! Mystery in Literature

Transcription

1 Common Core Standards Mystery in Literature Concept: Finding symbols and elements of mystery in the novel Primary Subject Area: English Secondary Subject Areas: Common Core Standards Addressed: Grades 9-10 Grades Key Ideas and Details Key Ideas and Details o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. o Analyze the impact of the author s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). Craft and Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g. parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g. pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. Craft and Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g. the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or traffic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Mystery and Symbolism: Common Core Standards 1

2 Lesson Plan Mystery in Literature Overview: This lesson will allow students to explore the use of mystery in this work of literature and the various uses of symbols that add to the obscurity. Objectives: Students will be able to: Identify symbols and their purpose in the novel. Explore the use of mystery in the novel. Record the path that the mystery takes in the novel and choose the most important turning points. Materials: Copy of Mr. Timothy Pen and Paper White/Chalk Board Other Resources: Key Vocabulary Terms General Discussion/Comprehen sion Questions Text References Supplementary Materials Chart Warm-Up Activity: Have students expand on the symbol of the G that is branded on the two dead girls. Put the first textual reference (found in the attached materials) on the board and give them five minutes to brainstorm about the symbol. Short Lecture & Partner Activities: Define what a symbol is for the class (see supplementary materials). Then give a brief overview of the concept of mystery and how it can operate in literature. In some cases, the author may give out bits of information throughout the novel and make it possible for the reader to discover the secrets faster than the protagonist. Of course, the author can also make it impossible for the reader to guess and reveal everything in a climactic moment. Next, have student break into small groups and fill out the handout attached later in this lesson. First, they will pick out two other symbols and briefly discuss their purpose in the story. Then, they will map out the mystery in the story by listing turning points. These can be points of foreshadow, the release of information, or points of action. Discussion Wrap-Up: Mystery and Symbolism: Lesson Plan 2

3 Lesson Plan Mystery in Literature Have students share their findings with the class. The timeline of the mystery should be put onto a whiteboard, with students contributing the various events they decided were most important. When discussing symbols, ask students how important each one is to the story as a whole. If any of the symbols they put forth seem off-target, ask other students to chime in and help to clarify what signifies a symbol. Finally, ask students how this story contrasts with more familiar mysteries they may have read. What surprised them about this particular brand of ambiguity? Writing Activities/Evaluations: Analytical: Do you think that the author used mystery effectively in this novel? Write a one-page reflection on your own reading of the book. Did you decipher the ending before it was revealed? Were you ever frustrated at the lack of information given? Creative: Write an alternate conclusion to the story from Philomela s point of view. If she were the narrator, we would have much more information regarding the mystery from the start. What is her opinion on how things turned out? Why didn t she give Timothy more help in solving the mystery? Help us see the novel from her perspective. Mystery and Symbolism: Lesson Plan 3

4 Discussion & Comprehension Questions Mystery in Literature Why doesn t Philomela reveal more information regarding her experience earlier in the book? What is the reasoning and purpose behind the branding of the G upon the young girls? Did you recognize any of the foreshadowing events the first time you read them? Which ones? Discuss Mrs. Sharpe s infatuation with reading and language. How does it serve our protagonist and what does it say about her? In your opinion, was the end of the story too rushed or was the pacing sufficient? How did you feel after Bayard finally unveiled the mystery? Mystery and Symbolism: Discussion & Comprehension Questions 4

5 Mystery in Literature Key Vocabulary Word: Morass Sycophant Promulgation Effluvium Interloper Flux Ecclesiastical Temerity Colloquy Benign Peroration Shandy Bivouac Definition: a tract of low, soft, wet ground a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation a slight or invisible exhalation or vapor, especially one that is disagreeable or noxious a person who interferes or meddles in the affairs of others continuous change, passage, or movement of or pertaining to the church or the clergy; churchly; clerical; not secular reckless boldness; rashness a conversational exchange; dialogue having a kindly disposition; gracious a long speech characterized by lofty and often pompous language a mixture of beer and lemonade a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire Mystery and Symbolism: Key Vocabulary 5

6 Mystery in Literature Text References (Page 9): And something else, too. A square of skin where the sleeve of her dress had torn away, and through that aperture, the most remarkable sight, strangely accented in the gaslight. Not a tattoo, nothing so mild as that. A brand. The skin not dyed but blistered, seared, like the flanks of a Jersey. And what did you read there? A letter, that was all, an inch and a half in diameter. (Page 115): And then the front shifts once again, and Philomela is gone. Hitching up her dress and running as fast as the wind, faster than I have yet seen her go, and jerking her arms in midflight, as though someone had fastened himself round her shoulders. Not a moment of hesitation, not a backwards look: she turns the corner and shoots down Babmaes, retracing the very trajectory in which I first witnessed her. (Page 310): And now I am seeing George once again, not as he was then but as he d looked days before that, on the front stoop of Mrs. Sharpe s establishment. In that frozen late-afternoon moment when Philomela had just broken free of us, and Colin had disappeared after her, and I was taking up the chase, and there, coming out the front door, was George, with his collar open and his sleeves rolled up and that air of middleclass entitlement. A man on an outing. Mystery and Symbolism: Text References 6

7 Title Field: Class Handout Name: SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY Symbol and brief description of purpose: Symbol and brief description of purpose: Map out 5-7 plot points that helped propel the mystery of the story. These can be points of foreshadow, releases of information, or points of action. Mystery and Symbolism: Class Handout

8 Title Field: Supplementary Materials Chart Category of Resource Website Blog Post Description of Potential Educational Resource Uses of Resource Mystery Literature Basic characteristics of mystery in literature, background resource Defines Literary May help teach what a Symbols symbol is and provide some background for the lesson Link to Resource