The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories Lesson Plan

Circles and Squares: A Comparison of Works by O. Henry and Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kind of Activity:

Individual Writing

Objective:

Students will write essays comparing how similar subject matter is treated by different authors across time periods and genres.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10

Structure:

Take student volunteers to read aloud the following excerpts from "Squaring the Circle" (1908):

"Nature...