lesson 1

Delores Jepps

by Tim Seibles

• Read the following paragraph from The Great Gatsby:

• There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.
  

• Ask your students, "What does the quote imply about Gatsby and his perception of Daisy? Why did he construct an "illusion" out of her? And what did this "illusion" look, sound, or feel like to him?"
  
• Read "Delores Jepps" by Tim Seibles. As you are reading, ask your students to pay attention to the tone of the piece and how "romanticizes" the subject of the poem, Delores Jepps.
• When you're done reading, briefly discuss the piece and his depiction of Delores Jepps.
• Ask your students to open the following document and go over the instructions with them. In this assignment, your students are going to analyze the language used to describe the subject of the poem, then compare their analysis to the descriptions of Daisy Buchanan from the novel. When you've gone through the directions, give your students time to work.
• When your students are done, have them share their insights of the piece and how they relate to the character of Jay Gatsby.
  

lesson 2

We

by Deborah A. Miranda

• Read through “We” by Deborah A. Miranda, paying close attention to the literary elements and techniques the poet uses to develop her complex attitude toward the two classes depicted in the poem. Project the poem on the board or give your students access to a copy of the poem.
• Briefly discuss the poem, what was the speaker's "complex attitude" toward the different social classes?
• Ask your students to look through the poem again. Then ask each of them to choose ONE line from the poem that best captures the meaning of the work as a whole. Give your students a few minutes. Then have them share their responses.
• Ask your students to open the following document and go over the directions with them. In this assignment, your students - like they just did in their discussion of "We"- are going to choose 9 lines from the novel (one line per chapter) that they feel best contribute to F. Scott Fitzgerald's attitude toward "the rich and the poor." Then your students will draw comparisons between their 9 line poem and the novel.
• Once you've gone over the directions, give your students time to work.
• When your students are done, have them share their 9 line poems with the rest of the class. Then ask them to briefly share their rationale behind their choices. How do those lines, specifically, convey Fitzgerald's attitude toward the "rich and poor"?
  

lesson 3

All Falls Down

by Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, Syleena Johnson

• Start by writing (or projecting) the following three words on the board:
• Money
  
• Class
• The American Dream
• Ask your students how each word relates to the novel. Then ask how the three words connect to one another in relation to the novel.
  
• Showing your students the following music video to "All Falls Down" by Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, and Syleena Johnson. As your students are watching/listening, ask them to pay attention to song's connections/links between money, class, and The American Dream and what the artists imply about the connection between the three subjects.
• Have your students open the following document and go over the instructions with them. In this assignment, your students are going to conceptualize/storyboard a music video for the song "All Falls Down." Your students will need to pull specific parts of the novel as "footage" for their video. When you have gone over the directions, give them time to work.
• When your students are done, ask them to share their ideas with one another. What parts of the novel did they pull from? And with what parts of the song did they pair these plot points?