Objective:
Learners will demonstrate their ability to analyze
the use of literary conventions and devices to develop character and point of
view in the short story.
California Content Standard:
Structural Features of Literature
3.1 Analyze characteristics
of subgenres (e.g., satire, parody, allegory, pastoral) that are used in
poetry, prose, plays, novels short stories, essays and other basic genres.
Full text of CA Content
Standards:
Subject: Language Arts
Grade Level: Eleven and
Twelve
Lesson Description:
After reading The
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, have students demonstrate
their ability to recreate Twain’s tone by taking up the story where Simon
Wheeler left it. Working in small groups to brainstorm story ideas about the
animal and its owner. Then have each student write a story, paying close
attention to tone and dialect.
The slides tie into the
classroom curriculum by helping to present a more complete understanding of the story's author, Mark Twain.
Web Resources:
Sam Clemens as Mark Twain - A site dedicated to revealing how Sam Clemens the man was able to create Mark Twain, literary celebrity.
Mark Twain in His Times - an archive of works intended to allow readers to understand how Mark Twain was influenced by the era in which he lived and how the era was influenced by Twain's works.
Mark Twain Speaks Before Congress - an archived New York Times article that details twain's visit to Congress and the time spent with Congressmen.
Essential Questions:
1. How does dialect influence plot development and narration?
2. How does Twain use grammar to create his characters' dialect?
3. Does dialect allow the story to stray from conventional point-to-point storytelling? Provide examples to support your answer.
4. How does the period in which a story is written influence its dialect?
5. How does the use of dialect in describing characters influence our opinion of them?
6. In what other works of literature that you've read has dialect played a significant role in the work?
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