This article explains the ways in which Arthur Miller altered the historic events of the Salem Witch Trials in order to build the plot and characters of the dramatic work "The Crucible." A series of questions for consideration and discussion are at the end of the page.

This lesson plan is designed to help students understand the term connotation and how it applies to poetry. In this lesson, students are asked to practice using the term connotation with everyday words while working in small groups. From there, they will analyze one of American author Phyllis Wheatley's poems, which can be found at this address: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poems/being-brought-africa-america .

In this unit, students will explore great works of American literature and consider how writers reflect the time period in which they write. They will write two literary analysis papers and also work in groups to research and develop anthologies of excellent American stories.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze stories from several 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American authors. After researching a time period, they select stories from that period to create an anthology. The readings enhance their understanding of the short story, increase their exposure to well-known American authors, and allow them to examine the influence of social, cultural, and political context.
Students examine elements of short stories and have an opportunity for close reading of several American short stories. During these close readings, they examine the ways that short story writers attempt to explore the greater truths of the American experience through their literature.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

If you were to write a short story about this decade, what issues might you focus on?
What defines a short story? Just length?
To what extent do these stories reflect the era or decade in which they were written?
To what extent are the themes they address universal?

CLASSROOM FILMS

History.com has short videos on the Vietnam War (“Vietnam” and “A Soldier's Story”).

In this lesson, students consider whether the eponymous character in Toni Morrison's classic novel Beloved is a ghost. Students consider powerpoints with prompt questions about the book, discuss the novel, and create an argument about whether the novel should be considered a ghost story.

This lesson examines Jay Gatsby from a different perspective than students are probably used to - as opposed to the loving protagonist, they will view him as the law-breaking criminal he is. Students learn about the prohibition-era setting of the novel and read several op-ed pieces related to the text.

In this three-part lesson on the inner chapters of "The Grapes of Wrath" students will first determine the function of Steinbeck's opening chapter then explore the relationship between the inner chapters and the Joad narrative chapters throughout the novel. Students will view two documentaries along the way as well as read two relevant articles in order to draw their own conclusions about the purpose of this novel's inner chapters.

In this lesson, students develop a fuller understanding of the character of Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie by Tennesee Williams. Students work in groups of three or four to unpack quotations about Amanda and present their ideas about the character to the class.

This lesson takes a cross-curricular approach to teaching students about financial literacy through the classic short story, The Devil and Tom Walker. Students read the story and interpret themes about money that can apply to their everyday lives.

This lesson provides students with more background information on the voodoo religion that represents major ideas in the novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. Students use a powerpoint presentation and explore the History Channel website to gain knowledge to help them better understand the book.