Pre-
Reading Activities for The Great Gatsby
Procedures:
Ø
Have students arrange desks in a circle.
Ø
Keep a checklist of students who participate in
discussion.
Ø
Tell students that they have to have a certain amount of
checks in order to have an “A” for the day.
Ø
Have students look at the cover of the book. Ask for predictions.
Ø
Ask students discussion questions in order to prepare them
for the novel.
o What
does “great” mean? Have students look up the word in a dictionary.
o Why we
are still reading a book written in the 1920s. What gives this book longevity?
o Some
people think that money equals happiness, do you agree? Why or why not?
o What is
the American Dream? How has it changed with time?
§
Change of American Dream Handout
o Have you
ever wanted to relive/redo a moment from your past? What was the situation, and
how/why would you change the past?
Ø
Introduce Journal Assignment.
Ø
We will also be keeping a chart of true vs. false
information that we find out about Gatsby.
When we find a “fact” out about Gatsby, we will record it on a chart in
class, and when the truth is revealed about Gatsby we will record that on the
other side of the chart. Students will
keep their own chart. Chart