Carrie+Newman's+Lesson+Age+of+Innocence

= The Real Society of Old New York =

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As telivision, particularly reality shows, are becoming all too frequent in the lives of teenagers, this lesson plan is geared to reach the high school audience through a modern and fun approach. The target audience is 12th grade AP English students. So how do you relate an American novel published in 1920 to a classroom of high school seniors? Well the answer is to find a familiar connection, and in this case it's reality television. Though it would be impossible to actually form the novel into a reality show, this lesson plan is designed to use the context of the novel to establish a fun and innovative way to learn through a fake reality show. Using the complex characters of the novel, students will be expected to form in depth analysis of the characters and their importance to the novel. It's not exactly the Jersey Shore, but the Age of Innocence has a lot of "drama" surrounding it's plot and characters. Thus, the purpose of this lesson is to get the interest of the students in an activity where this drama is analyzed in a fun fashion, while still assuring that students are able to put their thoughts and ideas in a literary style that meets the requirements of AP English IV.

Students will follow a reading schedule, and as they read individually they will take notes on a certain character for each reading. These characters will be chosen for the small groups; one character will be assigned to each group. When students are in class they will meet in their small groups and compare their notes that they took during their reading. Students will then conference upon what character information they will use on their daily worksheet. These worksheets will help students form their character presentations. After completing group discussions and worksheets, students will answer study questions which will help towards their final paper. In the character presentations, students will reveal their composite ideas of their group character, including who they are, why they are important, and what they contribute to New York Society.

Upon completion of group presentations, students will begin work on their essays. The essay will help students do an in depth analysis of characters and how they are involved in New York Society. Students will also approach Marxist theory, as they analyze the structure of class in the novel.

Class Reading/Activity Schedule:

Group Discussion worksheets:

Group Study Questions:

Group Presentations:

The Marxist Approach; overview: Carrie Newman's Lesson Age of Innocence

Final Essay:

[|MLA Formatting]