John AndersonSCED 419

Professor Adkins

Introduction:

Many students consider canonical works such as The Great Gatsby as being dry, outdated, and non-applicable to modern society. Teachers need to create projects that will get the students interested in the novel they are studying. In selecting these assignments the teacher should look for topics that are culturally relevant to their students, and can be applied to their day to day lives. In short the teacher’s response to “Why should I read this?” should be an example of culturally relevant pedagogy. While the multi-text approach can be used effectively, I do not believe it is needed with this novel. The Great Gatsby offers many themes that are still relevant today, even if the students do not see them. Themes like the excesses and indulgences of extremely wealthy, revenge, murder, infidelity, corruption, and friendship, loyalty, respect, honesty, and morality. These themes alone should be enough to hold a student’s interest. However if you match these elements with the process of creating a story with similar themes then the student’s attention should be unwavering.

In classrooms with an extremely heterogeneous mix of reading levels the teacher could use Gordon Korman’s Jake, Reinvented as an alternative reading. The themes and plot are almost exact, but the author altered the way certain events played out to make the story of The Great Gatsby more easily approached by young adult readers. Also, because students enjoy a change of pace I recommend two movie days where one movie has similar themes and the other is a movie version of the novel.

In the treatment below, I focused on The Great Gatsby, and did not pair it with Jake, Reinvented. I introduced the idea of writing a story by selecting three songs that form a beginning, climax and aftermath. In this way the students know what they are looking for while they are reading The Great Gatsby. For the movie I chose a recent blockbuster Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith because of the popular cartoon series Star Wars: Clone Wars. This will draw the themes of The Great Gatsby to a medium the students can relate to. Hopefully, these combinations will create a more energetic and interesting classroom environment for both the teacher and the student.

Day one: dreams, their consequences, and conclusions defined in song

As an introduction to the idea of dreams the teacher should introduce short memorable means of what people are willing to do to if the achieve their dreams, to preserve the dream, and what happens if the dream is lost. The first song played is “I Want You to Want Me” performed by Cheap Trick. Starting with this will increase the students’ interest and energy in the subject.

The teacher will begin the discussion by explaining the value of dreams and ask what some of the short and long term dreams of the students are. The teacher will encourage the students to follow their dreams and then ask what happens if you reach a point when you realize you cannot achieve your dream. Some answers will be: give up, keep trying, and change the dream.

The teacher will then explain that in this class they are going to create a fictional male who dreams of love gets it and finds he doesn’t want it. The teacher will then play the first song “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick.

I Want You to Want MeBy Cheap Trick

I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'm beggin' you to beg me.

I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt. I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me.

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'? Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'? Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'. Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'm beggin' you to beg me. I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt. I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me.

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'? Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'? Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'. Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'? Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'. Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'm beggin' you to beg me.

I want you to want me. I want you to want me. I want you to want me. I want you to want me.

When the song ends the teacher should ask what the singer is willing to do should his love interest accept his offer. The expected answers should be, leave work early to spend time with his partner and dress nicely. Then the teacher will ask open ended questions about what the singer is dreaming about. Some answers might be: marriage, dating relationship, an excuse not to work overtime, the love the singer feels responded to. The teacher should then ask how others might perceive the couple, once the dream is achieved. Some answers might be: true love, a happy couple, and love in progress.

The teacher will then lead the discussion to how the couple feels about the thoughts of those looking at them. Would they be bothered, unconcerned, scared, enjoy the attention? The teacher should cover as wide a range of emotions as possible. Before playing “The Approaching Curve” by Rise Against, the Teacher will explain that many people how they are perceived matters to them that there are people who will completely change their own life to gain acceptance and love. The teacher will also point out that there are people who will do everything they can to make sure that people will see the reality of a situation.

The Approaching Curve By Rise Against

Spoken:]The music played with a calming frequency.The speakers gently seeped the sound of ambient keyboards and light percussion,Creating a seductive soundtrack to our midnight drive through curtains of blackness.The windows were cold to the touch, Reflecting the icy conditions in our immediate extremity.Salt stains and fingerprints littered the glass,

And streaks of melting snow cascaded down its length.The music pulsed louder, yet gentle, Like the far away squeal of a pot of boiling water.The skyline was glowing faintly with vague hints of an impending dawn.The car raced along a painfully straight stretch of road,And she hadn't so much as turned the steering wheel two degrees in the last twenty minutes

Nor had we spoken.

As we were, so perfect, so happy.They'll remember, only our smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.As we were, so perfect, so happy.

[Spoken:]"Why are you doing this?" she spoke as if not expecting a response.Her voice penetrated the still air of our speechless drive, So suddenly that my heart had jumped."I'm not doing anything," I said, but I didn't even believe that myself."This is what's best, for me, for you, for us," or maybe just for me I thought,As a tear formed in the pit of her eye. The music poured through the speakers and we were losing ourselves in the cadence. She looked down momentarily and closed her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink. Then she was crying. Then she was shouting. Then I was shouting, Now pouring confessions, having no answers, or solutions,We barely even knew the questions.

As we were, so perfect, so happy.They'll remember, only our smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.As we were, so perfect, so happy.

Don't put me underground, I was meant for a life somewhere else.Please, love, give me the wheel, before both of our hearts youWill steal tonight (will steal tonight).

As we were, so perfect, so happy.Don't remember, only your smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.As we were, so perfect, so happy.

[Spoken:]Our cracking voices became part of the music.The car pressed on faster through the night. As our voices lowered,The cadence again overtook the air.

Up ahead there was a curve approaching.She made no indications of slowing.

The Teacher will resume the conversation by asking the class how the narrator thought other people saw the couple. Some answers will be: true love, a happy couple, and love in progress. The teacher will follow up with a question about what the narrator was afraid of. Some answers will be: what is best for him, will he survive the ride, what others will remember about him. The teacher will then instruct the students to look at the lyrics in groups of two or three and ask them to create an explanation about why this couple the narrator was ending the relationship. In this section of the class there are very few wrong answers, unless the students leave the context of the song. Some answers will be: he wants his freedom, he has another love he is confessing to, they both know it should end and he is taking the initiative to end it.

The teacher will continue the conservation assuming that the couple survives the ride and the two part company. Working with the previous answer, that narrator just wanted his freedom, the teacher will ask open ended questions about what happens to people who cling to dreams that should have been let go of, can you hold onto a dream too long and what happens to people who do. Some answers will be: They live in misery, they forget what they wanted and enjoy what they have, and they live in the past. Before playing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserable the teacher will have the students vote on the worst case scenario for the previous question. Have the students write their choice in their notes and write the selection with the most votes on the board.

I Dreamed a DreamLyrics by Alain BoublilMusic by Claude-Michel Schönberg

There was a time, when men were kind When their voices were soft And their words were inviting There was a time, when love was blind And the world was a song And the song was exciting There was a time, then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by When hope was high and life worth living I dreamed that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used and wasted There was no ransom to be paid No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hope apart As they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side He filled my days with endless wonder He took my childhood in his stride But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me That we will live the years together But there are dreams that cannot be And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I'm living So different now from what it seemed Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

The teacher will then ask the students if their answer fit the song or not and then decide which one is the worst possibility, “I Dreamed a Dream”, their selection, or the class selection. The teacher will then review dreams and their purposes. Then the teacher will ask the students to write a paragraph for homework that would explain the story created by the three songs for homework. The story must have a plot and should be episodic, three looks into the relationship, as opposed to a saga about the couple.

The story must include elements from each song and can be told from any or multiple points of view, there is no set format: it can be prose, comic, picture book. The story must include an example of rising action, a climax and falling action, and should not be more than one to one and a half pages long.

Day two: Sharing the Stories in Small Groups

The stories the students bring in will most likely be rough drafts. Organize the students into small groups and have them share their stories to each other. Remind them of the maximum length and that the reading will stop at one and a half pages, no matter how much more the

student may have written. Remind them that all their peers need to share their stories as well. Encourage the students to make to make positive comments about each other’s work. The Teacher will be circulating the room listening and evaluating the students’ efforts, offering comments and encouragement. Once all the students have shared their stories the Teacher will ask each group to select one story to be shared with the whole class. The story the group selects will be the basis for the on-going project of writing a brief novel about chasing a dream.

After the groups share their stories have them also select one aspect of each of their groups’ stories for inclusion of the novel they are writing. This could be a character, a setting, several lines of dialogue, or a plot devise. Ask a volunteer in the group to write the selections down and collect their group’s stories, with the selected story and the selected ideas on top.

Instruct the students to read the first chapter of The Great Gatsby.

Day three: Settings

At this time the teacher will ask the students what they know about New York City in general and the Eggs, from the novel in particular. For New York the students will probably describe it as a center of commerce, a place of crime, and a place of entertainment. The Eggs will probably be a bit harder for the students. The teacher should point out that the Eggs are a suburb of NYC and that mostly wealthy live in that area, that most of the homes are mansions, and that there are the occasional small houses, like the one Nick lives in. The Teacher will then ask students to describe a mansion. The teacher will then begin a discussion about how the students think these environments will affect the characters they have met or heard about thus far.

Instruct the class to read Chapter 2 and 3 of The Great Gatsby.

Day 4: Character Sketches

Today the teacher will introduce the characters of Nick, Tom, Daisy, Jordan and Gatsby. The teacher will ask the students to offer several traits for each character. Some examples would be: for Nick young, impartial, educated; for Tom are: old money, harsh, insensitive, racist, and bully-like. The teacher will ask the students what these people would be like if met in person. The teacher will explain that what the class just did was create a character sketch of Tom, Nick, Daisy, Jordan and Gatsby. The teacher will explain that the students will, until the end of the unit, sit with their groups for class. The assignment for the groups is to create, as a group, at least three, but no more than five, character sketches, each sketch not being more than a paragraph long. These sketches will be used in the stories the students are creating. Two of the characters should be the protagonist and the antagonist for the story that each group selected and third is to be a narrator, or outside observer. The groups will need five total sketches so any

other character sketches will be considered for inclusion into their stories. Each member of the group is to work on each sketch. The rough sketches are to be turned in at the end of class.

Instruct the class to read Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby.

Day five: Places in Society

At this time the students will have met all the major characters of the book and heard about all five main characters in the book. The teacher will ask the students about what they know of the setting and how the characters fit into it. The teacher will also ask students to compare and contrast the rumors about Gatsby to the story Gatsby told Nick. What logical conclusions can the students make between the two? What do the students believe about Gatsby? Is Gatsby the protagonist or the antagonist, or a bit of both?

The character sketches are returned to the students and the groups are asked to add a back story to their characters by answering the following questions briefly:

1) Where is the character from?2) What has the character done, E.G.: education, jobs, social life?3) How did the character get from there to here?4) Where does the character live at the time of the group’s story?

Once the students complete their back stories they will decide on a setting(s) for their story to take place in. They will describe the setting by answering the following questions:

1) Where is the setting located? E.G.: city, farm, small town, space ship, dungeon.2) Is the action of your story going to be inside, outside or both?3) What does this location say about each of your characters?

Day six: Movie DayToday the students will watch highlights from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The teacher will play previously selected sections of the movie that highlight Anakin’s secrets, obsessions, and failures. After each selection the teacher will ask the class to summarize what happened, and speculate as to why it happened. At the end of the movie the teacher will ask why Anakin allowed himself to be lead by a dream, and why he didn’t call Palatine on the lie about the power to conquer death. The teacher will then ask students to compare what they know Gatsby to what they saw about Anakin.

Instruct the class to read Chapters 5 and 6 of The Great Gatsby.

Day seven: Plot points

The teacher will instruct on rising action, falling action, climax and conflicts. The teacher will ask students to summarize the story up to this point and plot the major story points on the board using a plot map. The teacher will then hand out blank plot maps, and ask students to make separate plot maps for both chapter 5 and 6. When the students have completed the work, the teacher will ask: What events are the rising action, the climax, and the falling action? Where is the tension? The teacher will tell the students to make a plot map of each chapter and continue plotting the chapters going forward. The rest of this class period will be spent allowing the groups to work on the rising action within their own stories.

Instruct the class to read Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby.

Day 8: DialogueThe teacher will read the following selection of dialogue from The Great Gatsby:

Flushed with his impassioned gibberish, he saw himself standing alone on the last barrier of civilization.“We’re all white here,” murmured Jordan.“I know I’m not very popular. I don’t give big parties. I suppose you’ve got to make your house into a pigsty in order to have any friends—in the modern world.”Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth. The transition from libertine to prig was so complete.“I’ve got something to tell YOU, old sport——” began Gatsby. But Daisy guessed at his intention.“Please don’t!” she interrupted helplessly. “Please let’s all go home. Why don’t we all go home?”“That’s a good idea.” I got up. “Come on, Tom. Nobody wants a drink.”“I want to know what Mr. Gatsby has to tell me.”“Your wife doesn’t love you,” said Gatsby. “She’s never loved you. She loves me.”“You must be crazy!” exclaimed Tom automatically.Gatsby sprang to his feet, vivid with excitement.“She never loved you, do you hear?” he cried. “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me!”

At this point Jordan and I tried to go, but Tom and Gatsby insisted with competitive firmness that we remain—as though neither of them had anything to conceal and it would be a privilege to partake vicariously of their emotions.“Sit down, Daisy,” Tom’s voice groped unsuccessfully for the paternal note. “What’s been going on? I want to hear all about it.”

The teacher will then ask the class what they can learn about the characters by examining what they say and how they say it. The teacher will ask if Fitzgerald uses dialogue to create characters or not and defend their position. After the discussion the teacher will mention that professor Coleman of Bennington College said “For the most part, Fitzgerald seems interested in dialogue as a way of creating characters (Coleman 54).

Day nine: Possible climaxes The teacher will tell the class that the climax is the moment that the tension in the rising action breaks. For this reason there can be disagreements on what the actual climax of the story is. For example, if the rear is invested in the conflict between Tom and Gatsby the climax is in relieved with Nick learns that Tom told Wilson where to find Gatsby. If the reader is invested in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, then the climax might be in chapter 5 when Gatsby has tea with Daisy. Others may place the climax at the moment Gatsby is found dead in the pool. The teacher will remind the students that there are several moments of rising and falling action in the book, when Gatsby re-unites with Daisy, when Tom strikes Daisy, when Myrtle is run down. When the students are working on their stories the teacher will advise them that they too can have several climatic moments.

Day ten: Saying the same thing a different way.The teacher will hand out an excerpt from Gordon Korman’s Jake, Reinvented, pages 150

and151. After the students have read the selection the teacher will ask, if needed, if Korman’s scene reminds the students of a Fitzgerald scene. The Fitzgerald scene is on page 130 to 131. The teacher will ask students to compare and contrast the two scenes, using only the information on those two sets of pages. As the students finish their paragraphs direct them to work on their stories

Advise students that they may take advantage of an extra credit opportunity, if the read Jake, Reinvented and write either a readers response or an alternative book report, with their group’s story.

Instruct the class to finish The Great Gatsby.

Day eleven: The conclusion of the novelThe teacher will ask students if they found any other possible climatic moments. Discuss

any that may come up. The teacher will discuss Gatsby’s death, the lack of attendance at the funeral, and Mr. Gatz. What do these factors say about Gatsby himself and how do they affect Nick’s perception of Gatsby? Then the teacher will discuss why and when Nick is telling this story. When the Roaring twenties ended what came after, The Great Depression, and does that affect Nick’s telling of the story. The teacher will read an excerpt from Gary Paulsen’s Woods Runner. The teacher will explain that this story is about a young man in Revolutionary America who is trying to free his parents from a British prison. Along the way the hero is helped by an elderly man named Mathew. Mathew explains why he is helping in this passage. The reading will start on page 106 and end on page 109

The teacher will also explain that chapters eight and nine are falling action. That Falling action occurs after the climax of the story; it is the settling of the dust. The teacher will advise the class that their stories will need falling action. The teacher will then poll the class on their favorite moments from the story and the moments they found most confusing in the story.

The students will have the rest of the day to work on their stories. The rough draft of the story will be due on day thirteen.

Advise students that they may take advantage of an extra credit opportunity, if the read Woods Runner and write either a readers response or an alternative book report, with their group’s story.

Day Twelve: Movie day twoThe teacher will show the scenes of the movie 2001 version of The Great Gatsby that the

students selected the day before.

The teacher will also hand out the Frederick C. Millett article, “Analysis: The Great Gatsby.” The students’ analysis paper of The Great Gatsby will be due in an amount of time appropriate to the abilities of the students.

Day Thirteen: Work dayThe teacher will collect the rough drafts of the stories.

Today the students will have time to work on their analysis papers. The teacher will arrange for internet access in the classroom. The teacher will advise the students to explore these websites:

http://www.aresearchguide.com/gatsby.html

The teacher will explain that this website is a research guide and that any ideas, quotes or paraphrases from this site should be cited in their works cited page.

http://www.1920-30.com/

The teacher will explain that this website is to be used for historical comparison to the novel. Students should use this site to determine what historical events or details may have played into Fitzgerald’s writing of the novel.

http://www.fcps.edu/westspringfieldhs/academic/english/1project/99gg/99gg6/colors.htm

The teacher will explain that this website was created by students to demonstrate their research efforts into the novel. This site should be used to inspire ideas for their own analysis papers.

The teacher will explain that today the students will be working on researching the students’ analysis papers.

ConclusionHopefully, teachers will have found this treatment to be diverse in activity, topic and

approach. Changing the classroom routine and offering students’ diverse opportunities to work on on-going assignments in class allows them access to not only new ideas, but also their greatest resource, their teacher.

In this treatment I have covered the topics of: story elements, plot elements, characterizations, setting, and dialogue in an effort to show students how they work together to create a complete story. While the students finished stories will not be polished diamonds, there will be some profound gems to be discovered. Combining this with the analysis paper, a traditional assessment, the students grades should be higher than average.

I ended the treatment on a work day because I do not know the particulars of every potential classroom that may use this treatment. The teacher may add another work day for research, or want to dive into the next unit. Also teachers are more aware of their students’ unique needs and require flexibility to their own teaching styles. I believe teachers will find this treatment to be extremely flexible, able to be extended or shortened as needed, and a source of culturally relevant pedagogy. The answer to “Why should we read this”.

Works CitedAgainst, R. (Composer). (2006). The Approaching Curve. [R. Against, Performer]

Boublil, A. (Composer). (1987). I dreamed a dream. [R. Graff, Performer, & J. Fenton, Conductor] New York, New York, United States.

Coleman, D. (2000). Tuning in to Conversation in the Novel: Gatsby and the Dynamics of Dialogue. Style, 34(1), 52. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Korman, G. (2003). Jake, Reinvented. Markham: Scholatic Canada.

Lucas, G. (Director). (2005). Star Wars Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith [Motion Picture].

Markowitz, R. (Director). (2001). The Great Gatsby [Motion Picture].

McIlrath, T. (Composer). (2006). The Approaching Curve. [Rise Against, Performer] Las Angelas, CA, United States.

Nielsen, R. (Composer). (1977). I want you to want me. [Cheap Trick, Performer] Los Angelas, CA, United States.

OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. (1998). Understanding The Great Gatsby A novel F. Scott Fitzgerald. Retrieved May 1, 2010, from A research Guide for students: http://www.aresearchguide.com/gatsby.html

Paulsen, G. (2010). Woods Runner. New York: Wendy Lamb.

Scott, R. (2006). The Roaring Twenties. Retrieved April 28, 2010, from 1920-30.com: http://www.1920-30.com/

West Springfield High School. (1999). The Great Gatsby: a close look at the novel and the 1920s by three English classes. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from The West Springfield High School web site: http://www.fcps.edu/westspringfieldhs/academic/english/1project/99gg/toc.htm