Lesson Plan – The Cultural Movement of the 1920’s

Social Change through the Eyes of the Great Gatsby

Goals: Students will understand the cultural changes that took place in the USA in the 1920’s through the study of F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

Understand the cultural shift that occurred as a result of the mesh of African American traditions and white middle class
ideals

Understand how economic prosperity, advances in technology and culture, and changing social roles defined the era

Understand the connection between WWI and the cultural changes that occurred in the 1920’s

Standards:

For 9th/10th grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or
simply preceded them.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing
political, social, or economic aspects of history / social studies.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5 Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis

Activities:

Students will read the novel and after reading, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the novel and time period
by creating a scrapbook. Students may create their scrapbook using technology, e.g. PowerPoint, Prezi, online
scrapbook, or they may create a paper scrapbook.

1. Reading the novel will take place in class and as homework.

2. Students will work in groups of 3 to gather memorabilia that Gatsby may have come across in the novel or
collected. All artifacts must be captioned with where Jay got it, significance to him, and the page in the novel
where the artifact is mentioned.
3. Create your presentation using facts, pictures, photos, music, images, etc. Handmade paper scrapbooks may
utilize hand drawn artwork.
4. Present and share with the class your scrapbook with explanations concerning your interpretation of the
influence the era had on Jay Gatsby.

Assessment:

Rubric to assess quality of overall product, type of memorabilia collected, clear association with novel and time
period, knowledge base of presenters, correct spelling and grammar.

Resources: See resources on page 2

 The Great Gatsby

"Overview: The Great Gatsby." Characters in Young Adult Literature. John T Gillespie and Corinne J. Naden.
Detroit: Gale, 1997.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430000775&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

"Overview: The Great Gatsby." Characters in Young Adult Literature. John T Gillespie and Corinne J. Naden.
Detroit: Gale, 1997
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430000775&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

Overview: The Great Gatsby." Characters in 20th-Century Literature. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1990.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430000774&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

Hermanson, Casie E. "An overview of The Great Gatsby." Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2014.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420003203&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

The Great Gatsby." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1410001228&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

"Overview: The Great Gatsby." Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the
Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 3: Growth of Empires to the
Great Depression (1890-1930s). Detroit: Gale, 1997.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430002481&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&a
sid=34d28688de6c71cbf41217bcb24aaf1b

Anderson, W. R. "F(rancis) Scott (Key) Fitzgerald." American Writers in Paris, 1920-1939. Ed. Karen Lane
Rood. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 4.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1200001161&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&a
sid=409531e2da7c1a13fb762ec08cfc50c9

Donaldson, Scott. "F(rancis) Scott (Key) Fitzgerald." American Novelists, 1910-1945. Ed. James J. Martine.
Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 9.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1200000189&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&a
sid=28c030172ccae302a1693168851a3ce7

"Interview: James L.W. West discusses the early versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'." Weekend
All Things Considered 3 Sept. 2000.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA166106096&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&as
id=64177a31b07baebf04afc0e1160e2674

Hays, Peter L. "Oxymoron in The Great Gatsby." Papers on Language & Literature 47.3 (2011): 318+.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA266636229&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&as
id=fc01e7741e1f8fbb1593e76455e2dfbd

Levitt, Paul M. "Point of View, Telephones, Doubling, and Vicarious Learning in The Great Gatsby." The
Midwest Quarterly 53.3 (2012): 299+.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA287744098&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&as
id=994b9c5ab6d38900eb8cde0a67e74d47

Lisca, Peter. "Nick Carraway and the Imagery of Disorder." Twentieth Century Literature 13.1 (Apr. 1967): 18-
28. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2014.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420003204&v=2.1&u=char21995&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&a
sid=f2bb016da599fa219f5aeb94b44bc677

Adams, Michael. "Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby." Library Journal 15 Nov. 2010: 36.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA242509218&v=2.1&u=noch09645&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w