Lesson Plan- Magi

Department: English                                                   Course: Contemporary Literature

Unit: Short Stories      Concept: “The Gift of the Magi” by O’Henry

RATIONALE: Removed

OBJECTIVE:

·         To be able to fully understand and recite orally two important elements in each, the characters, plot, setting, conflict and theme in The Gift of the Magi

·         To understand what irony is and how it is used and be able to demonstrate their knowledge by writing a short story with irony as a main theme.

CONTENT:

A.    The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry

STATE STANDARDS:

·         State goal 2.A.5a

·         State goal 2.A.5b

·         State goal 2.A.4d

·         State goal 2.B.5b

Content Outline:

·         At the beginning of class pass out the story “The Gift of the Magi”. Give the class time to read it.

·         After it is read have a small discussion on the characters (Della Young, James Young, Madame Sofronie), plot (a husband and wife sell their most prized possessions to buy eachother gifts), setting (New York), and conflict (The couple sells their most prized possessions to buy eachother gifts and the gifts are for their most prized possession).

·         Talk about irony, what it is, and what it means in the story (Irony is the difference between what something should be and what it actually ends up being. It is ironic that Della sold her hair to buy her husband a new holder for his pocket watch and he sells his pocket watch to buy her combs for her hair)

·         In class activity- write your own short story using an element of irony

Instructional Activities:

·         At the beginning of class pass out copies of the short story “The Gift of the Magi”

·         Tell the class what I expect them to know by the end of class. (To be able to fully understand and recite orally two important elements in each, the characters, plot, setting, conflict and theme in The Gift of the Magi. To understand what irony is and how it is used and be able to demonstrate their knowledge by writing a short story with irony as a main theme.) (5 minutes)

·         Explain to the class what irony is (something that conveys meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning). Ask the class if they can think of any examples. (5 minutes)

·         Give the class time to read the story (10 minutes)

·         Have a discussion with the class. Talk about the characters, plot, setting, conflict, and irony in the story. (10 minutes)

·         In class activity/Evaluation: have the class write their own short story using irony as it’s main theme. (20+ minutes)

·         Homework: Finish story if they did not do so during class

(50 minutes)

MATERIALS:  “The Gift of the Magi”, Paper

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:  None

SOURCES: