Introduction
"The Great Gatsby" is one of the most well known American literature ever made, it drawing on the lime lights and glitzy parties of the 1920s to tell a fascinating and overall interesting tale. But thanks to its film adaptions, the story and its message has been interpreted in very different ways. Your goal here will be to examine the author's life, the book, and its film adaptions to not only better understand its themes, but to form your own opinion as to what the story is about.
Task
You will be required to read "The Great Gatsby" both in and out of class while taking notes and doing your own research on the author of the book, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his life. From there we will watch the two major film adaptions from 1974 and 2013, once again taking notes. You will then use your own research and notes of the stories ideas not only for a major assignment, but also to prove your own understanding of it and that you will be to use those new research and understanding capabilities on other stories as well.
Process
1.) First we will be going over a small bit of the author's life in the form of a PowerPoint, students are required to take notes on it.
2.) We will then begin reading "The Great Gatsby" in class, with students needing to read some chapters at home and take notes.
3.) Once the book is complete, we will begin watching the two movie adaptions back-to-back while taking notes.
4.) At the same time we're watching the movies in class, at home the students will begin researching the story and the author's life to form their own opinion as to what the story is really about. Starting with the provided link and begin to research other websites from there.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel
5.) The students will begin writing a 3-page essay after the movies are done about what they believe the story is actually about based on the two interpretations the films and book provide, citing at least two websites found from their own research.
Once complete, the students should be able to more accurately form their own ideas about what the book is about and do the same for other stories using what they can understand and grasp from those stories.
Evaluation
|
Poor 0 |
Okay 1 |
Good 2 |
Excellent 3 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Found & Used At Least Two Proper Sources | No sources were included or they had nothing to do with the story. | Only one source was included or they had barely anything to do with the story. | Had two or more sources but only had some connection to the story or message. | Had two or more sources that all connected to the story or provided evidence for the students message was the correct message of the story. |
| Has At Least A Half A Page Of Notes For Each Group Of Chapters Read And Film Watched | Does not have at least half a page for more then half of the groups of chapters or films. | Have the correct amount of notes for at least half of the groups of chapters and films. | Have the correct amount of notes for over half the amount of group of chapters or films. | Have the correct amount of notes for all of the groups of chapters and films. |
| Properly Identified What The Student Thinks The Story/Message Is About | Cannot tell what the student thinks what story is at all. | Can somewhat tell what the student thinks the story and message is, but is still mostly unclear. | Can tell what the student thinks the story/message is, but could use a lot more detail. | Can easily tell what the student thinks the story is about/what the message is. |
This Rubric is meant to evaluate the important parts about of the essay that should be included.
Conclusion
"The Great Gatsby" is one of the best and well-known pieces of literature, and it's story honestly makes you question what it is about, and the issues it talks about. The story is not clear cut, and this assignment is meant to help the students figure out what they think the message is by understanding it's characters, story, and theme. The two major film adaptions cover two of the major interpretations of this story, and should be used to help the students come to their own conclusion, whether they agree with one of the adaptions, or they make their own.
Credits
I would like to thank both my high school English teacher for showing me about "The Great Gatsby", the 2013 film, and the idea for this lesson/assignment, and my college Intro to Lit: Novel teacher for reminding me about "The Great Gatsby" and introducing me to the 1974 film.
Website: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel
Teacher Page
By Evan Keeney
This was made for students to not only understand "The Great Gatsby" and its message/story, but also help to improve their understanding of other stories and their ability to understand.