
and explain
how the
Roaring
1920s
received their
name.
Lesson 3
Student Learning
Objective:
1. Students will be
able to analyze how
the settings,
characters, and plot
of The Great Gatsby
affect the overall
novel.
Unit Resources:
1. Complete
Symbolism Through
Color Worksheet: all
sections of the chart
must be completed
Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:
1. Graphic Organizer - Color symbolism worksheet
Formative Assessment: Daily Reading Journal Directions and Rubric

Summative Assessment: Analytic Essay Directions and Rubric
Powerpoint Presentation and Guided Notes
WebQuest
Symbolism Through Color Worksheet and Worksheet Checklist
Useful Websites:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Livebinder (http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1669789&present=true)
The Great Gatsby Vocabulary (https://quizlet.com/4861410/the-great-gatsby-vocabulary-flash-cards/)
What is Critical Reading? (http://www.criticalreading.com/critical_reading.htm)
Literary Devices (http://literary-devices.com/)
History Timeline (http://www.animatedatlas.com/timeline.html)
How to Cite Text (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/)
Guide to Grammar and Writing (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/)
8. The Great Gatsby Game (http://greatgatsbygame.com/)

Videos:
1. Crash Course to The Great Gatsby (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88)
2. The Great Gatsby Audiobook (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwbOUqI3CfQ)
3. The 20s The Jazz Age (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjxpYsTjNPk)

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The Great Gatsby Unit Plan

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Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: The Great Gatsby

Name: Miss Sweeney

Content Area: English Language Arts

Grade Level:11th Grade

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

a. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas in works or passages.

Unit Goals and Objectives:

First station: Students will be

Second station: Students will be

Third Station: Quickwrite about a

Formative Assessment: Daily Reading Journal Directions and Rubric

8. The Great Gatsby Game (http://greatgatsbygame.com/)

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