Lesson Plan –The Cultural Movement of the 1920’s
Social Change through the Eyes of the Great Gatsby

Goals: Students will understand the cultural changes that took place in the USA in the 1920’s through the study of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

Understand the cultural shift that occurred as a result of the mesh of African American traditions and white middle class ideals

Understand how economic prosperity, advances in technology and culture, and changing social roles defined the era

Understand the connection between WWI and the cultural changes that occurred in the 1920’s

Standards:

For 9th/10th grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history / social studies.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis

Activities:

Students will read the novel and after reading, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the novel and time period by creating a scrapbook. Students may create their scrapbook using technology, e.g. PowerPoint, Prezi, online scrapbook, or they may create a paper scrapbook.

  1. Reading the novel will take place in class and as homework.
  2. Students will work in groups of 3 to gather memorabilia that Gatsby may have come across in the novel or collected. All artifacts must be captioned with where Jay got it, significance to him, and the page in the novel where the artifact is mentioned.
  3. Create your presentation using facts, pictures, photos, music, images, etc. Handmade paper scrapbooks may utilize hand drawn artwork.
  4. Present and share with the class your scrapbook with explanations concerning your interpretation of the influence the era had on Jay Gatsby.

Assessment:

Rubric to assess quality of overall product, type of memorabilia collected, clear association with novel and time period, knowledge base of presenters, correct spelling and grammar.

Resources: See resources on page 2

The Great Gatsby

"Overview:The Great Gatsby."Characters in Young Adult Literature. John T Gillespie and Corinne J. Naden. Detroit: Gale, 1997.
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"Overview:The Great Gatsby."Characters in Young Adult Literature. John T Gillespie and Corinne J. Naden. Detroit: Gale, 1997
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Overview:The Great Gatsby."Characters in 20th-Century Literature. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.
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Hermanson, Casie E. "An overview ofThe Great Gatsby."Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2014.
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The Great Gatsby."Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005
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"Overview: The Great Gatsby." Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 3: Growth of Empires to the Great Depression (1890-1930s). Detroit: Gale, 1997.
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Anderson, W. R. "F(rancis) Scott (Key) Fitzgerald." American Writers in Paris, 1920-1939. Ed. Karen Lane Rood. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 4.
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Donaldson, Scott. "F(rancis) Scott (Key) Fitzgerald." American Novelists, 1910-1945. Ed. James J. Martine. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 9.
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"Interview: James L.W. West discusses the early versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'." Weekend All Things Considered 3 Sept. 2000.
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Hays, Peter L. "Oxymoron in The Great Gatsby." Papers on Language & Literature 47.3 (2011): 318+.
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Levitt, Paul M. "Point of View, Telephones, Doubling, and Vicarious Learning in The Great Gatsby." The Midwest Quarterly 53.3 (2012): 299+.
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Lisca, Peter. "Nick Carraway and the Imagery of Disorder." Twentieth Century Literature 13.1 (Apr. 1967): 18-28. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2014.
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Adams, Michael. "Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby."Library Journal15 Nov. 2010: 36.
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