Connotation, Character, and Color Imagery in The Great Gatsby
Review Publish Date: 2021-05-04 08:17:22
Reviewer: INFOhio Reviewer
Rubric Version: Reviews Review Rubric Version 0.92
Endorsements
Flexible Learning Endorsement |
Summary: Students explore the connotations of the colors associated with the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." In this lesson, students explore the connotations of the colors associated with the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. During pre-reading activities, students first brainstorm other words for the color red, and then compare paint swatches to those color words. Students discuss the meaning of connotation and how word meanings can change based on circumstances. They work in groups to explore the cultural connotations of a particular color and present their findings to the class. Students then apply what they have learned to an analysis of the use of color in Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." As students read The Great Gatsby, they track color imagery using a color log. After they have completed their reading, students review the observations in their color logs and use the information to write an analysis of one of the major characters in the novel.
Usability
Meets
Expectations
Flexibility and Adaptability
Meets
Expectations
Inclusive Teaching
Meets
Expectations
Research-Based Strategies
Meets
Expectations
Usability : 3/6 Top
a. Materials follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
b. Material(s) are not overly resource intense that would require consistent high-speed internet access, such as large video files and multiple high-resolution photos.
Reviewer Notes: F. Scott Fitzgerald: Career Timeline link is broken/Requires FLASH
c. The visual design of materials is clean and coherent, lending itself to ease of learning.
Reviewer Notes: This unit is chunked into 12 sessions with opportunities for extension and reflection. Flexibility and Adaptability: 3/6 Top
d. Materials are flexible to allow students to access and complete work online or offline as needed.
e. Materials can support and/or facilitate learning in hybrid and/or online delivery methods.
f. Teacher supports, documentation, and/or guides for effective use are present.
Reviewer Notes: For many students, reading literature is like a scavenger hunt for "right" answers. From the perspective of these students, meaning is hidden and locked away, eventually to be revealed by the teacher. The students themselves typically believe that they do not know enough to unlock the meanings, so they wait for the teacher to reveal the secrets. This lesson plan models a process that shows students how to unlock such meaning on their own.
As Judith Burdan explains, we want students "to recognize the play of language with pleasure and to move forward into the analysis of literary conventions with a sense of understanding. As students learn to think about the rhetorical choices that an author makes and about the effect of those choices on them as readers, they become more perceptive and more confident as readers. They increasingly acknowledge themselves as part of the process of creating meaning through language, even the specialized language of literature, and learn to enjoy themselves along the way" (28).
Further Reading
Burdan, Judith. "‘Walk with Light': Guiding Students through the Conventions of Literary Analysis." English Journal 93.4 (March 2004): 23-28. Inclusive Teaching: 3/6 Top
g. Content is presented with an objective view on topic and is free of bias.
h. Content creates student experiences that enable all children to reach empowering and rigorous learning outcomes regardless of their race or income.
i. Content cultivates an awareness and acceptance of a variety of ages, cultures, races, religions, and gender roles and identities.
Research-Based Strategies: 7/14 Top
j. Content builds on prior learning
k. Content leads to further learning by gradually removing supports and requiring advanced skills and concepts.
l. Content provides for authentic learning, application of literacy skills, student-directed inquiry, analysis, evaluation and/or reflection.
m. Content engages students through discussion questions and other supports that build toward independence.
n. Uses technology and media to deepen learning and engage students.
o. Content includes options for differentiation to meet needs of all learners.
p. Instructional approaches used are reflective of best practices and research on what works in education.
Reviewer Notes: NCTE/IRA NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
1.
Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3.
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
5.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
12.
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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Usability
Flexibility and Adaptability
Inclusive Teaching
Research-Based Strategies
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Endorsements
The Accelerating Learning endorsement indicates that the material meets or exceeds expectations for both the Standards Alignment and Research-Based Strategies indicators.