'The Great Gatsby': Developing a personal response
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can develop a personal response to an extract from ‘The Great Gatsby’.
Key learning points
- An opinion is a view or judgement formed on something, not based on fact.
- In order to add credibility to our opinions, we must be able to justify them.
- Themes like the 'American Dream' and wealth are central to understanding 'The Great Gatsby'.
- Using textual evidence supports interpretations and inferences about characters in a text.
Keywords
Theme - a repeated idea in a literary work
American Dream - the idea that all Americans have the right to achieve success and prosperity
Jazz Age - a period in the USA (1920s) known for its freedom, exuberance and carefree parties
Console - to comfort someone in a time of disappointment
Common misconception
Students might believe that West Egg and East Egg are actual geographical locations.
While West Egg and East Egg are based on real places on Long Island, they are fictional locations created by Fitzgerald to symbolise different social classes and the contrasts between new and old wealth.
Teacher tip
You could enhance the lesson with visual aids such as maps of Long Island, images of 1920s fashion and architecture, and short video clips about the Jazz Age.
Equipment
You will need the extract from 'The Great Gatsby' for this lesson which can be found in the additional materials.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What word describes the process of creating and developing a character in literature?
Q2.Which of the below are reasonable synonyms of the word 'console'?
Q3.A repeated idea in a literary work is known as a ...
Q4.The 1920s is in the __________ century.
Q5.The novel 'The Great Gatsby' is written from the perspective of one of the characters (Nick Carraway). As such it is written in the ...
Q6.Who wrote 'The Great Gatsby'?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What period is 'The Great Gatsby' set in?
Q2.An opinion is a view or judgement formed on something, not based on .
Q3.Who is the narrator of 'The Great Gatsby'?
Q4.What term best describes the recurring idea of achieving success and prosperity in America, often explored in 'The Great Gatsby'?
Q5.Which location in 'The Great Gatsby' is described as more fashionable?
Q6.What is Nick Carraway's attitude towards wealth in 'The Great Gatsby'?
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'The Great Gatsby': Developing a personal response, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'The Great Gatsby': Developing a personal response, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Fiction: books that changed my world unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.