The Scarlet Letter by Kristen Groneberg

Kristen Groneberg

Unit Plan – Scarlet Letter

Prefatory Statement:

The main piece of literature for this unit will be The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne. The standard that will be used is under Arts and Literature, Literature and Arts Analysis and Interpretation. The primary assessment task will be in the form of an analytical essay interpreting the novel, which the students will complete at the end of the unit to serve as a wrap up. The students will be doing group discussions, during certain parts of the text, many small group activities, as well as individual writing projects, one of which will be the re-writing of the end of the story. The classes as a whole will also do character and author chairs as group activities.

This unit will benefit the students' lives because they will be able to recognize the effects of gender roles in literature. In seeing examples of this, the students will be able to reflect on the way these concepts affect their lives. The students will be able to learn from the literature the ways that gender has had an impact on society, and discuss whether that has changed today. This unit will benefit the world in the long run because informing future generations of inequalities in the world, and what they can do about it. Gender, class and social justice are issues that are present in the book, and these concepts will be addressed in this unit through short discussions.

Class Specification:

This unit is appropriate for any students who have the maturity level to talk about infidelity in class and gender issues. The grades that this unit is geared towards are 11 th and 12 th grades. This unit is for all student types. Since the book deals with some issues of social class, it can be discussed with students of all social-economical classes.

Significant Assumptions:

Students need interaction with other students, and because of this there are activities designed for this interaction. The students will be able to write creatively. The students will achieve these goals if they interact with each other effectively, and be able to speak their opinions in class discussions and their own writing. One assumption is that students should have had some prior knowledge of gender issues, and this unit will further develop the idea.

Desired Outcomes/Standards/Objectives to be Met:

The students should know by the end of the unit that:

Students will learn about the time period of the novel.

Students will learn the style of how Nathaniel Hawthorne writes.

Students will learn how to express their opinions in writing and verbally.

Students will learn how the genders were treated differently in this period.

Students will learn how to work in small groups effectively.

Students will learn about narrative structure, and write an essay demonstrating this.

The Minnesota High Standard that is linked to this unit is under the Arts and Literature Content standard is Literature and Arts Analysis and Interpretation – Literature.

Describing the elements and structure of literature; the artistic intent; and the historical, cultural, and social background of the selected literature.
Applying specific critical criteria to interpret and analyze the selected literature.
Describing how particular effects are produced by the artist's use of the elements of literature.
Communicating an informed interpretation using the vocabulary of the literature.

Possible Whole-Class activities:

A panel of students will be asked to participate in the character's chairs: of the main characters. They will have to defend what they have done in the novel, and the other students will be able to ask questions of them. The students will also have the opportunity to elect one student (or volunteer) to be in the author's chair, and pretend to be Nathaniel Hawthorne. The students will be reading aloud in class, to hear the text read aloud might make it easier for some students to understand. After each reading, the students and teacher will discuss what the students thought was helpful or interesting.

Possible Small-Class Activities:

Having the students split up into equal groups (girls and boys mixed) and have them discuss what they think about some of the characters in the book to help them process what's going on. A couple times during the unit, the students will be able to get into groups of 2 or 3 and write up a group response to what they discussed after they read it. In these same small groups, the students will be asked to predict the end of the story and predict what else is going to happen in the novel.

Possible Individual Activities:

The students will get the opportunity to rewrite the ending of The Scarlet Letter, in a way that they want it to end. This will be their way of being creative. The journal writing will be private, but the teacher will be able to look at it periodically to make sure that the student is doing the reading. The Friday responses will be an individual activity, and will be turned in at the end of the class period.

Ongoing Activities:

The students will do Friday responses, where the students will write about the novel every Friday and turn it in. In the Friday responses, the students will be asked to write about something that they have questions on, to help them with comprehension. The Friday responses could also refer to something that they were shocked about from the novel. After each reading, the students will write an entry in their journal, about what they thought was interesting.

Student Resources:

The students will need a copy of the novel The Scarlet Letter , paper and pencils for writing an essay. The students will also need a journal in which they can write in during the course of the unit. The journal can be either an actual journal book, or just a plain extra notebook.

Teacher Resources:

The teacher will need to have a copy of the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The biography with citation of Nathaniel Hawthorne is suggested at the beginning of the unit. The teacher will want to have a timeline of the period during the Puritans Era, which is a handout located at the end of the unit. The students might need to have extra pens or pencils, when writing the essay or in their journal. For the in-class essay, the students will be provided with paper. The teacher will also need to provide sheets of paper and markers for the students for “Scarlet Letter Day,” which will be during week 2.

Unit Launch/Anticipatory Set/Set Induction: The students will be asked to change gender roles for the first class period. The girls will be boys for the day, and boys will be the girls. Each student will be able to experience what it would be like to be the other gender. This will show the students that even today; the genders are not always treated equally, and will then start the introduction for the book. The introduction into the book will be the background information about the puritan society during this time that will be given first, then the information of Nathaniel Hawthorne (his biography).

Organization of the Unit:

Week One : The beginning of the unit will be focused on getting the students to realize the roles of males and females in today's society. They will then be asked to take the point of view of the other gender. There will be a discussion of what it might be like earlier. This will lead right in to the introduction of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Puritan society. The students will start reading The Scarlet Letter . They will read the first quarter of the book during this time. The students will write in their journals, and hand in the first Friday response at the end of the week. The journals will be required for each chapter of the book, which the teacher will be asking the students to see them at random. (Pages 43-92)

Week Two : Continue to read the Scarlet Letter, the next quarter of the book. Discuss questions the students have up until this point in the novel. The students will do “Scarlet Letter Day” and write a response about their experience for their Friday response, and how it relates to the book at this time. The students will continue to write in their journal responses in regards to the novel, and turn in their Friday response at the end of the week. The students will have an assignment that deals with predicting the end of the novel, and writing it the way they want it to end. This will be due at the end of the third week. (Pages 93-142) During this week, the analytical essay will be introduced. The students will be starting the plot diagrams, and will be paying attention to how the reader is brought into the action or situation, and how suspense is created.

Week Three : The students will read the next quarter of the novel. During this week, the students will also do the Character chairs and possibly the author's chair if time allows. Since the students know the characters better at this point in the novel, they will be able to pick out evidence from the book to help support their characters. The students will continue to write in their journals (which they will be given in class time to write), and a Friday response. Writing the end of the novel assignment is due. (Pages 143-192)

Week Four: The students will finish up with the final quarter of the novel. They will still finish their journal, and Friday response both to hand in when the book is finished. Then to wrap up the unit, the students will be doing an analytical essay demonstrating their knowledge of the novel, and will turn it in on Monday morning. (Pages 193-241) The plot diagrams will be finished by the end of the week. The students should be able to recognize the turning points in the novel, how they rapidly unfold, and the effect of the ending. The first draft of the essay will be due on Monday.

Week Five : Monday, the students will get in groups of their peers, discuss their essays by giving positive criticism to one another. At the end of the hour, the students will hand in their first drafts of their essay. Tuesday, the students will get their essays back and work in class on revising them. The final draft is due on Thursday. Wednesday, the students can read a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne to see the comparison and contrast to his novel. This will serve as a wrap up to the unit.

Name of Item:

Written prediction of The Scarlet Letter ending.

Learning Area:

Literature and the Arts

Content Standard:

Literature and Arts Analysis and Interpretation – Literature

Educational Level:

High School

Submission Type:

Assessment Task

Standard Specification: Those parts of the standard that are assessed in this task are bolded.

A student shall demonstrate the ability to interpret and evaluate complex works of literature by:

• Describing the elements and structure of literature; the artistic intent; and the historical, cultural and social background of the selected literature.

• Applying specific critical criteria to interpret and analyze the selected literature.

• Describing how particular effects are produced by the artist's use of the elements of literature.

• Communicating an informed interpretation using the vocabulary of literature.

Large Processes and Concepts: The items from the Large Processes and Concepts for this learning area that are addressed in this assessment task are bolded in the right hand column.

The following bolded large processes and concepts are covered in this assessment task.

select/describe

analyze

interpret/translate

evaluate

Evidence of Learning: The following product(s) supply evidence of student learning.

Writing a prediction for: The Scarlet Letter

Task Summary: The following is a brief summary of this assessment task.

Students will read The Scarlet Letter , formulate a prediction of the end of the novel, and write an essay rewriting the end of the story.

Feedback Checklist : Items in the checklist are aligned with the standard and describe the quality criteria for each piece of evidence. Items indicate what is being assessed and how well it needs to be demonstrated.

Task Checklist Y = Yes N = No Evidence Shown
Student	Type of Evidence	Teacher
	Writing a prediction for a Literary Work There will be a brainstorming web, outlining their predictions of the end of the novel in their journal.
	The prediction is supported by evidence from the text.
	Interpretation of the prediction is logical, and could happen.
	Conclusions are supported and explained with specific examples from the work. The examples are documented within the essay to support the prediction.

Task Description: Includes clear, systematic, instructions.

Formulate a logical and clear prediction of the end of the novel that you may present in a written presentation.

• The students will read the first half of the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and create their own ideas of how the novel will end.

• The students will brainstorm their ideas about the ending of the story in their journal.

• Clear, documented examples/evidence from the Scarlet Letter to support your prediction.

• The prediction is clear and logical to the beginning of the Scarlet Letter .

• The essay will be handed in, and a copy of the brainstorming web must be turned in with the final paper.

• Summary of writing a prediction of Scarlet Letter : The students will read the first half of the novel, will create a brainstorming web that outlines their prediction, and write the ending of the story.

Name of Item:

Analyze Narrative Structure in an Analytical Essay Format.

Learning Area:

Literature and the Arts

Content Standard:

Literature and Arts Analysis and Interpretation– literature

Educational Level:

High School

Submission Type:

Assessment Task

Standard Specification: Those parts of the standard that are assessed in this task are bolded.

A student shall demonstrate the ability to interpret and evaluate complex works of literature by:

• describing the elements and structure of literature; the artistic intent; and the historical, cultural and social background of the selected literature;

• applying specific critical criteria to interpret and analyze the selected literature;

• describing how particular effects are produced by the artist's use of the elements of literature; and

• communicating an informed interpretation using the vocabulary of literature.

Large Processes and Concepts: The items from the Large Processes and Concepts for this learning area that are addressed in this assessment task are bolded in the right hand column.

The following bolded large processes and concepts are covered in this assessment task.

select/describe

analyze

interpret/translate

evaluate

Evidence of Learning: The following product(s) supply evidence of student learning.

Structural Analyses: Analytic Essay

Task Summary: The following is a brief summary of this assessment task.

Explore and describe narrative structure in an analytic essay format.

Task Checklist Y = Yes N = No Evidence Shown
Student	Type of Evidence	Teacher
	Structural Analyses: Analytic Essay
	The analysis accurately depicts the functions and relationships among the elements.
	The analysis explains how particular narrative effects are achieved within the text.
	The analysis incorporates vocabulary of the literary form.

Task Description: Includes clear, systematic, instructions.

• The students will have read The Scarlet Letter.

• The students will create two plot diagrams for The Scarlet Letter .

• The students will analyze the narrative structure by examining the two plot diagrams that graphically depict the pattern of events (dramatic tension and release; conflict and resolution) in the story.

• The students will then organize their information to begin the start of their essay.

• The students will write an essay in which they will describe the structure of the work and contrast how the novel was written in comparison to the knowledge they know of the author.
Taking a closer look at artistic intent, and the historical, cultural and social background of the Scarlet Letter.

• Analyze the dramatic patterns or rhythms of the works by examining the pace of each story. How is the reader/audience brought into the action or situation?
How is dramatic tension or suspense created?
Does tension build quickly or slowly?
Where are the turning points?
How rapidly do they unfold?
What is the effect of the ending?

• The students will be sure to answer the above questions to get the full credit. The students will hand in a first draft of the essay.

• The students receive their first draft and will revise and edit their essay, and turn in the final draft.

Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem , Massachusetts , the descendent of a long line of Puritan ancestors, including John Hawthorne, a presiding magistrate in the Salem witch trials. After his father was lost at sea when he was only four, his mother became overly protective and pushed him toward more pursuits that are isolated. Hawthorne 's childhood left him overly shy and bookish, and molded his life as a writer.

Hawthorne turned to writing after his graduation from Bowdoin College . His first novel, Fanshawe, was unsuccessful and Hawthorne himself disavowed it as amateurish. However, he wrote several successful short stories, including "My Kinsman, Major Molyneaux," "Roger Malvin's Burial" and "Young Goodman Brown." However, insufficient earnings as a writer forced Hawthorne to enter a career as a Boston Custom House measurer in 1839. However, after three years Hawthorne was dismissed from his job with the Salem Custom House. By 1842, however, his writing amassed Hawthorne a sufficient income for him to marry Sophia Peabody and move to The Manse in Concord , which was at that time the center of the transcendental movement. Hawthorne returned to Salem in 1845, where he was appointed surveyor of the Boston Custom House by President James Polk, but was dismissed from this post when Zachary Taylor became president. Hawthorne then devoted himself to his most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. He zealously worked on the novel with a determination he had not known before. His intense suffering infused the novel with imaginative energy, leading him to describe it as the "hell-fired story." On February 3, 1850 , Hawthorne read the final pages to his wife. He wrote, "It broke her heart and sent her to bed with a grievous headache, which I look upon as a triumphant success."

The Scarlet Letter was an immediate success and allowed Hawthorne to devote himself to his writing. He left Salem for a temporary residence in Lenox, a small town the Berkshires, where he completed the romance The House of the Seven Gables in 1851. While in Lenox, Hawthorne became acquainted with Herman Melville and became a major proponent of Melville's work, but their friendship became strained. Hawthorne 's subsequent novels, The Blithedale Romance, based on his years of communal living at Brook Farm, and the romance The Marble Faun, were both considered disappointments. Hawthorne supported himself through another political post, the consulship in Liverpool , which he was given for writing a campaign biography for Franklin Pierce.

Hawthorne passed away on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth , New Hampshire after a long period of illness in which he suffered severe bouts of dementia.. Emerson described his life with the words "painful solitude." Hawthorne maintained a strong friendship with Franklin Pierce, but otherwise had few intimates and little engagement with any sort of social life. His works remain notable for their treatment of guilt and the complexities of moral choices.

http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/hawthorne.htm

The Scarlet Letter

Character List

Arthur Dimmesdale: an eminent minister in Boston and also the father of Pearl . He is a tortured man who constantly places his hand over his hearth when agitated. His health is quite bad, and it is thanks to Roger Chillingworth's potions that he is able to stay alive. Dimmesdale admits to being Pearl 's father at the very end of the novel, and reveals that he has a scarlet letter branded into his flesh (this is a symbolic moment, there is no proof that he actually has a scarlet letter branded onto his flesh). He dies upon the scaffold while holding Hester's hand.

Black Man: a name for the devil. The legend speaks of a Black Man who inhabits the woods and gets people to write their names in his book, using their own blood as ink.

General Miller: the Oldest Inhabitant of the Customs House. He has the independent position of Collector, which allows him to avoid political shuffling of positions. As such, he also protects the other men from being fired, and is the reason why many of the employees are old.

Governor Bellingham: the former governor and the man who wants to take Pearl away from Hester. He decides to allow Pearl to stay with her mother after Hester forces Dimmesdale to plead on her behalf.

Hester Prynne: the main character of The Scarlet Letter . Hester is the mother of Pearl , and is the woman who must wear the scarlet letter. She is the wife of Roger Chillingworth, but Arthur Dimmesdale is Pearl 's father. Hester suffers the public humiliation of having to wear the letter "A" on her chest. She lives in Boston until her death.

Inspector: the patriarch of the Customs House. His father created the post for him and he has retained it ever since. He is considered one of the happiest workers, likely because he knows he will never be removed from his post.

John Wilson: the eldest clergyman in Boston , he is a friend of Arthur Dimmesdale.

Jonathan Pue: an ancient Surveyor of the Customs House. Hawthorne claims to find a package with his name on it which contains the story of The Scarlet Letter .

Mistress Hibbins: the sister of Governor Bellingham. She is said to have been a witch, and rumors told of her stealing into the woods during the night.

Pearl : Hester's daughter. Pearl is characterized as a living version of the scarlet letter. She constantly causes her mother and Dimmesdale torment and anguish throughout the novel. Pearl is described as extremely beautiful, but lacking certain Christian qualities. After Arthur Dimmesdale dies, Pearl becomes a normal child and eventually marries.

Roger Chillingworth: Hester's husband from the Netherlands . Chillingworth arrives in Boston the day that Hester is publicly shamed and forced to wear the scarlet letter. He vows revenge on the father of Pearl , and soon thereafter moves in with Arthur Dimmesdale. His revenge is stifled at the end when Dimmesdale reveals that he is Pearl 's father before dying. Chillingworth, having lost the object of his hatred, dies soon thereafter.

Writing a prediction for a Literary Work