The document provides a lesson plan for teaching the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. The objectives are for students to identify characters, compare historical issues in the story to contemporary situations, define characters' objectives and relationships. The lesson includes discussing the background, reading the story, vocabulary worksheets, character analyses of Della and Jim comparing socio-economic conditions, and a test. Accommodations are provided for ESE and ELL students, such as dual language books, tutoring, and partner work.
2. The Gift of the Magi Lesson By: Caroline, Celeste, Claudia, and Leesa
3. Sunshine State Standards: 7th Grade LA.E 2.3.1.3 cause and effect LA.E 1.3.2.1 Compare and contrast universal themes LA.E 1.3.1.1 identifies universal themes in various types of literature LA.C 1.3.4.3 summarizes main points and supporting details orally or in writing LA.E. 2.3.1.5 knows and describes from various characters’ points of a situation related to the central conflict in a literary work.
4. The Objectives of this lesson: As a result, students will identify characters in a story; determine personal relationships between characters within the story. 2.Compare historical issues in the story to contemporary situations and issues today. 3.Define objectives, obstacles and strategies of characters. 4. Determine personal relationships between characters within a dramatic work.
7. Name:_______________ Vocabulary worksheet for “The Gift of the Magi” Word Definition 1. Chronicle a record of events 2. Instigate provoke 3. Inconsequential not important 4. Prudence carefulness 5. Sentiment feeling 6. ________________ _______________ 7. ________________ _______________ 8. ________________ _______________ 9. ________________ _______________ 10.________________ _______________
8. “The Gift of the Magi” Name:_______________ Compare and contrast the lives of Della and Jim to life today. What?
9. Day 2 Review the story Continue with compare and contrast chart of socio-economic conditions
10. Part One (class work) Look for clues in the story that describe Della’s character- things that tell you what kind of person she is. Do not use physical descriptions.List at least three different characteristics with quotes from the story that support you opinions. Characteristic Quote 1 2. 3. 4. 5.
11. Part Two (class work) Using the information from the lists above, in paragraph form, write a character synopsis of Della at least 5 sentences in length. Use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
12. Homework assignment: Jim character analysis just like Della’s. Describe hischaracter. Write at least 5 sentences. Characteristic Quote 1 2. 3. 4. 5.
13. Homework assignment: Jim’s background The Gift of the Magi” Homework: Part one Several passages in the story give subtle clues about the kind of person Jim is. Identify at least three passages and explain what they tell the reader about him. List the passages below using quotation marks correctly. 1. 2. 3. Part two From the passages you have selected, write a paragraph at least five sentences long describing Jim’s character. As always, correct spelling, punctuation and grammar should be used.
14. Day 3 Collect homework Small review and answer possible questions Administer test
15. Accommodations for ESE students: Teacher will work individually with ESE student. Teacher will provide written examples for compare and contrast worksheet . Pair learning( pair with higher level learner). Allow for more time to complete assignment. 5. Tutoring will be provided as needed.
16. Accommodations for ELL students: 1.Dual Language story books- A book where the story is written in English on one page and in Spanish on the other. This allows students to: Get a deeper understanding of the story in both languages. Find vocabulary definitions without consulting a dictionary. 2. ESL short stories for ELL learners. www.rong-chang.com. Students will use it to practice with online Grammar activities and quizzes. 3.Word-reference.com( Spanish to English dictionary site) 4. Pair ELL student with a bilingual student for peer assistance. 5. Tutoring will be provided as needed.
18. MULTIPLE CHOICE Select the best answer and place the letter in the blank (2 points each). 1. Della gave Jim _________ for Christmas and Jim gave Della ____________. a. her hair, his watch. b. a chain for his watch, combs for her hair. c. $1.87, the money he got from selling the watch. d. a pork chop dinner, flowers. 2. Which of the following events in the story is best described as ironic? a. Della saves money to buy Jim a Christmas gift. b. Della buys Jim a gold watch chain, but he sold his watch to buy her a gift. c. Della counts her money, but there is not enough. d. Della loves the gift she receives.
19. TRUE OR FALSE The couple agreed to buy each other gifts. T F 2. Jim and Della owned their own home. T F
20. MATCHING VOCABULARY ( 2 points each) Record of events a. sentiment Not important b. inconsequential 3. Provoke c.. sequence 4.Feeling d. instigate 5. Condition in which something is arranged e. chronicle
21. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Answer each question in complete sentences. (3 points each) How had Jim paid for the gift for Della? What strategy did Della’s use to reach her objective? 3. Whose point of view is the story told from?
22. ESSAY QUESTIONS Choose one of the three topics and write at least five sentences; use correct spelling and punctuation (20 points) Identify the main characters in The Gift of the Magi and analyze them. Think about their personalities and about the reasons that they did what they did in the story. Do you feel that you would do the same thing in their position? Why or why not? Compare the time period of the story to the period in which you live today. What are some differences? What are some similarities? Compare the living and working conditions in the early 1900s with today (use chart sheet) . 3. After their gift exchange, are Della and Jim richer, poorer, or just about where they were at the beginning? Does it seem to you as if either Della or Jim makes a greater sacrifice, or are their sacrifices equivalent?
