“The Necklace”
Extension Activity: Additional After Reading Questions
1. What is the setting of the story? What evidence do you find in the story that tells you this?
2. Before the party, how would you describe Mr. And Mme. Loisel's financial position? Are they poor, middle income or rich? How do you know?
3. Is Mr. Loisel more accepting of his financial/social place in life than Mathilde?
4. Is Madame Forestier the type of person who would have been cruel to Marsha about losing the necklace?
5. How would you describe Mr. Loisel's character? What evidence do you find in the play that supports this?
6. What two choices do the Loisels' have when they realize the necklace is permanently lost?
7. Mathilde has changed in many ways by the end of the story. In what ways has she changed?
8. It is obvious that Mathilde is unhappy at the beginning of the story. Does her husband understand her unhappiness?
9. At the end of the story we find out that the original necklace was made of phony diamonds. What do you think Mathilde's reaction would have been had Jeanne told her this fact when she borrowed the necklace?
10. When she loaned Mathilde the necklace, why didn't Madame Forestier tell her friend that it wasn't valuable?
11. In a story, the conflict often arises between two characters, usually the protagonist and the antagonist. If Mathilde is the protagonist, who is the antagonist?
12. When Mr. and Mrs. Loisel are about to leave the jewelry store, the jeweler says, "You will have a lifetime to enjoy these diamonds." This statement as an example of Irony. Explain the irony of this statement.
13. What is the symbolic meaning of the paste necklace as it relates to Mathilde at the beginning of the story?
14. When the true value of the lost necklace is revealed, it is obvious that Madame Forestier owes Mathilde a great deal of money. Considering Madame Forestier's kind and generous nature, one could easily imagine her giving Mathilde the money. Mathilde could then afford to move in fashionable social circles and buy fashionable clothes of her own. Explain the irony of this.
Lesson #2: Have students write a brief, succinct summary (100-200) words. If this is the first time teaching summary, use the link below to show a great Prezi Presentation to explain summary writing:http://prezi.com/okkr6wnfwrlh/summary-writing/
or
http://prezi.com/arsdfypfu27-/summary-writing-for-awesome-people/
Find a summary outline on page 9 of this link:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/sr_allgo.pdf or use the one of the two below. The second template may be used for your struggling students such as ELL’s or SPED. A story map that can be used for summary for struggling learners is also found at: http://www.everythingesl.net/downloads/story_map.pdf
Summary Template (FOR LESSON #2)
You may use this template to write the summary of the story. You do not have to use the exact words that are in the template; adjust it to meet your needs. The template provides a very basic summary format. I hope that when you are more familiar with the assignment, you will develop your own style, while still including the basic required information.
The ______by
(Genre of the story) (Title of the story using correct quotes or underlining)
______takes place in ______
(Author’s name, spelled correctly) (Where most of the story is set)
during ______. It tells the story of
(When most of the story occurs)
______, a ______who wants to ______
(Main “good” char.) (An appositive, tells who char. is)
______.
(Describe the conflict, problem, goal, “want” of the main character)
He/She must fight against ______, a ______
(Main “bad” character) (An appositive, tells who character is)
in order to achieve this goal. First, ______
(Tell the beginning of the story. Make sure you are using words that get
across the mood of the story. Was it suspenseful? Sad? Scary? Joyful? Funny? Pick words that will convey that.)
Then, ______
(Tell the next event – you can combine events together if needed)
After that, ______
(Tell what happened next)
______
Next, ______
(Keep going! Tell what else happened)
______.
Finally, ______
(Now tell what happened at the climax of the story. Try to capture the excitement by using
______.
strong verbs and brief, but detailed, description)
As the story ends, ______
(tell the very end, the resolution, also known as the denouement/resolution)
Summary Template for ELL or SPED or Struggling Learners
Summary Format
Who are the main characters, and what distinguishes them from one another?
When/where did this chapter / story take place?
What’s the event that starts the action rolling?
How does the main character(s) react?
What do the main character(s) decide to do to deal with the event? (the goal)
How did the main character(s) try to achieve the goal:
How things turned out:
Summarize by making a paragraph:
.
Extension Lesson #4 – Studying Theme
Themes: Class discussions and lesson plans for "The Necklace" could center on the following subjects below. Point out to students that themes in this story are as relevant today as they were when this story was written. This is an excellent opportunity to teach young people about the dangers of pride, vanity, and debt.
1. Vanity and Pride - An important "Necklace" theme is the danger of vanity and pride. It is Madame Loisel's vanity that causes her to want to live beyond her means and her pride that prevents her from telling Madame Forestiere the truth.
2. The Dangers of Debt - "The Necklace" theme of the dangers of debt is as timely today as it was when the story was written.
3. Irony - Madame Loisel labors for that which is of no worth.
Break students up into small groups. Assign them a theme, or ask that they come up with their own. The students should find textual examples of the theme being developed throughout the story. Using these examples, and writing commentary to explain way their evidence develops theme, have students create a PowerPoint presentation that presents their evidence and commentary. Encourage kids to be creative with their presentations, using web tools that will enhance their presentation and deepen the understanding of their peers.
Use the template below as a theme tracker. There is also one for ELL and SPED students.
For ELL, SPED, or struggling students use this theme graphic organizer
http://www.edmondschools.net/Portals/0/docs/STEPSTopicandThemeOrganizer.pdf