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Teacher Name |
Norm Dannen |
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Lesson Title |
Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway In Our Time (“Soldier’s Home,” “Out of Season,” “Cross Country Snow”) The Snows of Kilimanjaro (“The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”) |
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Date |
March 20-April 7, 2006 |
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Subject/Topic |
English/American Literature |
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Class Description |
English 11 Advanced, 15-17 years old, large group (30). |
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Duration of Unit |
15 lessons, 40 minutes each |
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Unit Rationale |
The purpose of this lesson plan is to have students interpret a selection of Hemingway short stories artistically, thematically, and historically. In so doing, students will be able to identify with the autobiographical nature of the author’s work and apply the theme of “wrestling with life” to the stories and to their own development as young adults. Students will achieve these objectives through a guided reading of the stories (in-class and aloud, with Study Guide Questions), writing exercises (compare and contrast, character analysis), and small group discussion/presentation (development of critical thinking and presentation skills), in accordance with NJ Core Curriculum Standards for Reading, Speaking, Writing, and Media. |
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Materials |
PC and PowerPoint, overhead projector and transparencies; handouts (Vocabulary List, Study Guide Questions, Chronology of Hemingway’s life); interdisciplinary materials relevant to the 1920’s from American and World History; the made-for-TV special, “Soldier’s Home”, staring Richard Backus and Henry Fonda (1977), the movie “Snows of Kilimanjaro,” starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward (1952). |
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Unit Objectives-SWBAT (Students will be able to…)
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SWBAT compare and contrast the writing styles, character, theme and plot development of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, in the context of the Lost Generation and the Modernist School. SWBAT to describe two significant events in the artistic and historical context of Hemingway’s life that are reflected in the short story anthologies In Our Time and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. SWBAT describe at least three autobiographical elements of Hemingway’s own life that are reflected in each of the stories considered. SWBAT describe Hemingway’s writing style as an example of the Modernist School, as reflected by the character and plot development of In Our Time and Snows of Kilimanjaro. SWBAT develop an appreciation for the process of authorship and the use of language to create mood, setting, and purpose in a story. SWBAT apply the modernist style to their own writing, as well as that of Ernest Hemingway through in-class writing assessments and small-group presentations. |
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New Jersey Core Curriculum Standard(s) |
G. Comprehension Skills and Response to Text 3.2 Writing A. Writing as a Process D. Writing Forms, Audiences, and Purposes |
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Prior Knowledge |
Students will have watched an A&E American Masters video on the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. In-class discussion will have assessed their understanding of Plot, Themes, Style, Setting, and the main characters of the Hemingway stories read. Students will have completed: v An analysis of the Lost Generation and the Modernist School, in order to familiarize themselves with Hemingway’s language, perspective, and style. |
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Anticipatory Set |
To focus attention at the beginning of class, the teacher will display an interdisciplinary transparency or PowerPoint slide highlighting autobiographical and historical elements of Hemingway’s life that are relevant to the story being considered that day. |
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Procedures/Methods
Procedures/Methods
Procedures/Methods
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v Day 1: Students will read a chronology of Hemingway’s life in class and begin watching the A&E Biography about the author; students will then review the autobiographical details of the Hemingway video and compare and contrast Hemingway’s life to that of F. Scott Fitzgerald. v Day 2: Students will discuss the Modernist School, as a prelude to a guided, in-class reading of Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home”. Students will continue to view the A&E Hemingway Biography. Students will be asked to complete a companion Study Guide and vocabulary list for the video, to be completed by Day 4. v Day 3: “Do Now” picture prompt on Hemingway’s experience in WW I. Students will complete an in-class writing assignment associated with “Soldier’s Home” and be asked to explain how the main character, Harold Krebs, reflects Hemingway’s own relationship with his family. v Day 4: Students will view the 1977 made-for-TV special, “Soldier’s Home,” starring Richard Backus. Students will turn in completed Study Guide Questions for “Soldier’s Home.” v Day 5: Students will complete vocabulary lists for “Out of Season” and “Cross Country Snow”. Study Guide questions for both short stories will be returned on Day 8. Students will begin a guided, in-class reading of “Out of Season” and “Cross Country Snow.” v Day 6: Students will read one of Hemingway's stories in In Our Time that we have not yet read and will write a short essay, in class, that is reflective of the events in Hemingway's life at the time he wrote the story. (One paragraph-seven sentences, to be collected at the end of class.) v Day 7: Students will continue an in-class reading of “Out of Season” and “Cross Country Snow.” If time permits, students will continue watching the A&E American Masters video on the life of the Hemingway. v Day 8: Completed Study Guide Questions will be collected and discussed. Students will be quizzed on “Out of Season” and “Cross Country Snow.” v Day 9-12: Guided, in-class reading of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “A Clean, Well-lighted Place,” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” v Day 13-15: Small Group Project: Students will be given the opportunity to develop a vacation package to market a trip to Africa to the public. In this way, students will be able to better understand the physical and psychological environment from which Hemingway wrote the short stories “Snows” and “Francis Mcomber”.
v
Ideas for
presenting the vacation package include: a Web site, a brochure, a booklet, a
PowerPoint presentation. Students will work with four or five people. All
will receive the same grade. v Students will consider the following in preparing their vacation package: · How long will the trip last? · What is the order of the sites? · Why are you going to each of those places? (What is the location’s relationship to the short stories read. · What is the cost of your trip? · What is the name of the tour? v Writing Assignment following Spring Break: Upon their return to class, students will be asked to write a one-page account of their activities during the week they were off and to do so in the narrative style used by Ernest Hemingway. This style must reflet elements of the Modernist School and Hemingway’s own journalistic training (who, what, when, where, why, and how). |
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Unit Closure |
Call on students to describe their experience in relating the plot and character development of Hemingway’s short stories with events in their own lives. How do fictional events in the story compare and contrast with actual events in Hemingway’s life. Is Hemingway obsessed with death because of his wartime experiences? Does his story content and writing style reflect a sense of courage and ethics that is typical of other authors of his day? |
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Evaluations |
Unit assessment rubric (see attached), Quizzes, writing exercises, thematic presentation, summative test. |
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Student Evaluation
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Teacher Evaluation
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Did I engage them, get them excited, and guide them effectively from what they already know to what I want them to learn. Did they learn it? If not, what could I have done differently or better? Did we have fun? |
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Accommodations |
None required at this time. |
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Follow-up Activities |
Compare and contrast plot, theme, and characterization of In Our Time with Snows of Kilimanjaro the week of 04/07/06 |